Industry news

Industry leaders RS Group, CIPS, Schneider Electric & Siemens emphasise collaboration and circularity as crucial to sustainable supply chains

Supply chain sustainability is rapidly becoming a crucial topic for industry leaders, with many focusing on Scope 3 emissions and electrification.

One report from Accenture found that supply chains account for approximately 60% of global carbon emissions, whilst, notably half of all CEOs now view supply chain responsibility as integral to their sustainability strategy.

Read the full article on SupplyChain Digital here.

Cognizant has launched its Advanced Artificial Intelligence Lab, which will operate out of San Francisco. The lab is part of the firm’s plan to invest $1bn in generative AI over the next three years.

The Lab is focused on the science of AI, IP (it has 75 issued and pending patents), and research. A combined team of AI “pioneers”, PhD level researchers, and developers will work with other research institutions, customers, and startups to create cutting-edge AI technologies. Cognizant is looking to create the next wave of AI tech and wants to demonstrate it is at the forefront of innovation in artificial intelligence

Read the full article on TechMarketView here.

Capita, the outsourcing behemoth, has revealed staggering annual losses totalling more than £106.6 million ($135.5 million), with a significant portion attributed to a cyberattack it suffered last March.

The attack, identified as a ransomware breach orchestrated by the notorious Black Basta group, wreaked havoc on the company's financial health, resulting in direct costs of £25.3 million ($32 million).

Initially estimating the incident's impact at £20 million, Capita's revised figures underscore the extensive repercussions of the attack.

Read the full article on Computing here.

The ESG landscape is quickly evolving, and so is KPMG. We're keeping a strong pulse on how regulations and reporting demands are expanding. But more importantly, as we enhance our capabilities to best support companies on their ESG journeys, we’re dedicated to keeping financial value creation and business strategy front and center.

Read the full article on KPMG here.

When asked what was driving ESG within their businesses, more than half - 56% - of IT leaders cited a simple motivation to do the right thing. Admittedly, 32% had an eye on cost savings (which certainly ties in with a strategy of reducing waste), while matching up to industry best practice was the third most popular driver.

This suggests that industry standards matter, and are an effective way of encouraging individual organisations to raise the bar.

Read the full article on Computing here.

London-HQ’d algorithmic underwriting insurtech, Artificial Labs has secured a further £8m in Series A+ funding. The round was led by Augmentum Fintech, with participation from existing investors MS&AD Ventures and FOMCAP IV. This latest investment brings the total raised to date by the company to over £20m. The additional monies will be used to support both product development and continued expansion.

Founded in 2013, Artificial Labs has built a platform which uses cloud-based tools and machine learning techniques to facilitate fully automated, algorithmic underwriting.

Read the full article on TechMarketView here.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has published a new ‘Introduction to AI assurance’ report, the first in a series of guidance to help organisations upskill on topics around AI assurance and governance, and build trust in deploying AI systems.

The document focuses on the underlying concepts of AI assurance, and aims to provide an accessible introduction to both assurance mechanisms and global technical standards, to help industry and regulators better understand how to build and deploy responsible AI systems.

Read the full article on TechMarketView here.

Major financial services company JPMorgan Chase & Co is increasing diversity across its supply chain through a bespoke programme of initiatives.

The company’s Global Supplier Diversity programme promotes equity and inclusion across its value chain, facilitating the growth and development of businesses it helps.

“Building strong relationships is the cornerstone of our success,” the company says. “We place particular value in our supplier partnerships. It is thanks to the help of a diverse range of suppliers and advisors that we we are able to serve our clients, shareholders, communities and employees more efficiently.”

Read the full article on Supply Chain Digital here.

Banking giant, HSBC has formed a new strategic partnership with Google Cloud focused on supporting climate technology innovation. In 2022 Google Cloud launched Google Cloud Ready (GCR) - Sustainability designed to vet the validity of organisations in the climate/carbon reduction sector. Meanwhile, HSBC has made a commitment to deploy $1bn of finance to support climate technology.

The new collaboration will see the bank provide financing for companies wanting to participate in the GCR Sustainability programme.

Read the full article on TechMarketView here.

The Post Office inquiry heard from two former Fujitsu staffers yesterday

A software developer at Fujitsu who raised the issue of bugs within the Horizon software that the Post Office rolled out from the late 1990's has told the inquiry into the Post Office scandal that the company did not fix the bugs because it was too expensive and too time consuming. It isn't the first time the inquiry has been made aware of damaging decisions being made due to worries about cost.

Read the full article on Computing here.