Our new robot overlords, and other tech stories you may have missed

November 17, 2021 9:06 AM

Mental health perks via app; "deep voice" frauds; better job interviews through technology; and seven other developments in technology this past month and how they’ll impact your clients and your firm.

1. Mental health startup BetterUp raised $300M

Mental health startup BetterUp recently shared that it raised $300 million in funding, bringing the startup’s valuation to almost $5 billion. The San Francisco-based startup assists in coaching employees and providing mental health support through its app. The startup has more than 3,000 coaches and gives insights and analytics in real-time to help organizations track how employees are progressing. (Source:

Reuters

)

Why this is important for your firm and clients: Want to attract good talent in these tight labor times? Then you need to be offering — and talking about — your mental health benefits for your employees. This is why mental health companies like BetterUp are so popular. Mental health no longer carries the stigma that it once did, and your employees (and prospective employees) will ask about the benefits you’re providing. Using a service like BetterUp will help you answer that question.

2. Paychex adds support for vaccination status

Paychex Inc., which provides businesses with insurance, benefits, payroll, and human resources services, shared that it has developed a function that will help businesses track employee vaccination status. This change comes as part of the enhancement of its Paychex Flex Document Management feature. Employees who are vaccinated will be able to digitally upload a copy of their vaccine card. Employees who are not vaccinated will have the ability to continually upload COVID test results as needed. (Source:

WIBW

)

Why this is important for your firm and clients: Disclosure: Paychex is a client of my company, The Marks Group. But no, I’m not being compensated to report on this public news. I’m bringing attention to this because Paychex, and other payroll and HR service providers, are stepping up their technologies to help small and midsized businesses with their COVID compliance requirements. If your clients are facing these regulations, then they should reach out to their payroll provider for help.

3. Scammers clone exec’s voice and steal $35M from a bank

Communication operator dialing a telephone number while holding a handset on a classical landline phone about to make a call.

A court document released in the United Arab Emirates revealed details of a bank heist that cost a bank $35 million. According to the document, a manager at a Dubai bank got a phone call where the caller claimed to be the director of the company and said that $35 million was needed to seal an acquisition deal. The bank manager also received emails that looked to be sent from the director’s lawyer who was assisting with the deal. However, it was later revealed that scammers used “deep voice” technology to duplicate the director’s voice in order to carry out the heist. (Source:

Newser

)

Why this is important for your firm and clients: This is a concern. While much of the media has been paying attention to “deep fake” videos that can alter the content of a video, there hasn’t been as much concern about “deep voice.” And yet it’s this type of technology that can really harm businesses. What would your employees do if a genuine impersonator called and told them to transfer money from the firm? Immediately comply? This is something that needs attention.

4. BrightHire scores $20.5M for Zoom-based job interview

Marco Bello/Bloomberg

BrightHire recently raised $20.5M in funding. The startup is looking to change the way that individuals are hired within businesses by using information from an interview conducted on Zoom and taking the data to help make hiring decisions. The goal behind the new funding and further developing the software is to change the manner in which businesses are created by helping organizations develop more consistent ways to hire through data. (Source:

TechCrunch

)

Why this is important for your firm and clients: According to the TechCrunch report, “The company records and transcribes each interview, which is conducted over Zoom, enabling the interviewer to concentrate solely on the candidate, and not on taking notes or other tasks. In addition, throughout the interview, the software will surface critical questions to ask the candidate, which helps ensure every interview is conducted in a consistent way. After every interview, the software surfaces highlights and insights that help companies as they hire new employees and ultimately to continually improve hiring overall.”

AI is becoming an increasingly important tool for helping employers conduct interviews. As more employees trickle back to the workplace, I’m expecting more small businesses to leverage these tools in the coming years.

5. Employers are replacing no-show employees with robots

kirill_makarov - Fotolia

Recent results from a Verizon survey revealed that 30% of the small U.S. businesses that participated have already begun to adopt digital solutions to help make up for the worker shortage throughout the coronavirus pandemic. These technologies include robots that scan shelves to manage inventory in grocery stores and stock shelves, robots that take the place of restaurant servers, robotic delivery tech, and toilet cleaning bots, to name a few. (Source:

The Hill

)

Why this is important for your firm and clients: This article has more than a dozen examples of small and large companies taking advantage of lower tech costs to replace workers with automation. The tech companies won’t admit this and neither will the employers. But it’s happening. And given the high cost (and maintenance) of employing people, you really can’t blame them. I expect to see more of this in the coming years.

6. 81% of online retailers increased their AI budget

Eugen Wais/EwaStudio - Fotolia

A new report revealed that 85% of retailers are expecting sales online to go up during the upcoming holiday season. The same report also revealed, however, that 42% of retailers continue to be concerned over the disruptions being caused by the supply chain crisis and how it may impact delivery times and inventory. The same report revealed that, in order to remain competitive, 81% of retailers are planning to spend more on AI this year. (Source:

Venture Beat

)

Why this is important for your firm and clients: Now, why do you think 81% of retailers are planning to spend more on AI this year? If you’re still not sure, please refer back to the previous item in this column. Hello tech, goodbye people.

7. Walmart rolled out bitcoin ATMs

Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg

Walmart will be having bitcoin ATMs installed in 200 locations across the country through its partnerships with Coinme — a crypto-cash exchange — and Coinstar, the coin-cashing machine company. While the pilot program will only be 200 ATMs, the rollout is part of a larger plan to add 8,000 bitcoin ATMs throughout the U.S. Currently there are over 25,000 bitcoin ATMs across the country in gas stations and supermarkets. (Source:

Pymnts

)

Why this is important for your firm and clients: Your small-business clients should be watching digital currencies closely. No, not to invest. But to accept. Right now it’s still too “bleeding edge” and risky to deal with the volatility inherent in these things. But as companies like Walmart are doing, they’ll soon need to be doing the same or they may lose some customers.

8. Facebook plans to hire 10,000 workers to build a ‘metaverse’

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Facebook recently announced that it is planning to hire 10,000 employees throughout the next five years in the European Union. The move comes as the company works to create a computing platform that will virtually connect users. According to Facebook, the hired workers will assist in developing what is being called “the metaverse,” which will utilize virtual and augmented reality to connect users online. (Source:

AP News

)

Why this is important for your firm and clients: The metaverse is coming and it’s going to impact the way we do business. Want to know more? Read my take on it

here

.

9. Ransomware gangs complain other crooks are stealing their ransoms

kaptn - Fotolia

It has been reported that hackers committing cyber-attacks using ransomware have shared complaints that the source where they get their malware is potentially stealing ransom payments. The organization behind one of the most common and notorious forms of ransomware — REvil — rents out their ransomware to other hackers and requires a piece of the profit in return. However, it was revealed recently that a little-known piece of code lets REvil restore the hacked files without the attackers renting the ransomware. (Source:

ZDNet

)

Why this is important for your firm and clients: How great is this story? Crooks stealing from crooks. Hopefully this behavior will limit some of their activities but probably not. In the meantime: Get your employees trained, use backup software, invest in up-to-date security software and, most important, keep everyone’s operating systems — Windows, iOS, Android — up to date.

10. Google bringing AppSheet automations to Gmail

Ore Huiying/Bloomberg

Last month, Google introduced its new feature for AppSheet automation. The addition will let developers make custom automations and apps on its no-code platform that will be able to directly interact with Gmail. Google also will be launching its integration with Atlassian, bringing its Jira integration to Spaces and Chat. With the new launch, users will have the ability to submit Jira tickets directly from both. (Source:

TechCrunch

)

Why this is important for your firm and clients: When Google says “developers” it doesn’t necessarily mean six-figure projects. AppSheet is a pretty easy-to-learn tool that can significantly automate parts of your business without having to purchase full-blown software applications. It’s like Google Sheets on steroids. Your best bet is to get a developer involved, but you can rest assured that because of the ease and power of these tools, you’ll spend significantly less on development expenses. Check out

some of the examples

of how AppSheet can be used and you’ll see what I mean.

Note: Some of these stories also appeared on Forbes.com.