Paul Wallbank – Brilliant Communications

Category: Uncategorized

  • Microsoft and the zero day Tiff

    Microsoft and the zero day Tiff

    One of the most dangerous things in computer malware is the Zero Day Exploit where an error in a program is used by the bad guys before it can the hole in software can be fixed.

    A particularly irritating zero day exploit is the TIFF bug in Windows systems where users using Microsoft products can be fooled into opening what appears to be an image file but what turns out to be something more malicious.

    Even more irritating with this bug is that Microsoft aren’t going to fix the problem in Windows XP systems until January’s patch Tuesday which means many people will be susceptible to this problem for nearly two months.

    Zero day exploits are a good reason why every computer user needs to have an up to date virus checker and to take basic precautions before surfing the web or downloading email.

    For Windows users it might be worthwhile taking extra care with email attachments for the next few weeks.

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  • Measuring an industrial hub’s success

    Measuring an industrial hub’s success

    A short article appeared on London’s City AM website yesterday discussing the successes of Google’s Campus and the government’s Tech City initiative.

    What jumped out of that story is the quote from Benjamin Southworth, the former deputy chief of the Tech City Investment Organistion, that London’s first tech IPO is “probably 18 to 24 months away”

    Southworth’s comments raise the question of how do you measure the success of initiatives like Tech City, does a stockmarket float indicate success of business or tech cluster?

    The debacle of Australia’s Freelancer float which saw the shares soar over 400% on the first day of trading certainly doesn’t indicate anything promising about the startup scene down under apart from the opportunities for those well connected with insiders on Australian Security Exchange traded stocks.

    In London’s case, Google’s Campus gives a far better indicator of what tech hubs and industrial clusters can add to an economy – £34m raised from investors in the 12 months to October 2013, 576 jobs created and 22,000 members of its coworking space.

    Google’s statistics raise an interesting point about the different objectives for the stakeholders in incubators and hubs; entrepreneurs want money or glory, investors want returns, corporate backers want intellectual property or marketing kudos, governments want jobs and politicians want photo opportunities with happy constituents.

    These different objectives means there are different measures for success and one group’s success might mean bitter disappointment for some of the others.

    What the various partners define as success is something anyone involved in an incubator or hub should consider before becoming involved, in that respect it’s like a business or a marriage.

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  • Where will the jobs come from in the internet of things?

    Where will the jobs come from in the internet of things?

    One of the common worries about the internet of things and the automation of business processes is that many jobs are going to be lost as a consequence.

    This is a fair concern however we need to keep in perspective just how radically employment has changed in the last century.

    Concerns about technology displacing occupations is nothing new; in the eighteenth century the Luddite movement was a reaction to skilled workers being displaced by new innovations.

    In an interview with GE’s Chief Economist Marco Annunziata, published in Business Spectator, we covered this topic and Marco had a valid point that the bulk of the Western world’s workforce was employed in agriculture a hundred years ago.

    Today it’s less than two percent in most developed country as agriculture became heavily automated, yet most of those workers who would once have worked in the fields have productive jobs. “As an economist I look at this over a long term perspective and I’ve heard this concern about technology displacing jobs over and over again.”

    Annunziata sees new roles being created, among them what he calls ‘mechanical-digital engineers’ who understand both how the actual machines work as well as the data and the software used to run and monitor them.

    This isn’t to say there won’t be massive disruption – John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath described the massive dislocation that happened in the United States with the first wave of agricultural mechanisation in the 1920s and the decline in rural communities is due directly to modern farms not needing the large workforces that sustained many country towns.

    We can’t see where the jobs of the future will be and just roles like as Search Engine Optimisation and ecommerce experts where unheard of twenty years ago, our kids will be working in occupations we haven’t contemplated.

    It’s up to us to give our kids the skills and flexibility of thinking that will let them find opportunities in a very different workplace.

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  • Tuxedos and cocktail dresses — the real cost of being an entrepreneur

    Tuxedos and cocktail dresses — the real cost of being an entrepreneur

    venture capital investor and blogger Mark Suster said at the Dreamforce 2013 conference yesterday.

    Suster’s mission is based upon having seen the process of building business up close having been involved in two successful startups and trade sales before joining Salesforce as head of product development then branching out to the investor side of the business.

    There’s also a personal reason for Suster wanting to tell the truth about starting your own venture, “the reason I’m on a personal mission to explain this is because a friend committed suicide.”

    “His company had raised four million dollars but, by his standards, it wasn’t succeeding.”

    Suster’s story resonates with anyone who has founded a business — it’s not something everyone is suited to and it’s a tough, demanding lifestyle.

    Tuxedos and cocktail dresses

    Part of the problem is public perceptions, Suster describes a conflict between “public persona and cognitive dissonance”; while an individual startup is struggling with their own flaws and failings, it appears that everyone else is doing well from their carefully crafted and placed publicity stories.

    “Everyone else’s PR is their tuxedos and cocktail dresses,” Suster points out. “You on the other hand are seeing yourself naked in the mirror every morning.”

    On being a marriage councilor

    It’s often said that a business partnership is like a marriage and Suster finds much of his work as a venture capital investor involves counseling founders over their relationship.

    “Sometimes one has to go,” Suster says. “It doesn’t matter what your preference is — and we all have our favourites — but the business cannot survive with the two of them.”

    When two founders split, there is also the problem of equity, should both have equal shares then it becomes difficult to split the business; “should one partner leaves, it’s often easier to shut down the company and start again.”

    Buy in your skills

    A similar problem happens when there’s more than one partner and Suster cautions it’s better to employ people with the skills you need rather than offer equity in a new business.

    “Having too many founders is the greatest dilution you’ll ever face,” Suster warns and his advice is to hire the skills required by the business rather than give away equity in your business.

    Another benefit of hiring people is having a good team on the payroll is the validation good investors are looking for. “Having a good team proves you’re able to hire good people which is the most important skill an entrepreneur needs,” Suster explains.

    Ultimately, Mark Suster sees the journey of building a business as a decade long process, the billion dollar startups are the exception rather than the rule.

    The biggest advice Suster has is to understand your goals, “if you don’t define what success is, you’ll never achieve it.”

    Building a business is tough, and not everybody is suited to doing it. Mark Suster’s advice isn’t just appropriate for technology startups, it’s also valid for anyone starting any type of business.

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  • The end of HTML 5?

    The end of HTML 5?

    One of the big debates in web design since the rise of smartphone apps has been the question of ‘going native’ or following web standards.

    In an ideal world, all apps would follow the HTML web standards so designers would only have to create one app that would run on any device — a smartphone, tablet or PC — regardless of what type of software it was running.

    However the HTML 5 standard has proved problematic as developers have found applications written in the language are slow with limited features, so the attraction of writing ‘native’ apps that are designed for each system remains strong as users get a faster, better experience.

    The problem with that approach is that it results in having to design for different operating systems and various devices which is costly and adds complexity.

    For the last two years at Dreamforce, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has trumpeted the advantages of the company’s HTML5 Touch product.

    This year Benioff unveiled the company’s Salesforce One product — a suite of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) that simplifies building smartphone and web apps. At the media conference after the launch, Benioff even went as far to describe the once lauded Touch product as a “mistake”.

    So Salesforce has abandoned HTML5, which is a blow for standard applications.

    If others follow Salesforce, and it appears that is the trend, then we’ll increasingly see the smartphone industry dominated by iOS and Android as most companies lack the resources or commitment to develop for more than two platforms and their form factors.

    Open standards have been one of the driving factors of the web’s success, it would be a shame if we saw the mobile market split into two warring camps reminiscent of the VHS and Beta video tape days.

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