May 17, 2024

Cloud Computing at the Edge: From Evolution to Disruption

While hybrid cloud solutions provide a cloud experience from an operational point of view, they are not supporting the flexible consumption-based pricing model of the cloud. Organizations must purchase or lease IT resources for on-premises deployment up front from the cloud provider rather than on demand. And while they can scale up, they can’t scale down and reduce cost if their usage is reduced. Moreover, the fact that the local extensions can only communicate with the centralized cloud and can’t communicate among them is a major limitation to the scalability of this model. ... Scalable multicloud architectures offer a robust solution to address IT services at the edge of the network. They provide a comprehensive cloud experience at multiple locations. Proximity to users enhances performance, particularly for localized services and applications, by reducing latency and improving responsiveness. Interconnected clouds facilitate seamless data exchange and collaboration, supporting innovation and agility within organizations. This approach enables data sovereignty and mitigates the risk of downtime and data loss by providing redundancy and resilience across multiple clouds.?

Colorado Enacts BIPA-Like Regulatory Obligations (and More)

HB 1130 applies to “biometric identifiers” and “biometric data.” A biometric identifier is defined as “data generated by the technological processing, measurement, or analysis of a consumer’s biological, physical, or behavioral characteristics, which can be processed for the purpose of uniquely identifying an individual.” Biometric data is defined as “one or more biometric identifiers that are used or intended to be used, singly or in combination with each other or with any other personal data, for identification purposes.” Together, the scope of covered data under HB 1130 is much broader as compared to BIPA, Texas’s Capture or Use of Biometric Identifiers Act (CUBI), and similar biometrics laws currently in effect. This aspect of HB 1130 not only increases the extent of legal risk and liability exposure that companies will face but will also create significant complexities and challenges in ascertaining whether organizational biometric data processing activities fall under the scope of HB 1130. Importantly, the combination of HB 1130’s broad applicability and its expansive definitions of biometric identifiers/data will subject controllers to compliance even where only an amount of biometric data is processed, and no actual biometric identification or authentication is performed.

Adaptive Data Governance: What, Why, How

Adaptive Data Governance has a framework that balances responses to changing business conditions and meets the requirements for privacy and control. Keys to this structure lie in the data culture and alignment, as described in the “Key Components for an Adaptive DG Framework.” To start, define agile Governance principles that work best with the business culture. Getting this right can prove challenging, because businesspeople may fear losing control of data accessibility, having a diminished data role, or because they find data decision-making challenging. It helps to start with a data maturity model, to understand how well staff values data, find the gaps, and determine the next steps. From there, establish accountability rights through clear roles and responsibilities. The decision-making processes and resources need to be well-defined, especially what to do around time-sensitive and critical issues, in what general contexts, and how and when to escalate them. It helps to include a multiple combination of governance styles that can be applied as needed to the governance situation at hand and can respond to change. DATAVERSITY’s DG definition describes the different governance types.

Distributed Systems: Common Pitfalls and Complexity

Concurrency represents one of the most intricate challenges in distributed systems. Concurrency implies the simultaneous occurrence of multiple computations. Consequently, what occurs when an attempt is made to update the account balance simultaneously from disparate operations? In the absence of a defensive mechanism, it is highly probable that race conditions will ensue, which will inevitably result in the loss of writes and data inconsistency. In this example, two operations are attempting to update the account balance concurrently. Since they are running in parallel, the last one to complete wins, resulting in a significant issue. ... The CAP Theorem posits that any distributed data store can only satisfy two of the three guarantees. However, since network unreliability is not a factor that can be significantly influenced, in the case of network partitions, the only viable option is to choose between availability or consistency. Consider the scenario in which two clients read from different nodes: one from the primary node and another from the follower. A replication is configured to update followers after the leader has been changed. However, what happens if, for some reason, the leader stops responding?

Navigating Three Decades of the Cloud

Today’s organizations have recognized the importance of a strategic, scalable, and incremental approach to their cloud migration efforts. While a 'big-bang' approach may seem attractive, successful organizations are opting for a more phased and purpose-driven approach to enterprise-scale cloud migrations. Moving to the cloud isn't as simple as flipping a switch. Well-thought-out strategic planning, coupled with a clear execution roadmap, is critical to success. Now that technology underpins nearly every aspect of the modern enterprise, it's critical to understand the impacts and implications of modernization across operations, management, finance, IT, and beyond. ... Although the cloud offers unparalleled flexibility and scalability, the specter of rising costs prompts many enterprises to reassess their cloud strategies. As the financial implications of cloud usage become more apparent, organizations find themselves at a crossroads, carefully weighing the benefits against the expenses and reevaluating which workloads to retain on-premises or migrate to private cloud environments.

Are Banks Suffering From ‘Innovation Fatigue’ at the Worst Possible Moment?

The report underscores the importance of aligning performance measurement with strategic objectives. While the metrics provided offer valuable insights into industry benchmarks, relying solely on the data without the context of a well-defined strategy can lead to misguided decisions. To strike the right balance, the report recommends that financial institutions develop a comprehensive digital banking metrics framework. This framework should encompass a range of metrics, including investments, adoption, usage, efficiency, and output, ensuring a holistic understanding of digital banking performance and enabling data-driven decision-making. In conclusion, the 2024 Digital Banking Performance Metrics report serves as a wake-up call for the industry. While financial institutions have made significant investments in digital banking capabilities, the strategic impact of these investments remains uncertain. To navigate the evolving digital landscape successfully, institutions must embrace emerging technologies like AI, reignite their innovation drive, and establish robust performance measurement frameworks aligned with their strategic objectives.

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