(This post originally appeared on Forbes)
Here are five things in technology that happened this past week and how they affect your business. Did you miss them?
1 — Turning off your camera in video calls could cut carbon emissions by 96%.
Scientists discovered that— by turning off your camera during a video conference— can help cut water, land, and carbon emission impact. A recent study conducted by Purdue University revealed that 12 liters of water are used and a range of 150 to 1000 grams of carbon dioxide are emitted every 60 minutes of streaming or video. This new study is the first time scientists have investigated the way that the internet impacts land and water use, rather than solely focusing on carbon emissions. (Source: Euro News)
Why this is important for your business:
Wow! So I guess what this means is if you really want your company to be green and reduce its carbon footprint, then tell your employees to leave the sweatshirts on, remove the makeup and turn off their cameras. They’re saving the environment!
2 —Google Cloud is offering image search and recommendations services for retailers.
Google announced this past week that it rolled out two new functions that work using machine learning to assist retailers when using the tech company’s cloud service. The two new services— named Recommendations AI and Called Vision API product search— have been revealed together as part of a suite, known as Product Discovery Solutions for Retail. Using the vison search feature, customers will be able to submit a photo and—in return—get product results that match or are similar to the submitted product. The recommendations function will be able to keep track of a customer’s shopping history and provide them with tailored product suggestions. (Source: ZDNet)
Why this is important for your business:
Using the vison search feature, customers will be able to submit a photo and—in return—get product results that match or are similar to the submitted product. The recommendations function will be able to keep track of a customer’s shopping history and provide them with tailored product suggestions. The takeaway is that your retail business should be relying heavily on images as you increase your online presence.
3 —Microsoft teams up with Cruise and GM on self-driving cars.
GM and Cruise have announced a partnership with Microsoft to help realize their development of self-driving cars. The hope is that the relationship will help in commercializing the autonomous cars more quickly. Microsoft’s Azure cloud will be used by Cruise in order to produce the self-driving technology at a greater scale, and Microsoft will focus on Cruise’s ability and knowledge in order to better provide for the transportation industry. Microsoft will be considered GM’s preference when it comes to cloud technology as well. (Source: Engadget)
Why this is important for your business:
The importance for your small business is not so much the self-driving cars angle, but the fact that large companies like GM are relying on Microsoft’s cloud platform Azure to offer this functionality which will obviously require enormous amounts of data being processed and delivered instantaneously. It’s a reminder just how powerful cloud platforms like this are becoming and how large companies are relying on them for core services.
4 — Citrix acquired the project management platform Wrike for $2.25 billion.
Citrix confirmed this past week that it will acquire Wrike— a work management platform—for $2.25 billion. Wrike—which was created in 2006—is sold to businesses as a project management platform using a SaaS (software-as-a-service) model. The platform provides teams with the ability to track items like projects, deadlines, and workflows, to name a few. 30-year-old Citrix is a software company that gives companies an array of tools from networking to cloud computing. (Source: Venture Beat)
Why this is important for your business:
Citrix says that the acquisition will allow them to provide cloud-based work management capabilities that focus on collaboration, which is particularly useful as many companies continue to work from home. That’s good news if you’re a Citrix customer – or considering a move to the networking company.
5—The Drone-focused construction startup TraceAir raised $3.5M.
TraceAir—a construction startup that rolled out a drone management feature last year—announced this past week that it has raised $3.5 million, which brings their overall funding to $7 million. With the coronavirus causing many obstacles for the construction industry as a whole, the startup is hopeful that the solution the drone management tool provides will benefit construction companies while many work to find ways to keep operating. TraceAir shared that the recently raised funding will be used to develop future products as well as sales and marketing. (Source: Tech Crunch)
Why this is important for your business:
Drone technology will continue to have a significant impact on the construction industry – the tools will enable construction firms to estimate, evaluate and manage projects of all sizes. If your company is in this industry, drones should be part of your future investment plans.