Tag Archives: Blog

Moving Data Security to the Centre of the Business

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by Jon Collins, Senior Technology Consultant at Inter Orbis

A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to speak to Clément Cazelot at Intralinks, about the role of data security in the digital world. As I ruminate on our discussion, I can’t help wondering how the message would be received. After all, it’s not as if we haven’t spoken about data security before.

Some of the topics may seem familiar — the fact that a company’s electronic boundaries are no longer impenetrable (if they ever were), for example. The Jericho Forum was set up in 2004 to promote the idea of de-perimeterisation; the organisation folded in 2013 when it was clear this had become the norm.

And as for data being a strategic business asset, well, that takes me back to a meal of senior security people I attended a good few years ago. All agreed with the premise, if only the business felt the same.

Or what about the fact that security doesn’t have to be seen as an unwelcome cost, but as a ‘business enabler’? This counterpoint to security’s frequent struggle for funds has been around ever since I was an IT manager, as far as I know, and probably longer.

So, what gives? Are we destined to trot out the same messages for the next few decades, as part of a continued attempt to squeeze paltry security funding out of a disinterested budgetary stone? While this may be true, bigger events are afoot.

Over a mere handful of years, technology’s role has morphed. Even as the Jericho Forum was staking its claim, Nicholas Carr was presenting the popular fiction that IT had commoditised and could no longer be the basis of competitive advantage.

Of the former, he may have been right: tech has become an intrinsic element of our post-millennial existence. Even electric toothbrushes contain tiny processors, simply because they are the cheapest option.

But, the latter point. IT is not only a source of business advantage; rather, it has become the primary source, driving innovation and engagement across every industry. While the term ‘digital transformation’ may lack definition, business leaders around the world are changing their strategies accordingly.

It is this change of emphasis that trumps all previous statements about the role of security. If data really is the new oil, its protection becomes paramount. In the digitally enabled business, security cannot be considered as a bolt-on. It is an inherent part of business success.

So yes, sure, let’s keep talking about where security fits, about how to encrypt data and architect systems to minimise technical, and therefore business risk. But let’s also recognise that if data is moving to the centre of business strategy and execution, then so must its security.

Are You Getting the Most ROI from Your LTO?

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By Dani Schooley and Stephanie Davis

Are you looking to drive traffic and impact the bottom line? Maybe you have implemented limited time offers (LTOs), but experienced only mediocre results. Join us for a webinar that will highlight the challenges associated with LTOs and provide a framework to help you counter these risks and maximize the success and profitability of your promotions.

Let’s face it: The foodservice industry is a challenging marketplace. Total restaurant industry traffic is stagnant. Consumers are more demanding than ever about food quality, choice and variety. Technology advancements are changing the speed of business while commodity availability and prices are impacting everything from menu development to wages.

To combat these challenges, many foodservice brands are implementing LTOs. Among the 250 largest chains in the United States, LTOs have increased 25 percent over the last five years. And, they’ve done so with good reason. The LTO is a popular marketing tactic that historically has proven to be good for business. They play to consumers’ desires for new products or experiences and they serve to generate excitement and engagement. But, LTOs are tough to execute well.

Consider the variables that can undermine the best-planned LTOs. Foodservice supply chains are inherently complex. As brands look to offer the variety, local flavors and freshness consumers are demanding, the complexity grows. More suppliers mean a larger network of trading partners and systems to communicate with and more opportunities for breaks in supply. Add to these variables lack of visibility across the supply chain, unpredictable weather events, fluctuations in commodity pricing, multiple SKUs and fickle consumer tastes, and it’s no wonder LTOs are difficult to implement successfully.  Unfortunately, when LTOs under-perform, the entire organization is impacted and the brand’s reputation and bottom line often take a hit.

HAVI Global Solutions (HGS) helps brands maximize their LTO investments. Our approach to promotional and supply chain analytics is focused on actionable visibility, customized reporting and demand planning across organizations and with supply chain partners. HGS manages more than three billion forecasting transactions every day. We help customers get their products and materials where they need to go, when they need to get there and support them throughout the entire supply chain network.

We have developed a four-phased event planning process that makes strategic collaboration possible and provides the rigor necessary to counter the risks inherent in LTOs and maximize the success and profitability of these promotions:

  • Phase 1: Event initialization. We gather information from the brand and its trading partners to better understand the data that is available and how that information will be communicated in support of the LTO.
  • Phase 2: Pre-event planning. We help the brand develop an initial forecast and predict high-end and low-end sales scenarios to support contingency planning.
  • Phase 3: Event management. We monitor actual performance against forecasted performance.  Near real-time data also is monitored and events are addressed swiftly and collaboratively to avoid negative effects.
  • Phase 4: Post-event insights. We document actual performance relative to expectations, decompose gaps and incorporate these insights into feedback in the form of “lessons learned” for future events. 

Our repeatable process, coupled with technology-enabled planning and analytics, provides the rigor that ensures everyone within an organization and along the supply chain is aligned on objectives, strategy and execution from the program’s inception. We centralize information and promote collaboration and insights-based decision-making. The result? Brands achieve increased sales, accurate forecasting, best-in-class supply chain management, reduced inventory obsolescence and better demand planning.

Are you looking to leverage LTOs to break through in a crowded marketplace, excite customers and drive sales?

Please join us for a webinar, Delivering the LTO Promise, March 31, 2016, at 10 AM EST / 3PM GMT, to learn how rethinking your LTO process and tools can help you deliver the LTO promise. We will talk through HGS’ four-phased planning process and share an example of how one company is using this strategic approach to deliver positive results across the supply chain and impact the bottom line.

Dani Schooley is director of planning solutions at HAVI Global Solutions. She has more than 15 years of supply chain experience. Her career has spanned multiple industries, including pharmaceutical, retail and foodservice. Stephanie Davis is director of promotions management at HAVI Global Solutions. With more than 12 years of marketing and supply chain experience, Stephanie’s career has predominantly focused on the foodservice industry. 

How is forming digital partnerships key for your corporation’s growth?

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The ‘always on’ customer is driving a new era of organisation – an organisation that must look past its current form and look to draw on the ‘power of many’ to drive innovation in a hyper-disruptive world.

Telstra recently launched Connecting Companies: Strategic Partnerships for the Digital Age, the second in a series of global thought leadership research pieces, with the first part called ‘Connecting Countries’ published in 2014. The latest research examines how businesses are responding to a new environment of rapid change and technological disruption, with many finding it increasingly tough to go it alone. As a result, many companies are entering into digital partnerships of one form or another to develop digital capabilities.

Conventional strategic relationships between organisations have of course been around for many years, however, the traditional alliances have historically been about the complementarity of assets, logistics firms pooling container ships to make a new route for example. The difference with digital partnerships is that they are all about knowledge – today’s firms are so specialised that it means knowledge is really very difficult to get.

The digital revolution itself, by sharply reducing the costs of doing business, is enabling small, specialist businesses to punch above their weight. The Connecting Companies research supported this as when specifically asked their view on technology driven start-ups, over a third of our respondents called them out as potential business partners – in some regions, such as China, we saw this number increase to over half.

Being able to do one thing brilliantly and having the depth of capability required to do that better than anyone else starts differentiating you in the market – however more specialised organisations require a lot more collaboration.

What stands out for me most of all in our most recent report is that only 24 percent of executives said their companies were responsible for causing digital disruption. This means three-quarters of businesses are either just responding or only watching disruption happen to them. That really is asking for trouble. If you aren’t trying to find ways to use digital technology to disrupt your competitors and find new customers, there’s every chance someone will eat your lunch!

For us, Connecting Companies has allowed us to gain a better understanding of our own customers’ approach to digital transformation and has highlighted the need for a clear digital road map. There is no use running out and forming alliances because everyone else is doing it, companies must be strategic in their choices, working with trusted partners to embark on their own digital discovery. I encourage you all to download the report for the full findings and we look forward to using these insights to aid ongoing development of Telstra’s own digital capabilities.

Learn more about the recent report in the Telstra webinar: Connecting Companies: Strategic Partnerships for the Digital Age. Register here.

The Useful Guide to Unique Device Identification

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For the sake of patient safety, the ability to track and trace medical devices at a global level is paramount. However there are some key considerations to be aware of when implementing UDI.

Download our useful guide to discover the benefits of UDI, discover how it is tracked, who it is relevant to and more: http://www.prisymid.com/resources/blog/399-the-useful-guide-to-unique-device-identification.

You can also register for the PRISYM ID webinar ‘How the GUDID Was It?’ to discuss UDI has changed the medical device labeling landscape. Register now.

Making Air Pollution Control Profitable

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Removing acids from boiler flue gas allows users the opportunity to profit from the need to operate an air pollution control system.

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While traditionally applied technologies are well known, such as SCR NOx reduction, the secret lies in Dürr’s low-CAPEX SCR active Catalytic Hot Gas Filter in combination with the cost-effective Furnace Sorbent Injection system engineered by ClearChem Development. Acid-free flue gas liberates steam for electricity generation while intelligent utilization of the latent heat of vaporization takes over the heating of the boiler feed water. As a major result the boiler heat rate is improved, contributing to the boiler’s efficiency as well as necessary BSER achievements of the Clean Power Plan, like CO2 reduction.

Intelligent integration of the Dürr and ClearChem technology in a side stream arrangement of existing air pollution control equipment, as shown in the above ESP example, can furthermore help to improve the overall performance by:

  • Changing operation mode of existing equipment to partial load, thereby helping to reduce consumption figures and enhance efficiencies
  • Meeting additional emission requirements by incremental addition of functionality, like SCR NOx reduction, in a side stream arrangement without putting power production at risk
  • Being upgradeable for future requirements thanks to modular design
  • Improving all over sulfur reduction while at the same time allowing for condensing operation

While CAPEX requirements for a side stream arrangement can be even further reduced, necessary footprint is optimized for the required achievement. Mrs. Wiebke Hagendorf-Schroter, VP of Dürr Clean Technology Systems, says, “We are proud to present a technology that helps our customers in a cost effective way to address greenhouse gas emission reduction for existing coal fired boilers, while for the first time offering a return on investment. This is an important step towards useful lifetime extension for our customer’s assets.”

Discuss in more detail how you can make air pollution control more profitable in our webinar with expert Martin Schroter, Senior Manager of Business Development. Register now!

Dürr Systems, Inc.
26801 Northwestern Highway
Southfield, MI 48033
Phone +1 248-450-2000
Email [email protected]
www.durr-cleantechnology.com

Top Tips for Terrific InkJet Print

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Ms. Pat McGrew, M-EDP, CMP – InkJet Evangelist  / PageWide Web Press / HP

Inkjet printing is a powerful force. It gives you amazing speed, beautiful print quality, and a variety of finishing options that let you meet the most demanding client requirements. Inkjet is, however, different from other printing technologies. A bit of planning and a bit of client education can go a long way toward ensuring that every print job runs smoothly. Here is our top ten list of things that should be on your “Job Onboarding Checklist” as you expand your business!

1. Understand the history of the job. Was it built for inkjet or is the file coming with a history of printing on offset or toner devices?

Why do you care? Jobs built for other devices may have been tuned for those devices. Decisions taken when preparing the images or setting ICC profiles attached to specific images or graphic elements could impact your ability to get the best print quality. So take a look and ask some questions. If there are specific ICC profiles attached to images and elements, test print to see if they are the best for your printing environment.

2. Review the resolution of each image and graphic in the print job.

Why do you care? Designers are wonderful people with a great eye for design. They often reuse elements they like, especially when they are preparing a multi-channel campaign. Occasionally they pull an image into the print file without realizing that it’s a 72dpi or 96dpi image that is not suitable for printing at the best quality. A quick trip through a preflight package can save time by identifying any images that are less than the 300dpi we like to see.

3. Review the color spaces for each image and graphic in the print job.

Why do you care? Color spaces can often be resolved in the digital front end. Many people print jobs successfully that have images using both CYMK and RGB color spaces. But a best practice is to get everything into a single color space if possible. Which one? To be honest, either can work well. The press is a CYMK press, so I tend to start there, but for jobs that have an RGB history, sRGB images work quite well.

4.  Look at the subject matter of the images. What are the levels of light and dark in the images?

In this image the contrast of the white paper and the rewind mechanics plus the shadows under the roll of print makes this a difficult image to print well. Take the time to go into photoshop and brighten the areas that need detail or consider cropping away the deep shadows. Our goal is always to get our colors to look rich and vibrant. We do that best by putting as little inko n the page as we can. When we encounter images like this on we walk a very fine line between getting the best black we can and getting vibrant colors. That’s why the prepress work pays off.

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5. Review your file preparation settings to avoid over-inking.

Why do you care? Don’t tell my boss, but sometimes less ink is better. When files come in that were prepared for offset or other technologies they sometimes come in with ink settings that call for 150% or 200% ink levels. That worked for those technologies because they needed that level of saturation to get their best colors. Here in the world of the HP InkJet Web Press we get the best crispness and color when we match ink profiles to the specific paper and then adjust if needed. In many cases starting with an ink profile at 95% gives you a great start, and then you can dial up or down as needed before you lock in your production profile for the job.

This is just a starting point. Take a look at every facet of your print requirements and be brave. Test variations. Create new profiles. The results will be the best print you can get!

For more information go to hp.com/go/pagewidewebpress.

You can also join experts from HP Inc. and Symeta nv in the webinar ‘Triple customer retention by moving to fully personalized mail‘. Register here.

Mission Possible; Streamlining Label Validation

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For many years, validating labeling processes has felt like an impossible mission for global medical device manufacturers, and has in some ways become a major barrier to the deployment of new systems for the fear of lengthy testing cycles and spiraling costs. Yet Label Lifecycle Management (LLM) is a mission critical ‘must have’ for life sciences organization that need to streamline processes, reduce labeling errors and mitigate risk.

It’s understandable that companies are cautious of change. The medical market is risk adverse in its very nature, no one can afford mistakes that threaten patient safety. Yet the move to newer labeling processes and methodologies offers real business gain that would mitigate such risks. So it shouldn’t be if LLM should be implemented, but how.

GAMP V (Good Automated Manufacturing Practice) sets out five key concepts to help medical device companies reduce the escalating costs of validation and improve compliance whilst bringing greater efficiency. These key concepts are:

  • Product and process understanding
  • Lifecycle approach within a Quality Management System (QMS)
  • Scalable lifecycle activities
  • Science-based quality risk management
  • Leveraging supplier involvement

The latter concept, which encourages companies to take full advantage of supplier capabilities, is perhaps key. The guide advises that regulated companies should ‘maximize supplier involvement throughout the system lifecycle in order to leverage knowledge, experience and documentation, subject to satisfactory supplier investment’. It argues that suppliers could be well placed to help with requirements gathering, risk assessments and the creation of functional specifications, as well as system configuration, testing, support and maintenance.

The long-standing notion of ‘validation pain’ need no longer present a barrier to the introduction of LLM innovation. With the right supplier, validation is no longer an impossible mission, you too can transform your validation cycle to drive progress, productivity and profitability.

To discover more tips on how to make the validation process simpler, why not register for our webinar and download our free whitepaper ‘Validation Pain to Real Business Gain’

A Novel Tool to Meet Water Compliance and Quality Requirements in the Food and Beverage Industry

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Here we propose a technology that offers a new suit of capabilities to support you in different challenges arising from meeting regulatory standards.

Discharge and Trucking Costs

Some of the areas of regulation that are proving hard to meet include the removal of pesticides, colour and hard to treat recalcitrant organics, especially at trace level. To treat regulatory compounds to levels acceptable for discharge can result in having to truck waste or absorb discharge fees. Finding means to treat waste on site and to higher standards with the right technology can help reduce cost. The Arvia ODC is very competitive to existing methods at removing trace level toxic organics on site to meet quality and regulatory standards for discharge to sewers.

Water Quality and Consistency

The need to ensure a high quality of raw materials is essential for production. This is particularly the case with water where the chemical composition of water supplied can vary in quality and purity. Water can have a major impact on the taste and flavour of products and therefore often requires further treatment. Arvia Technology’s Organic Destruction Cell (ODC) effectively removes micro-pollutants in potable water to ensure a purified and consistent standard for production. This includes the removal of pesticides, sweeteners and endocrine disruptors that are traditionally difficult and expensive to treat.

Recycling of Water

Increased water scarcity and hikes in water rates makes water reuse an attractive option to ease water dependency. Arvia Technology helps companies ease their water dependency by reducing the amount of RO reject water. The Arvia ODC works alongside Reverse Osmosis (RO) as a secondary process that is easy to fit into your current system. It can also be used to polish process water and waste water to improve water recycling rates.

Arvia Technology supports the Food and Beverage Industry by providing an environmentally friendly solution with no chemical additives or waste.

Come to our presentation ‘Optimising Water Usage in the Food and Beverage Industry’ on September 17th to find out more about this solution for improving your water cycle.

 

How many of these pharmaceutical wastewater issues are you addressing?

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Integrated processes

‘End of pipe’ filtering is out. The new trend is to look at making water treatment an integrated part of process design. Since water recycling is currently less efficient for highly contaminated waste streams and those containing a diverse range of chemical properties, we believe the solution is to separate wastewater streams early in the process and destroy harmful pollutants near the source. Water that easy lends itself to recycling is separated from that which is less suitable. This would help ensure minimum effort and expense are required to deploy additional techniques in the process.

Water scarcity

Water is a precious resource. Only 3% of the Earth’s water is freshwater and more importantly less than 0.3% is available for use, with this use being split between the conflicting needs of public water supply and industry. Both for cost and environmental reasons, there is advantage in reducing water movement and contamination. The goal is often to maintain supply at the required quality level while controlling costs of transport, treatment and disposal. Regions with plentiful water supplies continue to use water in various processes and discharge it after use, but in regions suffering water scarcity every drop is valuable. How do you manage your water resources?

Sustainability

Alongside water scarcity, the viability of recycling both water and other materials is also a trending topic. We think cost and energy efficiency can be increased considerably by closing industrial water cycles as far as possible and identifying innovative materials for use. This subject is integral to our aims at Arvia. Arvia Technology is at the forefront of the sustainability revolution with our patented adsorbent material Nyex. Nyex is an adsorbent 3D electrode material used to separate contaminants from water so they can be eliminated with a low voltage electrical current. The Nyex is also cleaned in the process meaning it can be re-used continuously.

Changing parameters

The composition of process water is changing over time, especially in an area of high innovation such as pharmaceuticals. The Arvia process is flexible enough to treat a wide range of effluents and its modular construction makes it ideal for a changing landscape.

Environmental impact

Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in pharmaceutical wastes can have harmful effects on human health and aquatic life. Endocrine disrupters from medicines have been detected in drinking water and surface water, adversely affecting water quality. ‘Environmentally persistent pharmaceutical pollutants’ (EPPP) is a new emerging policy under consideration for the SAICM in 2015 http://www.saicm.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=452&Itemid=685 Are you feeling the pressure from the media as more stories come to light every day revealing the presence of dangerous pollutants in our rivers and lakes?

Related article:

http://www.pharmaceutical-journal.com/news-and-analysis/features/pharmaceuticals-in-the-environment-a-growing-problem/20067898.article

Cost

How much do you spend on wastewater treatment and transport of wastewater? An internal review showed that Arvia Technology offers significant capital and operational expenditure savings in comparison with major treatment technologies for pharmaceutical organic wastes. A case study for a system that treats 10m3/day of pharmaceutical organic wastes of concentrations of 150 – 200 ppm shows that Arvia can achieve efficient treatment at a substantially lower OPEX per m3. Arvia Technology becomes the most cost effective (combined CAPEX and OPEX) after 4 months of operation, compared to reverse osmosis, activated carbon, advanced oxidation processes or trucking off site.

As the first water treatment process capable of destroying recalcitrant, stable organics and trace level pollutants without the use of chemicals, Arvia Technology can perform an important role in removing persistent micro-pollutants and emerging contaminants from those difficult waste streams. In an efficient water management system treated water can feed into the next process, but only once a reliable technology such as Arvia is in place to ensure it meets specific quality standards.

Come to Arvia’s presentation, ‘Pharma Wastewater Solutions: the next era of trace level organics removal’ on Wednesday 8th July to find out more about novel solutions to wastewater treatment.

Achieving weight savings through intelligent fire design

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When attempting to solve complex problems we often rely on generalized assumptions and generous margins for error to reach a solution we agree is not perfect, but acceptable. This is often because it would take considerable time and effort to calculate the values needed to reach the perfect solution.

Let us consider an everyday example. When boiling water to make a cup of coffee the most energy and cost efficient method would produce only the exact amount of boiling water required to fill the cup. Achieving this perfect solution would require calculating, amongst other things, the exact volume of water needed and the amount of water which would be lost through evaporation in the boiling process. To avoid this difficult and lengthy calculation we instead estimate the amount required and add a generous amount more just to be on the safe side, accepting in the process that more than enough hot water will be produced and some wastage will occur.

Whilst fairly trivial in the context of making a cup of coffee this principal can become more problematic when considering the fire protection requirements of an oil and gas structure.

In this context it is the thickness of material applied which needs to be calculated. Material thickness is a key factor in determining the duration of fire protection afforded to a steel structure. Typically the thicker the material is applied the longer the duration achieved but also the greater the level of cost involved.

Arriving at an optimum thickness is a complicated process influenced by the fire protection standard specified for the project and a range of other variables. As with the previous example, not all of the variables required to arrive at an optimum thickness are known and they can be difficult and time consuming to calculate using traditional methods.

Historically, standard industry assumptions have been employed to arrive at a best estimate solution for the quantity of fire protection required to meet a certain fire resistance standard. Whilst effective at providing a straightforward estimate for the thickness needed, the margins for error which are employed can lead to over-specification. This can provide greater durations of protection than are required to meet the fire protection standard employed.

In the previous example, boiling too much water provided only a slight inconvenience and negligible cost penalty for the individual making the cup of coffee. However in the context of fire protection, over-specification of material can not only represent an increase in cost for a project, it also adds unnecessary weight to a structure. This can potentially limit the scope of design for process modules used in the offshore oil and gas industry and onshore where modular construction techniques are used.

In an attempt to address these issues engineers are now looking to remove as many of these standard assumptions as possible, instead applying greater focus to the specific requirements of each project.

Recently introduced fire design technologies can now be used to run complex heat transfer and structural modelling assessments which remove the need for generalized assumptions in the specification process. This provides a tailored fire protection solution for each individual project ensuring safety standards are met, whilst optimizing the quantity and weight of material required.

This not only provides greater certainty that the solution provided is fit for purpose for the specific requirements of the project, but also provides the potential for cost and weight reductions.

Register to take part in the full webinar to learn more about fire design and how it can be used to provide oil and gas construction projects with an optimized fire protection package.