Chrome River CURRENTS

Big data is already changing the ways companies engage in sales, marketing and operations. And its impact is not expected to stop there. Tradeshift CEO Christian Lanng predicts big data’s next big move is into the fields of finance and procurement, with a massive shift into the world of e-invoicing. 

A new report this week indicates that over half (53%) of large enterprises are either already moving Big Data within their organization to the public cloud or are considering a move to the cloud for analytical processing. Further, only 13% of enterprises say they would only use private data centers for processing all analytics. Clearly, there is a concerted push to the shared public cloud.

Cloud computing has become dramatically more prevalent over the past few years, thanks in large part to investments from technology giants like Microsoft, Amazon and Google. However, the cloud industry is still fairly young, and as such there is still some disagreement about what exactly "the cloud" is and should be. Currently, "cloud computing" describes a number of Internet-based services, including software and business process programs, infrastructure application platforms, and various storage and retrieval programs.

A recent survey of 173 corporate travel and expense managers found that they receive more and more bookings via mobile devices. Clearly, business travelers are becoming more comfortable with booking flights and hotels using their mobile devices. To that end, travel and expense management systems from top providers are becoming more vital components in corporate travel managers' toolboxes.

Many business resist storing a large portion of their corporate data in the cloud. They erroneously believe the security risk is high when, in fact, cloud data storage and management is much safer than storing data on an employee laptop that can be stolen or encrypting data on an internal corporate server. If providers of cloud data storage meet certain criteria, the cloud is the safest place to store sensitive business data.

According to a recent Homeland Security Department report, checking in from your home computer leaves big companies vulnerable to hackers, who scan corporate systems looking to find the remote access software that lets employees look at the system while they are not on the job site.

Massive data breaches affecting global companies like Sony, Neiman-Marcus and Target have solidified the unsettling fact that even huge mega companies cannot always prevent compromises in customer and company data.

Cloud technology has revolutionized nearly every industry - from technology to healthcare to hospitality to food service to telecommunications. Small and large businesses, the government and educational institutions depend on cloud-based software applications for many organizational functions. Cloud-based applications enable or enhance activities like more robust data storage, collaborative projects, automated marketing and more streamlined billing.

In a recent comprehensive study conducted by the Independent Expert Group on Expenses, one out of every five charities answering survey questions posed by IEG stated that they "did not have an expense policy established.“ Response comments provided by IEG indicated that the Group considered "expense management part of basic internal controls and good governance" and further stated that "charities need to be encouraged to rectify this matter.”

According to a recent blog post from EPM Channel, these are two characteristics of savvy mobile device users: If you get annoyed when people pass out paper reports instead of displaying electronic versions on their tablet or laptop, that’s one clear indicator. If you prefer using a tablet for business tasks instead of being tethered to your PC, that’s another sign.