Research & Publications

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Innovation Nation at Risk

President Obama has, in effect, laid down a challenge to us. He spelled out – correctly – in his State of the Union address that innovation is the key to US competitiveness. Now it is up to us to make clear how technology is enabling that competitiveness in every aspect of our economy.

From manufacturing to agriculture, from transportation to communication, from smart grids to smart kids. Now, we have to arm policy makers at every level – local, state, federal, international – with examples of where it is working and where great jobs are being created. Only then, will we see pro-innovation tax and trade policies being enacted: when we connect the dots from technology, innovation, competitiveness and jobs.

If you would like to submit an article for publication, please submit it to jason.langsner@techamericafoundation.org.

Secure Online Banking and Credit Card Security in the U.S.: A Wake-Up Call

T. Kendall Hunt
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, VASCO Data Security International, Inc.
(submitted December 15, 2011)

Secure online banking and credit card security are critical factors for rebuilding America’s economy. Unfortunately, the U.S. is lagging behind in both fields. This article tries to give an overview of measures taken by the U. S. government, the current situation regarding credit/debit card fraud, inadequate online banking security, and best practices.

FFIEC Guidance October, 2005: Secure Internet Banking

October 2005: In an attempt to raise the bar on e-banking security, theFederal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) published an open advisory letter to the U.S. banking sector. The agency told banks that simple password/PIN identification schemes were no longer good enough to protect either their customers, or their assets. Instead, the FFIEC recommended that they adopt strong or multi-factor authentication for online transactions. The agency advised that banks were expected to achieve compliance with the guidance no later than year-end 2006…read more.

The Talent Shortage that’s Sapping America’s Innovative Edge

Jim Goodnight
Chief Executive Officer, SAS
(submitted December 15, 2011)

When discussing the importance of analytics to economic growth and American competitiveness, it is inevitable that one must take a critical look at topics such as STEM education and data regulation. If you believe that analytics technology will power the next great wave of innovation, as I do, you can’t assess our competitive situation without assessing the lifeblood of analytics talent: science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. Nor can you ignore the ongoing debates about the handling of data. Before we get there, let’s examine the questions, “What are analytics and why are so many organizations scrambling to hire analytically trained talent?”

Analytics drive innovation

There are many examples of how analytics are being used in the commercial and public sectors to improve lives. In health care, analytics are used to increase positive patient outcomes, reduce costs by uncovering fraud and improper payments and discover new treatments through the analysis of anonymized electronic health records, to name a few applications.

Financial services companies use analytics to fight money laundering, organized fraud rings and credit card fraud. If someone receives a call from their bank asking if they just made the purchase shown in bank records, they’ve likely been touched by analytics. The purchase was somehow different from the normal pattern. The bank’s fraud division saw a red flag and called the customer. That’s anti-fraud analytics at work…read more.

American Global Competitiveness Requires Connected Communities of Health

Glen E. Tullman
Chief Executive Officer, Allscripts
(submitted November 1, 2011)

When I joined Allscripts in 1997, I knew we were going to do important things. No industry is as essential as healthcare and I was convinced that Allscripts could make a difference using software and technology to improve the quality of care and reduce costs. Today, Allscripts is leading a transformation that promises to contribute more to American global competitiveness than any other industry. How? By using technology not only to automate care, but to build Connected Communities of Health that deliver higher quality care at lower cost.

Why is America’s competitiveness dependent on connecting healthcare? The answer begins with some pretty simple math. As the cost of healthcare rises, U.S. businesses have less money to invest in the future of their products, their services and their company as a whole. Companies can’t aggressively hire or develop new markets when their operating margins are continually eroded by rising and uncontrollable healthcare costs. Today, the cost of healthcare is rising about five times faster than wages, profits or inflation. In 1987, healthcare spending accounted for 11 percent of GDP; today it represents 17 percent, and by 2017 it’s projected to reach 20 percent…read more.

Innovation Nation at Risk – Shure Incorporated

Sandy LaMantia
President & Chief Executive Officer, Shure
(submitted September 22, 2011)

With a history of innovation spanning more than 86 years, Shure Incorporated has turned a passion for making great microphones and audio electronics into an obsession. Established as Shure Radio Company in 1925, founder Sidney N. Shure was a 23-year-old entrepreneur with experience building and operating home-made radios. By 1940, Shure was recognized as one of the world’s most diversified microphone manufacturers, offering carbon, crystal, condenser, and dynamic microphones. Today, one out of every three microphones sold to audio professionals across the globe is a Shure microphone.

Until his passing in 1995, Mr. Shure remained an inspiring and visionary leader, with a drive for excellence and innovation. Today, Shure remains aligned with the core values he established, even as the complex audio industry grows and changes.

Shure continues to set the worldwide industry standard for superior microphones and audio electronics, and pioneered the first wireless microphone. The Vagabond, released in 1953, was the first “practical wireless microphone system.” The system provided a preview of the wireless world to come and sparked further research and development in wireless technology…read more.

Workforce Productivity in Today’s Service-Based Economy

Edward M.L. Peters
Chief Executive Officer, OpenConnect Systems
(submitted September 1, 2011)

Recently, U.S. President Barack Obama expressed his determination to “unlock the productivity” of American workers to make the country more competitive in today’s technology-driven economy. In his radio address he specifically emphasized, “We just have to make sure we’re doing everything we can to unlock the productivity of American workers, unleash the ingenuity of American businesses, and harness the dynamism of America’s economy.”

We agree.

President Obama refers to today’s ‘technology-driven economy’. His reference points to the shift that has occurred from a manufacturing-based economy to one that is service-led, digitally-attuned, and knowledge-based. The hard facts are that as a percentage of the U.S. economy the manufacturing base plunged through the 9 percent barrier in 2010. This is a 68 percent decline from the post World War II peak of 28.3 percent in 1953. In the last decade more than 45,000 factories were closed and more than 8,000,000 manufacturing jobs were shed. In spite of these steep losses, the US economy still leads the world in manufacturing, supplying some $1.7 trillion of high-quality goods, currently dwarfing China by some 40 percent, according to the latest United Nations figures. This only underscores the tremendous improvements in manufacturing productivity achieved in the 20th century because of American ingenuity and innovative technologies…read more.

Enabling Rainmakers: Cloud Computing benefits the bottom line, spawns entrepreneurship, and ensures a brighter future

Marc Benioff
Chairman & CEO, salesforce.com
(submitted August 23, 2011)

In 1999 I started salesforce.com with three great software developers in a rented apartment in San Francisco. We didn’t have much. Card tables and folding chairs served as office furniture. A walk-in closet housed our servers. The balcony doubled as our conference room. However, we made up for what we lacked with a big vision: The End of Software.

At the time, information technology was onerous to install, expensive to maintain, and burdensome to use. The systems required maintenance and customization that needed months, or even years, to get right. It also required more resources than many companies wanted to spend on this aspect of their businesses. We wanted to change that. We knew there was a better alternative.

By delivering information over the Internet, what we now call cloud computing, we could give companies a more economical and more efficient way to manage their businesses. While there were critics who said this idea would never gain traction (venture capitalists turned us down; our competitors said we’d be gone in a year), customers demonstrated they were interested in a change. They were frustrated by how the traditional software industry grew too greedy, too complex, and too out of touch, and they voted for the cloud with their dollars, euros, and yen…read more.

YOU Are the Password

Tom Helou
President & COO, AuthenWare
(submitted August 22, 2011)

Can a parallel be drawn between freedom to cross the Berlin Wall and the freedom to post on a Facebook wall? Can such borderless liberty be defined in a 140 character Twitter feed or does it require an updated Declaration of Independence? There’s no question the proliferation of technology around the globe has opened new portals for expression to those otherwise silenced by their governments and as a means toward equality for the oppressed. Call it Freedom 2.0.

Yet while this expressive new flame flourishes, our collective failure to protect such channels threatens both the integrity and usability of online forums. This year’s hacking of RSA’s algorithm – the secret instruction manual, if you will, of the leading token’s inner‐workings – should serve as a warning sign to the international community of cyberspace’s next stage of growth. First built as a tool for convenience, the Internet is simply not equipped to ward off today’s sophisticated attacks. If this modern marvel is to continue to thrive and serve as a beacon for all things innovative, security must now be our top priority…read more.

Categories: Education & Publications

This entry was posted on Monday, May 23rd, 2011 by Jason Langsner.