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Health & Medicine Pharmaceuticals & Biotech Science Technology U.S

Underrepresentation & Overconsumption: Analysing the Diversity Gaps in Clinical Trials

Randomised clinical trials (RCTs) have long been considered the bedrock for evidence-based treatment (EBT). Thus they should be designed to be pragmatic and accumulate data representing the larger population for the disease profile. However, the research output is jeopardised severely by the limited enrollment of social, racial, and ethnic minority groups.

The FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) has reported that only 5% of patients partaking in clinical trials are Black, less than 2% are Asian, and as for Latinos, the percentage is as low as 1%.

This disparity is threatening, as it causes trials to show variance in effectiveness. 

Releasing a draft guidance, the FDA has placed emphasis on enhancing diversity in industry-sponsored clinical trials (iCTs), reported Clinical Leader. 

The agency urges investors and sponsors to devise and present a Race and Ethnicity Diversity Plan early in the trial process as per the framework delineated in the guideline.

Why Does Diversity in Clinical Trials Matter

Even though racial and ethnic populations in the United States have a disproportionate burden for specific ailments, they are most often underrepresented in biomedical studies, said the FDA.

With “underrepresented racial and ethnic populations,” the FDA indicates ethnic groups like “Black or African American, Hispanic/Latino, Indigenous and Native American, Asian, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders, and other persons of colour.”

Considering the response and exposure of over 20% of drugs vary with racial differences, the FDA marks race and ethnic minority inclusion in iCT as a pressing need.

According to a study, white Americans are predicted to become a minority by 2045. The white demographic decline in the USA makes clinical trial diversification critical to confirm that newly developed drugs are safe and effective for whoever may use them across the country. 

“The U.S. population has become increasingly diverse, and ensuring meaningful representation of racial and ethnic minorities in clinical trials for regulated medical products is fundamental to public health,” said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D. “Going forward, achieving greater diversity will be a key focus throughout the FDA to facilitate the development of better treatments and better ways to fight diseases that often disproportionately impact diverse communities.”

Barriers to Improving Patient Participation Diversity in Clinical Trials

According to the FDA, the scepticism of the trial process stemming from several historical events deter ethnic minorities from participating in iCTs.

Other factors include limited access to healthcare for ethnic minorities, socioeconomic conditions, insufficient patient recruitment and retention efforts, time and monetary restraints, etc.

The result: gaps in clinical trial diversity that affects the trial success rate.

How to Fill the Diversity Gaps

What can help bridge the diversity gaps in iCT and accelerate effective products to market?

Decentralised Clinical Trial (DCT) Platforms 

The COVID-19 outbreak has made sponsors realise the significance of DCTs in filling the diversity gaps in healthcare research and accelerating the long-overdue changes in trial design.

Let’s see how:

  • DCTs and hybrid study models allow trial teams to expand their participant pools. 
  • DCT platforms such as ObvioHealth that include ePRO and eConsent enable patients to contribute to clinical trials from the comfort of their homes.
  • By helping overcome barriers to participant recruitment, DCTs and hybrid models have encouraged a much higher enrollment rate.

The result: augmented trial outcomes that represent real-world patient populations.

Ethnically Diverse Workforce

According to research, the lack of workforce diversity in the USA has been highlighted as a leading factor impeding the inclusion of diverse populations and causing disparities in oncology trial results.

The good news? Studies found that 74% of Black and 81% of Latinx people are willing to volunteer for clinical trials if their physicians advise. With that said, engaging the workforce in clinical trials from underrepresented groups can help build trust with at-risk participants. 

On top of that, the NHS recognised workforce diversity as the key factor to bring clinical trials closer to underserved folks. 

Patient Expense Reimbursement

The FDA recognised patient expense reimbursement as an effective way to enhance clinical trial diversity. However, the lack of a consistent approach among CROs and regulators makes the process slow and ineffective. 

Wrapping Up

The FDA sheds light on the significance of global efforts in increasing patient diversity. DCT can be a step change in helping sponsors improve the enrollment of participants from underrepresented racial and ethnic populations in clinical trials. 

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Energy & Environment Government & Politics Technology U.S

US Energy Department to Invest as Much as $74M in Enhanced Geothermal Systems

As part of its efforts to ensure carbon emission-free electricity generation, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently declared it would provide up to $74 million for up to seven EGS-based pilot projects.

The aim is to ramp up the development of the geothermal industry by continuously testing the scalability and efficacy of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). 

DOE hopes these pilot projects will help trap the Earth’s nearly inexhaustible heat resources in different geologic settings.

A lion’s share of this $74 million investment will come from the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) that helps facilitate the use of breakthrough technologies and advanced techniques.

DOE’s Fourth Energy Earthshot

In a move to slash the cost of geothermal power by 90% to $45 per MWh by 2035, DOE launched the new Enhanced Geothermal Shot™. 

The Enhanced Geothermal Shot™ is part of DOE’s Energy EarthShots Initiative, which was launched in September 2022.

This $74M is the first funding opportunity announced as part of DOE’s effort to produce clean, safer energy since the launching of the Enhanced Geothermal Shot™ last year.

Enhanced Geothermal Systems

The EGS—human-made geothermal reservoirs—are built to inject high-flow water/fluid into naturally hot (~150°C) and impermeable deep rocks through an injection borehole and extract heat by forming or re-opening a subsurface fracture network. 

The high-temperature dry rock (HDR) area acts as a heat exchanger in an EGS reservoir. 

In an EGS system, the reservoir’s natural permeability is boosted by stimulating fracture formation and ensuring a constant water flow. 

The result: increased size and connectivity of water pathways that allow water to circulate through the fractures of the deep rocks

This constant flow of fluid, when in contact with the subsurface rock areas, gets heated up, backs to the surface through the production barehole, and finally is extracted for electricity generation.

The concept behind the EGS system is to enhance the economics of geothermal resources without adequate water and/or permeability.

EGS aims to tap a continuum of geothermal resources—ranging from dry rocks to traditional hydrothermal resources.

After deployment, EGS functions just as naturally occurring hydrothermal systems.

When it comes to ensuring the safe deployment of EGS reservoirs while also maximising its operational efficiency, leveraging a high-end geothermal monitoring tool is a sensible decision. 

A solution like the one offered by Silixa can effectively facilitate the long-term monitoring of geothermal reservoirs and help operators comply with regulations.

EGS’s Potential to Increase Electricity Production

Geothermal power plants currently generate 3.7 GW of electricity in the US, accounting for around 0.4% of the net.

However, with EGS deployed, geothermal energy which is inaccessible using conventional technologies, can be tapped to generate as much as 90 GW of electricity by 2050.

“Advances in enhanced geothermal systems will help introduce geothermal energy in regions where, until recently, the use of this renewable power source was thought to be impossible,” said United States Secretary of Energy, Jennifer M. Granholm, in a statement last Wednesday. “These pilot demonstrations will help us realise the enormous potential of the heat beneath our feet to deliver clean, renewable energy to millions of Americans.”

Marking geothermal as an enormous source of renewable energy, the secretary of energy anticipates that around 45% of U.S. houses can be powered by the Earth’s heat at some point.

Wrapping Up

DOE hopes these BIL-funded EGS pilot demonstration projects would act as a step-change in meeting the booming demand for electricity while also helping hit President Biden’s goals of attaining deep decarbonisation in electricity generation by 2035.

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Business Computers & Software Employment Technology U.S

High-Value Excel Skills Employers Frequently Look For

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Possessing work-level proficiency in Microsoft Excel is critical, with more than 82% of middle-skill jobs now being “digitally intensive.”

If you are presently flowing into the job marketplace, you will find most employers seek candidates with expertise in Microsoft Excel, and you should have the chops to stand out from the pack.

That said, honing your Excel skills is a no-brainer if you want to land a freakin’ job—faster. 

A recent article published in Fitwirr discusses the top Excel skills that can help you stay ahead of the competition, taking your career to new heights.

Basic Excel Skills

Getting the hang of high-level Excel skills is always a plus. 

But please understand that Excel is a data manipulative solution with a swarm of functionalities that you may require a lifetime (a long time, if not a lifetime) to master. However, grasping the basics can help you get a head start.

1. Cell Formatting

Excel deals with data, graphs, charts, and numbers. Because Excel applies the same formatting for all cells by default, it gets difficult to decipher the information conveyed by the displayed data. 

Don’t let massive troves of data inundate you. Master cell formatting skills and cut out repetitive tasks to better demonstrate your knack to your employer. 

Auto adjustment of cell size, conditional formatting, adding multiple rows and columns at a time, etc., are a few of the cell formatting capabilities in Excel that can help.

2. Basic Excel Functions

Getting the hang of basic Excel functions is the key to simplifying complex calculations, especially when you are sorting and analyzing a massive volume of data. 

For an entry-level job, ensure you have a great command of the basic Excel functions like IF, COUNTIF, SUM, SUMIFS, TRIM, etc.

3. Excel Shortcuts

To know how to use Excel keyboard shortcuts efficiently is a must-have skill if you don’t want to spend hours preparing a single report. Get your work done faster and amaze your employer with these super-handy shortcuts. 

Mid-Level to Advanced Excel Skills 

If you are applying for a position that may require you to deal with massive troves of complex datasets, make sure you know the inside out of advanced Excel functionalities. 

4. Data Validation

Data validation is an indispensable aspect of any data handling task—whether you’re accumulating information, interpreting data to facilitate decision-making, or presenting data to stakeholders. Unless you enter accurate and specific types of data into cells, your results will be erroneous. 

Thankfully, Excel can confine data entry to specific cells by applying data validation upon input. With data validation, Excel prompts you to enter only valid data when a cell is selected and shows an “error” when invalid data is entered. 

5. Charts and Graphs

One of the best ways to make datasets easily discernible is to turn them into interactive visuals. On top of that, getting the hang of Excel charts is a must if you are hired for a position that requires you to present data to stakeholders using PowerPoint presentations. 

Excel’s built-in charts and graphs are great at helping you recapitulate a large dataset in visual form; efficiently compare multiple data sets; better explain trends; estimate key values at a glance, and more. But the built-in charts in Excel come with limited functionalities that make it really difficult to build professional-looking presentations. 

On top of that, some charts are not natively available in Excel. For example, the Marimekko chart, frequently used by professionals to efficiently visualize categorical data over a pair of variables, is not supported even in the latest version of Excel. It means that you’d have to take the manual approach, which requires too many clicks and includes fewer formatting capabilities. 

If you need to make professional-looking PowerPoint presentations with stunning charts while significantly saving your working hours, using an add-in is a sensible decision. A high-end PowerPoint add-in like think-cell, for example, can seamlessly integrate your Excel charts into PowerPoint slides and help you add the “wow” factor to your presentations.

6. Data Protection

Because Excel files usually contain mission-critical business information, knowing how to keep them out of the reach of cybercriminals is critical. 

With that said, unprotected Excel files can be exploited by hackers looking to exfiltrate and expose sensitive data. With Excel, now, you have the power to limit access to your workbook. You can lock your Excel file with a password, grant reading-only access or even protect your workbook without a password so you don’t inadvertently delete any formulas.

Wrapping up

With the world quickly moving to data-driven business and processes, the demand for Excel experts is on the rise. Master the featured Excel skills above to impress your potential employer. 

Categories
Computers & Software Professional Services Technology U.K

Mitigating Cloud Security Risks During Migration

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The multinational professional services company, PwC, released the annual Digital Trust Insights research for 2023. This research reveals the top cybersecurity trends for organisations in the UK this year. 

And, it will come as a surprise to no one that cloud security is everyone’s biggest concern.

In fact, cloud-based threat vectors are considered a bigger threat this year than compromised endpoints, web applications, or even software programs by 39% of senior executives in the UK.

The Cloud Security Threat From Digital Transformation

According to 33% of senior executives, attacks against cloud management interfaces are expected to go up this year.

The reason why cloud-based threats are such a concern is accelerated digital transformation. This is a belief held by 90% of the senior executives who took part in the survey. 

Several companies are migrating to the cloud, using digital currencies, and moving to e-commerce and digital service delivery as part of their digital transformation. Businesses are also converging IT and operational technologies.

According to the executives surveyed, this rapid adoption is “the biggest cybersecurity challenge their organisation has experienced since 2020.”

In spite of the high levels of concern, around two-thirds of the senior executives say they haven’t fully mitigated the cyber risks they face due to the digital transformation.

So, of course, cloud technology and migration are being looked at with concern.

If you’re one of the people who are worried about your organisation’s cybersecurity because of cloud migrations, it’s not all bleak and hopeless. There are ways of ensuring security when your business decides to move to the cloud.

Tips to Ensure Secure Cloud Migration

Create a Migration Plan

A rushed migration can be bad for so many reasons, and data security is one of the major ones. When you start the process, it’s best to migrate low-priority data first. That gives your team time to get used to the new system without risking important information.

That will also give you time to test the system for security. At this point, if you find security gaps, you can fix them without stressing about losing sensitive data.

Migrating in phases also gives you time to do things slowly, in a considered way. As you know, rushing through a process makes you more likely to make mistakes. And, threat actors are lying in wait, ready to exploit any errors in your systems, processes, or software.

Consolidate Your Threat Prevention Cloud Tools

When you were protecting your company from cyber threats on your company’s premises, it was relatively easy. You mainly needed a secured network. All employees went through that single point, making it easier to manage threats.

With cloud-based systems, ensuring cybersecurity becomes slightly more difficult. Each cloud service you use, each user who accesses these services, each employee and new data storage, and each application operating in the cloud is a potential “entry point”.

You need a threat prevention tool that covers a broader range of security issues. That way, you don’t have to manage multiple applications and still get better visibility across your cloud systems.

Thoroughly Understand Your Compliance Needs

This is especially necessary when you’re in a highly-regulated sector. However, even if you’re not, you need to know your industry’s requirements for data encryption, backup, and transfer.

This will save you not only from the wrath of regulatory bodies but also make it difficult for threat actors to fly in and steal valuable data.

Perform Regular Risk Management Exercises

The best way to ensure cybersecurity is through prevention rather than mitigation and remediation. Regular vulnerability scans and services like DigitalXRAID’s Cloud Penetration Services will help you keep on top of any exploitable chinks in your cloud service’s armour.

Also, review your API security stacks and consider investing in a virtual SOC service if you don’t have an in-house cybersecurity team.

Find a Trusted Cloud Security Advisor

Cloud security misconfigurations can be disastrous. To ensure proper security and to get the benefit of industry best practices, find yourself an expert to help you transition to the cloud safely and securely.

So, there you have it. Digital transformation is not all that scary when you have a solid plan in place. Do your due diligence and plan the process well to keep your business safe through cloud migration.

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Computers & Software Law & Legal Living Society & Culture Technology

Make Informed Decisions with Legal “Non-Advisor” – The Revolutionary New Feature from Legalese Decoder

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Vancouver, Canada – Legalese Decoder, the game-changing app that makes legal language simple, is thrilled to announce a new feature for its Professional Plan subscribers. The Legal “Non-Advisor” tool is designed to help users understand complex legal documents by providing answers based on the context of user-supplied documents.

This new feature enhances the app’s existing capabilities and provides a more comprehensive solution for anyone dealing with legal documents. With the Legal “Non-Advisor”, users can now access a wealth of information that helps them understand legal terms, phrases and concepts, and make informed decisions based on their unique circumstances.

The Legal “Non-Advisor” takes the guesswork out of deciphering legal language, providing clear, concise answers to your questions about contracts, legal agreements, banking documents, and other everyday legalese. This innovative tool leverages AI, NLP, and machine learning to analyze the structure and content of your legal documents, identify key terms, and provide definitions in plain language.

Never get lost in legal jargon again! With the Legal “Non-Advisor”, you can confidently make informed decisions about your legal matters with the information you need at your fingertips. Whether you’re a business owner, lawyer, or just someone looking to understand legal language, the Legal “Non-Advisor” is the perfect solution.

“Our mission is to make the legal system accessible and understandable to everyone,” says Legalese Decoder founder William Tsui. “With the Legal “Non-Advisor”, we’re making that a reality by providing a tool that empowers users to understand complex legal documents and make informed decisions.”

So, if you’re a Professional Plan subscriber, be sure to take advantage of this new feature and start using the Legal “Non-Advisor” today. And, if you’re not yet a subscriber, now is the perfect time to upgrade and enjoy the benefits of this amazing new tool. With Legalese Decoder, understanding legal language has never been easier.

** Disclaimer: The Legal “Non-Advisor” feature offered by Legalese Decoder is intended for educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. The information provided by the Legal “Non-Advisor” is based on the context supplied by the user and is subject to the limitations of the artificial intelligence algorithms used by the tool. No jurisdiction has approved the use of this tool as a substitute for professional legal advice, and Legalese Decoder makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy or completeness of the information provided by the Legal “Non-Advisor”. Users are advised to seek the advice of a licensed attorney for all legal matters.

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Business Finance Financial Market Technology U.S

NYSE Disaster Recovery Blunder Triggered Major Trading Glitch

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The NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) is beleaguered by criticism after an unexpected outage and IT error caused drastic price fluctuations in blue-chip stocks and billions worth of trades to be called off.

The NYSE blamed the ‘technical’ glitch on a manual error with its disaster recovery (DR) system, according to The Register. 

Let’s Flesh out the Reasons Behind the “Mayhem”

The exchange’s secondary Chicago data centre is supposed to protect US stock markets in the event of an outage or when a natural disaster strikes the venue.

As part of regular maintenance activities, the DR system should be tested daily and shut down manually after the closing bell.

However, on Monday, January 23rd, after the market was closed, an NYSE staffer failed to turn off the disaster recovery system correctly.

The result: the backup system, which is meant to be turned on in the event of a disaster incident only, was left operating overnight. 

It means that the exchange’s trading acted as if Tuesday’s trades were being carried on with the prices of Monday’s trade. 

The consequence: at 9:30 am on Tuesday, as trading started, the NYSE software malfunctioned, and skipped the day’s opening auctions which set prices incorrectly and unfortunately, led to a debacle.

The NYSE, in a statement, said, “The root cause was determined to be a manual error involving the exchange’s disaster recovery configuration at system start of day.“

What Was the Consequence?

The technical error triggered a string of events with catastrophic repercussions.

What NYSE addressed as a “system error” caused shares in over 250 firms to go haywire, with some firms encountering fluctuations in their stock prices by around 25%. 

As reported, a total of 84 stocks saw their valuations drastically plunge or surge until they had reached the limits set to thwart securities from trading at extreme prices.

According to a statement released on Wednesday morning, due to the system disruption, 81 stocks had short-sale restrictions (SSR) implemented “erroneously,” with Snap and Morgan Stanley being badly affected. 

While Morgan’s share price dropped by 13%, Walmart saw an increase of 12% in its share price due to the error.

Soon after NYSE halted the most egregious transactions, it stated: “Approximately 4,341 trades in 251 symbols should be busted (canceled).”

NYSE Fielding Claims

NYSE officials spent hours hunting down the reason behind the turmoil until it was confirmed that no such trading chaos would occur again.

“The issues around our market open on Tuesday are our collective responsibility, and we have moved swiftly and decisively to resolve them as a team,” explained a spokesperson from NYSE to Bloomberg. “A core value of ICE (Intercontinental Exchange, NYSE’s parent company) and the NYSE is our commitment to collaboration.”

NYSE is evaluating the financial losses stemming from this “wreck” and is fielding claims from the affected businesses as per exchange regulations.

Automated DR Systems Can Decrease System Failure Risks

Analysts unanimously agreed that automation could help avoid such system errors entirely.

“Automation eliminates human error,” according to Dennis Hahn, an analyst at Omdia. “If this [DR system] required to be manually shutdown, this is ridiculous and asking for trouble.”

In short, when it comes to disaster planning for data centres, one of the key elements is deploying an automated DR framework. 

Future-focused DR solutions like Protera enable customisable and automated backup scheduling. Plus, it frees users from manually configuring each device while also allowing them to back up their business-critical data in multiple locations. 

The result: significantly minimised human intervention, ensuring business continuity.

With customisable RPO and RTO objectives, users can set their systems for backup—every day, every hour, or even every few minutes—based on their backup policies.

Wrapping Up

Unfortunately, the NYSE backup blunder is not the only high-profile operation disruption occurring in January due to manual errors. The recent massive system crash in NYSE raises concern among US retail investors. The occurrence indicates that NYSE should “come up with something better” and implement automation and best practices for disaster recovery management. 

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Business Computers & Software Professional Services Technology U.K

Designing Digital Products in 2023: UX Trends in the Spotlight

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Community by NASSCOM Insights recently released a guide on digital products, complete with projected trends in 2023. 

The article talks about the importance of user experience (UX) in digital product design and why creating an effective digital product design strategy is essential. Then, it lays out a design process.

Finally, it talks about digital product design trends for the year.

But, if you don’t know what digital products are, this report won’t make any sense to you. So…

What Is a Digital Product?

A digital product is an intangible item that is delivered and consumed electronically. An example of a digital product might be a music file or video, a PDF, or an ebook. It could also be an app, a software program, a template, or a plug-in.

If you have the right resources, you can create digital products on your computer. Of course, some products require more technical knowledge than others. But, yeah, they don’t need a workshop, where they are made piece by piece.

Since the product is digital, you don’t need physical inventory. And, delivery is quite literally as fast as the consumer’s download speed.

So, if you’re planning to start a business, selling digital products could be a good idea, especially if you’re looking to keep your overhead costs down. App development, for example, is a great way to get started if you have an innovative idea.

But, as I said earlier, you need to spend time on the UX of your product.

Why Is UX Important for Digital Products?

In case you were wondering why UX is so important for digital products, here are some reasons:

It Enhances Usability

Users tend to like digital products designed with UX in mind. That’s because UX enhances the… ummm…user’s experience. 

It takes into consideration how the consumer will interact with the product and removes any potential pain points. The result is a product that is a pleasure to use.

It Can Improve Engagement

A well-designed digital product can encourage users to engage and interact with it more and more. And, it can give them a push in the right direction—encouraging them to take the action you want them to take.

It Makes Your Spending More Effective

Constant improvement can help keep your product relevant and in demand. However, if you spend time—and money—at the beginning of the design process, you can ensure that your future improvements are less expensive. 

You can invest in more features instead of trying to get people to like what you’ve already created.

It Improves Conversion Rates and Retention

An important part of UX design is identifying what your customers need and want. By giving them a product designed for them, you can get them to convert quickly. More importantly, you will retain them.

It Helps Your Brand’s Reputation

So, you create products that are easy to use, efficiently designed, and meet customer requirements. That’s a good reputation to have. Keep doing that consistently and you will find people buying your products because they were built by you.

Now that you know why you need UX, here are some of the UX trends for digital product design in 2023:

UX Trends For Digital Product Design in 2023

According to the report, here are the top UX trends you need to keep in mind when designing your digital product.

UX Copywriting

Quick, snappy copy. Don’t bore users with long, wordy essays.

Inclusivity in Design

Design products so everyone can use them. Bear in mind cultural differences as well as physical disabilities.

AR/VR

It’s a lot more ubiquitous now, so use the power of augmented reality and virtual reality to make your digital product more interesting, exciting, and relevant.

3D Graphics

3D graphics give depth and detail to your product design. Make use of it—especially since modern technology can handle it without lagging or getting overloaded.

Innovative Landing Pages

Hook your audience with impressive landing pages. At the same time, remember that too much detail can be distracting. 

So, now that you know why you need UX in your digital product design, stop and plan your idea in a bit more detail. And, if you need professional help, you have companies like Luminos Software to help you.

Good luck!

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Business Finance Financial Market Technology U.S

Fujitsu to Divest Entire $1.1B Air Conditioning Unit Stake; Bloomberg

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Fujitsu Ltd., a leading Japanese global information and communication technology company, is reportedly divesting its stake in Fujitsu General Ltd.—the unit that manufactures cooling systems.

The declaration came during its quarterly financial announcement in October 2022. The company revealed that it was planning the sale of its stake in non-core affiliates—Fujitsu General, Shinko Electric Industries Co., and FDK.

Fujitsu owned around 50% and 59% stake in Shinko Electric and FDK respectively—as of the end of September 2022.

Not a Partial Divestment

Fujitsu shared plans to sell its entire 42% stake in Fujitsu General Ltd. as the Japanese IT coalition looks to speed up a business overhaul.

Fujitsu General Ltd. shares are worth an estimated ¥140B ($1.1B).

“We have set certain criteria for the sale and aim to sell 100% of the 42% stake,” stated the CEO Takahito Tokita in a recent interview. “We won’t do it halfway.”

Fujitsu Receives Substantial Bids

In line with its divestiture strategy, the company kicked off the auction process after it had found several long-sought customers, such as Bosch. The initial bids for the procurement were submitted by January 20, as decided. 

Fujitsu General received around ten bids from high-profile strategic investors and private equity firms. However, the company has not yet narrowed down the list of bidders, said ION Analytics. 

Why Is Fujitsu Divesting its Air Conditioning Unit Stack?

The CEO marked the divestiture as a part of the company’s effort to ensure more streamlined operations, reported Bloomberg, a leading financial news website. 

Even though the CEO refused to comment on the negotiations, he said the company was “happy to have interested parties.”

Fujitsu is the sixth-largest technology services provider in the world (based on yearly revenue). In its heyday, this Japanese giant manufactured almost everything—from smartphones and laptops to integrated chips. 

In order to focus more on IT and communication systems, the IT firm is now divesting non-core affiliates and has already sold off much of its consumer product lineup.

For the fiscal year ending March 31st, 2023, the company predicts its operating profit to reach a staggering ~$3.11B (¥400B)—a jump of 83%. 

However, analysts unanimously agreed that the profit will be ~$280B (¥359B). Fujitsu General expects its net sales to rise 37.3% to a total of ~$297.2B (¥390B). It predicts an operating profit of ¥18B for the fiscal year through March this year—an upturn of 113.2% year-on-year. 

In the report, the CEO underscored the COVID-19 outbreak and geopolitical pressures regarding Taiwan as the biggest factors making Fujitsu extremely vulnerable.

According to the report, policymakers worldwide are vying to hold sway over the semiconductor technology used for military purposes. 

According to RF Globalnet, the USA is pressuring Japan to help clip China’s chip industry. In this circumstance, when Fujitsu is hugely dependent on Taiwan’s semiconductors, Tokito said the divestment would help the company prepare for any emergency.

Navigating Carve-out Challenges to Success

Divestiture is a cross-functional process that takes place on a legal, financial, organisational, and technical level. Even though equity carve-out is a standard strategy of business management among consolidated and dynamic enterprises, the permanent split-off of the IT poses challenges to participants. 

Leveraging a high-end IT carve-out consulting service, such as US-based Fission Consulting, can streamline the transaction process and significantly shorten the separation timeline with minimal business disruption.

Wrapping Up

Being at the forefront of hyperconnected business transformation, Fujitsu combines the power of IoT with AI, and network solutions. The aim is to help future-focused companies cope with technological shifts. Regardless of the reasons behind the divestiture, Fujitsu hopes the divestment would help the company optimise business operations while also maintaining the supply chain.

Categories
Media & Communications Technology Telecom U.K U.S

How Will Artificial Intelligence Change the Way Businesses Optimise Their Websites?

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A short while ago, there was a news story about how Google was panicking about ChatGPT, OpenAI’s “chatty” chatbot. 

ChatGPT is an AI-powered tool which has access to information on the internet—all the way up till 2021.

Ask a question, get the answer.

Of course, the answer might not be completely accurate or original. It does rely on potentially old information and only what’s available online, after all.

However, what worried Google is the fact that it gives an answer and not a list of pages. A complete, coherent answer. 

The Google “Code Red”

Google CEO, Sundar Pichai, declared a “code red” over the threat. And, the company’s founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who had not been involved in the running of the company, were now attending meetings with executives.

The goal was to push out the company’s own AI capabilities to combat the threat of the chatbot.

So, on the 7th of February 2023, Google launched Bard, an AI-powered chatbot that would compete against ChatGPT.

What’s more, Bard has a slight edge over ChatGPT. It can draw information from the internet whilst ChatGPT currently only has the information it was “fed”.

End of story, right?

Nope.

The launch of Bard (and the ever-growing popularity of ChatGPT) leads to the question: Will AI kill SEO?

AI Chatbots and Digital Marketing

Digital marketing, currently, has been focused on search engine optimisation (SEO). This term encompasses all the activities a company undertakes to make its website and web pages rank high on search engines.

Whether by oneself (with the right technical knowledge) or with the help of companies like Geeky Tech, businesses try to make their online presence attractive to both Google and users.

Businesses need to appeal to search engines because they determine if—and where—their web page shows up when users search for a relevant query. 

However, chatbots that look up questions and distil an answer from various sources might change the way people search online.

The New Way of Searching 

Instead of typing out their search queries and then looking for the answer in the hundreds and thousands of pages that show up, users would be able to use chatbots to give them the answer right off the bat, in natural language.

Suddenly, Google SERPs—Search Engine Result Pages—would no longer be relevant. 

Why go through thousands of results when someone can use AI to get a complete answer, which takes a fraction of the time? 

Google’s competitor, Bing, is already in the process of integrating ChatGPT into its search page, complete with the chat feature. So, a person can have a conversation with the bot, complete with follow-up questions. 

With these AI-powered entities answering user queries like a person would, traditional SERPs might be on their way to becoming obsolete.

So, with no more SEO, what will digital marketers do?

No, they won’t lose their jobs. They’ll simply have to move from SEO to AEO.

What Is AEO?

AEO, or Answer Engine Optimisation, is actually a part of SEO which focuses on providing answers to search queries instead of just making the page optimised for search robots.

It’s not a new concept, either. 

AEO became a part of SEO jargon when mobile voice search started gaining traction. People would verbally ask the search engine on their phones a question. And, instead of giving a written answer, which one would need to read, the helpful Google lady would read out the answer.

Since voice search was growing rapidly, and was expected to be the primary way people would search in the near future, AEO became a hot topic.

At the same time, there was also position 0 on the SERPs—the much-coveted featured snippet. Ask a question and find the answer on the search page directly, right at the top.

Trying to “win” that spot required AEO.

Again, it is still a component of SEO, but AEO has a different focus. Instead of appealing to search robots, it aims to answer questions real people are asking. 

SEO is all about taking a keyword and optimising a page for it. AEO looks at the whats and whys of the question—the search intent. Then, it tries to answer with that intent in mind, succinctly and knowledgeably.

People-Friendly Content for AEO

So, how does this come back to chatbots and search engines?

If people start using search differently, then, in order to keep up, marketers would need to make sure they are answering people’s questions. It will no longer be enough to satisfy crawlers—they would need to be people-friendly as well.

In conclusion, AI-powered chatbots will change the landscape of search and search engine optimisation. 

Categories
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech Technology U.S

Cell Therapy Bioprocessing Market Projected to Reach $30M by 2028

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The healthcare industry is heavily investing in developing safe and effective treatments using cell therapy technologies as an alternative to traditional treatments.

The result: The cell therapy bioprocessing market is ballooning at breakneck speed. 

The global cell therapy bioprocessing market size is predicted to hit a revenue of a staggering $30,052.61M by 2028—up from $ 11,192.50M in 2020. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.14% during the forecast period between 2020 and 2028, according to a report by Insight Partners published in medgadget. 

Cell therapy bioprocessing

Cell therapy bioprocessing is a subfield of bioprocess technology that blurs the lines between bioprocessing (biopharmaceutical manufacturing) and cell therapy. 

The goal is to develop robust and reproducible manufacturing processes for producing therapeutic cells by substituting, rebuilding, repairing, or regenerating damaged cells, tissues, and organs. 

Cell therapy bioprocessing holds great promise to revolutionize healthcare and treat chronic conditions—such as cancers, age-related blindness, macular degeneration, stroke, and more.

Driving Forces Behind the Cell Therapy Bioprocessing Market Growth

The growing need to efficiently treat chronic ailments has pushed research activities in cell and gene therapy bioprocessing which, in turn, is likely to propel the market’s growth over the coming years.

The increasing number of clinical trials conducted or underway is another leading factor contributing to the rapid growth of the cell therapy bioprocessing market.

Case in point: as of 2022, 1221 active clinical trials were conducted on cell and gene therapies, among which 342 were in phase 1/1b.

The report marks the advancement in genome editing as another driving force behind the cell therapy market growth. 

By allowing scientists to add, remove, or alter DNA in the genome at specific points, genome editing can provide effective treatment solutions for chronic ailments. 

Medical scientists hope that genome editing will act as a step-change in treating monogenic hereditary diseases—such as hemophilia, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, and Huntington’s disease. 

Interventions into the immune system can also help cure acquired diseases—e.g., AIDS or cancer. The potential of genome editing technologies, such as TALENs and Zinc-finger nuclease, has opened avenues in the modern therapeutic sector having the potential to accelerate market growth. 

Furthermore, the gradual invention of innovative technologies to support the development of avant-garde therapies has further aided market expansion. For example, CRISPR-Cas9 is one of the widely adopted genome editing technologies that yield higher accuracy. Being the cheapest yet highly efficient system to alter genetic traits in a cell, CRISPR-Cas9 has significantly fueled research activities. 

The Cell Therapy Bioprocessing Market Segmentation

According to the report, by technology, the market is segmented into a) lyophilization, b) bioreactor, c) electro-spinning, d) ultrasonic lysis, e) control-flow centrifugation, f) viral vector technology, g) cell immortalization technology, and h) genome editing technology. The bioreactor segment reigned in the cell therapy bioprocessing market, accounting for the largest revenue share in 2020. On the other hand, the genome editing technology segment is forecast to grow at the highest CAGR of 14.5% through the projection period.

By cell type, the market is segmented into a) immune cell, b) stem cell, c) hematopoietic stem cells, d) pluripotent stem cell, and e) human embryonic stem cell. The stem cell was the highest market-share segment in 2020 and is projected to record the highest CAGR of 14.0% during the forecast period.

In addition, by indication, the market is segmented into a) oncology, b) orthopedics, c) cardiovascular disease (CVD), c) wound healing, and more. Among the segments, oncology held the largest market share in 2020 and is foreseen to record the highest CAGR of 14.3% through the projection period.

The report highlights some of the key players in the market, such as Fresenius Kabi AG, Asahi Kasei Corporation, and Sartorius AG. Being at the forefront of adopting growth strategies, these companies strive to capitalize on the vast untapped potential of the cell therapy bioprocessing market.

How COVID-19 Impacted the Cell Therapy Bioprocessing Market Growth

The market growth of cell therapy bioprocessing was affected to a certain extent, with more focus put on curbing the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic. Research activities halted for a certain period as research institutions had to slow down their trial enrollment process. 

In addition, the global pandemic harmed the production and supply chain efforts in the biopharma industries. 

However, the market now continues to advance, with many leading businesses planning to make their therapies more accessible. 

Navigate Challenges to Success

Researchers are trying to reap the full therapeutic and commercial benefits of cell therapy bioprocessing technologies. For that, emphasis must be placed on overcoming the challenges regarding today’s existing capabilities to generate clinical-grade cells at commercially relevant scales.

However, the development process for bringing cell therapies to patients is highly intricate. The process involves multiple bio-production and bioprocessing steps that need to be executed optimally to confirm the required safety and effectiveness of the final product.

With that said, for cell therapy products to hit the expected success, taking a process-driven approach to bioprocessing operations is critical.

The solution: leveraging a high-end bioprocessing solution with predefined workflow templates for each step in the pipeline

Such a class-leading system like Sapio Sciences’s Bioprocessing solution includes extensive sample, material, and instrument management, charting capabilities, and native data analysis. The result: streamlined operations and seamless collaboration across teams that accelerate product to market. 

Wrapping Up

After decades of relentless efforts, gene and cell therapy bioprocessing is set to flourish incredibly in the coming future. A flurry of recent successes has led to the approval of multiple life-improving therapeutics—and many more are under development.