The year 2020 has seen profound and far-reaching change throughout society and the global economy. It seems that every industry and sector has been upended in some way, creating a shift that has changed the trajectory of large, small and emerging businesses.

The pace and extent of digital transformation in 2020 has experienced some of the most furvert change as compared to any other year.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have seen technological transition occur at a breakneck pace, whether that is pushing forward digital transformation for businesses, connectivity in the shape of 5G, advances in artificial intelligence and augmented reality, and greater use of digital automation to help enable business to run smoothly in times of crisis.

However, there is often a tendency to focus on broad or advanced digital change risks, while overlooking the emotional component of the global pandemic-enforced transformation.

For me, the real story is that of the smaller businesses and entrepreneurs in the region and the need to help them empower themselves.

Earlier this year, in a matter of a few weeks, entrepreneurs and micro-businesses were forced to pivot their traditional business approach to factor in the online world. Breaking the traditional face to face, physical communications and in-person sales model, to quickly understand how to connect and engage online – not as a consumer, but as a business.

There is no doubt that a lot of people knew the value of digital and were planning to make the plunge one day soon, but it became a necessity almost overnight - and that was the real challenge.

More consumers in the region have begun shopping online and in greater frequency. According to studies in the US, the global pandemic has accelerated the shift from physical stores to digital shopping by about five years.

This seismic shift has forced businesses to rapidly pivot to digital channels such as e-commerce to drive traffic, sell online and remain competitive.

Deciding on the right products to invest in to help ensure businesses meet current market demand and more importantly, keep pace with the evolution of e-commerce technology and new ways of doing business, can often slow down the process of digital transformation. Yet it need not do so.  A variety of online tools available today are designed to help set an online store, easily and more affordable.

The success stories of our customers during these unprecedented times are inspirational to others looking to start their own small business. Many startups that have transitioned to adding e-commerce online transactions, home delivery, and expanded digital marketing during this pandemic can help others with their own stories.

Looking ahead to the rest of the year and beyond, we think it’s vital that businesses reinforce their online brand identity and presence. In practical terms, this means honing your website, social channels, and other online properties.

These elements are your virtual shopfront and it is essential to continually keep them updated and interesting to help your business grow. They need to be integrated, not just from a traffic flow point of view, but also in terms of their look and feel.Here are a few tips to consider:

• Online visibility is crucial as it can help the brand build a connection and trust with its customers. Differentiate yourself from the competition and convey a professional look and feel that will attract customers and help grow the business.
• In terms of communication, maintain good online engagement to help ensure website visitors are aware of the quality of your products and services, by connecting with them on a regular basis.
• Ultimately, you want to create a seamless and enjoyable customer experience online. In practical terms, this means ease of discovery, intuitive navigation for your website, simple online shopping (especially payment options and application of offers) and comprehensive post-purchase communication for those making online orders.

This year has shown us that a functional and integrated digital platform has become even more essential.

source: wamda

Increasing government expenditure towards sustainable infrastructure development with continued investment in energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable assets is promoting the market demand for Kuwait Construction and Infrastructure companies. The government is also encouraging companies that emphasize on technological advancements and standardizing modern methods of construction.

Globally, industrialization and urbanization trends are propelling the demand for client-driven Construction and Infrastructure activities and augmenting demand for investment in railways, roads, ports, power transmission, and water utilities. Growing demand for Building Information Modelling, Modular construction, and building materials industry is being observed across the Kuwait Construction and Infrastructure market. Estimated construction and infrastructure growth of 6% CAGR is forecast globally between 2019 and 2026.

Investment in large-scale infrastructure projects is one of the key strategies of Kuwait to fuel economic growth. The government’s effort to improve the country’s infrastructure to sustain growth in the manufacturing sector and expand municipal utilities will contribute to the growth in construction spending. Rising personal income levels, household growth, and population migration from rural to urban areas will augment the need for better construction facilities and road infrastructure developments in the country.

Increasing public investments into Kuwait’s commercial construction sectors will be a key market opportunity for the companies operating in the construction and infrastructure industry.

The presence of a huge customer base is resulting in strong FDI (foreign direct investment) inflows into the country. Further, increasing investments in real estate and infrastructure sectors result in the growth of construction activities.

The 2019 Construction and Infrastructure Market research identifies that the competition continues to intensify year-on-year with emerging applications. This OG Analysis report covers the 2019 scenario and growth prospects of the Kuwait Construction and Infrastructure Market for 2020-2026.

To calculate the market size, revenue from the market sales of Construction and Infrastructure materials to retailers, wholesalers, and institutional buyers is considered.

The global Construction and Infrastructure Market is poised to grow robustly over the forecast period 2020-2026. The ongoing trend towards modernization of Construction and Infrastructure through renovation projects, new building construction, and other civil projects are supporting Kuwait to strengthen its Construction and Infrastructure Market size.

The report presents a comprehensive analysis of Kuwait Construction and Infrastructure activities. Key trends and critical insights into Kuwait Construction and Infrastructure markets, along with key drivers, restraints, and growth opportunities are presented in the report.

Kuwait Construction and Infrastructure Market are compared against five of its competitive markets in the region to analyze the role of Kuwait on the regional front and benchmark its operations.

Global Construction and Infrastructure, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East Africa, North America, and South & Central America Construction and Infrastructure market outlook is also presented in the report to provide a global perspective of the industry.

Kuwait’s population and economic outlook are also included in the report to provide insights and forecasts of macroeconomic factors shaping the future of Construction and Infrastructure markets.

Business and SWOT profiles of three of the leading Construction and Infrastructure companies in Kuwait are detailed in the report along with strategic initiatives, recent developments, and their impact on overall market growth.

source: primefeed

The International Compliance Association (ICA) and ITN Productions Industry News have co-produced “Compliance: the new decade” a series of reports addressing the role of the compliance professional and the latest insights, challenges and opportunities for business growth.

Anchored by Michael Underwood, the new-style programme will explore the vital role of RegTech in accelerating compliance efficiencies; the technology and expertise needed to tackle financial crime and money laundering; how AI can be applied to identify risk and sustainable finance solutions and best practice to future-proof the compliance function.

The first report will premiere at The BIG Compliance Festival, ICA’s virtual summit for compliance and financial crime professionals on 17 September 2020. The series will form part of an extensive communications campaign to ICA members and professional partners throughout September and October 2020.

Bill Howarth, President of the International Compliance Association said: “We’re really pleased to be working with ITN Productions again on a film focusing on future-gazing topics that will resonate with our members and the global compliance community. The pace of change never slows down and it’s vital that compliance and AML professionals have the right skills and technology to help them stay ahead.”

Elizabeth Fisher-Robins, Head of ITN Productions Industry News said: “We are really excited by the opportunity to partner again with the International Compliance Association to create a series that we hope will educate and inform viewers about the key role compliance plays in managing risk and delivering commercial advantage in an ever-changing digital environment.”

The progamme features key industry interviews, news-style reports and sponsored editorial profiles from the following leading organisations:

• Encompass
• Refinitiv
• Napier
• Capnovum

View the first report for ‘Compliance: the new decade’ here.

About the International Compliance Association

The International Compliance Association is the leading professional body for the global regulatory and financial crime compliance community. Since 2001, ICA has enhanced the knowledge, skills and behaviour of over 150,000 professionals all over the world either through their internationally-recognised portfolio of professional qualifications (awarded in association with Alliance Manchester Business School, the University of Manchester) or through accredited in-company training.

For more information visit: www.int-comp.org

About ITN Productions Industry News

ITN Productions Industry News produces bespoke creative and commercial content for broadcasters, businesses, brands, rights holders and digital channels. Industry News forms part of this offering and is a communications tool for leading industry bodies and national associations produced in a broadcast news-style programme format, including interviews, news items and sponsored editorial profiles.

For more information visit: www.itnproductions.co.uk

Several ways in which innovation in AI and machine learning (ML) will change our lives in the next five years.

If there is one technology that has become the buzzword of this decade, it would be artificial intelligence (AI).

In the beginning of 2010s, consumer natural-language processing (NLP) allowed us to talk to our phones and control smart home appliances reliably. At the time, a lot of people expected NLP to explode in other domains, but it never really materialized, either because of poor implementations or a focus on other types of development.

However, over the next decade, we can expect to see NLP put to use in complex software to lower the barrier to entry. For example, customer relationship management (CRM) software, which is crucial for any business, is finding higher adoption among salespeople thanks to conversational AI.

The application of AI in different softwares also helps in identifying repetitive tasks and automating them, thereby improving employee productivity.

With AI, business applications will be able to answer questions, or help users navigate interfaces, and cloud vendors will need less support personnel to manage their load.

An emphasis on diversity in development will create a landscape where NLP is better at understanding different accents and speaking styles.

When more businesses yield the benefits of NLP-powered analytics and conversational interfaces, the demand for single-vendor solutions will increase. Once C-level executives realize they can ask AI assistants to generate reports for them on the fly, they will want this functionality to work across their business, not just in one department where they've rolled out new technology.

The organizations that will be most successful using AI over the next decade are the ones implementing single-vendor technology platforms today. If data is scattered in applications using different data models, it's going to be difficult to work with.

But when all data is on a single platform, it's much easier to feed it into a machine-learning algorithm. The more data that's available, the more useful the predictions and machine-learning models are going to be.

There exists a vast scope of innovation in AI and machine learning (ML), which we can hope to see in the next five years, in the following ways:

Hyperpersonalization Hyperpersonalization will increase productivity for business software users. This decade saw the rise of algorithmic (rather than chronological) social media timelines, which increased usage.

For business software, there is a huge opportunity to create interfaces that intelligently direct the user's attention.

Imagine a CRM that learns from an organization's sales history, and guides reps to work more productively based on their work habits.

Ubiquitous AI data cleansing A lot more areas will implement AI data cleansing. Smaller organizations will begin to expect AI functionality in things like spreadsheets, where they'll be able to parse information out of addresses, or clean up inconsistencies. Larger organizations will benefit from AI that makes their data more consumable for analytics or preps it for migration from one application to another.

Auto-tagging to become the norm Today, smartphones can recognize and tag objects in photos, making the personal photo library much more searchable. Soon, we will start to see business applications auto-tag information to make it much more accessible.

Today, business owners can find their top customers in a CRM by running a report, and sorting by revenue. In the next five years, they will be able to search "top customers," and the CRM will know what they are looking for.

source: entrepreneurntrepreneur