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Lucidworks Hires Robert Lau as COO for Global Emerging Markets and APAC

Robert Lau is building Lucidworks’ presence and go-to-market strategy in Global Emerging Markets, including the Asia-Pacific region Lucidworks, leader in AI-powered search applications, has hired Robert Lau as Chief Operating Officer for Global Emerging Markets and APAC. Lau has over two decades of experience in engineering, marketing, sales, and operations in the software industry, most recently leading APAC operations at Splunk and Elastic. As Lucidworks begins to expand to the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, Lau and his team will be building new strategic partnerships, increasing brand awareness, and championing Lucidworks in these emerging markets. Lucidworks views the Asia-Pacific region as an important part of business expansion and development, with a growing need for digital commerce and digital workplace solutions to help organizations better understand and serve their customers and employees. In addition to Lau’s hire, the team has almost doubled in the past year in anticipation of this global growth. Operations have been established in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Thailand, Japan, Korea and Singapore, and the team is focused on building an effective partner ecosystem to best serve customers in these markets. In the second half of the year, Lucidworks will be expanding its presence in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region as well. “The Asia-Pacific region is experiencing a shift from web 2.0 to 3.0 with the proliferation of 5G networks led by regional operators creating a fresh need for intelligent enterprise solutions,” says Lau. “A majority of consumers are now choosing to shop online for their daily wants and needs, and they expect a highly personalised user experience. Lucidworks’ Fusion will provide great value to organizations that are capitalizing on this digital market. I’m honored to be a part of the Lucidworks executive team as we continue to share our commitment to innovation with our future partners […]

Reaping the benefits of smart manufacturing

Manufacturers can have many hundreds or even thousands of endpoints in their network, from laptops, PCs, and mobile devices to networked production-line machines spread throughout the facility. These connected systems deliver operational efficiencies and even competitive advantage to manufacturers. Smart manufacturing has helped manufacturers achieve productivity gains of 17 to 20 per cent and quality gains of 15 to 20 per cent. However, smart manufacturing also introduces cyber risks, which must be addressed in the most time-efficient, reliable way, according to ForeScout. Steve Hunter, senior director, Asia Pacific and Japan, ForeScout, said, “In the past, production-line machines were air-gapped; they didn’t have a network connection, so they were safe from cyberthreats. Now, with every machine and device connected to the corporate network and the internet to facilitate smart manufacturing, that safety buffer is removed. Therefore, it’s essential for manufacturers to know what devices are in their network, how vulnerable they are, and their compliance status. All endpoints, including Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, need to be secured.” In many industries, endpoint management is conducted using agents, with IT departments choosing a combination of agents to address their specific requirements. However, the use of agents can create performance issues in manufacturing operations, meaning an agent-based approach is not well-suited to manufacturers. When networked operational or production-line devices are scanned, it can impair performance, reboot the device, or even crash it entirely. This causes expensive downtime. These devices are often vulnerable because they’re older, rarely patched, and less protected against threats. Even new IoT devices can become exploited, because they’re generally not designed with security top of mind. These new IoT devices are often deployed without configuring the few security settings available to them, such as leaving default credentials in place. This lets malicious actors use the unsecured IoT device to access […]

A year to bring about positive change

There are two crucial areas business needs to address this year. You know what these are: Climate Change and Productivity. Sceptics say that Climate Change doesn’t exist. They either don’t know any better or they may be right. But for the good of us all we still need to look at current business practices and determine what changes can be made to address the situation. What are we emitting into the atmosphere? What source of energy do we use that may be causing an environmental problem and what can be done to rectify the situation? What is our individual role in climate change? When we hear that ice are melting, water levels rising and temperatures increasing then we do indeed have a problem. Productivity is harder to measure because there are a lot of people in society who contribute a lot without the financial reward. Their efforts are not on payrolls or widely known about. There are reasons for this of course: homemakers don’t have the same esteem as a bank manager, nor the salary that goes with just as much (if not more) hard work. Productivity and a living wage or a fair wage, not just a scrapping by wage is a difficult subject. Companies don’t want to raise wages and salaries unless they really need to. They want to make a profit for shareholders and no more was this apparent than at the recent Davos gathering. Someone owns the oil and someone else owns the property and the workers gather around for a share of the crumbs. Productivity keeps the wheels turning, to making the goods for market and positioning our country as an export earner on the world stage. The highest percentage of what we manufacturer comes from the land. Not that what we make in […]

Hypertherm introduces new consumable kits for XPR cutting systems

Hypertherm, a U.S. based manufacturer of industrial cutting systems and software, is shipping consumable kits for its XPR X-Definition Plasma systems. These new consumable starter kits are available with or without a torch for mild steel and non-ferrous cutting applications. The kits include a variety of consumables to allow for cutting at different amperages, using all of the gas process types supported by the XPR170 and XPR300 bsystems. The consumables contain several patent pending technologies to improve consumable life and cut quality. Examples include Cool nozzle and Arc response technology, the latter of which protects consumables from the negative impact of ramp down errors, a regular occurrence in real-life cutting. By reducing the impact of ramp down errors, XPR consumables can last up to three times longer than those on older generation systems. In addition, XPR consumables are designed with ease of use in mind. An EasyConnect feature allows operators to quickly plug the torch lead into the torch connect console without the use of tools, while a patent pending QuickLock electrode delivers easy quarter turn tightening to further reduce setup time. Another new design feature is a quick change torch that enables an operator to rapidly change torches with just one hand. “Whether you are cutting mild steel, stainless steel, or aluminum, these new starter kits will make it easy for XPR customers to get all of the consumables they need in one convenient kit,” said Martin Geheran, product manager for plasma torches and consumables. “We think customers will also enjoy the convenience of the kits that come with a torch as it will give them the option of having a second torch, or even multiple torches, pre-loaded with consumables for even faster change-outs.” Hypertherm designs and manufactures industrial cutting products for use in a variety of industries such […]

MainMan service enhances uptime, safety and maintenance efficiency

Without Konecranes’ efficient cranes and time-saving maintenance programmes, ARC’s business wouldn’t be able to function. Steel reinforcing specialist, Australian Reinforcing Company (ARC), is benefitting from comprehensive, time-saving maintenance programmes and enhanced safety provided by Konecranes’ MainMan Planned Maintenance technology. ARC uses three cranes in its Launceston facility, with lifting capacities from 3t to 6.3t, to move heavy steel products of varying shapes and sizes, including reinforcing bars, reinforcing mesh, pipe cages and a huge range of customised fabrications. ARC’s products are used in industries as diverse as building and construction, infrastructure, civil engineering, energy and water and waste. “Our cranes are essential to our business. Without Konecranes’ efficient and outstanding service, we wouldn’t be able to function,” says ARC Launceston Branch Manager, Ms Wendy Emanuel. “We’ve used Konecranes right from the beginning and it’s not just the maintenance they perform that sets them apart – it’s their staff. The technicians are well-equipped, knowledgeable and polite. Their managers and support staff are easy to talk to and provide valuable feedback after a project has been completed,” she said. With more than 600,000 pieces of lifting equipment under service contract worldwide, Konecranes is the world’s leading crane service organisation. It is constantly introducing new technologies and innovations to improve maintenance efficiency, enhance safety and minimise downtime. MainMan Planned Maintenance Konecranes’ MainMan Planned Maintenance service is designed to provide an in-depth picture of the condition of all cranes and related equipment, as well as routine maintenance work, such as adjusting and lubricating, with the intent of satisfying the manufacturer’s maintenance recommendations. This service includes a preventive maintenance inspection, visual checks, routine maintenance, and operational and functional testing of your lifting equipment. Konecranes’ MainMan Planned Maintenance technology is part of its Lifecycle Care Preventative Maintenance Program, which looks at the whole life of the […]

Schneider Electric partners with Nozomi Networks to secure and protect critical infrastructure

Schneider Electric has signed a global partnership agreement with Nozomi Networks, the leader in industrial cybersecurity and operational visibility. Under the terms of the agreement, Schneider Electric will collaborate with Nozomi to provide customers in the industrial manufacturing and critical infrastructure segments advanced anomaly detection, vulnerability assessment and other cybersecurity solutions and services, helping them to control, prevent and mitigate risks to their operations and business performance. The partnership enables Schneider Electric to respond more aggressively to immediate demand for effective, operational technology cybersecurity services, solutions and expertise in oil and gas, power, building automation and other industrial sectors. Schneider Electric will offer Nozomi Networks’ advanced solutions for industrial control system cyber resiliency and real-time operational visibility to customers worldwide. Schneider Electric will combine its EcoStruxure IIoT process automation and industrial control solutions with Nozomi’s SCADAguardian platform for real-time operations visibility, including: • Advanced ICS Cybersecurity Solutions: The bundled solution will deliver the deep network visibility and OT cybersecurity industry operators require in one, comprehensive and highly scalable solution. Nozomi Networks SCADAguardian solution provides accurate asset discovery, superior threat detection and flexible and scalable deployment options to Schneider Electric customers. • Nozomi Networks Certified Consultants: Schneider Electric consultants around the world will continue to be trained as certified Nozomi Networks engineers, scaling to support clients throughout their cybersecurity solution implementation, and providing expert OT threat hunting and forensic analysis. • SCADAguardian Live in Schneider Electric Sites: Schneider Electric customers can experience Nozomi Networks’ real-time operational visibility and cybersecurity solutions via live threat scenarios running in Schneider Electric sites around the world. EcoStruxure is Schneider Electric’s open, interoperable, IoT-enabled system architecture and platform. EcoStruxure delivers enhanced value around safety, reliability, efficiency, sustainability and connectivity for customers. EcoStruxure leverages advancements in IoT, mobility, sensing, cloud, analytics and cybersecurity to deliver Innovation at […]

How much do robots affect jobs and productivity?

Robots’ capacity for autonomous movement and their ability to perform an expanding set of tasks have captured writers’ imaginations for almost a century. Recently robots have emerged from the pages of science fiction novels into the real world, and discussions of their possible economic effects have become ubiquitous (see e.g. The Economist 2014, Brynjolfsson and McAfee 2014). But a serious problem inhibits these discussions – there has so far been no systematic empirical analysis of the effects that robots are already having. Industrial robots increase labour productivity, total factor productivity, and wages. At the same time, while industrial robots had no significant effect on total hours worked, there is some evidence that they reduced the employment of low skilled workers, and to a lesser extent also middle skilled worker. A first glance What exactly are industrial robots? A machine is an industrial robot if it can be programmed to perform physical, production-related tasks without the need of a human controller. (The technical definition refers to a “manipulating industrial robot as defined by ISO 8373: An automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator programmable in three or more axes, which may be either fixed in place or mobile for use in industrial automation applications”.) Industrial robots dramatically increase the scope for replacing human labour compared to older types of machines, since they reduce the need for human intervention in automated processes. Typical applications of industrial robots include assembling, dispensing, handling, processing (for instance, cutting), and welding – all of which are prevalent in manufacturing industries – as well as harvesting (in agriculture) and inspecting of equipment and structures (common in power plants). From 1993-2007, the ratio of the number of robots to hours worked increased on average by about 150%. The industries that increased robot use most rapidly were the producers of transportation […]

Demand for higher quality parts and products to drive generative design

Generative design enables the design of lighter, cheaper components while maintaining strength and solidity, ultimately creating a higher quality product. For that reason, the adoption of generative design software is taking off in aerospace and defence, automotive, footwear and clothing, furniture, industrial machines, and oil and gas industries and leading to an uptick in engineering throughput in each of them, finds ABI Research, a market-foresight advisory firm providing strategic guidance on the most compelling transformative technologies. “The rise of the sharing economy and additive manufacturing will drive both demand for and the ability to produce higher-quality goods,” explained Pierce Owen, Principal Analyst at ABI Research. “Generative design expands design possibilities by creating shapes different from those that humans would create. It idealizes the design by creating something that best fits the constraints to optimise the products for various requirements.” For several years now, industrial companies have used geometric topology optimisation – eroding the geometric shape of a product given a set of constraints to improve performance – and are using it more as the use cases for additive manufacturing have increased. Generative design takes that another step by creating, or generating, the geometric shapes from an engineer’s requirements rather than changing existing shapes. Also, unlike topology optimisation, generative design creates many iterations, variations and/or alternatives for engineers to compare, rather than simply removing unnecessary pieces or particles. Additive will drive both generative design and topology optimization as it provides greater build freedom to fulfill a wider variety of designs. Traditional Computer-Aided Design (CAD) vendors such as Dassault Systèmes, Siemens and recently, PTC, already have or will have embedded generative design capabilities within their CAD environments as plug-ins or kernels. PTC acquired Frustum in November 2018 to do exactly that within Creo. Several of Siemens products, including NX, NX Nastran, HEEDS, […]

TIC-TOC technology moves Tactile Internet a step closer to reality

Researchers in South Korea have developed extremely fast information processing technologies that can help usher in the next generation of the Internet. The technology is capable of sending packets of digital information at 25 Gb/s (giga-bit per second) – 10 times faster than currently available speeds. Researchers at the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) in South Korea have developed technology capable of sending packets of digital information at 25 Gb/s (giga-bit per second) – 10 times faster than currently available speeds. The technology, named TIC-TOC, is a critical component of the future Tactile Internet, in which information is sent and received at speeds on par with human perception. The technology operates at a speed fast enough to download a 3 GB movie within one second. Furthermore, the TIC-TOC system enables more urgent data to jump ahead of other information packets and be transferred in one milli-second (1/1000 of a second), the same speed at which the human sense of touch works. TIC-TOC stands for “Time Controlled Tactile Optical Access” and is designed to work on 5G networks. The researchers anticipate the TIC-TOC technology will help advance virtual reality and augmented reality in all sorts of sectors, from education and healthcare, to entertainment and public safety. For example, it could be possible to deploy and operate robots in dangerous or disaster areas with instant sight and feel communication between human controllers and machines. When the machine sees something, the humans sees it, and when the human remotely controls the robot’s hand or head, the motion will happen immediately. The same could be true for telesurgery, with a doctor remotely controlling a robot performing the surgery, but the doctor feels as if she were in the operating room because the response is instantaneous. “The Tactile Internet is expected to be the […]

Historian berates billionaires at Davos over tax avoidance

Rutger Bregman tells panel that the real issue is the rich not paying their fair share Martin Farrer A discussion panel at the Davos World Economic Forum has become a sensation after a Dutch historian took billionaires to task for not paying taxes. In a video shared tens of thousands of times, Rutger Bregman, author of the book Utopia for Realists, bemoans the failure of attendees at the recent gathering in Switzerland to address the key issue in the battle for greater equality: the failure of rich people to pay their fair share of taxes. Noting that 1,500 people had travelled to Davos by private jet to hear David Attenborough talk about climate change, he said he was bewildered that no one was talking about raising taxes on the rich. “I hear people talking the language of participation, justice, equality and transparency but almost no one raises the real issue of tax avoidance, right? And of the rich just not paying their fair share,” Bregman tells the Time magazine panel on inequality. “It feels like I’m at a firefighters conference and no one’s allowed to speak about water.” Industry had to “stop talking about philanthropy and start talking about taxes”, he said, and cited the high tax regime of 1950s America as an example to disprove arguments by businesspeople at Davos such as Michael Dell that economies with high personal taxation could not succeed. “That’s it,” he says. “Taxes, taxes, taxes. All the rest is bullshit in my opinion.” A member of the audience, former Yahoo chief financial officer Ken Goldman, challenged his comments and said it was a “one-sided panel”. He argued the fiscal settings across the global economy had been successful and had created record employment. But another panel member, Winnie Byanyima, an Oxfam executive director, took up the fight and said […]

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