We all love our smartphones. But for business travelers, it pays to be extra careful out there in Cyberland
The mobile devices your travelers carry aren’t just expensive little conveniences anymore. Depending on the employee’s degree of access, they literally can be the keys to the kingdom, opening up your company’s confidential data systems. The value of mobile devices is their role as access points to a person’s or company’s data, which is more and more being housed on mobile clouds.
This change in kind also impacts other factors surrounding “mobile first” management thinking. For example, mobile security has never been about securing the device, but about securing the data it can access. Thus more and more companies are moving beyond device management to securing corporate applications and content. These are the conclusions of Digital Management Inc., a provider of end-to-end mobile enterprise solutions.
With the proliferation of connected devices, mobile and otherwise, security specialists have noted that the probability of cyberattacks is increasing across all business sectors. As a result organizations are adopting cybersecurity countermeasures to protect the entire ecosystem of computing resources, information, networks and applications. Numerous “attack surfaces” – points of vulnerability – have opened up in resources connected to cloud computing, big data, wireless communication, and the Internet of Things.
In addition to comprehensive security solutions, new analysis from Frost & Sullivan finds that securing multiple specific targets, such as networks, end user devices, applications and data is particularly crucial due to the emergence of new threats.
“The deployment of IoT, especially, will open up innumerable attack surfaces for cyber attackers to leverage,” says Frost & Sullivan’s analyst Debarun Guha Thakurta. “As a result, endpoint and wireless network security for IoT will leap to the forefront of technology development and wide-scale adoption.”
More Access Points than EverMobility is no longer merely a trend; it is today’s pervasive technology influencing both personal and business life. The corner was turned last year, when 1.2 billion smartphones were sold, an increase of 23 percent over 2013. In this environment, DMI advises the time has come for enterprises to rethink existing business models by capitalizing on a “mobile first” backbone to change the way they do business.
The travel industry is one sector where the need for prudence is most evident. Travel providers, expense management tools, card services, mobile networks and technology giants are all converging into the traveler’s palm. As more mobile devices become access points, maintaining the security that surrounds these devices has become critical.
For example, Marriott International has announced that it will become the first global hospitality company to offer Apple Pay. Guests will be able to use their iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus or soon, their Apple Watch, at check-in to capture the payment information. There will be no need to provide a credit card. The service will be phased in this summer in the US.
In another development, TravelClick and Google have entered into an expanded partnership to enable “one-click” mobile web bookings using Google Wallet. And research in Singapore reveals that for banking customers, mobile is emerging as the next channel of preference for both customer choice and frequency of interaction.
According to Nitin Bhat, partner at Frost & Sullivan, Singaporeans rely on many sources to find information about new banking products or services but only use a small number of channels for actual purchases: branch, website and contact center – but mobile banking is emerging as one of the top purchasing channels for Singapore customers.
However financial information and corporate data are not the only points of vulnerabilities for travelers. Personal information is also being aggregated to help travel providers engage their customers with highly tailored, precisely targeted services. One such aggregator is Revinate, a San Francisco-based technology company which compiles rich social guest profiles through its inGuest platform.
Revinate claims that “inGuest enables hoteliers to truly understand their guests, anticipate their needs and execute precisely targeted marketing campaigns by connecting reservation, social media and guest feedback data.” inGuest compiles reservation (PMS) data and stay histories, guest preferences, social media activity and guest feedback to “engage with them more effectively before, during and after their stays.”
Access to personal information, bank accounts, company secrets – and eventually even our houses and our cars – with so many “attack surfaces” out there, cyberthugs have more reasons than ever to assault the unwary mobile user. Every digital employee needs to understand the power they hold in their hand, and the steps they can take to protect it.
HRG Introduces FraedomHogg Robinson Group has launched Fraedom, its integrated technology and Software as a Service (SaaS) business. Operating independently within Hogg Robinson Group, Fraedom offers clients simple and inexpensive software based solutions.
“SaaS technology offered by Fraedom already operates across a wide variety of non-travel markets, helping companies and individuals gain instant control and visibility of their purchasing and expenses,” noted David Radcliffe, chief executive of Hogg Robinson Group plc. “Fraedom will be aimed primarily at the non-managed and individual sector within the overall travel market, whilst HRG global travel management will continue to focus on the managed sector within the corporate travel space.”
Duke Opens UK’s First Travel Tech Incubator
The UK’s first-ever incubator for travel technology start-ups has been opened in the riverside offices of London & Partners, the Mayor’s promotional company for London. In an official ceremony, Traveltech Lab was opened by HRH The Duke of York, KG.
The incubator – created in partnership with innovation space designer The Trampery – offers workspace for 30 people in startups in the UK’s travel technology industry. In addition, startups will have the use of a panoramic event space, TV broadcast facilities, mentoring support and a program of talks and business workshops.
The new incubator has seen over 100 companies apply for space, including businesses from Germany, China and the US. At the ceremony, Gatwick Airport was confirmed as Traveltech Lab’s first corporate partner.
Routehappy Integrates with Google FlightsRoutehappy and Google have announced a worldwide agreement to integrate flight amenity data from Routehappy’s Scores & Happiness Factors API into Google Flights results. This integration will allow Google Flights users in all geographies to see and compare amenities by flight, including seat type, in-seat power and WiFi.
Routehappy’s Flightpad is a product attribute dataset that researches and verifies flight amenities by aircraft, cabin, schedule, and route. Flightmatch dynamically matches and scores Happiness Factors, duration, and ratings for billions of possible flight combinations.
“We know people are looking for more information about the flights they’re taking before they buy,” said Gianni Marostica, director business development, travel for Google. “So integrating Routehappy Happiness Factors into our platform is a great addition to Google.
Accor Launches Apple Watch App
At the end of April, Accor will offer guests an Accorhotels iOS app for the newly-released Apple Watch. The app is available in 10 languages and works in connection with the smartphone app.
With the app, guests will be able to access information about their bookings: arrival date, number of nights, number of guests, receive information about the hotel’s services (free WiFi, parking, spa, swimming pool, etc.) and get their Le Club Accorhotels loyalty card details, with their status and loyalty points.
“This policy is part of the group’s digital plan, which aims to accompany the changeover to new mobile practices,” explains Romain Roulleau, Accor’s SVP e-commerce and director of the “mobile first” program. “Accor is thus fully embracing the era of connected wearables and adopting an ongoing improvement approach to this robust market trend so it can provide our guests with a value-added service before, during and after their stay.”
Marriott to Roll Out Apple Pay This SummerMarriott International has announced it will become the first global hospitality company to offer Apple Pay. The phased introduction will begin this summer in the US, and will include Marriott brands Ritz-Carlton, EDITION, Renaissance Hotels, and Marriott Hotels.
To use Apple Pay at check-in, guests will simply bring their iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus or soon, Apple Watch, near the contactless reader at the front desk. A subtle vibration and beep indicates the payment information has been securely captured. There will be no need to provide a credit card upon check-in.
The Apple Pay roll out will start this summer at eleven hotels:• The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park
• The Ritz-Carlton Washington DC
• EDITION Miami
• JW Marriott Chicago
Google and TravelClick Expand PartnershipTravelClick has announced an expanded partnership with Google to enable “one-click” mobile web bookings using Google Wallet for Google Hotel Ads customers. This is an expansion of an existing partnership between Google and TravelClick.
The new capability takes advantage of seamless connectivity to Google’s users to improve overall search results. This latest expansion of “one-click” mobile bookings through Google Wallet is only currently available to US consumers.
• Renaissance New York Times Square Hotel
• San Francisco Marriott Marquis
• San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront
• New York Marriott Downtown
• Courtyard Chicago Downtown/Magnificent Mile
• San Jose Marriott
• Courtyard Los Angeles LA Live
• Residence Inn Los Angeles LA Live
The Apple Watch app will launch for Marriott Rewards members. In addition, members who also carry the program’s co-branded credit card can load it into Apple Pay and designate it as their primary card.
UATP Adds SilverRail
SilverRail Technologies has joined the UATP Network giving travelers the ability to purchase European and North American train tickets through SilverRail with their UATP card. Through the UATP–SilverRail integration, UATP subscribers are able to purchase rail travel in Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the US using their UATP card.
The lack of ‘industry standard’ makes purchasing rail travel a complex process, because each rail company utilizes its own internal coding and ticketing process. The SilverRail solution creates a convenient, single global ticketing platform for buyers to use.
“SilverRail’s mission is to simplify the complex process of rail ticketing, which means making it as easy to purchase a train ticket as a plane ticket,” said William Phillipson, president, SilverRail Technologies. “Partnering with UATP allows our corporate customers to buy train tickets with the same card they use to purchase airline tickets.”
The Eyes Have ItThinking about upgrading your screen to relieve some of the eye strain that sets in at the end of a long day of staring? Not so fast; the solution may be just a blink away, according to some research from global eye health company Bausch + Lomb.
Surveys shows that Americans spend a 400 minutes a day staring at their screens – computers, smartphones, laptops and tablets. But according to recent studies, the more we stare, the less we blink – this despite the mistaken perception that people blink more frequently when looking at a screen.
In fact, 61 percent of millennials incorrectly believe they blink more frequently when staring at the screens on their personal devices, according to a survey commissioned by Bausch + Lomb in partnership with Mashable and conducted online by Harris Poll. However, the opposite is true; studies show that people may blink on average 66 percent fewer times when staring at their digital screens.
The result is drier eyes, more discomfort and a less than optimal visual experience, according to the eye health experts at Bausch + Lomb