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AMD Introduces High-Performance EPYC Processors
With new EPYC 7Fx2 processors, AMD claims to offer the fastest per-core performance in the server space. AMD has the 64-core EPYC line. Intel, which currently tops out at 28 cores, has 38- and 48-core parts due later this year. AMD's three new processors, however, have rather modest core counts. The EPYC 7F32 has 8 cores, the EPYC 7F52 has 16 cores, and the EPYC 7F72 has 24 cores. But they also have a speed boost of up to 500Mhz over previous generation EPYCs, as well as greatly expanded L3 cache to unify the cores.
Dell Technologies Offers $9 Billion in Financing, 0% Interest Rate to Spur IT Spending
Dell Technologies announced that it will extend $9 billion in financing and 0% interest rates. In addition, customers can defer payments on commercial laptops, desktops, data center gear and services for up to 180 days under its Payment Flexibility Program.
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Zoom 5.0 Is Coming, with Improved Security Features: Here's What's New
Zoom has announced a slew of security enhancements in the upcoming launch of Zoom 5.0, due to be released very shortly. The update will bring 256-bit encryption to the platform along with a number of other security and privacy features designed to made video meetings more secure and less prone to 'Zoom-bombing'. Zoom 5.0 will bring both front- and back-end security enhancements to the video-conferencing tool.
IT Directors Plan to Protect Cloud Budgets and Consolidate Vendors During Downturn
Cloud infrastructure projects, communications equipment, and collaboration tools for remote work are most likely to survive the economic downturn, according to a small survey of IT directors. They said that plan to increase funding in these 3 areas: 1) Cybersecurity, specifically identity management, network connectivity, and endpoint security tools; 2) Big data and analytics to be able to react to unexpected opportunities and marketplace shifts; and 3) Cloud infrastructure that are scalable to meet demand spikes and minimize onsite staff at datacenter facilities.
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ATMs Play an Important Role in the U.S. Consumers’ Lives
Mercator Advisory Group’s most recent consumer survey report, ATMs: No Fee for Me, finds that despite declining cash use, U.S. consumers still use ATMs for cash withdrawals, deposits, and other transactions. The report concludes that "much has been written about the decline of cash, but the survey results reported here demonstrate that the ATM still has a valuable function in many people’s lives."
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Top 3 Mobile App Development Technologies That Will Reshape Mobile Banking in the Covid-19 Crisis
This article looks some of the latest mobile app development trends that might make it easier for people to access banking services. The author thinks that those 3 trends are: 1. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality; 2. IoT (The Internet of Things); and 3. Blockchain technology.
In the Wake of COVID-19, QR Codes Are "Taking Over the World"
The author posits that QR codes can be used to create a cashless payment infrastructure - quickly and inexpensively. He envisions a system that looks like this: Step 1 - The seller creates a QR code and shows it to the buyer. Step 2 - The buyer scans the QR code using their banking or finance application and clicks the "Pay" button. Step 3 - The monetary transfer is sent to the seller’s FI. Step 4 - The seller receives a payment confirmation and the payments system issues a receipt to the buyer. There are two types of QR code: static and dynamic, and both offer a reduction in commissions, which is very attractive to businesses.
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Five Best Practices for Achieving and Maintaining SOC 2 Compliance
A crucial framework for technology companies and cloud-based organizations, SOC 2 is both a technical audit and a requirement that comprehensive information security policies and procedures be written and followed. SOC 2 was developed by the American Institute of CPAs and designed specifically for service providers that store customer data in the cloud. The article goes on to list five tactical best practices for organizations wanting to achieve and/or maintain SOC 2 compliance.
Attackers Prefer Ransomware to Stealing Data
Financial data is still in demand, but ransomware becomes the most popular way to try to cash in from compromised companies, according to Trustwave. Ransomware accounted for 18% of the compromises investigated by Trustwave in 2019, up from only 4% the previous year, while attacks that targeted financial data accounted for 17% of breaches, up from 1% the previous year, according to the firm. The previous two most targeted data types — chip-and-pin information and user credentials — fell to 14% and 13%.
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Content and the Race to Stay Relevante in a Socially Distant World
This article states that poor digital sales are the result of weak content. To engage consumers and prospects in the digital-first landscape, generate opportunities, and convert opportunities to revenue, the authors recommend a Three-Step Plan: 1. Evaluate and improve the messaging; 2. Get to know the content ecosystem; and 3. Get the content talent necessary to be a content leader inside the institution – now.
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Online Banking/E-Commerce/Website Design
FIs, Credit Bureaus Take Baby Steps Toward Broader Blockchain Embrace
From sharing consumer data to smart payments, a number of central banks around the world are turning to blockchain technology to make markets easier for new entrants and to improve processes in everything from payments to regulatory authorizations. This article takes a worldwide tour of blockchain developments.
Bad Bots Now Account for Almost a Quarter of All Website Traffic
Automated programs designed to replicate human behavior, bots run the gamut from relatively benign to hostile and malicious. In its research, Imperva found that traffic from bad bots accounted for about one-quarter (24%) of all website traffic in 2019, a jump of 18% from the prior year. Advanced persistent bots (APBs) compromised almost three-quarters of all bad bot traffic. These APBs try to evade detection by cycling through random IP addresses, using anonymous proxies, and changing their identities.
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Cisco, Google Drive SD-WAN to the Cloud
Cisco and Google are teaming up to develop an application-centric, multi-cloud network fabric, which the companies say will allow customers to extend SD-WAN orchestration and management to the cloud. Using Cisco SD-WAN Cloud Hub with Google Cloud, the two companies aim to provide customers with a way to apply consistent service level agreements, security policies, and compliance data to applications and enterprise networks.
Google Unveils Secure Remote Access Service to Unburden Enterprise VPNs
Google has made available BeyondCorp Remote Access, a cloud-based, zero trust service that allows employees, contractors and partners to securely access specific corporate resources from untrusted networks without having to use the company’s VPN. Access to web apps and services is granted (or not) based on user identity, device identity, device security, location, and other metadata and signals collected through the browser or an endpoint agent that is installed on the user’s device (if the customer mandates it).
14 Ways AWS Beats Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud
For all of its dominance, Amazon has strong competitors. Companies like Microsoft, Google, IBM, Oracle, SAP, Rackspace, Linnode, and Digital Ocean know that they must establish a real presence in the cloud and they are finding clever ways to compete and excel in what is less and less a commodity business. Yet the author maintains that Amazon continues to outshine them all in many ways.
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FI Call Centers Feeling Pressure of COVID-19
The limits on in-branch banking have created huge backlogs at telephone banking centers, as accountholders have struggled to complete many in-branch transactions, while also using the contact centers to negotiate delays in loan and credit card payments as well as a way to obtain information on federal stimulus payments. One anlyst said that he expects COVID-19 to have a lasting impact on the branch banking model and that industry use of call centers will become a long-term fixture well beyond the life of the pandemic.
Westpac's latest AI recruit, Wendy, is capable of recognizing and responding to callers' emotions as they video chat onscreen through the webcam. Smile at Wendy through your webcam, she’ll smile back. If you look confused, you can see her empathize. And shift around in front of your laptop, her eyes follow you as she listens and answers your questions. Wendy’s ability to “think” is powered by IBM Watson’s AI conversation engine, her “listening” and 'speaking' skills use Google Cloud Services, and her lifelike, perceptive appearance is created by start-up Soul Machines.
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