Hi there,

Data is big business. Not only for the companies who harness their own data, but also for those who buy and sell anonymised data sets – from marketing companies to academics.

It’s a free for all – once data has been stripped of identifying markers, most data protection laws consider it anonymous and no longer personal information and therefore able to be freely used, shared and sold.

Now, researchers in the UK and Belgium have shown how easily ‘anonymised’ data can be re-engineered to identify people.

If we ever had any illusions about privacy in today’s digital world, this should shatter that notion completely – and raise questions about the widespread use of anonymised data and the privacy laws which are meant to protect us all.

In other news this week:

RPA: the promises and pitfalls of fixing your swivel chairs
It’s raining cash for big cloud providers
Putting the human in automation
Aussie’s digital platform crackdown plans

We also take a look at how Australian not-for-profit health insurer GMHBA has embraced modern technology to bolster personalisation and give more control to its marketing team while also providing a better view of its sales funnel.

Enjoy the read,

Heather Wright
Editor
editor@istart.co.nz

DATA PRIVACY

The myth of anonymised data – and data privacy

Research shows anonymised data isn’t really anonymous…

Removing personal details from data doesn’t actually stop individuals being identified according to new research.

“Our paper shows that de-identification is nowhere near enough to protect the privacy of people’s data.”

[Read more]

ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION

Lower costs and happier customers? Can RPA live up to its promise?

A new report on robotic process automation looks at the opportunities and shortcomings of the emerging tech…

RPA is the whitepaper topic du jour, and the latest from Juniper offers predictions of growth – but also a new focus on human/automation collaboration.

"With collaboration between human and virtual workers, employees can easily send tasks to a robot or vice-versa."

[Read more]

CLOUD BUSINESS

Reporting season for cloud players

The winners and winners as cloud booms…

Tis the season for the latest quarterly results and with the business world turning to cloud, all eyes were on the big cloud players.

“Retailers are leveraging the cloud as one of the important tools to transform their customer experience and supply chain.”

[Read more]

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Unpicking augmentation

Human overseers still needed in a world of automation…

There is an emerging theme that smart technologies will augment what people do and make them more effective.

“New AI and ML capabilities will enhance human creativity and ingenuity, not replace it.”

[Read more]

DIGITAL REGULATION

Australia recommends sweeping reform to reign in social giants

ACCC digital platforms inquiry report makes plenty of suggestions, but what does the Govt intend to do about them?

The Aussie Govt has released the ACCC Digital Platforms Inquiry final report recommending sweeping changes including far-reaching regulatory changes and ongoing scrutiny of tech giants.

“There is nothing wrong with being highly focused on revenue growth; indeed it can be admired.”

[Read more]

BUSINESS INSIGHT

Personalising healthcare funding: Better services, brighter future

Gaining competitive differentiation through individualisation…

GMHBA is an Australian not-for-profit health fund with more than 80 years’ experience.

Health insurance has become incredibly complex, so it’s not useful to have a website that puts the same information in front of every customer.

[Read more]

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