Remote Work, Equity Grants, Four-Day Workweek, Cybersecurity Threats, AI Advances

[00:00:02] [SPEAKER_00]: It's Tuesday, July 16th, 2024, and I'm Dave Sobel. Four things to know today. Remote Work

[00:00:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Stability, Equity, Flexibility, and Four-Day Workweek Benefits, the AT&T Call Logs Breach,

[00:00:14] [SPEAKER_00]: CDK Global's Attack and Paris Olympics Threats, a survey highlights MSP's high cyber confidence

[00:00:21] [SPEAKER_00]: in the focus on ransomware and malware, and some AI advances, disease prediction,

[00:00:26] [SPEAKER_00]: handwritten note analysis, and speech generation. This is the Business of Tech.

[00:00:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's talk a bit about work. I noted three distinct stories. First, research shows that

[00:00:41] [SPEAKER_00]: working from home has become the new norm for many Americans, with the same percentage of

[00:00:45] [SPEAKER_00]: employed people doing remote work in 2023 as in 2022. As reported in The Guardian, working

[00:00:52] [SPEAKER_00]: from home doesn't impact productivity and can even help companies save money. Hybrid work,

[00:00:58] [SPEAKER_00]: balancing the positives and negatives of remote work is becoming more popular, and companies

[00:01:02] [SPEAKER_00]: are embracing flexibility and allowing employees to work remotely during slower months. This

[00:01:07] [SPEAKER_00]: trend is expected to continue with potential benefits including increased loyalty, reduced

[00:01:12] [SPEAKER_00]: turnover, and higher employee engagement. And from levels, Equity Grants with unique

[00:01:18] [SPEAKER_00]: vesting schedules are becoming more common in the tech industry as companies aim to attract

[00:01:23] [SPEAKER_00]: talent and save money. Companies like Amazon, Google, Uber, Kuipeng, Bite Dance, and Stripe

[00:01:30] [SPEAKER_00]: have adopted non-traditional vesting schedules, offering different percentages of Equity Grants

[00:01:35] [SPEAKER_00]: over varying time periods. Some companies even allow candidates to choose their own

[00:01:40] [SPEAKER_00]: vesting schedule. These unique schedules aim to reduce immediate RSU burn for the company

[00:01:46] [SPEAKER_00]: and provide flexibility in rewarding high performers. It's important for individuals

[00:01:51] [SPEAKER_00]: considering offers with unique vesting schedules to understand the implications and negotiate

[00:01:56] [SPEAKER_00]: their compensation package accordingly. And finally, Business Insider has new findings

[00:02:01] [SPEAKER_00]: from Cambridge and Salford universities in the UK. A 15-month trial of a four-day work week at

[00:02:07] [SPEAKER_00]: a UK council resulted in reduced staff turnover, improved worker mental health and motivation,

[00:02:13] [SPEAKER_00]: and cost savings. The trial involving 697 employees showed improved or stable performance in 22 out

[00:02:21] [SPEAKER_00]: of 24 areas assessed. The council saved 371,500 pounds, just shy of $500,000, and saw an increase

[00:02:31] [SPEAKER_00]: in external applicants for open roles. The only drawbacks were a mild decline in rent

[00:02:36] [SPEAKER_00]: collected from social housing and a slight worsening in the average number of days to

[00:02:41] [SPEAKER_00]: relet housing stock. Why do we care? Work's reorganization is an opportunity with staff

[00:02:48] [SPEAKER_00]: sure to just ramp it. Differentiating your organization with these benefits is critical.

[00:02:53] [SPEAKER_00]: Remote work, 40 work weeks, or different compensation models. I'll note that many of

[00:02:58] [SPEAKER_00]: those equity changes in tech are not necessarily fully employee friendly. That's the opportunity

[00:03:03] [SPEAKER_00]: to zig while others zag and take advantage of their squeeze.

[00:03:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Are you and your clients tired of the time-consuming ticket tennis of coordinating meetings and

[00:03:17] [SPEAKER_00]: help desk calls? Wouldn't it be better to automate this process with a tool that connects directly

[00:03:23] [SPEAKER_00]: to ConnectWise Manage or Autotask? Timest offers scheduling automation that gives you

[00:03:30] [SPEAKER_00]: complete control of your schedule and eliminates the hassle of calendar ping-pong.

[00:03:36] [SPEAKER_00]: As the only service designed specifically for MSPs, it integrates into your workflow

[00:03:41] [SPEAKER_00]: and makes scheduling appointments easy on you and your clients. Plus, you can try

[00:03:48] [SPEAKER_00]: TimeSess for free. Visit timesess.com slash mspradio and use the code MSPRadio to get 10% off your first

[00:03:58] [SPEAKER_00]: year of TimeSess. Let's review some of the recent hacks. Hackers gained access to several months

[00:04:06] [SPEAKER_00]: of AT&T call logs through a cybersecurity breach via the third-party cloud computing platform

[00:04:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Snowflake. The stolen data includes records of calls and texts but not the content or

[00:04:17] [SPEAKER_00]: information. The breach affects nearly all AT&T cell phone users and the company has closed off

[00:04:24] [SPEAKER_00]: the security breach and apprehended at least one person. CDK CEO Brian McDonald has promised

[00:04:31] [SPEAKER_00]: auto dealers some financial relief for interruptions caused by cyber attacks on June 19. This comes

[00:04:37] [SPEAKER_00]: after a massive shutdown of CDK's dealership management system across North America.

[00:04:43] [SPEAKER_00]: And something to worry about, cybersecurity experts are warning of an unprecedented threat

[00:04:47] [SPEAKER_00]: of cyber attacks during the Paris Olympics of 2024. The International Data Corporation predicts that

[00:04:54] [SPEAKER_00]: the event will see the largest number of threats and the highest degree of ease for threat actors

[00:04:59] [SPEAKER_00]: to execute attacks. The IDC also notes that French authorities are taking measures to

[00:05:04] [SPEAKER_00]: protect the games from cyber attacks. And despite the risks, cybersecurity efforts in France

[00:05:09] [SPEAKER_00]: are believed to be strong and the threat to the games themselves from state-sponsored cyberattackers

[00:05:14] [SPEAKER_00]: is considered low. Why do we care? Brightie providers these incidents highlight the importance of

[00:05:21] [SPEAKER_00]: securing third-party integrations, enhancing cloud security and sharing business continuity

[00:05:26] [SPEAKER_00]: and preparing for high-profile event security. Snowflake's breach is all about credential

[00:05:32] [SPEAKER_00]: management and it continues to cause damage. Despite experiencing multiple security breaches,

[00:05:40] [SPEAKER_00]: managed services providers remain confident in their cyber capabilities according to a survey

[00:05:45] [SPEAKER_00]: by CyberSmart. The survey found that 87% of MSPs had experienced at least one data breach in the

[00:05:51] [SPEAKER_00]: past year but 97% still had a fair amount or a great deal of cyber confidence. MSPs highlighted

[00:05:59] [SPEAKER_00]: ransomware and malware as the top concerns and emphasized the need for closer collaboration

[00:06:04] [SPEAKER_00]: between the cybersecurity industry and MSPs to protect small businesses. The survey also revealed

[00:06:11] [SPEAKER_00]: that MSPs are increasing their security capabilities through training, IT policies,

[00:06:16] [SPEAKER_00]: and hiring specialized security personnel. Why do we care? Well, I don't know why so many

[00:06:23] [SPEAKER_00]: providers have this confidence level. I hope it's not misplaced. There's a difference

[00:06:28] [SPEAKER_00]: between readiness and cockiness. But let's take the positive here. If providers are ready for a breach,

[00:06:33] [SPEAKER_00]: have an incident response plan, have put in place policies and procedures and have focused on the

[00:06:38] [SPEAKER_00]: human side of the equation, well then this confidence may be well placed.

[00:06:45] [SPEAKER_00]: Researchers from Optima Partners, Biogen, and the University of Edinburgh have made a breakthrough

[00:06:50] [SPEAKER_00]: in predicting disease risk using machine learning and analyzing medical data by identifying

[00:06:55] [SPEAKER_00]: protein patterns linked to diseases they could accurately predict a disease risk up to 10 years

[00:07:01] [SPEAKER_00]: before diagnosis. The study also showed the potential for comparing patient blood test results

[00:07:07] [SPEAKER_00]: with new protein patterns to detect disease possibilities far earlier.

[00:07:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Microsoft's Copilot AI in one note can now read and analyze handwritten notes, converting them

[00:07:18] [SPEAKER_00]: into text for easy editing and sharing. The feature is currently beta testing. It will

[00:07:22] [SPEAKER_00]: be available to existing Copilot subscribers once it rolls out more broadly. Users can also

[00:07:27] [SPEAKER_00]: ask Copilot to summarize notes, generate to-do lists and more based on the handwritten content.

[00:07:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Microsoft has developed an AI speech generator called VAL-E2 that can accurately reproduce human

[00:07:40] [SPEAKER_00]: speech. However, due to concerns about potential misuse, Microsoft has decided to not

[00:07:46] [SPEAKER_00]: release it to the public. The AI engine achieves human parity and speech quality by using

[00:07:51] [SPEAKER_00]: features like repetition-aware sampling and grouped code modeling. While VAL-E2 has potential

[00:07:57] [SPEAKER_00]: applications in various fields, Microsoft emphasizes the need for protocols to ensure

[00:08:02] [SPEAKER_00]: speaker approval and detecting synthesized speech. Why do we care? Well, the disease

[00:08:09] [SPEAKER_00]: investigation discovery is exactly the kind of AI use case I'm most interested in,

[00:08:13] [SPEAKER_00]: using data to improve business outcomes. The benefits are obvious. This discovery

[00:08:18] [SPEAKER_00]: has significant implications for early intervention and prevention in healthcare,

[00:08:23] [SPEAKER_00]: which has improved patient outcomes. So we're looking for ways to leverage the technology

[00:08:28] [SPEAKER_00]: in this way. This episode is sponsored by SkyKick, new sponsor for MSP Radio. SkyKick has been

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[00:09:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks for listening. Today is Artificial Intelligence Appreciation Day,

[00:09:25] [SPEAKER_00]: but it's also Guinea Pig Appreciation Day. So take that with a great assault.

[00:09:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Perhaps we'll focus on National Cherry Day instead.

[00:09:33] [SPEAKER_00]: If you've got a question you want answered, I take those questions,

[00:09:36] [SPEAKER_00]: send them in as a voice-memory video to question at mspradio.com.

[00:09:40] [SPEAKER_00]: This week's live show Wednesday 3pm Eastern on YouTube and LinkedIn.

[00:09:44] [SPEAKER_00]: If you've got a comment or a thought on a story, put it in the comments if you're on YouTube

[00:09:47] [SPEAKER_00]: or reach out on LinkedIn if you're listening to the podcast. I will talk to you again tomorrow.

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[00:10:20] [SPEAKER_00]: or buy our Why Do We Care merch at businessof.tech. Finally, if you're interested in advertising on

[00:10:27] [SPEAKER_00]: this show, visit mspradio.com slash engage. Once again, thanks for listening to me.

[00:10:34] [SPEAKER_00]: I'll talk to you again on our next episode of The Business of Tech.