CIO East Africa - Business Technology Leadership

What is a FRAND? A fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory patent agreement -- and vitally important in today's environment.
What's in a FRAND? Everything, it turns out, as the increasingly bitter smartphone wars reveal that -- when it comes to patented technologies used within industry standards -- not everyone is playing according to the rules.

In the Apple-versus-everybody camp, you see those who control industry standards patents attempting to impose what appear to be iniquitous terms against some of their competitors.

This is what has led the European Commission to launch an investigation against Samsung, and what has caused Motorola to attempt to steal more than 2% of Apple's iPhone income, in exchange for that company's use of the IP contained within established industry standards. That's a huge problem for Apple, and also exposes a huge flaw in the way the patent system works.

Read More...

Facebook Mobile ads are rumored to arrive in March. Here are 5 things I expect Facebook do with them & how to optimize your site in advance
Facebook's IPO has revealed one of its greatest weaknesses: the need to monetize its increasingly mobile user base through advertising. Speculation has been rife about how Facebook plans to solve this problem, which future stockholders will want addressed.
To that end, a new mobile ad program is rumored to launch in March, according to a Financial Times report. Here are five directions Facebook could take with mobile ads, and how your business can position itself to get ready.

1. The Death of the Top or Bottom Banner Ad

It's easy to ignore the banner ad at the bottom of your cell phone screen on a mobile website. While this is the more popular display method for ad platforms like Google Mobile Ads, click-through rates are lower on a mobile device than on a computer. How can Facebook raise those rates? By placing ads in the middle or off to the side of the screen rather than in an easily ignored area.
Optimization Tip: Write short, catchy ad copy in advance. Get 15-, 25-, and 50-word ads ready to go for when Facebook mobile ads drop. Choose graphics carefully or leave them out, as screen space will be extremely limited. This will help your business even if Facebook keeps the common banner ad format, since you'll be able to use those sound bytes for other online ads.

Read More...

Will your earnings-call remarks be masking the possibility of a restatement in the offing?

Just in time for earnings season, research from Duke University is beginning to make the rounds, offering analysts and investors a way to tell from the chief executive's and chief financial officer's tone of voice how bad things really are. And, perhaps, whether a restatement might be in the offing.

The research, by William Mayew and Mohan Venkatachalam, was in circulation a year ago, with minimal attention paid to it. But a National Public Radio story today may take care of the publicity element.

Read More...

 "It doesn't matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don't read anymore ... Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year."

 Wired quoting Steve Jobs on e-readers in 2008

Steve was right. I used to love to read, but how many books do I manage to get through these days? It's a fraction of what I used to, and seeing Jobs' comment recently got me thinking about why this should be.

Read More...

Using your phone while driving is generally against the law, but this smartphone car stereo makes things a little bit easier.

Having your iPhone handy while on the road often requires a complicated set of docking accessories or a variety of cables, adding more hardware to your dashboard than you might want to deal with. Colorado company Devium wants to make things a little simpler with their sleek-looking car stereo system, the Dash. It's custom-made to fit the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, while the complementing app seems geared towards eliminating extra transmitter wires or the need for an external radio.

In fact, the only dial on the Dash controls the volume. Everything else can be accessed by the touchscreen on your iPhone, while the stereo system both amplifies the audio and charges the iDevice. Although it's just launched on Kickstarter, the company's reportedly working on more magnetic faceplates that'll fit Android and Windows Phones, so the Dash app interface (Dashboard) shouldn't strictly be an iOS exclusive. Otherwise, Devium claims that any other app will work natively with the Dash, so you won't have to rely on their custom interface. Plus, no more stowing your iPhone in your cupholders.

Read More...

The 'Net is up in arms over proposed bills to curb online piracy. Here's where your small business may feel the pinch if either goes through

The House of Representative's Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Senate's Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) have been the subject of extensive online activism in recent weeks, with websites going dark for a day in protest over the bills. It isn't just social networking sites and copyright infringers that would be inconvenienced by the bills, but company websites, blogs, and intranets could be affected if either bill made it through.

A Breakdown of PIPA and SOPA

Read More...

Start 2012 with tough questions about your skills, and about how best to blend finance and tech.
The CFO of 2012 will bear little resemblance to one of earlier years. Your burdens are heavier, your purview wider, and the power you wield mightier. Yet how many of you are truly prepared to step into this glaring spotlight?

Just as the role of the CFO is taking on more influence in organizations, the CFO has to take on more skills. Perhaps the best way to start off this New Year is to perform a self-assessment, and figure out the proficiencies you have and those you lack -- especially if those proficiencies involve technology-related responsibilities. You also can ask your teammates and fellow executives to chime in.

Look at the plate in front of you: What projects are on there that you are wary of leading? (Remember: No one can be prepared for everything)? But be honest with yourself and those around you. Trust me, if you aren't now, any inadequacies will become apparent soon enough, and probably at the most embarrassing and critical time for the organization.

For instance, has the board demanded more frequent and more comprehensive reports on compliance? Maybe you're up to speed on Sarbanes-Oxley but not the Payment Card Industry's Data Security Standard; yet both are to be featured in your review. Brush up on the nuances of the standard now. Offer to take several of your CFO peers out to lunch if they'd share their PCI expertise with you. Register for on-demand Webcasts about the subject and make sure to come up with and submit questions for the speakers.

Are you being asked to assume responsibility for IT this year? If so, you'll want to focus your studies on areas where you'll have a deciding vote. IT might need you to weigh in on a move to the cloud and how that would impact current architecture investments or the risk involved. If you're just coming up to speed on the cloud, subscribe to blogs and newsfeeds that prominently debate its merits and drawbacks. Again, consult your peers about their experiences and share their feedback with your IT team.

Is this the year you deploy business intelligence across the organization? BI requires intimate knowledge of how properly aggregating data can result in better models, what-if scenarios and forecasts. Diving into this technology with no background could lead to a catastrophic and costly outcome. Instead, seek out the data management experts in your organization to educate you about analytics. They can point you in the direction of courses and seminars offered by local colleges, industry groups, or vendors to become familiar with the technology.

If this year's goals are performance management and streamlining corporate processes, then chat it up with the business leaders closest to sourcing and acquisitions. Also, consult your professional financial industry associations for a list of seminars and trade shows on this topic. Join email lists about performance management to garner insight about how to effect change in your organization.

Ignorance will not be bliss for CFOs being tasked with more organizational responsibilities. Stay ahead of the curve by making sure you have the awareness and education to effectively lead your newly expanded team.

Password use needs an overhaul that is driven not by guesswork but by actually understanding the real damage that can be done when password security is compromised, according to a Microsoft researcher.

While many call for replacing passwords altogether with something else, they may be doing so based on little or no hard evidence, says Cormac Herley, a principal researcher at Microsoft Research.

ALTERNATIVE: Windows 8 picture password is 'Fisher-Price toy' says father of 2-factor authentication

Read More...

When automakers and wireless providers figure out how to develop and sell a 4G-connected car, our whole relationship with cars will change.

The "4G" term is everywhere now, but although smartphone manufacturers and wireless carriers are using the new technology, we've heard little about it from the automotive industry. The potential is intriguing, however, because in the past decade, car companies have made huge progress in integrating high-speed connected communications and entertainment systems with automobiles.

For an industry that not long ago pushed car phones and trunk-mounted CD changers as the pinnacle of in-vehicle technology, practical services such as GM's pioneering OnStar and high-tech infotainment options like the Mercedes-Benz COMAND system have been significant advances, adding tremendous value and unrivaled convenience for today's drivers.

Read More...

Networking skills are the most in demand

The IT job market in 2012 shows some signs of improvement when it comes to hiring , but most companies still aren't expanding.

Robert Half Technologies, a national recruiting firm that has been conducting quarterly hiring surveys of CIOs since 1995, said a net 10% of those companies surveyed plan to expand their IT departments next quarter.

Read More...