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The Morning Download: Elevator Makers Embrace Digital-Driven Service Models
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Good morning, CIOs. The transformation of the elevator from a mechanically efficient way to go up and down into a data-spewing device is leading elevator makers to develop new revenue opportunities, CIO Journal's Agam Shah reports.
“The hardware can be built by everybody; the differentiation is in the software,” said Reinhold Achatz, Thyssenkrupp AG’s chief technology officer. Software in Thyssenkrupp's elevators uses sensor data to flag immediate breakdowns, while the company’s cloud uses artificial intelligence to predict problems like broken doors.
Otis Elevator Co. Chief Digital Officer Neil Green is counting on a new software-based elevator-management platform called Otis One to expand the maintenance part of the business. “When I think about the role that my team and I can play—if we can capture another two million [elevators] out of the 14 million that we’re not managing today, that’s a huge opportunity for Otis to drive revenue and profitability growth,” he said.
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A security officer keeps watch in front of an AI (Artificial Intelligence) sign at the annual Huawei Connect event in Shanghai, China September 18, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song PHOTO: ALY SONG/REUTERS
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How to support the widespread adoption of AI. Artificial intelligence represents the biggest commercial opportunity for companies and industries, but many organizations face too many cultural and organizational barriers to do much about it, CIO Journal Columnist Irving Wladawsky-Berger writes.
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PHOTO: MICHAEL SHORT/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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Download extra: tech job cuts, more unfilled positions
Employers across the U.S. economy shed 261,000 information-technology jobs last month, following five months of gains, according to an analysis of federal employment data by tech industry trade group CompTIA.
Companies added a net total of 136,000 jobs in September, pushing the unemployment rate down to 3.5%, from 3.7% in August, the Labor Department reported Friday.
Despite declines last month, demand for enterprise IT workers has surged this year, as more businesses invest in data analytics, artificial intelligence and other emerging digital tools. Tech employment remained above 5.4 million jobs in September, accounting for nearly 8% of the overall U.S workforce, CompTIA said.
Tim Herbert, the group’s executive vice president for research and market intelligence, said it was “premature to hit the panic button” on a downturn in IT hiring.
He said there tends to be a higher degree of variance and variability in the government’s monthly employment data at the occupation level, and that the numbers should be viewed with caution.
Beyond data-gathering issues, Mr. Herbert said job postings for tech positions jumped in September, suggesting “significant pent up demand for tech talent.” Postings for core tech jobs last month rose by 52,456, from August, led by demand for software and application developers, IT user support specialists and systems engineers and architects, CompTIA said.
Demand for skilled IT workers is driving an upturn in tech-sector mergers and acquisitions, which hit a record 651 deals between January and June, as buyers snap up smaller tech ventures, according to Hampleton Partners, an M&A consulting firm based in London.
Management consulting firm Bain & Co. estimates that by 2030 up to 9% of the labor market will consist of new or emerging job titles within areas such as IT development, hardware manufacturing, app creation and IT systems management.
Within the tech sector itself, companies hired an estimated 5,300 workers in areas including computer and electronic products manufacturing, information services and search portals, the group said. Tech firms account for roughly 40% of total IT employment at U.S. companies.
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The Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington. The DNC sent an alert to campaigns about cyberattacks linked to the Iranian government. PHOTO: PAUL HOLSTON/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Microsoft confirms nation-state hack targeting 2020. The company said Friday that at least one U.S. presidential campaign has been targeted by cyberattacks linked to the Iranian government, The Wall Street Journal's Dustin Volz and Robert McMillan report. It didn’t appear that the attempted intrusion of an unspecified presidential campaign was successful, Microsoft said.
Many attempts. In a blog post, Microsoft said it had observed during a 30-day period between August and September more than 2,700 attempts by the suspected Iranian hackers to identify email accounts belonging to specific customers.
The hacking group. Microsoft said the suspected hacking group Phosphorous, also known as APT35, is adept at creating believable spearphishing emails and relies on fake LinkedIn profiles to ensnare victims into clicking on malicious links.
PayPal drops out of Facebook’s Libra payments network. The move comes days after The Wall Street Journal reported that Visa, Mastercard, and other financial partners that had agreed to back the global cryptocurrency-based payments network were reconsidering their involvement following a backlash from U.S. and European government officials. (WSJ)
How Tim Cook won Donald Trump's ear. By cultivating a relationship with the president and his family, Mr. Cook has become one of the few executives in a hyperpolarized political era who has managed to both support and challenge the president’s agenda in a way that has kept him in Mr. Trump’s good graces while avoiding any public backlash from either employees or customers. (WSJ)
Atlanta has questions for Google. Following up on a Wednesday New York Daily News story, officials in Atlanta are asking Google if a contractor they hired to collect data for its facial recognition technology purposely targeted black homeless men. (New York Times)
Google weighs acquisition of TikTok rival. Like the popular Gen Z video-sharing app, Firework lets users share quick videos with strangers. The Redwood City, Calif. company was valued at more than $100 million in a fundraising round earlier this year. (WSJ)
Musique nonstop. Some of the kids are going to "live coding" events, also known as algoraves, where DJ's crack open a laptop and make music with computer code. (New York Times)
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Everything Else You Need to Know
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The legal team representing the CIA officer behind the complaint that helped spark an impeachment inquiry into President Trump is now advising ‘multiple whistleblowers,’ the attorneys said. (WSJ)
Doctors, once GOP stalwarts, are now more likely to be Democrats. The realignment is changing where physicians live and work, how they treat patients and how they influence the 2020 presidential race. (WSJ)
Chinese companies have suspended ties with the Rockets, one of the NBA’s most popular teams in China, after Houston’s general manager tweeted his support of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. (WSJ)
Robert Murray, the coal executive known for his outspoken advocacy of the industry and close ties to President Trump, could be on the brink of losing his companies as the power industry shifts away from coal to cheaper fuel sources. (WSJ)
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