How integrated software solutions such as Odoo are integral to every successful business model

Doing business in the digital world today does not just require business acumen and willpower. The current business environment depends heavily on integrated systems to keep operations ticking over without a hitch. Gone are the days when each department had to use multiple software systems — software integration has helped make business operations seamless and accessible to anyone in the company.

However, integration is not all there is to it. Uncomplicated user experience is essential to giving companies the ability to navigate and maximise an integrated software system’s full resources. It is especially important when it comes to accessing data — a high-quality UX interface gives better visibility into overall data repositories, resulting in faster and more accurate decision-making.

User-friendly interfaces that are intuitive to the business user’s needs and don’t demand too much time to learn how they work are in high demand. The better a user interface design is, the more comfortable users will be when faced with a new feature or functionality, and the more confident they are when going about their day-to-day tasks.

Who is Odoo and what do they do?

Enter Odoo, a Belgium-based software company that is the most installed business software in the world. Odoo is offering new and improved user interface and new applications with its most recent annual upgrade. The company’s all-in-one business solution is comprised of uncomplicated applications that are integrated, customisable, and easy-to-use to help companies run smoothly.

Every single Odoo app is developed for a specific purpose — whether it’s CRM, Sales, Accounting, and beyond — and to make accountability easier, information created in each app can be easily accessed in other apps. For example, an invoice created in the Sales app can be found in the Accounting app and can be validated once a customer has paid. This reduces human error, which sometimes results in oversight or confusion, and saves the company precious time, money, and resources.

Having a streamlined system such as Odoo also improves communication among staff from different departments. Companies can do away with bygone methods of having to call multiple people to check if an action has been followed through or accounts add up simply by having a system that provides clarity and up-to-date information that can be accessed by everyone. This is especially important when it comes to Accounting, and Odoo’s thought of that too.

When it comes to keeping track of accounts in multiple branches and global locations, Odoo has a specialised Accounting function to ensure companies stay on top of things. It synchronises with banks, manages bills and expenses so departments know exactly what transactions are due, manages invoices and recurring bills, tracks payments, and synchronises every transaction with stocks to keep valuations up to date. Odoo also converts currencies and tax automatically to meet various needs, making sure companies are well-prepared for anything.

On top of accounting, digitalisation in these industries is in high demand. In marketing, for example, it is imperative that one’s platform targets the right audience through audience segmentation, and through the right channels. Going digital in marketing entails various benefits such as mass mail, push notifications, and social media marketing, among many others.

Odoo serves as a one-stop application suite for brand-building and marketing, from providing managers with live reports and insights to handling social media pages. New Social Marketing and SMS Marketing apps allow businesses to analyse their reach and traffic and find out if different methods are worth the expenditure.

On the other hand, digitalisation proves to be useful in field service as well. Odoo’s Field Service Management is a system of coordinating field service operations. It manages dispatch, tool assignment, customer information and more. This allows businesses to synchronise its field operations seamlessly and reduces the propensity for error often derived in fragmented systems that do not streamline functions under one umbrella.

Odoo 13 and what’s in store for users everywhere

In this year’s annual upgrade, dubbed ‘Odoo 13’, Odoo has introduced a focus on the well-being of employees, as well as 9 new apps and an upgrade of existing features that provides a friendlier interface. Odoo’s priority is creating beautiful, user-friendly software that is a pleasure to use, and aims to provide amazing software on par with the apps people use in their everyday life. So Odoo 13 lets staff focus on the things that really matter: doing their job well and spending time with customers.

Armed with a sharp understanding that enterprises, especially SMEs in Asia, need high standard operating procedures and user experiences, Odoo 13 provides companies with the freedom and flexibility to customise systems to fit into local operation styles and restrictions and generates reports with plenty of quantitative analysis to give them an unparalleled edge.

Odoo 13, which is five times faster than the previous version, gives businesses a full overview of what the public is saying about them and automatically compares reports with competitors and other industry players.

Odoo’s exponential growth across the Asia Pacific and the world is a testament to just how much confidence their customers have in them. The company achieved an 80% growth rate in the last decade and now has 9 offices worldwide. Get a taste of what Odoo can do for you by scanning this QR code for a free trial:

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In my work with new startups, I often find people who believe that the terms “entrepreneur” and “inventor” are interchangeable. Yet I find a big difference between “starting a new business” and “creating a new product.” In my experience, most successful entrepreneurs have indeed created a new product, but most people who claim to be inventors have a hard time starting a business.

The simple solution I recommend to inventors is to find a partner who can focus on business and marketing, while you focus on technology. Bill Gates did this with Microsoft, by teaming with Steve Ballmer from Proctor & Gamble, and Steve Jobs, who started Apple, did it in reverse by teaming with Steve Wozniak. Two people with complementary skills are often equal to three.

Unfortunately, most inventors I know tend to look for partners who are also technologists, perhaps because they feel more kinship with them, or they assume great products will lead to great businesses, without any real effort on the business side. Here are some of the key entrepreneur characteristics most often overlooked by inventors:

1. Driven by customer-centric view of needs, rather than technology. Understanding what drives customers to buy, in different market segments and cultures, is usually just as challenging as creating and combining technology to deliver function. In fact, many customers have an inherent fear of new technology and the complexity it often brings.

2. Ability to raise money, manage it, and think in financial terms. A good entrepreneur starts with quantifying the problem, rather than a solution looking for a problem. They worry about the infrastructure needed to attract and support customers, including investors, employees, organisation, marketplace coverage, manufacturing, and delivery.

Also Read: 7 common legal pitfalls startup founders should avoid

3. Skilled and motivated by building a multi-disciplined team. A great inventor is most often a lone technologist who doesn’t have the interest or skills for building and managing a team. In fact, they may fear team leadership as a burden, or a potential dilution of their ownership. Certainly interfacing to the outside world may not be an inventor forte.

4. Master of multi-platform communication and marketing. Even the best solutions these days need to be marketed on multiple platforms, including online, social media, and the proper industry and customer channels for customer geographies. The old philosophy of “if we build it, they will come” doesn’t work in today’s information society.

5. Proven ability to spot new trends and willing to take risks. Believe it or not, the business world changes even faster than technology, so you need to see changes coming in your industry, and even drive them. That means taking calculated risks with new business models, new customer segments, as well as new products and services.

On the other hand, inventors and technologists have some key attributes that every entrepreneur can benefit from in a partnership, including the following:

1. Turns customer needs and desires into solutions. Dreaming and talking about potential solutions is not enough. Someone has to have the skill and discipline to turn these dreams into reality. Inventors follow a structured process to assemble and test solutions, file patents for intellectual property protection, and define production details.

2. Provides the focus to balance entrepreneur distractions. Good entrepreneurs are often diluted in their potential by trying to attack too many new market opportunities or customer requests concurrently. They need the reality check of good technologists to keep their interests bounded, and provide realistic risk assessments on new demands.

Also Read: Keep calm and remain communicative: Startup founders share how they cope with coronavirus crisis

3. Ability to keep track of new technology advancements. New business and product opportunities come from the world of science, as well as the world of customers. Inventors have the required connections and interest to track these evolutions, and assess their potential for the business at hand, including non-technology challenges.

Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk are often cited as two of very few modern entrepreneurs who also have a strong technology background. Mark personally invented the early Facebook social network, while he was at Harvard, and went on to build a huge business. Elon Musk has a deep technical background that has helped him lead multiple businesses, including SpaceX and Tesla.

Thus I recommend to every inventor and every entrepreneur that they take a hard look at their personal strengths and interests, and not be hesitant to solicit a complementary partner who can make one-plus-one equal three, and get all of us where you want to go in business a lot faster.

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This article was syndicated from nfinitiv. It was first published on Inc.

Image Credit: Annie Spratt on Unsplash

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Nothing is permanent but change. And this holds true for businesses too. Keeping up with change is essential, especially for marketeers since it gives them a bird-eye view of consumer behaviour –allowing them to better anticipate future movements.

we are social and Hootsuite recently released a report that provides global stats and key findings in social media and digital trends that will give us a sneak-peek into how 2020 is going to be like. Some issues that it covers include gender gap in social media use, global growth in the use of voice interfaces, and concerns around personal data security.

This infographic will show you how the Singapore market is like:

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Image Credit :Jakob Owens

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Born and raised from a humble background, I witnessed the importance of working hard. Coming from the blue-collar sector, my parents worked extremely hard to support my upbringing. As the only child, my parents gave me all they could, to provide for my education.

For 26 years, my dad worked as a driver so that he could support our family. My mum also contributed by taking up a blue-collar job.

Times were difficult, but I understand that at a very young age. I grow up recognising the fact that is only through hard work and perseverance, that one can overcome the hard times.

What my education taught me  

Both of my parents have never been to school, but they understood the importance of hard work, discipline, and grit. I grew up watching their hard work in hourly roles and that inspired and motivated me to strive forward.

I was blessed to get the chance to receive a college degree in a local university, and I learned that I had to treasure all the opportunities I could get. I did and I made use of every single opportunity in school.

During my education at the National University of Singapore, I was offered a chance to attend the NUS Overseas College programme. This chance did not come easy. My first application was rejected, and my second appeal only got through one day before the closing date.

Also Read: From a troublemaker in school to drone maker, this Malaysian entrepreneur is now living his dream

I came to know that such chances do not come easy, so I made sure to make the best out of it. This programme got me deep-dived into the startup ecosystem and fostered my entrepreneurial mind.

My internship at a digital marketing and tech company in China provided a good headstart for navigating the Chinese landscape. Subsequently, Farfetch proposed a unique acquisition. In July 2018, they were acquired and Farfetch filed an IPO later that year.

Looking back, I certainly did not know that I would have ever gotten the chance to intern at a startup that witnesses the transformation from acquisition to IPO. I learned that with hard work and education, all is possible. Upon my graduation this May, I will be the first generation degree holder in my family.

How do I support my entrepreneurial ventures financially

Coming from a blue-collar background, meant that we could not afford a lot of luxuries. I do not have the capacity to attend extracurricular activities such as learning music.

When I was in my teens, I took up part-time jobs, working in fast food chains and restaurants. My experience from waiting tables in the F&B industry taught me about the importance of understanding the customer.

This includes a complete journey from having empathy for their needs to delivery of the service itself. Being in a front-facing role, I learned how to be authentic and approachable, so that customer satisfaction can be enhanced.

Also Read: 6 fashion startups that actually deliver value

The hourly rates I earned taught me the importance of practising financial prudence.

I understand the importance of saving for rainy days and this had taught me how to be more financially prudent, especially as I am embarking on my first startup. We have to make the best use of all our resources, without imposing an additional financial burden. This also meant prototyping at the lowest possible costs and learning how to negotiate for throw-ins.

When we first started out, my team collaborated remotely using Taskade. I first heard about them through Y-Combinator and I was sold by the simplicity of their design. I signed up for a free account and onboarded the rest of my team.

After collaborating remotely for two months, I arranged for a feedback and review session with the CEO of Taskade, John Xie. I told the team how much I love their product and even highlighted some of my key findings from using the platform in an article here.

For me, the main reason that stood out from other collaboration tools was their interface and content support. John placed utmost importance in providing articles and guidelines in their blog, to help their customers.

Later, they upgraded my subscription to a PRO account. I think having an honest and authentic conversation helps, not even in just being transactional. And of course, I learn how to engage and produce meaningful conversations, that ultimately might bring benefits for my startup.

Also Read: E-commerce startup Get acquires Daung Capital to provide one-stop fintech solutions to Myanmar’s micro-entrepreneurs

Conclusion

For everyone out there coming from humble backgrounds, I sincerely hope that this piece inspires you and let’s keep on keeping on! Our beginnings do not determine our outcome, and only in tough times, perseverance, and hope can be conceptualised.

It is only during times that we preserve, that we can reap the fruits and process of our journey. Make the best of all the chance you can get, and have faith that it would lead to something more majestic.

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Formerly known as the coronavirus, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the COVID-19 outbreak as a global public health emergency, with China being the most affected followed by Japan (174), Singapore (58), South Korea (28), Thailand (25), Malaysia (16) and Vietnam (15), at the time this article was written.

Beyond affecting daily life, this outbreak has also affected a large chunk of businesses. A multitude of short and long term effects have been anticipated, from the postponement of events to missed launch target due to office closures.

Even Elon Musk’s Tesla was not immune to the consequence, as its stock crashed to 19 per cent after news of delay in Model 3 deliveries in China.

e27 has compiled a list of comments from startup founders from Southeast Asia on how they plan to cope with the impact of the outbreak.

The offline side of the business

The impact of the outbreak is more significant for tech startups with a strong offline element in their business.

Take the example of People Matters, who had had postpone its People Matters TechHR Singapore event. In a statement to e27, CEO Ester Martinez explains how the company has been monitoring the issue closely and had to make the difficult decision.

“I hope the situation comes to normalcy soon,” she says, expressing gratitude to the event’s partners and sponsors.

A different story happens to CoderSchool, a Vietnam-based coding school who had recently launched an online-only programme. While the launch seemed to coincide the outbreak, CoderSchool co-founder Charles Lee said that the school had not seen anyone signing up “just because of the virus fear.”

“We are prepared to do more online, study-from-home type of stuff, but so far it has not seemed necessary. One big test for us will be next week when we have a large event, a demo day for one of our classes. The hope is that attendance won’t suffer,” Lee says.

However, the approach startups are taking vary from market to market. In Indonesia, where there is zero number of confirmed case by the time this article was written, startups are taking a more relaxed approach.

While ride-hailing giant such as gojek is taking precaution by encouraging drivers to monitor body temperature and disinfect their vehicles, other companies such as DailySocial are not doing beyond what is commonly implemented.

“Of course there are precautions when meeting someone who recently travelled abroad, but that just means more people wearing masks,” Rama Mamuaya said.

Part of the company’s offerings include the running of startup events such as #SelasaStartup (“Startup Tuesdays”), and CEO Mamuaya noted how customers in the market behaved as usual.

“There has not been much impact in Jakarta aside from cancelled conferences abroad. Everyone still works, goes to meetings, etcetera,” he writes in a message to e27.

Business (un)usual

For companies with a heavier online presence, adjustments are made in their internal operations.

As a cybersecurity firm, Singapore-based Group IB has always put emphasis on its employees’ health and wellbeing early on, and this attitude benefits the company during the crisis.

“Funnily enough, I had brought masks for my employees from Moscow, but no one has touched it until now. We may be a little laid back about it, but we feel like the virus only affects if one is not cautious about everyday personal health and hygiene,” says Group IB founder Ilya Sachkov.

Also Read: Coronavirus is driving the world into an economic slump. How to cope up?

Circles.Life –which had operations in Singapore, Taiwan, and Australia– are taking precautions by limiting gatherings and encouraging unwell employees and those who had recently travelled to China to work from home, as prescribed by the authority.

“I think it is important to keep things in perspective and not overreact,” says Circles.Life co-founder Abhishek Gupta.

“We were lucky that we often had to make such plans, given the heavily regulated nature of our business, but I can imagine many others not being as lucky,” he says.

Also Read: What healthcare transformation in Asia will look like in 2020

“As with most things, just acknowledge everything openly and be ready to listen,” says CoderSchool’s Lee.

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Anisa Menur Maulani contributed to the writing of this article.

Image Credit: All founders in the article, edited by e27

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(Left to right) Forrest Li, Chairman of Lion City Sailors FC; Lim Kia Tong, President of the FAS; Winston Wong, Chairman of Home United

Business

Indonesia to have a bill that makes foreign talent hiring in startups easier

Lack of local viable engineers reportedly prompts the Indonesian government to give access to more foreign talents hired by startups through a new bill proposal, as shared by Nikkei Asian Review.

Being home to five unicorns doesn’t make Indonesia’s startup scene a strong one when it comes to local talents. Indonesia reportedly produces only 278 engineers per million people a year, which is still far behind compared to peers such as Malaysia or Thailand, which produce over 1,000, according to consultancy A.T. Kearney.

The change is a part of sweeping reforms that President Joko Widodo has put forward in a draft omnibus law on job creation, which packages a number of legal revisions into a single vote.

The copy of the job creation bill says that an employer categorized as a “startup” need not “have its plans to hire foreign workers approved by the central government”, which is quite a change from the previous labor law that only allowed “representatives of foreign countries that use foreign workers as diplomatic and consular employees”.

The 1,000-plus-page draft includes a simpler process for business permits and relaxed labor rules. In a separate bill about taxes, Indonesia vows to lower corporate taxes, as well as make internet companies that offer service in Indonesia without having a local presence pay taxes in the country.

Also Read: This Indonesian startup believes they have the solution to hiring Millennials

Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo hopes that by having this bill, the country can welcome more foreign investment and boost economic growth.

The bill, once submitted to the legislature, is likely to pass within six months, as Widodo’s ruling coalition controls about three-quarters of the 575 seats in the People’s Representative Council. The bill has already created a backlash as more than 4,000 people protested outside the legislature on Wednesday when the job creation bill was submitted.

Sea Group buys Singapore Premier League club Lion City Sailors, unveils new squad for 2020

Sea Group, the Singapore internet unicorn and owner of e-commerce platform Shopee and mobile gaming company Garena, has announced that it has officially backed Lion City Sailors, which was formerly known as Home United.

Sea becomes the club’s new owner right before its debut in the upcoming Singapore Premier League (SPL) season with a new name, kit, and squad.

Forrest Li, Founder, Chairman and Group CEO, of Sea, will serve as Chairman of Lion City Sailors FC.

“By uniting with a club with a rich heritage, exceptional fans, and a great organisation, we intend for Lion City Sailors to set a new benchmark for footballing excellence in Singapore and the region. As a passionate fan myself, I know that Singapore has a huge community of people who love football, and our hope is that Lion City Sailors will strengthen that passion and ignite a new era for the development of the game locally,” said Li.

Accomplished coach team led by the former Socceroos captain Aurelio Vidmar and more star signings to ignite the 2020 SPL season Lion City Sailors are said to be targeting domestic silverware and a place in the AFC Champions League. Some off-season signings including Lions stalwarts Hassan Sunny, Gabriel Quak, and Shahdan Sulaiman; Japanese defender Kaishu Yamazaki; as well as prolific Australian forward, Andy Pengelly.

Also Read: StoreHub set for SEA expansion after securing US$8.9M in Series A+ round

The launch of Lion City Sailors is set to inject fresh momentum for the SPL, with the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) welcoming more corporate involvement that can invigorate the league, identifying this pilot project as an opportunity to build a sustainable model for local football that will encourage other corporate partners to follow suit.

The new SPL season kicks off on February 29, 2020, where Lion City Sailors will take on defending champions Brunei DPMM at the Bishan Stadium.

Karbon, SBM Bank India to launch India’s first startup-friendly credit card

Powered by SBM Bank India, Indian fintech operating in the corporate cards solutions space Karbon announces the launch of Karbon Card, India’s startup-friendly corporate credit card. The corporate credit card features an expense management solution bundled with a reward program that comprises relevant offers from AWS, Freshworks, MakeMyTrip, and more.

Karbon Card will also help its customers network with venture capital players as well as empowering them to manage funds raised from their investors.

Sidharth Rath, MD, and CEO, SBM Bank India, said, “We firmly believe in Collaborative Banking – as the future lies in coming together of like-minded institutions to expand the market by creating more value per interaction for the target customers. Our focus is on enriching the ecosystem through collaborations, and this collaboration with Karbon in launching the initiative is a step in that direction.”

SBM Bank India becomes the first bank to receive a universal banking license from the Reserve Bank of India to set up and operate as a Scheduled Commercial Bank offering banking services through the Wholly Owned Subsidiary (WOS) mode. SBM Bank India has a network of 6 branches located in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Ramachandrapuram.
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Finance

Cybersecurity analytics startup CYFIRMA gets Series A funding to support expansion

CYFIRMA, a cybersecurity analytics platform that seeks to address the need for advanced threat intelligence and predictive capabilities to help businesses strengthen their risk and security posture, has raised a Series A funding from India-based early-growth private equity fund Z3Partners.

With the new funding, CYFIRMA plans to expand into markets across Asia, including India, and the US. The funds will also be used to support the development roadmap of CYFIRMA’s cyber- intelligence analytics platform.

Headquartered in Singapore and Tokyo, CYFIRMA has just separated its operation from Antuit Group in October 2019.

“CYFIRMA was born out of the urgent need to help business leaders decipher relevant and critical threats in a sea of noise, so that decisive actions can be taken to prevent massive brand and financial damages. We rely on our way of looking at cyber threat analytics, gathering intelligence across deep and dark web as well as surface web to unravel motivations of threat actors and stop cyber-attack,” said Ritesh Kumar, Founder and CEO of CYFIRMA.

Also Read: Cybersecurity in the age of information warfare and IoT

Z3Partners officially joins Goldman Sachs and Zodius Capital as a shareholder of CYFIRMA with this investment. To date, the company has raised US$8 million including the current round.

Business

Facebook joins Sequoia India’s Surge in launching the fourth edition of VC Brand Incubator

Facebook reportedly has joined forces with Surge, Sequoia Capital India’s accelerator programme, to launch the fourth instalment of the VC Brand Incubator in India, DealStreetAsia has learned.

The VC Brand Incubator is aimed to help brands gain more insights into leveraging the Facebook family of apps for growth.

VC Brand Incubator was first established in June 2019 by Facebook to support India’s small and medium businesses and provide access for collaboration with venture capital funds. For its first, second, and third editions, the social media behemoth worked with Sauce.VC, Fireside Ventures, and SAIF Partners – claiming to have mentored more than 70 brands.

Also Read: Meet the 8 Southeast Asian startups who will receive US$1-2M each from Sequoia’s Surge programme

Besides VC Brand Incubator, Facebook also launched two other support programmes in the country: Facebook Digital Training that offers social and content marketing training for free, and Facebook Startup Training Hub to help businesses go digital.

Started in 2019, Surge said it has invested between US$1-2 million in selected startups from its two cohorts of 37 startups consisting of six countries in South and Southeast Asia.

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Image Credit: Kaur Kristjan on Unsplash

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Is it time to ditch the office? Remote working is here to stay, and here’s what you need to know.

The year is 2016. I had just moved to Metro Manila, one of the densest metropolitans in the world with a population of just under 13 million in a land area of 619 square kilometers. With this many people, a typical daily commute from Quezon City to the bustling business district of Ortigas meant spending forty minutes in traffic from my house to the closest train station, thirty minutes to fall in line and squeeze myself inside a packed train, twenty minutes to get to the station closest to my work, and another twenty minutes to walk to the office.

By the time I arrived, I would already be exhausted from the mere act of getting there on time, and often drenched in sweat after spending two hours inside packed vehicles under the blinding tropical heat.

This means, a typical workday for me consisted of nine hours at the office and four more hours on the road. This is just a conservative estimate as the 12-hour workday I illustrated operates under three important assumptions: that I don’t spend more of my hours doing extra work, that the weather is being cooperative, and that our often unreliable third world transport system isn’t clunking out.

I was not alone in this predicament. People all over Metro Manila have to deal with the exact same problems, while those in other similarly dense cities around the world like Mumbai and Dhaka have to contend with their own versions of the same harrowing story.

To be able to work remotely cuts back four full hours from my workday and relieves me from the violence and terror that a tedious commute system entails.

With remote working, not only am I able to perform better, but conversely, the companies I work for get to maximise my time and energy better, rendering a mutually beneficial partnership between employer and employee.

Environmental impact of remote work

Of all the things modern society has to contend with, the one thing we cannot deny is the impact of carbon emissions to our climate. With climate justice taking on an increasingly important role in how we shape society, it is important to recalibrate how we operate in our daily lives to better mitigate the effects of climate change.

A recent report from the Carbon Trust found that greater adoption of home working could save around 3 million tons of carbon emissions in the UK alone. Because of our growing knowledge on the impact we have towards the natural environment, it is likely that organisations big and small will continue to push for remote working as a means to reduce our carbon footprint.

In the US, the city of San Antonio, Texas is encouraging businesses to authorise more flexible working arrangements for employees such as getting them to work a four-day week (instead of five) to decrease their time on the road and improve the city’s air quality. On the other hand, the Philippines has passed a recent law that allows employers in the private sector to offer remote working and promote people’s capacity to earn without the need to exhaust their valuable resources and energy in commuting.

These initiatives are mere examples of how institutional change are being enforced across multiple parts of the world to better accommodate the increasingly precarious state that our natural environment finds itself in. Not only is it important for governments to implement these solutions in the labor force framework, but it is becoming increasingly necessary.

As such, we can realistically project that remote working as a solution to this problem will only take on a more prominent role as the decade unfolds. Not just as a trend, but as a norm, remote working coupled with tools and technologies is a viable and impactful solution to the pressing problems that come with climate change.

Business continuity planning in times of crisis

Business continuity planning (BCP) is the process of creating a system of prevention and recovery efforts from potential threats to a company. The plan ensures that personnel and assets are protected and are able to function quickly in the event of a disaster.

These disasters can span from anything between situations of environmental calamity like typhoons, to less common predicaments like concerns surrounding health and other related issues.

With global threats and health risks becoming more and more prominent, there is an acute awareness among big and small companies that preemptive measures and proactive systems must be in place in order to err on the side of caution.

Such is the case in Singapore where, due to certain public health risks, many multinational companies are encouraging remote and flexible working arrangements in order to better protect their employees while still managing the daily grind that comes with operating a business.

Given these developments, business continuity planning is more important than ever as it helps strike a balance between securing the health and safety of employees while at the same time, making sure that the company gets to continue rendering products and services for its consumers.

Remote working is a great way to circumvent these problems and equip companies with a formidable business continuity planning system. Given the right set of tools, a lot of businesses especially in the tech ecosystem will be able to function normally with the help of remote working despite certain public threats.

The right set of tools

There are many technologies out there that can help a company promote business continuity planning and provide ample tools for remote working. One of the greatest markers of a powerful tool when it comes to effective remote working is an integrated system that combines all conversations, documents, and meetings in one seamless platform.

Because remote working means one’s workforce is somewhat scattered and fragmented and often across multiple time zones, the best way for it to work is by streamlining and simplifying operations that can only be achieved in an effective integrated model.

One of the best examples of these technologies is Lark, the new unified communications and collaborations solution for teams of all sizes. With tools such as messaging, calendar, video conferencing, and docs all synced in real-time and under one platform, Lark is a great example of a technology that can help one’s business ease into a remote working environment.

Not only that, but you can also install third-party tools into the platform that you may need in order to function as you would in an office-setting.

Kick-start your remote working journey with a free business subscription valid until 1 May 2020 when you sign up at www.larksuite.com.

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In its latest The China AI Report 2020, South China Morning Post (SCMP) addresses the growing concerns of US-China tensions which included the recent import bans of Chinese tech –and how it will impact the country’s AI ambitions.

The report further explores the impacts of these developments. In principle, while tech tensions hammer the financial market, the battle for AI supremacy is predicted to continue between the two nations.

The report also interviews many top-level individuals who continually stress upon privacy as an increasingly crucial aspect of the AI industry. As more privacy concerns begin to develop, China plans to build more trust with consumers and users.

The region is also working towards developing technology which will fight against the negative impacts of machine learning such as bias, discrimination, algorithmic transparency, and explainability.

Healthcare, manufacturing remains key

Authored by the SCMP Research team, the report includes deep dives, case studies, and first-hand insights of the AI industry in China. It also included projections for the long term future, with manufacturing being one of the aspects covered in it.

China maintains the top position in terms of manufacturing output; the report further elaborates China’s plans of moving manufacturing into a more personalised direction due to AI advancements.

In the near term, there will also be wider use of automated checkouts, which will reduce labour costs and enhance data gathering. But the use of “unmanned stores” has been disregarded for the foreseeable future.

Also Read: Report: SEA digital investment climate to become more diverse, “strong” growth in most deal sizes

Healthcare is another major focal point of the 2020 report. It reveals that more attention will be given to preventive maintenance. Beyond fully automated diagnosis and treatment, including surgery by domestically produced robots, AI will involve highly customised lifestyle recommendations based on individual genotypes.

What’s next for AI in China?

Recent reports pointed towards unfavourable economic predictions for China, as it is being weighed down by violent anti-government protests in Hong Kong, US-China trade war, and the outbreak of Coronavirus. These developments leave the future of China highly uncertain.

Interestingly, while it is hard to conceal the fact that China has seen a drop in private investments, the Chinese government and local tech giants are not facing a shortage of capital or solutions. They are even striving towards widening the lead in AI deployment as of 2020.

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Image Credit: Unsplash

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GrabWheels, the mobility arm of Southeast Asian ride-hailing giant Grab, announced that it has secured US$30 million investment into its ongoing Series A round from Taiwanese electric vehicle (EV) company KYMCO. The funding is said to be the part of a strategic partnership to develop two-wheeler electric vehicle (EV) solutions to accelerate the adoption of EVs in Southeast Asia.

The partnership will enable both firms to jointly explore developing and deploying two-wheel electric vehicles, specifically KYMCO’s Ionex electric bikes, as well as the Ionex EV charging platforms in Southeast Asian cities where Grab operates.

The partnership will also include a research study in which GrabWheels and Kymco will look into how best to develop a shared two-wheel EV service, build electric charging infrastructure, and ensure KYMCO’s EVs meet the licensing requirements across Southeast Asia.

Also Read: Grab launches green e-scooter GrabWheels in Indonesia’s top university

Chris Yeo, Head of Grab Ventures and New Platform Business, said, “This joint effort underscores our commitment to work with strategic partners and local governments to bring about a safer and more environmentally sustainable transport network.”

“The transition toward electric vehicles is one of the most significant transformations of personal transportation for the next 10 years,” said Allen Ko, Chairman of KYMCO Group, who added, “Accelerating this transition, KYMCO Ionex is the EV turnkey solution that empowers all businesses and governments to go electric.”

Grab has been steadily expanding its EV ecosystem by collaborating with governments and partners such as automakers and electricity providers, to drive up EV adoption. Grab said it plans to gain insights on how to better operate and expand EV fleets by co-developing policies with governments with the aim of making EVs more affordable, thus encouraging driver-partners and fleet owners to adopt EVs.

In July 2019, Grab and Universitas Indonesia (UI) launched GrabWheels as a green mobility solution at the university campus in Depok, Indonesia, just a month after it first offered a new subscription plan for its food delivery-partners across the city-state to be able to enjoy unlimited rides on GrabWheels’ e-scooters available at close to 30 pick-ups or drop off points across the island.

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Image Credit: GrabWheels

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