(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 — Virtual real estate reaches new limits with the addition of major corporations.
Admix-a virtual reality platform-has been very prevalent in the metaverse and is currently working with McDonalds, Pepsi, and other large corporations on buying and selling virtual real estate. The virtual real estate market is much like the real world, using cryptocurrency as their main monetary source. Admix has bought in between $200,000 and $1,000,000 worth of real estate in this virtual platform and urges others to take advantage of this new enterprise. The company believes that this is the new age of capitalism and a very savvy way for companies to integrate their business into our digital world. (Source: Fast Company)
Why this is important for your business:
I tell oftentimes incredulous audiences made up of the owners of small and mid-sized companies that the metaverse is real and needs to be taken seriously. Big brands like McDonalds and Pepsi are already buying in. In just a few years products and services — from art to clothes to furniture to entertainment — will be sold and used in this virtual world and every business is going to need to have a plan if they want to reach customers there.
2 — Immediate payments for employees can help deal with financial insecurity.
Instant payments for employees have become popular among workers, especially those living paycheck to paycheck. Grubhub introduced their instant payouts in 2018 which allowed their workers to instantly cash out paychecks immediately after their shift instead of waiting for weeks or dealing with payment delays. Many workers across industries are advocating for this new form of payment plan to help combat financial hardships and boost employee morale. (Source: PYMNTS)
Why this is important for your business:
Many business owners roll their eyes at “same day pay” solutions. But it’s a hot benefit to provide. Why? Because, according to recent data, two-thirds of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck and getting paid on the day that they perform services could be the difference between hiring that worker or losing him or her to a company that does. Yes, there’s a cash flow concern. But aren’t you already doing this with the babysitter?
3 — Hackers have turned to prying on printer hardships to scam individuals.
Canon-one of the largest printer companies-has experienced incidents of hackers creating fake websites containing customer service instructions in order to access computer hard drives. Many of the false websites even ask for monetary compensation to help fix any problem the user is dealing with. What has caused so many to fall into this trap is problems with Canon’s official website on how to fix software troubles for printers. Canon has not released any statement on trying to fix their own system and has not commented on the large number of fake websites. (Source: Gizmodo)
Why this is important for your business:
What, you’re still printing? Just kidding, of course you are. And if you’re using Canon printers, you need to be aware of the latest scam to avoid any headaches.
4 — Work from home proves superior to pre-pandemic working conditions in the oil and gas industry.
A study done by Texas A&M University School of Public Health found that employees in Houston prefer to work from home after experiencing the effects of Hurricane Harvey. Many workers were displaced from their job site after this natural disaster prohibited workers from coming to work, resulting in them advocating for a hybrid model. Large companies such as Apple and Google have been devising a hybrid model to adapt to this new found research. The study also found that working from home increases the health of workers and prevents many diseases which debilitates their ability to work for longer periods of time. The study is said to look at other factors that are affected by hybrid models such as mental health, substance abuse, and stress levels. (Source: ZDNet)
Why this is important for your business:
The work from home debate will never end. Bottom line: you need a policy and it should be some sort of hybrid home/office arrangement. But more importantly if you’ve got employees working from home you need to make sure their devices and routers are secure because I’m betting they’re not. Combine a work-from-home arrangement with an IT support and monitoring agreement to avoid any potential security headaches.
5 — Google’s has more ways to keep users safe against cyber-attacks.
Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) has been tracking cyber activity in countries across the world in order to help combat cyber-attacks on users by outside forces. Google has claimed to have built an advanced security infrastructure with tools such as account safety status, phishing protection in Google workspaces, automatic 2-step verification, and virtual cards. They have also expanded their cybersecurity efforts with the introduction of Protected Computing to help secure data intel as well as new privacy tools that allow users to control ads and Google searches. (Source: Google)
Why this is important for your business:
Have your IT team dig into the information provided in Google’s blog post above and determine what they should be doing to further improve your company’s security.
