Facebook Approaches Two Billion Monthly Users as Profits Jump
Facebook recently reported profits of just over $3 billion in the first quarter, a 76% rise year-on-year, and the number of people using Facebook each month increased to 1.94 billion. To put this number into perspective, the world’s population is 7.5 billion, which means over a quarter of the world’s population uses Facebook. Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has a vision for this massive user base that includes expanding the site’s role, moving into TV, healthcare, and politics.
Our View: Successful use of business intelligence (BI) will drive much of Facebook’s growth opportunities. Statistics show that the top priority of 85% of CIOs is insight and intelligence, yet an appetite for intelligence does not mean that BI initiatives will be an automatic success. BI starts with data management. Without data management, including governance and data quality capabilities, your BI users will not be able to get the insights they need due to inaccurate and unavailable data. Use our research to Select and Implement a Business Intelligence and Analytics Solution.
The Digital Privacy Act
The highest profile breaches have been in the U.S., but with cybercrime still on the rise, Canadian organizations must mitigate costly cybersecurity risks. The Digital Privacy Act (DPA), passed by the federal government in June 2015, is essentially an amendment to existing privacy legislation. The DPA places more reporting demands on Canadian organizations with respect to security breaches.
Our View: Following security best practices helps to prevent data breaches and manage vulnerabilities. Follow our best practices in assigning urgencies to vulnerabilities by examining the intrinsic qualities of the vulnerability, as well as the sensitivity of the data and business criticality of the affected asset. Use our research to Design and Implement a Vulnerability Management Program.
Staples’ First CISO
Staples, the office supply giant, just hired Brett Wahlin as its first chief information security officer (CISO). Wahlin was vice president and CISO at Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, and at Staples, he will be responsible for enterprise-wide information, product and data security, and fraud and loss prevention.
Our View: Talent has become a competitive differentiator. To 46% of business leaders, workforce planning is a top priority – yet only 13% do it effectively. Whether you are expanding your business or boosting your digital transformation initiatives, you must have the right people in the right place at the right time. A well-defined strategic workforce plan isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have. The workforce planning process does not need to be onerous, especially with help from our planning tools in Build a Strategic Workforce Plan.
The Lift: Watermelon Sacrifice at the 2017 Jazz Festival
A watermelon splatters to the ground after being thrown in a sacrificial ceremony at the 2017 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. This weird and silly tradition was originally confined to family gatherings but has gained a following at this particular Jazz festival for about ten years.