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This Options Trading Platform Is All About Community And User Experience

Benzinga

By Johnny Rice, Benzinga Abdul Zoheb, CEO and Co-Founder of UpLeg LLC, was a panelist at Benzinga’s 9th Annual Fintech Deal Day & Awards. UpLeg is an options trading platform for the retail market. The platform provides intuitive and fine-grained control to traders. Users can choose from over 50 defined strategies and create and share their own. Mr. Zoheb spoke about the importance of an intuitive and informative user experience for the retail market as well as the central nature of influencers and community in trading. Watch the full panel here: Contact Details Benzinga +1 877-440-9464 info@benzinga.com Company Website http://www.benzinga.com

November 21, 2023 09:25 AM Eastern Standard Time

Video

Appier empowers brands to gain a competitive edge in the AI revolution by targeting five key marketing objectives

Appier

TAIPEI, TAIWAN - Media OutReach - 21 November 2023 - Appier, a leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to power digital marketing decision-making, has revealed the essential marketing objectives crucial for businesses navigating today's volatile global economic environment. The company has pioneered a comprehensive AI marketing assistant, designed to optimize efficiency across five critical domains. These include automated advertising material generation, seamless data integration for insights, streamlined customer journey planning, enhanced capture of interactive sales opportunities, and fortified conversational marketing strategies. Appier is dedicated to translating AI into tangible returns on investment through the power of software intelligence. Over the past four years, the company's product portfolio and market presence have seen continuous expansion, driving remarkable operational growth. With revenue growth surpassing fourfold in just five years, Appier remains at the forefront of innovation, leveraging generative AI's creative prowess and decision-making AI's capabilities to fortify its competitive edge. Amidst rising inflation, consumers are increasingly cautious in their spending choices. To capture consumer attention during this inflationary era, leveraging AI to enhance the digital advertising and marketing experience emerges as the key to success. Notably, generative AI currently holds a modest 3% share of the global digital marketing market. According to MarketResearch.biz, the adoption of generative AI in digital marketing could potentially reach a global market value of $19.5 billion by 2032, boasting an impressive average annual growth rate (CAGR) exceeding 29%. This underscores the significant growth potential of generative AI. Businesses that seize the opportunity to harness generative AI to boost productivity, coupled with the predictive power of AI to ensure a return on investment, can secure a competitive edge and bolster brand resilience. Appier also underscores the profound impact and emerging possibilities presented by generative AI. AI has ushered in a genuine computer era, propelling global enterprises beyond the realm of digital transformation and into an era powered by AI. The ascendancy of generative AI has not only revolutionized white-collar work but has also redefined the approach taken by marketers in crafting advertisements, shaping marketing content, and engaging in conversational commerce. Faced with this paradigm shift, businesses can embark on this journey by prioritizing relevant tasks, forming cross-functional teams, conducting small-scale trials, identifying models tailored to their organizations, and efficiently harnessing external resources. Beginning in the fields of advertising and marketing, they can optimize operational efficiency and extend the use of AI for broader business decision-making. Dr. Chih-han Yu, CEO, and Co-founder of Appier, shares this vision - "Appier consistently aligns with our clients, prioritizing a customer-centric ethos. Our team of domain experts spearheads innovative solutions, providing customers with the industry's most advanced AI technology, fortified by our proprietary technology and expanded services. We facilitate real-time data visualization, significantly reducing the time from data acquisition to actionable insights. This empowers our clients to develop cutting-edge AI models using their exclusive data, ultimately enhancing their brand's sustained competitiveness. Through the utilization of generative AI technology, we continuously elevate advertising and marketing outcomes, seamlessly integrating decision-making AI with domain expertise, effectively realizing our mission of 'Making AI easy by making software intelligent." Amid the ongoing economic volatility, Appier is actively creating a comprehensive AI marketing assistant for businesses. The primary goal is to enhance efficiency across five critical objectives: 1. Automatically generating advertising materials Digital advertising is a multifaceted domain that demands significant attention from marketers. It involves monitoring material performance, refreshing content, and creating seasonal visuals. Appier's marketing material generation instructions simplify this process using basic product images and audience profiles. Generative AI swiftly produces multiple sets of advertising materials that align with the audience and season. For instance, in the context of a food delivery app, Appier automates the creation of tailored advertising materials by considering business or product specifics, weather conditions, and audience interests. Real-time tracking enables the AI model to predict and generate similar materials, consistently enhancing advertising effectiveness. 2. Data integration for insights Unifying fragmented data across diverse marketing channels and swiftly extracting valuable insights has long posed a challenge for businesses and marketers. Appier's AI customer data platform offers a seamless solution by effortlessly consolidating data from various origins, encompassing online and offline sales data, user interactions across web and app marketing channels, and external system data. Once integrated, the platform creates a comprehensive 360-degree user profile, delivering clear insights into the user's journey at every interaction point. This real-time analysis allows for proactive exploration of potential customer needs. 3. Auto mated customer journey planning Appier's Co-pilot, driven by generative AI technology, takes the initiative to recommend customer journeys, streamlining work processes for marketers. To benefit from this feature, marketers simply need to outline their marketing needs, for example, "Assist in devising a new product promotion campaign, including step-by-step delivery of product details, features, and early bird offers." Generative AI can then promptly generate a user journey based on these guidelines, significantly reducing the time spent on the manual setup of each marketing stage. This in turn enables marketers to concentrate on the broader aspects of brand strategy planning. 4. Capturing interactive sales opportunities Each moment a customer engages with a website holds significant sales potential. Appier's AI models swiftly identify a customer's purchase intent and sensitivity to pricing, drawing insights from their collected user behavior data. Subsequently, it provides personalized product recommendations to streamline the purchasing process. For instance, when the system detects a price-sensitive customer, it may offer discounts to encourage them to finalize the purchase. On the other hand, for less price-sensitive customers, it can proactively suggest premium products or product bundles, thereby enhancing the average order value. 5. Stren gthening interactive conversational marketing Appier's conversational marketing platform operates in real-time, employing company-provided document data, including product specifics and FAQs, to educate AI models. This training results in contextually relevant dialogue content, ensuring more precise responses and elevating customer satisfaction. Furthermore, Appier's AI Click Optimization feature is tailored to segment-specific communication. It leverages analysis of past push notification records, user behavior, and preferences to target messages toward users with a higher likelihood of engagement. This not only saves businesses costs but also prevents the delivery of irrelevant messages to disinterested users. In the face of unpredictable economic conditions, Appier's harmonious blend of generative AI's creativity and decision-making AI's prowess plays a pivotal role in enabling brands to harness sales opportunities in various marketing scenarios. This, in turn, elevates the brand's distinctiveness, which holds particular significance in an uncertain economic climate. About Appier Appier (TSE: 4180) is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that uses artificial intelligence to power business decision-making. Founded in 2012 with a vision of democratizing AI, Appier now has 17 offices across APAC, Europe, and US, and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Visit www.appier.com for more information about Appier and its applications of generative AI. Contact Details Appier Lara Sampara lara.sampara@appier.com Company Website https://www.appier.com/

November 21, 2023 02:37 AM Eastern Standard Time

Cyber budgets fail to meet expectations with only 1% increase on previous year in the U.S., finds S-RM

S-RM

· In 2023, the average cyber budget for large organizations grew by 3.1% YOY globally to USD 27.10 million — but only by 1% YOY in the U.S. · The increase falls below the 5% rise anticipated by Senior IT professionals and their C-suites cited in S-RM’s Cyber Security Insights Report 2023 · Nearly a third (31%) of organizations say lack of budget is a key cybersecurity challenge S-RM, a leading global corporate intelligence and cybersecurity consultancy, today published its Cyber Security Insights Report 2023, which reveals that this year’s cyber budgets for large organizations are falling short of expectations. In 2023, globally the average cyber budget grew to USD 27.10 million, up 3.1% from USD 26.30 million in 2022. In the U.S., budgets grew only by 1%. S-RM’s research shows that senior IT professionals and their C-suites had anticipated a more substantial increase of 5%, which would have seen budgets reach USD 27.60 million. The appetite for more budget comes after a year of rising operational costs – a result of wider economic turbulence – and a growing cyber threat following rapid advancements in generative AI. Cybersecurity departments want more budget to upskill employees (42%) and recruit additional skilled personnel (41%) to accommodate this rising threat. On average, cyber budgets make up a quarter (25%) of an organization's overall IT budget, marking a 1% decrease in share from 2022. This allocation varies across sectors, with Retail being the most generous (28%) and Energy & Utilities allocating the least (18%) toward tackling cyber threats. Navigating tightened purse strings Lack of budget was cited as a key challenge by nearly one third (31%) of organizations. To navigate this, cybersecurity teams have been prioritizing spend in the most ‘value for money’ areas. For the third consecutive year, investment in cyber technology topped the list, though fewer organizations highlighted technology as delivering the value commensurate with its cost in 2023 (49%) than in 2022 (58%). This dip can be attributed to a growing awareness that alongside cybersecurity technology, organizations need to invest in governance and personnel to effectively enable and manage new tech. This is a view more prevalent among IT professionals charged with implementing cyber tech solutions, with only 43% citing technology as ‘high value for money’ compared to 56% of C-suite executives. The findings reflect a misalignment of expectations between the operators of cyber technologies and those a step removed from their day-to-day applications. Organizations are adopting several other strategies to manage cybersecurity with restricted budgets: IT and security optimization - Identifying cost reduction opportunities by making existing processes more efficient to allocate budget for more critical initiatives. Future-focused investment - Investing now in security initiatives for long-term cost savings. Outsourcing - Contracting out IT and security functions to Managed Service Security Providers (MSSPs) or virtual Chief Information Security Officers (vCISOs). Paul Caron, Head of Cybersecurity, Americas at S-RM, said: “It’s reassuring that cybersecurity budgets are still rising in these challenging times, but this level of increase is simply not enough to tackle the growing cyber threat. This year’s increase has failed to meet the expectations of cyber teams and reveals that cyber security may be taking a back seat as its share of the overall IT budget declines. “Navigating ongoing skill shortages and investing in training and development of teams comes at a cost, but cyber professionals are not receiving the budget they need to deliver on these critical initiatives. Organizations will have to continue being cautious with cyber security spend, identifying those ‘value for money’ areas that will enable them to manage emerging cyber threats with tightened purse strings.” For more information, access the full 2023 Cyber Security Insights Report on S-RM's official website here: https://www.s-rminform.com/cyber-security-insights-report-2023 ENDS Notes to Editors: Methodology: The S-RM Cyber Security Insights Report 2023 follows on from our 2022 report, where we seek to understand the specific cybersecurity challenges faced by C-suite leaders and senior IT decision makers. For the 2023 report, we interviewed 602 C-Suite and senior IT professionals on the most pressing cyber challenges, cyber security incidents, and cyber budgets over the past year. For more information, access the full 2023 Cyber Security Insights Report on S-RM's official website here: https://www.s-rminform.com/cyber-security-insights-report-2023 About S-RM S-RM is a global corporate intelligence and cybersecurity consultancy with expertise in insurance, cybersecurity, and cyber response. Headquartered in London, S-RM works across 9 international offices and advises companies ranging from blue-chip corporates to large financial institutions, and beyond. To find out more about S-RM, visit https://www.s-rminform.com/ Contact Details Meir Kahtan +1 917-864-0800 mkahtan@rcn.com

November 20, 2023 02:00 PM Eastern Standard Time

Digital Detox: What is it and Do You Need One?

YourUpdateTV

A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://youtu.be/jinxQF8-WHw By disconnecting from the digital world for an extended amount of time, people can experience reduced anxiety, better sleep, and a greater sense of presence in the real world. Digital detox also encourages healthier relationships with technology, aiding users in breaking the cycle of addiction to digital devices and regain control over their screen time. Especially as the holidays near, digital detox is top of mind for many Americans as they work to unplug and focus on being present with family, friends and loved ones. With the introduction of the new razr, Motorola is unveiling a new software experience called Moto Unplugged to help users take a break from their smartphone and remove distractions. Driven by Gen Z’s need to establish healthy boundaries with their devices, Motorola created Moto Unplugged to empower users to take a step back and match their mobile experience with their mindset - allowing them to choose when and how they want to disconnect. Setup is simple. Users choose essential apps and contacts they want notifications from. Then whenever they want to unplug, they select a time frame and start a digital break. For example, if a user needs to focus during work hours, they could choose to access only their email or Microsoft Teams and not see any other app during that Unplugged session. Or, for those looking to disconnect for some personal time, users can choose to limit which social media and messaging apps are accessible and which are temporarily blocked. That means more quality time with friends & family, more time to focus on the work that matters now, and more time to balance day-to-day life. Whatever the motivation may be, Moto Unplugged helps users disconnect and break away from the distractions of their phone. The pocketable design of the motorola razr and razr+ also lends itself to supporting users’ mental well-being with features like: An interactive external display: The razr offers a1.5" external display, ideal for those who want to disconnect while their phone is closed. Users can still view notifications, check their calendar and more on the external display, so they can stay connected, and not distracted. The 1.5" external display keeps users up to date with the latest notifications—without having to flip open the phone.. With the razr+, users have a larger 3.6" external display, which allows users to check notifications, respond to emails and messages, and manage virtually any app without opening the phone. This means users can check off tasks quickly without getting absorbed into their device. Innovative Flex View: Both devices also offer fun opportunities for content capture. Using Flex View, users can stand the phone at multiple angles - using it as a hands-free tripod of sorts. Both devices offer interactive camera features like Photo Booth, which can be fun for the whole family especially around the holidays. To learn more about Moto Unplugged and razr, the trendiest new device of the season, visit: motorola.com. About Hailey Bright Hailey Bright is a highly sought-after Television Host & Social Media Influencer who is best known for bringing her upbeat savvy know-how and expertise to audiences across the country. Hailey has hosted shows on ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, MTV, Syfy, Spike TV, DirecTV, Red Bull Signature Series, GSN, KTLA, DEFY, Poker Central, POPSUGAR, Clevver TV News, Walmart, Toyota, Microsoft, Best Buy, TechCrunch, Dreamhack eSports, NewEgg, Echo Fox eSports, Regal Cinemas, & Warner Brothers. As an influencer, Hailey has over 150,000 dedicated online fans and has partnered with a number of brands including Amazon, Walmart, Hilton, Toyota, Kellogg’s, Suave, Sephora, Purina, Frito-Lay, Anheuser-Busch, Ubisoft, Polaroid, Hertz, Sundance, and Marvel Comics. She can currently be seen hosting on Red Bull’s Crashed Ice World Tour airing on FOX. When not working, you can find Hailey tinkering with the latest tech gadgets, decorating homes, planning her next off-the-beaten path getaway, being a food monster and eating everything in site, playing video games, running, or watching her favorite tv shows for the millionth time. Hailey loves to share a joke, have fun, and laugh with everyone she meets. Socials: Instagram 94.8k followers Facebook 20k followers Contact Details YourUpdateTV +1 212-736-2727 yourupdatetv@gmail.com

November 20, 2023 01:56 PM Eastern Standard Time

Video

Founder Of Business Credit Consultants Discusses Predatory Loan Situations Small Businesses May Find Themselves In

Benzinga

By Faith Ashmore, Benzinga Richard Gusmano, Founder of Business Credit Consultants, spoke at the panel “Sustainable Growth: Collaborative Strategies for Environmental and Economic Success” at Benzinga’s Future of Digital Assets Conference. Gusmano talks about the dangerous economic options being presented to small businesses that don’t know any better. Oftentimes small businesses come across what looks to be loans but are advances. These advances sometimes have 30-40% interest rates, which put those businesses in financial danger. Watch Exclusive Footage Here Contact Details Benzinga +1 877-440-9464 info@benzinga.com Company Website http://www.benzinga.com

November 20, 2023 01:00 PM Eastern Standard Time

Video

Bitdeer Shares Its Successful Approach To Cryptocurrency Mining

Benzinga

By Faith Ashmore, Benzinga Haris Basit, Chief Strategy Officer of Bitdeer (NASDAQ: BTDR), spoke at the panel “Tales From a Crypto Miner” at Benzinga’s Future of Digital Assets Conference. April 2024 is the next Bitcoin halving. Basit shares that in preparation for this halving, miners should focus on mining fleet efficiency and cost of energy, as well as make sure that they have a lot of capital to be able to wait out to return of higher prices. Watch Exclusive Footage Here Contact Details Benzinga +1 877-440-9464 info@benzinga.com Company Website http://www.benzinga.com

November 20, 2023 01:00 PM Eastern Standard Time

Video

Curb and American Express Expand Partnership This Holiday Season to Celebrate Drivers in Additional Markets

Curb

Curb, the leading taxi solutions provider and ride-hailing app for licensed taxi and for-hire rides in North America, today announced its 2023 holiday rewards program for drivers, in partnership with American Express. As a driver-first organization, Curb recognizes the integral role drivers play in propelling urban mobility forward and is continually identifying new ways to offer greater support and benefits. Aligned with these initiatives, Curb will manage and distribute American Express® gift cards provided by American Express to honor drivers for all their hard work in providing dependable transportation this holiday season and beyond. Curb will distribute the gift cards to a select number of outstanding drivers that use the Curb e-hail platform in New York City, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Chicago once per month from the end of November to coincide with Small Business Saturday, through the end of April. Given that drivers represent small business owners themselves, Curb will once again be joining American Express’ Small Business Saturday® Corporate Supporter Program to raise additional awareness for supporting small businesses. “We are so proud of this program’s success last year in New York and, together with American Express, are excited to expand into other cities and honor the hard-working drivers who support our busy lives every day,” said Amos Tamam, CEO of Curb. “With this time of the year being one of the most intense for our drivers, we truly appreciate their dedication to excellent service and to going above and beyond for customers.” Launched last year in New York City, the program proved to be highly successful, inspiring drivers to maintain their enduring enthusiasm, which was reflected in continued, strong performance across the Curb platform. “In line with American Express’ continued efforts to support small businesses, partnering with Curb enables us to recognize taxi drivers who provide essential transportation services,” said Tatia Adams Fox, Vice-President and General Manager in the National Client Group at American Express. “We are thrilled to run this program again at a larger scale, reinforcing our commitment to supporting local economies across these vibrant cities.” To learn more about Curb, please visit gocurb.com. About Curb Curb is reimagining urban mobility with a driver-first approach to ride-hailing. Bringing upfront pricing to the largest nationwide network of taxis and licensed for-hire vehicles, Curb provides unparalleled transparency to riders and drivers alike. Curb is connected to over 100,000 drivers in dozens of cities across the US and UK, powering millions of taxi rides worldwide and facilitating billions of dollars in payment transactions annually through its open mobility platform. Curb has built an innovative suite of products that provide a unified supply of taxis and licensed for-hire vehicles - the first of its kind to bring solutions for passengers, drivers, and fleet management. Their B2B services power millions of rides for transit agencies, healthcare providers, and businesses while also providing effortless payments and advertising that reaches captive audiences of millions on Taxi TV. About American Express American Express is a globally integrated payments company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn more at americanexpress.com and connect with us on facebook.com/americanexpress, instagram.com/americanexpress, linkedin.com/company/american-express, twitter.com/americanexpress, and youtube.com/americanexpress. Key links to products, services and corporate responsibility information: personal cards, business cards, travel services, gift cards, prepaid cards, merchant services, Accertify, Kabbage, Resy, corporate card, business travel, diversity and inclusion, corporate responsibility and Environmental, Social, and Governance reports. Contact Details N6 Powered by KRMA Zak Hawke +1 717-756-7536 curb@n6krma.com Company Website https://www.gocurb.com/

November 20, 2023 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

News Release

Analyst Makes a Bitcoin (BTC) Price Prediction Pre-Halving Event: Can Tron (TRX) and Everlodge (ELDG) Keep Pace?

Total Media

As the highly anticipated Bitcoin (BTC) halving event draws near, analysts predict where its price might sit before this significant milestone. Amidst this thrilling anticipation, the eyes of the crypto world are not solely fixated on this crypto king; altcoins like Tron (TRX) and Everlodge ( ELDG ) are also in the spotlight. Join the Everlodge presale and win a luxury holiday to the Maldives Bitcoin (BTC): The Race to $50,000 The renowned crypto analyst Captain Faibik recently made a bullish Bitcoin (BTC) price prediction. If Bitcoin maintains stability within the 34-38,000 range for the next two months, the price surge could witness BTC soaring to an impressive $50,000 by late March. This projection provides a potential roadmap for Bitcoin's trajectory after the significant halving event. Regarding Bitcoin price performance, the token value has increased from $35,322 on November 14th to $36,324 on November 16th. Additionally, Bitcoin has experienced a reasonable 60% green days and modest price volatility of around 7.97% over the last 30 days alone. The market awaits if Captain Faibik's Bitcoin price prediction will steer it to new heights in the coming months. Tron (TRX): Exhibiting Bullish Momentum Meanwhile, Tron (TRX) has recently emerged with notable vigor, showcasing substantial growth within its DeFi sector. Notably, Tron announced that its DeFi space TVL has surged impressively, marking a milestone at $19.8B. This surge shows Tron's growing ecosystem and its escalating utilization among users. The Tron price has also reflected this growth, rising from $0.09 on November 9th to $0.10 on November 16th. Moreover, Tron has been trading consistently above its 100 and 200-day EMAs, a good indicator signaling sustained positive market sentiment. As a result, analysts have made a bullish Tron price prediction. They project its price to hit $0.11 by December 2023. The platform's steady expansion and robust DeFi participation position TRX favorably for an upward trajectory before the Bitcoin halving event. Everlodge (ELDG): Presale Advances at Lightning Speed Amidst the hype surrounding Bitcoin and Tron's DeFi growth, Everlodge (ELDG) is also making its mark. This rising presale star has already reached Stage 7 of its presale, providing early buyers with an astonishing 150% return. Traders are displaying a great deal of confidence in Everlodge's growth as millions of ELDG native tokens have been sold already. Essentially, Everlodge aims to revolutionize the $280T real estate market by eliminating all issues plaguing it. For example, if you are a trader with a small capital, high-end properties may not be available in traditional marketplaces. Everlodge will change this by digitizing and minting villas or vacation homes into NFTs and then fractionalizing them. This feature will give you an excellent opportunity to become a fractional owner of a mountain cabin or a beachfront villa for prices as low as $100. Another exciting aspect of Everlodge is that anyone can trade their NFTs on secondary markets - adding to its liquidity. This is vital for all those who desire the flexibility to enter or exit quickly. All these features are driven by ELDG, which is now worth only $0.025. Unlike Bitcoin and Tron, it has a low market cap. Meaning that ELDG needs fewer new funds for its price to grow. Therefore, experts foresee a rise to $0.038 before its presale ends. By joining this presale right now, you will also be eligible for a Maldives holiday giveaway - a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Find out more about the Everlodge (ELDG) Presale Website: https://www.everlodge.io/ Telegram: https://t.me/everlodge Contact Details Everlodge Media Team media@everlodge.io

November 20, 2023 08:15 AM Eastern Standard Time

75% of Software Engineers Faced Retaliation Last Time They Reported Wrongdoing

Engprax

As AI continued to bring public concerns about computer systems to the forefront, earlier this year FTX’s former Director of Engineering plead guilty to his role in wrongdoing at the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange. Meanwhile, the Horizon IT Inquiry continues to investigate how faulty accounting software has been blamed for multiple suicides and what has been described as “the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history”, with those wrongly imprisoned including a pregnant woman. An investigation 1 conducted by Dr Junade Ali CEng FIET 2 has uncovered systematic ongoing failures affecting software engineers and therefore computer systems used by broader society. 53% of software engineers surveyed by the polling firm Survation say they’ve suspected wrongdoing at work. Of those who speak up, 75% report facing retaliation the last time they reported wrongdoing to their employers. In instances where software engineers stayed silent, the top two reasons cited were potential retaliation from management (59%) and potential retaliation from colleagues (44%). Some companies have also sought to bypass public interest disclosure laws by getting employees to agree to warranty clauses during severance stipulating they know of no grounds to make protected disclosures. Such protected disclosures can include matters related to criminality, failure to comply with legal obligations, miscarriages of justice, health and safety dangers, or environmental damage. Despite these workaround clauses being banned by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2016, the investigation has found that they continued to be used in a financial institution - as evidenced by a settlement agreement between Worldpay and current BT CEO, Philip Jansen. The agreement lists automatic unfair dismissal for making a protected disclosure as a “particular claim” settled under the agreement and in exchange for signing the agreement Mr Jansen was paid £251,282 as a severance payment, the first £30,000 of which was tax-free, in addition to a £20,000 plus VAT contribution to legal fees, £3,700 plus VAT in outplacement counselling services and £100 for agreeing to post-termination restrictions. Commenting on the settlement agreement between Worldpay and Philip Jansen, Professor Richard Moorhead, Professor of Law and Professional Ethics at the University of Exeter, said: “If the clause is in breach of the FCA rules then this is a serious matter that I would expect them to look into, identify the senior people responsible, and take appropriate action. Any lawyers on top of their brief and involved in drafting such a clause would, I think, be expected to advise their clients that such clauses were inappropriate under FCA rules.” With engineers feeling unsafe to speak up, the investigation has also found the “industry standard” metrics frameworks used to assess software teams are flawed. Whilst Google’s DORA team has continued to use metrics that prioritise speed (and volume) to measure the delivery performance of software teams, a nationally representative poll of British adults ranked “getting the latest features as quickly as possible” least important to them when using computer systems (22%). Of the 10 different dimensions measured, the public was most likely to agree “to a great extent” that data security (62%), data accuracy (55%) and ensuring there are no serious bugs (55%) mattered to them. Of 8 dimensions, software engineers were least likely to agree “to a great extent” that “delivering work quickly” was most important to their jobs (33%); instead being able to provide for their families (52%), delivering work that is highly reliable (51%) and ensuring their work kept data secure (47%) came top. Additionally, whilst newer frameworks have focussed on the use of surveys within team settings; the investigation found, alongside the risk of retaliation for speaking up, 1 in 6 software engineers feel unable to express ideas or concerns, speak up with questions, or admit to mistakes, without fear of negative consequences. Nearly 1 in 4 software engineers said they were unable to take calculated risks without fear of negative consequences. Prior research identified in the investigation has also shown that “those with the lowest programming skill” are most likely to be most over-optimistic at evaluating software delivery performance in large projects. With 44% of those who didn’t report wrongdoing attributing fear of retaliation from colleagues as a reason, the study highlights the need to ensure subjective employee feedback mechanisms are not used as a tool for retaliation. Commenting on the entire investigation, Dr Junade Ali CEng FIET, the Principal Investigator of the study, said: “Recent developments demonstrate the fundamental importance of software engineers being free to raise the alarm when they become aware of potential wrongdoing; unfortunately our research has highlighted that software engineers are not sufficiently protected when they need to do so. From software engineers facing mass retaliation for speaking up and banned gagging clauses still being used, to ‘industry-standard’ software development metrics not considering the public’s risk appetite; this investigation has highlighted systematic and profound issues with society-wide impact, given how integral computers are to all our lives. Our investigation has shown a tendency for problems to be swept below the rug until they reach boiling point rather than addressed, this is neither compassionate nor honest for those involved.” In relation to the Worldpay settlement agreement, the Solicitors Regulation Authority said: “It’s not clear that any solicitors were involved in this matter. The FCA as Worldpay’s regulator will investigate this matter and if they felt that any solicitors were involved in drafting agreements that breach our rules, they would refer them to us through our agreed channels.” … “We were made aware in 2018 that solicitors potentially could be forgetting their legal obligations when drawing up settlement agreements and were including NDAs that were not compliant with the law. That led to us putting out a warning notice in 2018 that we updated in 2020 to make sure the profession did not breach its obligations. Solicitors should uphold the rule of law and proper administration of justice, after all.” FIS who own Worldpay, Phillip Jansen, the Post Office and the Financial Conduct Authority did not respond to requests for comment. BT Group declined to comment. Detailed responses from Professor Richard Moorhead, the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Post Office can be found in the report. 1 The Dark Side of Software Development - Dr Junade Ali CEng FIET served as Principal Investigator for the study. Opinion polling conducted by Survation. Survation is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Survation is a Market Research Society (MRS) Company Partner. All UK adults polling fieldwork was done between 29th September and 8th October (1,989 nationally representative sample, providing 95% confidence the ‘true’ result will fall within 2.20% of the sample result). Software Engineer polling fieldwork conducted on the 25th October (n = 280, providing 95% confidence the ‘true’ result will fall within 5.85% of the sample result). 2 Dr Junade Ali MSc PhD CEng FIET is a British software engineer and computer scientist. About Engprax Engprax is a Scottish company offering software audits, investigations and consultancy - minimising the risks associated with software whilst maximising reward, to ensure all of society sees the benefits from technology. To learn more, please visit: https://www.engprax.com/ Contact Details Engprax Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 b.mahmood@stockwoodstrategy.com Company Website https://www.engprax.com/

November 20, 2023 07:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

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