(This article originally appeared in Forbes)
Here are five things in technology that happened this past week and how they affect your business. Did you miss them?
1 -According to a recent survey, the majority of iPhone users plan to skip the iPhone 13 upgrade.
A recent survey revealed that most iPhone users do not plan to upgrade to the iPhone 13 when it is released. In fact, a mere 10% of users have plans to upgrade, with 26% remaining unsure if they want to switch. Of those planning to upgrade, most are excited for the longer battery life, camera upgrades, and the satellite communication feature that is rumored to be included. 31% of survey participants shared that-at this time-nothing would convince them to upgrade. (Source: LaptopMag)
Why this is important for your business:
Remember when the release of a new iPhone was a big deal? Not so much anymore. To me, it’s all about battery life. But different people have different priorities. Given what I’ve seen with the new iPhone I tend to agree with the majority. It may make sense to wait on upgrading.
2 — FedEx and Salesforce announced an end-to-end ecommerce solution.
FedEx announced this past week that it is partnering with Salesforce with the plans to give businesses supply chain management solutions and end-to-end e-commerce. With the anticipated roll out of Spring 2022, the new offering will integrate the supply chain features that FedEx and its e-commerce offshoot-ShopRunner-with Salesforce Order Management and Salesforce Commerce Cloud. (Source: Yahoo Finance)
Why this is important for your business:
There’s no silver bullet that will solve our supply chain issues. But one important thing is having a better understanding of our inventory balances and also sharing whatever we know with our customers so they can adjust their plans as necessary. With all of the features rolled into a single platform, businesses will be able to access more sophisticated supply chain tools, and at the same time customers will have greater visibility into their orders.
3 -Google just unveiled Supply Chain Twin Solution.
Speaking of supply chains, last week Google revealed its Cloud-based initiative-Supply Chain Twin-that will assist companies in creating a digital duplicate, or “digital twin” of their actual supply chain. (Source: Pymnts)
Why this is important for your business:
According to Google, the new offering will let companies organize their data to give a broad picture of inventories and suppliers as well as events that could potentially impact supply chain movement and deliveries. Supply Chain Twin will let companies take information and consolidate it from various sources through sharing data with trusted partners and suppliers.
4 — Square sellers can now accept payments with Cash App Pay.
Square announced this past week that Sellers will now be able to use Cash App Pay to accept payments. The announcement detailed that consumers will be able to make payments by scanning a QR code of a seller or selecting a button on their phone. Sellers who use Square can get access to Cash App Pay through a simple software update, rather than requiring any new hardware or additional technology. Merchants will also be able to organize receipts and other tasks when using Cash App Pay in Square. (Source: Pymnts)
Why this is important for your business:
Cash App Pay is a new contactless payment app from Square for online and offline transactions that competes with cash transfer apps like Venmo and Zelle. It’s a free app that’s been growing in popularity and Square’s integration will speed up transactions and allow for easier payments from mobile devices. The company says that Square sellers can access the new features as a software update and no new hardware is needed. It also lets merchants manage receipts, reconciliation and settlements of Cash App Pay within their Square system.
5-Smishing attacks are up sevenfold in six months.
According to recent data, the number of smishing scans-otherwise known as scam texts- sent to mobile customers in the UK has grown by nearly 700% during the first half of 2021 as compared to the last half of 2020. The data by the consumer affairs organization Which? detailed that- because of the pandemic- consumers relied more heavily on online services, putting them at a greater risk to fall victim to cyber criminals. (Source: Computer Weekly)
Why this is important for your business:
“It’s far easier to block email phishing on corporate-owned PCs, but today’s remote workers are now using their personal devices to access corporate apps and data,” writes Phil Richards, the Chief Security Officer at security software firm Ivanti. “And frankly, there’s just no easy way to verify the authenticity of URLs on smartphones, so users often just click and hope for the best.”
To counter this threat, step up training for both yourself and your employees.
