Colt Technology Services has today announced it will collaborate with IBM to help customers adopt an edge computing strategy designed to enable them to move data and applications seamlessly across hybrid cloud environments, from private data centres to the edge. Colt, a leading provider of high bandwidth and on demand connectivity solutions, plans to work with IBM to jointly explore innovative use cases using IBM Cloud Satellite and Edge Application Manager, designed to benefit enterprise customers globally across 29,000 enterprise buildings.

Organisations are adopting new cloud technologies designed to address their business challenges but managing this new distributed infrastructure paradigm is not simple. In particular, when these applications have stringent location-dependent requirements like low latency, regional data compliance and resiliency. Colt and IBM’s collaboration, in a lab setting, has shown how deploying IBM Cloud Satellite on Colt’s edge platform can be simplified for customers. IBM Cloud Satellite is IBM’s hybrid cloud offering, built on Red Hat OpenShift, that allows customers to deploy secure and open IBM Cloud services anywhere they choose –on-premises, on any public cloud, or at the edge. Virtual machines for IBM Cloud Satellite can be instantiated and configured using a management and orchestration tool with zero-touch provisioning. Furthermore, Colt’s on-demand networking capabilities are designed to help critical connectivity be provisioned in near real- time to help enable distributed cloud deployments with IBM Edge Application Manager for its customers (in industries such as retail and healthcare) across 29,000 enterprise buildings. 

A recent IBM Institute for Business Value report, “Why organisations are betting on edge computing: Insights from the edge,” revealed that 91% of the 1,500 executives surveyed indicated that their organisations plan to implement edge computing strategies within five years. IBM Edge Application Manager, an autonomous management solution that runs on Red Hat OpenShift, enables the secured deployment, continuous operations and remote management of AI, analytics, and IoT enterprise workloads to deliver real-time analysis and insights at scale. The introduction of Intel® Secure Device Onboard (SDO) made available as open source through the Linux Foundation, provides zero-touch provisioning of edge nodes, and enables multi-tenant support for enterprises to manage up to 40,000 edge devices simultaneously per edge hub. IBM Edge Application Manager is the industry’s first solution powered by the open-source project, Linux Foundation Open Horizon.

“We look forward to collaborating with Colt to help customers deploy, operate and manage thousands of endpoints throughout their operations with IBM Cloud Satellite and IBM Edge Application Manager,” said Evaristus Mainsah, GM, IBM Hybrid Cloud and Edge Ecosystem. “Together, we can help enterprises accelerate their digital transformation by acting on insights closer to where their data is being created, at the edge.”

“Colt and IBM have been working together for many years across multiple markets and verticals with a focus on accelerating digital transformation. As we see an increasing demand for multi and distributed cloud environments, we will collaborate on how we can serve our joint customers,“ said Mark Hollman, VP Partner Development and Success. “We’re exploring now how to combine our Colt IQ Network with IBM’s hybrid cloud platform, to help deliver innovative solutions designed to help accelerate digital transformation for our enterprise customers.’’

Colt is part of IBM’s partner ecosystem, collaborating with more than 30 equipment manufacturers, networking, IT & software providers to implement open standards-based cloud-native solutions that can autonomously manage edge applications at scale. IBM’s partner ecosystem fuels hybrid cloud environments by helping customers manage and modernize workloads from bare-metal to multi-cloud and everything in between with Red Hat OpenShift, the industry's leading enterprise Kubernetes platform.

ikigai, the first UK app to bring together everyday banking and wealth management, today brings its customers Apple Pay, a safer, more secure and private way to pay that helps customers avoid handing their payment card to someone else, touching physical buttons or exchanging cash — and uses the power of iPhone to protect every transaction. 

Customers simply hold their iPhone or Apple Watch near a payment terminal to make a contactless payment. Every Apple Pay purchase is secure because it is authenticated with Face ID, Touch ID, or device passcode, as well as a one-time unique dynamic security code. Apple Pay is accepted in grocery stores, pharmacies, taxis, restaurants, coffee shops, retail stores, and many more places. 

Customers can also use Apple Pay on iPhone, iPad, and Mac to make faster and more convenient purchases in apps or on the web in Safari without having to create accounts or repeatedly type in shipping and billing information. Apple Pay makes it easier to pay for food and grocery deliveries, online shopping, transportation, and parking, among other things. Apple Pay can also be used to make payments in apps on Apple Watch. 

Security and privacy are at the core of Apple Pay. When customers use a credit or debit card with  Apple Pay, the actual card numbers are not stored on the device, nor on Apple servers. Instead, a  unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted, and securely stored in the Secure Element,  an industry-standard, certified chip designed to store the payment information safely on the device. 

Apple Pay is easy to set up. On iPhone, simply open the Wallet app, tap +, and follow the steps to add ikigai’s Visa debit card. Once a customer adds a card to iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac, they can start using Apple Pay on that device right away. Customers will continue to receive all of the rewards and benefits offered by ikigai’s cards. 

For more information on Apple Pay, visit: http://www.apple.com/apple-pay/  For more information on ikigai, please visit http://ikigai.money/ 

• Nearly four fifths (78%) of UK compliance professionals predict more anti-money laundering (AML) regulation is on the way as a direct result of leaving the EU
• UK firms overwhelmingly support opting out of 6MLD, but are taking it as a sign the UK plans to diverge and create its own AML regulatory framework

Nearly four fifths (78%) of compliance professionals across the UK’s regulated industries predict more anti-money laundering (AML) regulation is on the way as a result of the UK’s exit from the European Union, according to new research released today by LexisNexis® Risk Solutions, the global data and analytics provider.

Based on a survey of over 875 compliance professionals across banks, lenders, wealth management, accounting, gambling, legal and real estate, today’s figures are the first to reveal predictions from all corners of regulated industries regarding future UK AML regulation following Brexit.

The UK recently decided to opt out of transposing the EU’s 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (6MLD) due to many of its requirements being already covered by existing UK law. This decision has overwhelming support from the industry, with 81% of those surveyed agreeing it was the right decision. However, as our research shows, firms are taking it as a signal that the UK is seeking to diverge further from EU AML regulations, and create its own.

Nina Kerkez, Director of UK&I Consulting at LexisNexis® Risk Solutions, comments:

“As a result of Brexit, we have seen the regulator increase powers to implement more effective regulation which is well suited to the changing needs of the UK, and it’s encouraging to see support from the regulated industries as we diverge from the EU’s approach to AML regulations.

We are likely to see increased regulation on the horizon as the regulator flexes its new-found muscles and this autonomy will allow the regulator to tailor controls to the UK’s specific needs when it comes to tackling money laundering. However, they cannot ignore recent revelations that professionals are already struggling to keep up with what is expected of them when it comes to AML regulatory compliance.”

Compliance professionals across banks, lenders, wealth management, accounting, gambling, legal and real estate recently revealed that they’re on average only 60% of the way through their 5MLD implementation plans, despite the regulation coming into force on January 2020.

With a majority of firms already struggling to meet current AML requirements, predictions of regulatory obligations increasing following Brexit, combined with an apparent step-up in regulatory clampdowns seen recently, are likely to be highly concerning for regulated businesses across the country.

Nina Kerkez, concluded:

“This combination of the increasing regulatory burden, a heightened threat of regulator action, and a majority of firms struggling with implementing effective AML controls is a perfect storm of issues that could threaten to further hamper efforts to prevent money laundering to pervade through the UK financial system.”

“We know that the majority of firms (66%) share the belief that 5MLD will have a positive impact, but almost all firms (92%) say they need more guidance on how to implement more effective, risk-based AML controls. This needs to be a rallying call for UK regulators and supervisors to combine their efforts and work together with the industry to ensure they have the right processes, tools and technology in place to stand a chance of effectively detecting and deterring money laundering in all its forms. As part of this, there needs to be a deliberate move away from manual processes, towards automating those due diligence checks that can be automated and focussing experienced staff on real risk-based analysis.”

Specialist RegTech provider Shield today announces a new and enhanced version of its powerful end-to-end communications compliance platform. The new version provides powerful enhancements including additional Alert Transparency information, additional management options, and a new Segregation of Duty layer.

The new features are designed to deliver greater flexibility, control and visibility of alerts to compliance teams, as Nicole Aviv, Head of Product at Shield commented, “We have introduced a raft of new and enhanced features which provide real-world benefits to firms. Greater transparency of data enables the compliance officer to make an informed choice and better understand what needs further attention.”

On the same theme of providing more power to the compliance officer, the additional model management and Alert Scoring options enable users to customize and have further autonomy on their use of the Shield platform, fine tuning the configuration to ensure it fits the specific needs of business operations, internal policies, and the requirements/practices of applicable regulators.

Nicole added, “Our new Segregation of Duty layer enables the firm to better control access to sensitive data. This works across a variety of different criteria, depending upon data privacy restrictions and specific requirements of the business.”

Featuring improved transcript capabilities and support for additional third-party sources, the latest upgrade ensures the Shield platform always has access to the most appropriate data, and therefore generates the most accurate results.

Enhancements to the new version also ensure that the Shield platform always performs its own checks, rather than relying on the data source to give this reassurance, whilst providing a full view of every step of the ingestion process. The enhancements to the Shield platform are rounded off with an updated language filter, based upon feedback from Shield’s customers.

The new version of the Shield platform is just the latest stage in its continued evolution, as Nicole concluded, “As financial sector working practices and regulations continue to evolve in the new normal, it is vital that our platform continues to reliably anticipate and alert on ongoing and potential threats and issues. The new version’s refinements and additions are designed to ensure our clients have all the tools necessary to ensure their business remains compliant, and customers remain fully protected.”

• £1.14bn worth of convertible loans completed for 1,190 companies
• 41% of funding to companies outside London worth £463.7m
• 78% of funding to mixed gender senior management teams
• 56% of funding to Black, Asian or Other Ethnic Minority background & White senior management teams
• 34% of funding to technology and IP-based businesses

Today the British Business Bank publishes data that gives a final comprehensive picture of how the Future Fund has supported businesses during the pandemic. The data shows that 1,190 companies have had their applications completed to access £1.14bn (£1136.7m) worth of Convertible Loan Agreements funded by the Future Fund since the scheme was launched in May 2020. There have been 1,851 applications in total since the scheme was launched and the scheme closed to new applications on 31 January 2021.

This final release of data shows where companies are based across the UK and the composition of the senior management teams by gender and ethnicity. This data is self-reported by the companies applying to the Future Fund.

It also gives an overall sector breakdown of investment and the size range of investments.

Data by region

The data reveals, 41% of completed funding through Convertible Loan Agreements worth £463.7m have their headquarters located outside of London. Of the total amount of £1,136.7m, 14% is to companies headquartered in the South (South East and South West), 11% in the North (North West, North East and Yorkshire and the Humber), 8% in the East of England, 4% in the Midlands (East Midlands and West Midlands) and 3% in the Devolved Nations (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). London accounts for 59% of companies, in-line with the wider market trends for equity investments. The British Business Bank’s 2020/21 Small Business Finance Markets report showed that companies outside London received 44% of equity investment by value in 2020.

Data by gender mix of senior management team

Of the 1,190 companies that have been have completed their funding through Convertible Loan Agreements, 78% of funding is to companies with mixed gender senior management teams. As a consequence of investing alongside Future Fund, 31 venture capital firms and angel groups have become signatories to the Government’s Investing in Women Code.

Data by ethnicity of senior management team

Senior management teams consisting solely of team members from a Black, Asian or Other Ethnic Minority background and those with team members from a Black, Asian or Other Ethnic Minority background and White team members account for 61.6% of funding received through Convertible Loan Agreements, amounting to £646.5m.

Data by sector

Of the 1,190 companies that have completed their Convertible Loan Agreements, 38% are technology and IP-based businesses with a value of £382.8m (34%) in funding and 35% are Business and Professional services firms with a value of £471.1m (41%).

Data by size of investment

Over 50% of convertible loan agreements were valued between £125, 000 and £500,000.  

Future Fund data by gender of company senior management team (self-reported by applicant)[1]

Future Fund data by ethnicity of company senior management team (self-reported by applicant)

Future Fund data by location of company receiving convertible loan

Future Fund sector breakdown compared to the wider market[2]

Future Fund sector breakdown

Future Fund breakdown by size of Convertible Loan Agreement (Future Fund amount)

Previse, the AI fintech that gets suppliers paid instantly, has partnered with global e-invoicing firm, Pagero to enable instant, embedded finance to be delivered through the world’s largest, open business network.

The partnership will see Pagero roll out Previse’s early payment capabilities to its customers, giving suppliers on the Pagero network the option of a ‘pay me now’ button as soon as they generate an invoice.

Using artificial intelligence trained on billions of pounds worth of invoice data, Previse’s InstantPay platform makes a smart assessment of whether invoices will be paid. Previse then unlocks bank capital to pay suppliers, instantly. Pagero’s platform, which digitises document flow between buyer and supplier, provides a ready set of data points upon which InstantPay operates.

The past 18 months have shone a light on the need for robust supply chains, underpinned by fast and easily accessible B2B payments. Previse is currently expanding its range of embedded early payments solutions to platforms and corporates globally, making it easy for end-users to choose when they get paid.

Steve Dempsey, Sales Director at Previse, said:“It is time to bring embedded finance technology into the B2B space and give suppliers control over how they get paid. Pagero is an industry leader in end-to-end supply chain management and its P2P platform is second to none. We are excited to work with Pagero to embed the next generation of early payment solutions into its platform.”

Matt Hammond, Managing Director, Western Europe at Pagero, said: “Previse’s embedded finance solution is unique, and we are excited to bring this technology to our customers. We look forward to collaborating with Previse to offer truly flexible supply chain management for all of our suppliers.”

- Management consultancy growth rate for 2020 was 4.5% following an increase in client work in both the private and public sector following COVID-19, according to the latest MCA Annual Industry Report 

- Exports have doubled, with significant growth outside Europe, as UK cements its position as a leading global consulting hub and delivers more services remotely

- 11% jump in female partners and senior consulting leaders with a third (32%) now making it into senior positions as the sector drives greater progress on diversity and inclusion

- As a result of the pandemic, over half of MCA member firms (57%) expect their organisation's overall office workspace to decrease as hybrid working becomes more established

- MCA member firms estimate consultants will go into the office 2 or 3 times a week (36% and 42%), although this varies by size of firm with smaller firms expecting consultants to go in 2 days a week compared to medium and large firms who believe 3 days will be the norm

The UK consulting sector experienced growth of 4.5% in 2020 as it helped both public and private clients with a range of critical projects, according to the MCA Annual Industry Report 2021 from the Management Consultancies Association (MCA). Although overall growth was less than in previous years (7% in 2018 and 2019), small and medium sized consultancy firms experienced the largest expansion of work with growth rates up 33% and 35% respectively while larger firms saw an overall decline of -2%. Firms rapidly pivoted their services during the pandemic to respond to changing client demands and consultants specialising in digital transformation were in strong demand. The total value of the UK consulting sector, the second biggest in the world, is now estimated to be approximately £12.5 billion. The composition of the market has shifted slightly with medium sized firms now representing 19% of market share compared to 11% the previous year. Smaller consultancies also saw their market share double from 1% to 2% while the larger firms saw a decline in market share from 88% to 79%. The MCA forecast for 2021, following feedback from member firms, suggests growth in double digits as the consulting sector supports the economic recovery and businesses accelerate plans that were previously put on hold.

The latest MCA Annual Industry Report, conducted by Savanta, also reveals that exports have doubled with 71% of fee income accrued in the UK, and 29% gained overseas. This compares to 84% from the UK and 16% the year before with firms able to secure more work from clients globally with demand particularly high in the United States, Canada, Australia and South Africa. Other common markets in which clients are clustered are the UAE, China, Japan and Singapore. The switch to remote working also led to more overseas work due to ease of access and less travel. While there has been growth in the proportion of clients from the rest of the world from 8% to 23%, the percentage of fee income from the EU has remained stable at 7%, despite the repercussions of Brexit.

The growing MCA membership directly supports over 56,000 jobs across the UK with over 36,000 full-time, consultants. Feedback from consultancy firms is that recruitment has increased rapidly recently to support more demand for client work, reversing the slowdown in hiring experienced in 2020. Although remote working and restrictions on office working meant training programmes had to be altered, MCA Member Firms still recruited 1,780 graduates and 1,199 trainees, school leavers and apprentices in 2020.

As part of the Consulting Excellence principles, MCA Member Firms are committed to diversity and inclusion within their workforce. A number of initiatives are in place at firms and positive progress is reflected in the findings of this years' report. Women now make up 32% of Partners and Senior Level employees at member firms, a rise from 21% in 2019 with a third of Partners in small (31%) and large firms (33%) females. There is still more to do in this area as the number of women in consulting overall has fallen with 42% of employees at MCA Member Firms women and 58% men. This compares to 49% women and 51% men in 2019 and is mainly due to changes at medium sized firms.

Ensuring opportunities for progression and development are accessible to all is critical to better reflect the society that the consulting sector serves. BAME employees at Partner and Senior level has increased from 8% to 14% and a quarter of consultants (24%) at firms fall within the broader black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) category. Firms reported that 4% of consultants were black African, Caribbean or black British but 1% of consultants who are Partners or Senior level are of this representation. This compares to 16% of consultants who are Asian or Asian British and 6% of consultants at Partner or Senior level who are Asian or Asian British. Again, more progress needs to be made in ensuring that diversity and inclusion feeds through to the most senior positions in consultancy firms and opportunities for progression and development are accessible to all. A quarter (23%) of consultants at member firms have social mobility characteristics, broadly aligning with figures reported in 2019, with a third (32%) falling under this profile at medium sized firms. This metric covers an individuals' background, opportunities, parental income and social class and helps to promote diverse application pools and promotion by socio-economic background.

Tamzen Isacsson, Chief Executive, MCA, said:

"During critical times, our clients have leaned on the independent expertise and skills of consultants to help them deal with unforeseen challenges and transform their businesses to reach new markets and opportunities and therefore it's unsurprising to see this industry growth in such a disruptive year. The global attractiveness of the UK consulting sector, the second biggest in the world, is clear and we are now exporting to more countries than ever before thanks to new digital ways of working. Firms have made important strides in improving diversity and inclusion in some key areas such as female leadership and this momentum must continue as we increase efforts to improve progress, implement best practice and monitor the diversity of the sector workforce over time."

Sian Toussaint, Co-Chair of the MCA Diversity & Inclusion Working Group and Senior Manager within Financial Services Consulting, PwC, added:

"Creating a culture that is truly inclusive of everyone enables all consultants to bring their authentic selves to work and is a priority for our industry. Understanding your workforce demographic through data collection is key, but organisations also need to look at both organisational elements such as employee policies and benefits to ensure they are inclusive for all identities, as well as creating a culture of inclusion and belonging. Allyship plays a huge part in ensuring we continue to listen, learn, challenge where necessary and drive change through the trusting relationships we build with our colleagues and clients."

As the result of COVID-19, over half of MCA member firms (57%) expect their organisation's overall office workspace to decrease with a quarter (23%) expecting the reduction to be significant. A third (35%) expect overall workspace to remain the same despite the consulting sector being able to switch to remote working swiftly at the start of the pandemic. Small and medium sized firms are more likely to downsize than larger firms with smaller firms planning a significant reduction (32% small, 18% medium, 0% larger firms).

As with other sectors, there has been a clear shift from the traditional working patterns of being in the office to remote working. This is expected to be made more permanent with MCA member firms anticipating that consultants will typically go into the office 2 or 3 times a week (36% and 42%) and just 4% expecting employees to be in the office full time or even 4 days a week. One in 6 (16%) expect consultants will go into the office less than once a week while medium and large firms expect 3 days to be the norm (56% and 60%). Consideration will also have to be given to clients and their policies about external employees working on site as firms start planning their hybrid working plans.

The MCA's Annual Industry Report 2021 provides an unrivalled assessment of the performance of the leading consulting firms in the UK which are part of the trade body the Management Consultancies Association. The report examines fee income data provided by member firms over recent years to identify the size, diversity, and growth trajectory of consulting activity of MCA members, as well as the wider consulting industry. Market research agency Savanta, partnered with the MCA to collect and analyse industry data for the 2021 report.

• 06.07.2021 -- 10:37 am

Since the start of 2020, banks in crisis mode have rapidly changed their digital trajectory. Many found the only way to achieve this was through collaboration with specialists who could help them meet their customers’ needs. Michel André, Chief Information Officer for Banking Circle, is with me today to talk about how collaboration is helping banks overcome the barriers that legacy technology creates.

Huw Phillips joins in Head of Sales role designed to nurture partnerships with new SME merchants

Former Klarna Head of Merchant Development is one of a number of upcoming senior appointments as Deko expands its team and offering

Deko, the leading retail finance ecosystem, today announces the appointment of Huw Phillips as Head of Sales, in a role that will focus on partner onboarding as the company looks to expand its offering to attract new merchants in the SME market.

Huw joins Deko after over 20 years experience in the retail finance sector at Klarna, Close Brothers and Barclays. At Klarna, Huw was Head of UK Merchant Development, leading the non-fashion merchant development programme ahead of leading a multi competence team to support merchant partners across a diverse range of sectors and product services.

In his role at Close Brothers prior to their eventual acquisition from Klarna, Huw created the Relationship Management Team and developed the SME support functions, and nurtured the retail finance arm of the merchant bank from its inception to writing over £300m. As a result, the team was awarded the PSA Awards’ ‘Account Management Team of the Year 2017’. Huw began his career in retail, experience that will be leveraged in his role at Deko, by understanding retailers as well as the end to end customer journey.  

Having surpassed the £3 billion milestone in applications this year and having integrated with over 1,700 merchants, Deko is well positioned to partner with SMEs looking to provide retail finance at a time when flexible retail payments are becoming increasingly popular. According to recent data, buy now pay later schemes are expected to account for 10% of all e-commerce sales by 2024, with the industry set to be worth £264 billion in the UK by 2024, a 37% increase on 2020. 

Incoming Head of Sales Huw Phillips comments: “I’m very much looking forward to this opportunity with Deko. My roles on both the retail and financial side of the industry have shown me just how important client service is, so I’m delighted to be joining a company that places such an emphasis on nurturing its partnerships.

“It’s also a very exciting time to be in the SME retail finance sector. The acceleration to online has acted as a catalyst for BNPL, but while many of the larger international brands have developed retail finance offerings, the SME market remains underserved. Deko’s position as a multi lender financial ecosystem, which is essentially an industry exclusive, as well as its focus on the SME area, offers an attractive proposition for retailers as they adjust to a trading environment much changed over the last 15 months.”
 

Deko CEO Michael Dawson comments: “Huw brings with him a wealth of experience from across the retail industry. Having built the retail finance offering from the ground up at Close Brothers with a core emphasis on customer service, we felt his approach and qualities in securing those lasting partnerships with merchants align perfectly with ours. 

“The coming months mark a sea change for the retail industry as more sellers look to offer retail finance services as part of a broader shift to online. We are thrilled to have Huw join the team as we continue to enable our partners to capitalise on the sizeable market opportunities..”