Archive for July 12, 2017

OpenText Launches New Artificial Intelligence Platform

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 12, 2017 by itnerd

OpenText has announced the availability of OpenText Magellan, the company’s new Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform. OpenText Magellan is a flexible AI and analytics platform that combines open source machine learning with advanced analysis and the capabilities to acquire, merge, manage and analyze Big Data and Big Content. Unveiled and demonstrated at OpenText Enterprise World 2017, Magellan’s cognitive computing platform offers users machine-assisted decision making, automation, and business optimization, in an easy to use and affordable package.

OpenText Magellan is a cost-effective solution built on a cohesive, highly scalable infrastructure equipped for handling massive amounts of structured and unstructured data. Powered by OpenText Analytics, and Apache Spark, OpenText Magellan integrates across any EIM architecture to dramatically reduce the time, effort and expertise required to leverage the value of advanced analytics in decision making and task automation.

The solution is designed for multiple use cases enabling customers to:

  • Leverage Machine Learning to unlock the value of EIM data by analyzing customers, trading partners, employees, orders, invoices, cases, documents and other data managed in these systems.
  • Deliver value from AI faster and cost-effectively by deploying a cohesive platform with pre-integrated components to minimize the effort and expertise required to go live.
  • Democratize access to AI by empowering data scientists to create custom algorithms for use by business analysts and operational users.
  • Utilize an open –source, Apache Spark-based platform to automatically derive the most current and complete insights from Big Data and EIM Content to achieve optimal outcomes.
  • Augment applications automatically with fast, self-service analytics, empowering business users to delve deep into massive amounts of data and derive actionable insight.

OpenText Magellan is part of the OpenText EIM portfolio, enabling organizations to discover and manage information to spur growth and innovation and decrease time to competitive advantage. The platform consists of comprehensive and integrated product solutions including Content Suite, Process Suite, Experience Suite, Analytics Suite, Discovery Suite and Business Network. OpenText’s EIM solutions are available for deployment on premises, in the cloud and in hybrid deployments.

OpenText Magellan is available immediately.

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PartCycle.com Launches Artificial Intelligence Software

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 12, 2017 by itnerd

PartCycle Technologies announces “Inventory A.I.”, an industry-first innovation developed to clearly communicate part descriptions and provide accurate quality ratings on used auto parts sold through the PartCycle Marketplace (www.PartCycle.com)

Most used parts sourcing solutions available today only display raw notes made when an automotive recycler enters a part into their inventory management system using industry codes, subjective ratings, and shorthand. These raw notes are typically impossible to read for those who are untrained or unfamiliar with automotive recycling.

The raw notes may include important, and otherwise unavailable, details such as paint color, quality or may indicate the existence, location and extent of any damage on the part. Without this information it can be a challenge for a buyer to know what they are purchasing without calling the seller directly.

When browsing inventory on PartCycle.com, all of the information a prospective buyer needs to know about condition and quality will be displayed right next to the inventory in an easy to read format, eliminating the need for a phone call.

Inventory A.I. uses a two-step process to create and display more information about the inventory.

Step 1:
Translate sellers’ raw inventory data into simple to understand part descriptions. 
PartCycle uses a sophisticated translation engine to automatically recognize and convert the shorthand, industry codes and other raw data in sellers’ inventory notes, into easily-understood, actionable, information for the buyer.

Step 2:
Assign a commonly understood condition rating or classification.
After translating inventory data,  the Inventory A.I. system then evaluates each parts’ final description, mileage, and any identified damage to assign a clear, easy to understand, Amazon.com-style, condition rating to each part. On PartCycle.com these part ratings include “Like New,” “Very Good,” “Good” or “Fair.”

Inventory A.I. also prevents the listing of parts which may fall short of the expectations a modern buyer has when shopping online.

With Inventory A.I.’s easy-to-understand part descriptions and familiar grading system, PartCycle provides a better overall shopping experience and reduces the amount of issues and returns from incorrectly-purchased parts.

See inventory A.I. in action by viewing this side view mirror, this engine or this wheel live on PartCycle.com.

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OpenText Announces OpenText People Center

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 12, 2017 by itnerd

OpenText, a leader in Enterprise Information Management (EIM), has announced OpenText People Center, an HR application built on OpenText AppWorks, to deliver talent-focused companies with deeper visibility and insight into the success of their HR services. OpenText People Center integrates with key back-end systems to provide employees and HR teams with self-service access to relevant information, forms and documents; enable faster response to inquiries and requests; and offer the ability to address critical HR issues.

OpenText People Center is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) application designed to simplify HR processes. OpenText People Center enables HR departments to create an employee portal with dynamic case management to save time, optimize resources and increase employee engagement with self-service capabilities. The application simplifies access to employee documents, drives document compliance and transforms the employee experience.  OpenText People Center enables organizations to take a data driven approach to HR, incorporating predictive analytics and document management capabilities to address complex HR issues and focus on high-value initiatives.

With OpenText People Center, HR departments can:

  • Centralize Content and Gain Compliance – Access control by role to ensure confidentiality and protect employees’ privacy along with regulatory tracking to ensure employees have all documents in place to avoid compliance concerns.
  • Simplify Question and Request Responses – Easily capture, respond and track inquiries and requests. Quickly build additional processes to manage employee engagement and increase responsiveness.
  • Gain Visibility and Control of Key Metrics and SLAs – Track and report on key metrics to optimize HR service delivery performance.

OpenText People Center is part of the OpenText EIM portfolio, enabling organizations to discover and manage information to spur growth and innovation and decrease time to competitive advantage. The platform consists of comprehensive and integrated product solutions including Content Suite, Process Suite, Experience Suite, Analytics Suite, Discovery Suite and Business Network. OpenText’s EIM solutions are available for deployment on premises, in the cloud and in hybrid deployments.
OpenText People Center will be generally available in late summer 2017 in North America.

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Trump Hotels Get Pwned By Hackers

Posted in Commentary with tags , on July 12, 2017 by itnerd

I wrote a while ago that Trump hotels had poorly secured WiFi that potentially made them easy to pwn by hackers. Now a report has surfaced that 14 Trump properties have been pwned by hackers, and in the process underscoring how insecure Trump properties seem to be from an IT perspective:

Guests at 14 Trump properties, including hotels in Washington, New York and Vancouver, have had their credit card information exposed, marking the third time in as many years that a months-long security breach has affected customers of the chain of luxury hotels.

The latest instance occurred between August 2016 and March 2017, according to a notice on the company’s website, and included guest names, addresses and phone numbers, as well as credit card numbers and expiration dates. The breach took place on the systems of Sabre Hospitality Solutions, a reservation booking service used by Trump Hotels, but did not compromise the Trump Hotels’ systems.

“The privacy and protection of our guests’ information is a matter we take very seriously,” the notice said, adding that Trump Hotels was notified of the breach on June 5. Trump Hotels declined to comment beyond what was posted in the notice.

The story goes on to show that Trump properties have had a long history of epic pwnage by hackers. Not only that, they’ve been slapped by governments like New York State for being so pwnable and not reporting data breaches promptly. Now hotels are a popular target for hackers wishing to swipe credit card data. But it seems that Trump hotels are a really popular target for whatever reason. Thus it might be a good idea to avoid staying in a Trump hotel if you value your credit card data.

 

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If You Run Kaspersky Products, You MAY Want To Switch To Something Else

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 12, 2017 by itnerd

Bloomberg has made a stunning accusation that Russian based antivirus company Kaspersky has a tight relationship with the FSB which is the Russian spy service. And I do mean TIGHT:

Internal company emails obtained by Bloomberg Businessweek show that Kaspersky Lab has maintained a much closer working relationship with Russia’s main intelligence agency, the FSB, than it has publicly admitted. It has developed security technology at the spy agency’s behest and worked on joint projects the CEO knew would be embarrassing if made public. The previously unreported emails, from October 2009, are from a thread between Eugene Kaspersky and senior staff. In Russian, Kaspersky outlines a project undertaken in secret a year earlier “per a big request on the Lubyanka side,” a reference to the FSB offices. Kaspersky Lab confirmed the emails are authentic.

The software that the CEO was referring to had the stated purpose of protecting clients, including the Russian government, from distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, but its scope went further. Kaspersky Lab would also cooperate with internet hosting companies to locate bad actors and block their attacks, while assisting with “active countermeasures,” a capability so sensitive that Kaspersky advised his staff to keep it secret. In this case, Kaspersky may have been referring to something even more rare in the security world. A person familiar with the company’s anti-DDoS system says it’s made up of two parts. The first consists of traditional defensive techniques, including rerouting malicious traffic to servers that can harmlessly absorb it. The second part is more unusual: Kaspersky provides the FSB with real-time intelligence on the hackers’ location and sends experts to accompany the FSB and Russian police when they conduct raids. That’s what Kaspersky was referring to in the emails, says the person familiar with the system. They weren’t just hacking the hackers; they were banging down the doors.

Given the current political climate in the US, this is simply stunning if true as Kaspersky products are extremely popular. But it’s a safe bet that with this news, Kaspersky products may become very unpopular very quickly. Thus it won’t shock you that the company has issued a statement in response to Bloomberg’s report. Here’s part of it:

Regardless of how the facts are misconstrued to fit in with a hypothetical, false theory, Kaspersky Lab, and its executives, do not have inappropriate ties with any government. The company does regularly work with governments and law enforcement agencies around the world with the sole purpose of fighting cybercrime. In the internal communications referenced within the recent article, the facts are once again either being misinterpreted or manipulated to fit the agenda of certain individuals desperately wanting there to be inappropriate ties between the company, its CEO and the Russian government, but no matter what communication they claim to have, the facts clearly remain there is no evidence because no such inappropriate ties exist.

So, what’s true and what’s “misinterpreted”? Who knows, but it’s a safe bet a lot of people are trying to find out as we speak.

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