Global technology solutions provider Arrow Electronics has unveiled the “Cloud Innovation Factory,” a new EMEA cloud channel program for technology providers, such as independent software vendors (ISVs). The program will enable organisations running software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications to expand, enhance and scale their solutions in the cloud in line with their individual needs.

Arrow’s newly launched program enables technology providers to build their future through business and strategy planning, onboarding and optimisation of solutions. In addition, the program offers services designed to help grow their organisations, and a pledge to continuously innovate to adapt to the changing needs of customers looking for SaaS applications in order to scale.

“We are excited about the opportunity to participate in Arrow’s Cloud Innovation Factory. We’ve always had fantastic support from Arrow regarding our core cloud technology stack. The Cloud Innovation Factory program creates a huge new channel opportunity for us as a fast-growing ISV to accelerate our growth into new markets and territories by reaching a broader network of complementary partners ready to integrate our Digital Workplace Experience platform and App into their own value propositions,” said Paul Collins, chief technical officer, Spica Technologies.

Arrow will work through its dedicated teams across EMEA to expand the technology providers’ usage of cloud, scale market-ready solutions, integrate into marketplaces, better apply subscription models, and understand different channel models to grow with other channel partners.

The technology providers fall largely into four categories of organisation, those who: 1) are rapidly scaling and need to demonstrate viability quickly, 2) are more established who want to target new growth areas, 3) want to connect and build with applications that can be integrated into other apps, and 4) are looking to modernise through cloud platforms.

The program will cover everything from creating a value proposition, to training and consultancy services as well as marketing, demand generation and vendor best practice.

Arrow has worked with technology providers for many years, but “Cloud Innovation Factory” cements a partner-centric relationship where it can guide them on a journey to success.

FIS and Money.Jo have partnered to adapt to rapid changes in consumer habits in the Middle East. Less than a year after launching operations in Jordan, Money.Jo (also known as Money for Finance) became the country’s leading consumer loan provider, with €3.9m monthly disbursements. The company that focuses on offline single-payment unsecured loans, built their operations on top of infrastructure developed and provided by Finance IT Solutions (FIS) – a Latvia-based company with more than 10 years of experience in the field. 

Money.Jo, a joint venture established by founders of global finance companies Cream Finance and Esketit, entered the Jordanian market in December 2020. The company issues loans ranging from €20 to €1,000 to qualified applicants via a network of storefronts in Jordan’s major cities. Although 95% of its clients have bank accounts, the company can offer them the convenience and speed of decision-making that Jordanian banks still lack.

Rather than build their own IT infrastructure, Money.Jo partnered with FIS.solutions – a company that has already helped more than 50 factoring, auto financing and consumer loan companies around the world with loan management system implementation.

“As we don’t have to rely on legacy systems, we are able to bring about a faster turnaround than most local banks. This benefits the consumer who wants to receive the loan the very same day, the very same hour they apply for it. To make that happen, we needed a reliable and scalable IT system that would work well with Jordanian credit scoring providers and databases. FIS.solutions were able to quickly adapt their model to our needs, which meant that we could focus on marketing and sales,” said Matiss Ansviesulis, Co-Founder of Money.Jo.

Over the years, FIS has helped financial institutions from Colombia to Jordan,  with reliable and secure payment infrastructure solutions.

“Unlike other providers, we don’t push our clients to work with us forever. We are happy to create favourable takeover processes, once our clients grow and can manage the IT side of their operations on their own. Our product is designed so that we can work in one team with the internal IT team or offer a complete IT infrastructure,” said Armands Liseks, CEO of FIS.

In addition to Money.Jo’s own capital, it relies on private investors that finance the loans via P2P platform Esketit.com. In their first year of operation, Money.Jo has already issued loans amounting to €6 million, making it the country’s top consumer loan provider. 

On 14 October 2021, the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England warned of the urgency of regulating cryptocurrencies due to the ‘plausible’ risk of a collapse in the crypto market. Sir Jon Cunliffe warned that the risk of contagion from a cryptocurrency crash was low at present, though that could change in the near future.

Following Sir Jon’s remarks and the news that the size of the digital currency market has grown from $800m to $2.3tn in the last year, I hope that you will be interested in the below article idea from Managing Associate Daniel Alexie, specialist financial services lawyer at MPR Partners.

Daniel will analyse the Deputy Governor’s remarks and explain that regulation of crypto assets, if it is to be successful, must adopt a holistic approach, considering the ramifications for taxation, IT, financial crime and environmental concerns among other fields.

He will then explore the potential pitfalls of the Bank’s approach and argue that overly stringent regulation may force the cryptocurrency market underground in order to evade regulatory scrutiny or even stymie much-needed innovation in financial technologies.

Daniel will assert that in order to avoid these pitfalls, regulators must consult players in the digital currencies market in order to fully understand the technology behind crypto assets and not merely adapt existing regulatory concepts or terminologies which may be ineffective as well as potentially dangerous.

It will be concluded that such an approach will allow regulators to develop a legal framework that not only delineates the conditions to be followed when issuing or trading cryptocurrencies but also ensures that such digital currencies will continue to play an important role in technological advancement and innovation.

Binance Labs, the venture capital arm and incubator of Binance, today announced its strategic investment in Melos Studio, an innovative Web 3.0 music NFT platform.

Through the strategic investment, Binance Labs will provide Melos Studio with necessary technologies, consultation, and incubation services. Melos Studio will contribute to Binance ecosystem by diversifying music NFT category in Binance Smart Chain (BSC), by expanding the team and by creating more collaborations with top global artists, as well as indie artist discoveries.

Committed to leveraging blockchain technology to create a quality music application in Web 3.0, Melos Studio uses the pioneering NFT technology to capture and give full play to the value of every musical notation. It also adopts DAO governance that enables creators to derive inspirations through NFT DNA Tree and collaborations regardless of location and time. This music inspiration will eventually evolve into more musical artworks. Establishing a Github creation process for music, Melos Studio also serves as a unique social contact method, allowing musicians and fans to communicate and share music here.

Chase Guo, Investment Director at Binance Labs, said “We hope to innovate the field of music NFT with Melos Studio and are looking forward to collaborating with the team. Melos is differentiated in that it not only covers the marketplace and streaming service but also covers creator platforms where people can build on top of each other’s music NFT to create more advanced NFT.”

“We are glad to form a partnership with Binance Labs to create an innovative music NFT platform within the Binance ecosystem. We will continue to explore music applications in Web 3.0 to build a utopia for global music fans,” said Yalu and Jim, Co-Founders of Melos Studio.

Dapper Labs, Innovion, NGC Ventures, and Multichain Capital participated in previous funding rounds of Melos Studio.

GBA addressed the eroding US dollar, coinciding with the rise of cryptocurrency during their recent Blockchain & Infrastructure event.

In August of 2021, the US Senate approved a $1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill, as part of the $3.5 Trillion Budget Bill. Language in this bill suggested that $28 Billion in funding would come from enforcing tax-reporting requirements on cryptocurrency brokers. In response, the Government Blockchain Association (GBA) (www.gbaglobal.org) partnered with a coalition of blockchain associations to present Blockchain & Infrastructure (https://bit.ly/3nsa1GP), a two-day hybrid event coupling an educational seminar with a networking reception.

Aimed at educating government policymakers, Blockchain & Infrastructure addressed the impact of cryptocurrency adoption on government, along with other financial trends that are outpacing regulatory understanding. Renowned leaders in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space, such as Dr. Scott Stornetta, one of the founders of blockchain technology, and Charles Hoskinson, the Founder of Cardano and one of the original creators of Ethereum, brought their insights to the current landscape.

Streamed to over 11,000 individual IP addresses, Blockchain & Infrastructure aimed at educating governments on this movement, and those who wished to learn tuned in.

The live event, stepping into the remains of a COVID world, was attended by over 200 guests, braving pandemic uncertainties. Culminating in an evening reception at the Whittemore House, Ambassadors, a crypto billionaire, blockchain leaders, and government policymakers continued their discussions. In this beautiful and historic mansion, deals were made, affecting the trajectory and infrastructure of the blockchain future.

As blockchain technology continues to impact all systems, the Government Blockchain Association (GBA), will provide high content events to help the public and private sectors connect, communicate, and collaborate. Join the GBA community in January 2022 for The Future of Money, Governance, & the Law; live in Washington DC (https://bit.ly/3Gh7OXu), and streamed globally.

Not Your Typical Blockchain Event, Blockchain World is a fun, interactive blockchain festival set to take you by surprise

An image accompanying this news release can be viewed here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CVVPFK1JSxj/?utm_medium=copy_link

DCS 2021, part of Blockchain World, taking place 15-17 December at ADNEC, Abu Dhabi, is an impressive blockchain festival drawing in the best-in-blockchain from around the world, right in the heart of the UAE. Created by global leader in blockchain technology, CloudTech Group, the event aims to entertain its guests while challenging the status quo through engaging TED Talk-like debates, live studio shows with live studio audiences, and fascinating blockchain activations.  DCS 2021 aims to shatter the issues plaguing conventional digital storage solutions through the implementation of distributed storage. The goal: greatly enhance data technology to improve personal and private experiences for businesses and their end-users, all thanks to blockchain technology. 

As part of Blockchain World, the DCS Summit is set to challenge the internet as we know it through exploring what cloud storage on the blockchain would mean for us all. What if university degrees were on the blockchain? What if Uber or e-commerce giant Amazon were on the blockchain? What power-shift would this cause? Would this create a fairer, more transparent way of doing business? Blockchain World aims to address such questions through applying seemingly complicated concepts to everyday life we can all relate to. The classic conference format is over, and its new successor is Blockchain World.

James Magee, CEO of HeliconNFT, says: ‘DCS 2021 and Blockchain World are a truly unique concept. As a team that, quite frankly, find traditional conferences rather boring and dull, we have decided to spice it up with an incredibly active, entertaining, and fun blockchain festival. Prepare to be truly wowed - this event is one of a kind, and not one to be missed!’

Blockchain World is a playground for industry aficionados, incorporating the informative DCS Summit, as well as a world first - the Helicon Studio, an immersive Blockchain & NFT show that will talk about the ‘Future Vision’ of digital technology with a live studio audience and exclusive celebrity guests. Think ‘The Daily Show’ for everything NFTs and blockchain! One of the key areas that the summit will address includes the roadmap to a greener blockchain in line with the UAE 2030 vision. The summit will also feature engaging and educational industry activities throughout all halls and online channels, such as live trading wars, airdrops, influencer meet and greets, as well as workshops on how to open your first wallet and start trading crypto and NFTs.

From tokenized loyalty programmes to blockchain and NFT gaming, to real estate on blockchain - Blockchain World will truly open your eyes and inspire you with the help of leading industry experts and teams from renowned blockchain projects.

The event is expected to bring in 20,000+ attendees, 200+ experts, 50+ leading enterprises and 1 million+ followers becoming a leader in decentralised culture and innovation across the region.

Purchase your tickets to attend this unmissable event.

Register at DCS 2021 to catch the event live free on-demand and stand the chance to win 1 BTC!

• While 80% of female respondents and 89% of male respondents felt the tech industry had become more welcoming for women over the last decade, women clearly continue to face barriers to equality in the sector
• Male and female workers largely agree that an increase in D&I initiatives has been key in improving women’s experiences in the sector
• An increase in grass-roots STEM activities is the most cited solution by all respondents to improve the ongoing gender imbalance in the sector

Research released today by NTT DATA UK, a world leader in consulting and IT services, reveals that nearly three quarters of women (74%) have had a negative experience at work because of their gender. Despite ongoing barriers facing women in the sector, 85% of all respondents believe the industry has become more welcoming to women over the last decade, with the most cited reason behind this improvement being an increase in diversity initiatives.

The last decade has seen a concerted effort to improve opportunities for women in the technology sector. Diversity initiatives – such as NTT DATA’s route2work, which is funding female candidates through digital skills academies – are clearly making an impact, with both women (63%) and men (68%) agreeing that these programmes have had a key role to play in making the sector more welcoming for women over the last ten years. Increased flexibility was also cited by 48% of women and 54% of men as a factor that has improved women’s experience in the sector.

However, women continue to face adverse behaviour that risks affecting their ability to feel safe and valued in the workplace: 59% have experienced being spoken down to because they are a woman; 49% have experienced biased behaviour towards them as a woman; and 34% have experienced discrimination based on factors such as gender, race, sexuality, and age.

Addressing the gender imbalance

Continued negative experiences are likely one of the reasons why only 23% of people working in STEM roles in the UK are female, according to PwC’s Women in Tech report. NTT DATA UK’s survey asked women and men how this gender imbalance might be rectified. The most popular response (77% of women and 69% of men) was an increase in grassroots STEM activities designed to get girls interested in tech at an early age. Other potential solutions among women included championing women leaders in tech (65%), and creating more sponsorships, paid internships, and grants to enable women to try technology roles (62%). For men, the next most popular response was challenging the misconception that the sector is a ‘men’s club’ (57%).

Vicki Chauhan, Head of Public Sector at NTT DATA UK, commented: “We should be proud as a sector of how far we’ve come in addressing the stark reality that the industry is not as welcoming to women as it is to men. That said, we must not become complacent. The results of our research reveal that women continue to experience patterns of behaviour that make them feel less welcome than their male counterparts.

“To address this problem, and to continue addressing the gender imbalance in the UK technology industry, organisations must take measures to ensure their working cultures are inclusive, alongside putting tangible measures in place to attract women into the tech sector and support them in their careers.”

Kim Gray, Head of Diversity and Inclusion at NTT DATA UK, commented: “The results of our research are sobering, and should be a call to action for businesses across the sector. At a time when demand for talent is so high, tech firms can ill-afford to put off talented candidates with a culture that does not make them feel welcome.

“At NTT DATA UK, we have implemented a variety of initiatives under the broad umbrella of our Do Diversity campaign, which seeks to foster an inclusive environment and make careers at NTT DATA accessible for all. We remain committed to supporting a diverse and inclusive workforce, and to promoting diverse and inclusive practices across the wider industry.”

Tinkoff Capital Management Company has been licensed as a professional securities management operator. The licence will allow Tinkoff Capital MC to manage customer assets. 

In 2022, the company plans to launch a number of new trust management services on the Tinkoff Investments platform. The new investment products – asset management, including individual portfolio management, as well as additional personal services – will be available to clients of Tinkoff Private and Tinkoff Investments Premium tariff. Clients using the Investor and Trader tariffs will be offered a customised trust management product.

Ruslan Muchipov, CEO of Tinkoff Capital MC, said:

“Many of our investors need the support of a professional investment advisor to help them develop an effective investment portfolio depending on their goals. In 2022, we plan to launch several products tailored for a wide investor community, namely products for Tinkoff Investments customers based on trust management technology. Since wealth management is one of the key components of Tinkoff Private, individual investment portfolio management services will be available for this category.”

The role of the CFO has changed rapidly over the last five years. They are now juggling a multitude of priorities as sustainability moves up the corporate agenda, digital transformation is accelerated, and as businesses look for growth opportunities in all corners of the globe.  Strategic nous is also becoming ever more important [1].

As we see a fresh intake for this year’s grad schemes at the start of a new university year, research from global payables automation company Tipalti reveals what young professionals’ and finance graduates’ expectations, hopes, and dreams were for their career. The research [2] found:

• A third (32%) of young professionals say modernising finance with technology would be the most exciting problem to solve if they became a CFO
• 29% say working closely with a company CEO to influence/make key business decisions inspires them to become a CFO
• · 40% see identifying new opportunities to accelerate growth, productivity or profitability as an exciting opportunity as a CFO

·      Rob Israch, GM at Tipalti Europe, said: “A career in finance is no longer confined to budgeting, forecasting and financial operations, and instead places the CFO at the forefront of innovation and strategic decision-making within business. It is clear that young professionals are excited by the pioneering direction that a career in finance can take them on – especially given the increasing number of hats worn by the modern CFO.

“Young professionals are also clearly savvy to the benefits that technology can bring to finance function, so that they can focus time and energy on more strategic initiatives – a key requirement for the modern CFO.”

Wolters Kluwer’s Bitcoin Deposit Disclosure Program helps foster compliant documents, practices

Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions and NYDIG, a leading provider of Bitcoin platform solutions, have reached an agreement where Wolters Kluwer will serve as an exclusive preferred vendor to interested financial institutions seeking assistance in meeting their regulatory and compliance obligations while exploring and implementing services for bitcoin programs. Wolters Kluwer is positioned to provide regulatory compliance solutions and services that range from a deposit disclosure program to regulatory risk assessments for institutions looking to offer their customers access to bitcoin services provided by NYDIG.

This collaboration grants Wolters Kluwer rights as the exclusive provider of Bitcoin Deposit Disclosure Program-NYDIG Accounts of those financial institutions seeking deposit documents when their clients open a NYDIG account. The Bitcoin Deposit Disclosure Program delivers compliant content necessary for U.S. banks and credit unions to compliantly offer NYDIG’s bitcoin program. By leveraging the NYDIG platform with Wolters Kluwer compliant content, U.S. banks and credit unions gain confidence to meet the growing mainstream interest in bitcoin to retain and grow their customer base and increase non-interest income opportunities.

“We are excited to work with an innovative financial technology firm like NYDIG to help support their growth while operating in a safe, secure and compliant manner,” said Steve Meirink, Executive Vice President and General Manager for Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions. “With regulatory scrutiny and oversight anticipated well into the future, our robust team of legal and compliance experts will continue to monitor and update our compliance content. Financial institutions working with NYDIG will benefit from this collaboration, providing them the confidence to know that their disclosures are compliant and meet their regulatory obligations.”

“This important relationship exemplifies why many financial institutions have chosen NYDIG as their digital assets partner. If you are a financial institution, the process of figuring out how to provide access to bitcoin is more than just an exercise in technology, but in compliance and regulations,” said Patrick Sells, NYDIG’s Chief Innovation Officer. “Wolters Kluwer’s knowledge and experience in providing regulatory risk assessments and deposit disclosures to U.S. financial institutions—and its understanding of important U.S. regulatory issues relating to digital assets—is instrumental for the industry.”

Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions is a market leader and trusted provider of risk management and regulatory compliance solutions and services to U.S. banks and credit unions, insurers and securities firms. The business, which sits within Wolters Kluwer’s Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) division, helps these financial institutions efficiently manage risk and regulatory compliance obligations, and gain the insights needed to focus on better serving their customers and growing their business.

Wolters Kluwer’s GRC division provides an array of expert solutions to help financial institutions manage regulatory and risk obligations. Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions’  iLien Motor Vehicle provides for the processing and management of motor vehicle titles and liens, helping solve the most unique and complicated challenges in title perfection. Its OneSumX® for Regulatory Change Management tracks regulatory changes and organizes them to create structured, value-added content through a single data feed that is paired with an easy-to-use software solution. Wolters Kluwer Finance, Risk & Regulatory Reporting (FRR), meanwhile, is a global market leader in the provision of integrated regulatory compliance and reporting solutions. The division’s legal solutions businesses are Wolters Kluwer CT Corporation and Wolters Kluwer ELM Solutions.

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