The Gilbane Advisor

Curated for content, computing, and digital experience professionals

Month: April 2022 (Page 1 of 3)

Microsoft announces updates to Microsoft 365

April 28, 2022 /

From the Microsoft 365 blog…

This month, we’re adding features across Microsoft 365 to improve accessibility, support flexible workstyles, streamline routine tasks, and offer more ways to make your voice heard. We’re also launching new capabilities in Windows 11 and Windows 365 to help make hybrid work easier.

Notification overload can be disruptive, especially for employees with conditions like autism and ADHD. We’ve been working to cut down the noise by providing more ways to customize which notifications Microsoft Teams shows you and when, and added capabilities to improve reading and writing like text prediction options, voice control tools, and accessible authoring features.

The To Do Windows app now supports smart recognition of due dates, reminders, and repeat information from the task title, and you can simply use natural language.

With Windows 365, employees can stream their entire Windows experience from the Microsoft Cloud, and we have started adding support for multiple work and personal accounts on Microsoft 365 web apps in the same browser, enabling you to switch between the accounts with a single click.

New capabilities like automatic framing, voice clarity, background blur, and eye contact create more natural hybrid meeting experiences. Live captions provide a more inclusive hybrid work environment for the deaf or hard-of-hearing communities, and language learners.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2022/04/28/from-intelligent-tools-built-on-inclusivity-to-the-latest-in-windowsheres-whats-new-in-microsoft-365/

Searchable.ai announces Constellation

April 28, 2022 /

Searchable.ai announced Constellation, their unified data platform that brings together all the data and information that knowledge workers and teams need in one place. While Searchable.ai initially focused on unifying data and information from files, such as those created with Microsoft Office and Google Workspace apps, as well as PDFs, Constellation makes it possible to unify user-inputted SaaS data. Structured information from Jira tickets and Trello cards, for example, as well as conversations in apps like Slack, can now be searchable and shareable. Additionally, Constellation’s Live Sync technology means data is constantly being updated and refreshed, so users always have access to the latest information.

Constellation supports an unlimited amount of data and is engineered with enterprise-grade security. Eventually, Searchable.ai will enable developers to access the Constellation framework for their own apps and services, including corporations who may want to ingest this data into their own repositories.

For now, Searchable.ai will leverage Constellation to extend its end-user capabilities beyond search. The company will soon be releasing Collections, a way for users to assemble groups of files, email, and cloud data in a central space where others can add, find, and access what they need for their work.

https://www.searchable.ai/post/announcing-constellation

Gilbane Advisor 4-27-22 — SQL limits, Wasm opps

April 27, 2022 /

This week we feature articles from Benn Stancil and Renee Shah.

Additional reading comes Mike Loukides, Eric Benjamin Seufert, Jakob Nielsen, and Cobus Greyling.

News comes from Netlify, Databricks, Element, and Akamai.

Opinion / Analysis

Has SQL gone too far?

Like many of you, who have been focused largely on unstructured data management, I never expected SQL to remain so relevant for so long. Benn Stancil, who “has worked almost exclusively in SQL for” much of his career, has a thoughtful piece (8 min) explaining why he now thinks…

Just as SQL can, but shouldn’t, be used to define complex statistical analysis, perhaps SQL can, but probably shouldn’t, be used to model the complex operations of a business.

https://benn.substack.com/p/has-sql-gone-too-far?

How WebAssembly gets used: 18 startups building with Wasm

WebAssembly (Wasm) has been around for a few years, is maturing, and is something that software developers, and not just web developers, should have on their radar. Wasm is already being used or supported by Cloudflare, Adobe, Google, Amazon Prime, Lyft, Disney+, the BBC, and others; The W3C has just published working drafts for WebAssembly 2.0; And startups and investors see opportunity. In this post investor Renee Shah reports on how and why startups are using Wasm, and includes a link to an excellent primer for those of you unfamiliar with it. (14 min)

https://medium.com/@reneeshah/how-webassembly-gets-used-the-18-most-exciting-startups-building-with-wasm-939474e951db

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Content technology news

Netlify Edge Functions accelerate web development at the edge

Netlify Edge Functions is built on Deno, an open source, standards-based runtime that enables instant compatibility with popular web frameworks.
https://gilbane.com/2022/04/netlify-edge-functions-accelerate-web-development-at-the-edge/

Databricks announces lakehouse offering for media and entertainment

The lakehouse enables media organizations to deliver data and AI outcomes with a single, collaborative platform for data, analytics, and AI.
https://gilbane.com/2022/04/databricks-announces-lakehouse-offering-for-media-and-entertainment/

Akamai launches Linode managed database

The managed database service powered by Linode has support for MySQL now, with PostgreSQL, Redis, and MongoDB coming in June.
https://gilbane.com/2022/04/akamai-launches-linode-managed-database/

Element announces Connector Portal, Unify Graph, and Advanced Joins

To increase flexibility and speed up model development for organizations seeking to deploy digital twins or pursue industrial transformation.
https://gilbane.com/2022/04/element-announces-connector-portal-unify-graph-and-advanced-joins/

All content technology news

The Gilbane Advisor is curated by Frank Gilbane for content technology, computing, and digital experience professionals. The focus is on strategic technologies. We publish recommended articles and content technology news weekly. We do not sell or share personal data.

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Expert.ai updates AI-based natural language processing platform

April 26, 2022 /

Expert.ai announced the new release of its platform combining symbolic, human-like comprehension and machine learning to turn language into data, analyze and understand complex documents, accelerate intelligent process automation and improve decision making. By extending core features and adding unique capabilities, such as out of the box knowledge models and connectors, the new release increases flexibility, simplifies integration and optimizes data pipelines to augment efficiency across every process that involves natural language (NL).

Specifically designed for natural language AI, the expert.ai platform leverages the combination of different AI techniques (machine learning and rule-based symbolic comprehension) with a simple and powerful authoring environment to support the full natural language processing workflow. It is based on the principle that no single natural language AI technique is a fit for every project. The new release includes:

  • ‘Smarter from the start’ knowledge models deliver NL applications to production faster with higher levels of business accuracy
  • Simplified deployment processes across multiple environments, including Azure
  • Easier integration, out of the box connectors
  • Enhanced natural language operations: provides the ability to include custom Python and Java scripts or third-party services for pre- or post-processing activities in NL workflow orchestrations.

https://www.expert.ai

Hyland expands infrastructure to deploy OnBase and Brainware customers on AWS

April 26, 2022 /

Hyland, a content services provider, has expanded its work with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to support the increased cloud deployment and migration needs from its customer base. Working with AWS, Hyland will expand its Hyland Cloud infrastructure to deploy new OnBase and Brainware cloud customers and cloud migration environments in North America on the appropriate AWS Region – fully supported and managed by Hyland’s technical experts.

The strengthened relationship with AWS delivers an expansive infrastructure footprint for the Hyland Cloud, allowing Hyland to meet customer requirements with agility and scale, while providing a more flexible architecture that supports customers’ evolving information technology (IT) and business challenges. Backed by innovative technologies, security-driven policies and dedicated support from knowledgeable technology experts, customers deploying Hyland’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) offerings on AWS benefit from its continued focus on cloud innovation and support for next-generation cloud solutions.

https://www.hyland.com/en/innovation/hyland-cloud

Akamai launches Linode managed database

April 25, 2022 /

Akamai Technologies Inc., launched a managed database service powered by Linode with support for MySQL, PostgreSQL, Redis, and MongoDB. Akamai’s Linode Managed Database simplifies database deployment, helping developers reduce risk, increase efficiency, and minimize the complexity that comes with manual management of production database clusters.

The launch of Linode Managed Database service marks Akamai’s first product launch in its compute line of business following its acquisition of Linode in March of this year, to further its mission to develop a distributed compute platform from cloud to edge.

With Akamai’s Linode Managed Database service, users can defer common deployment and maintenance tasks to Linode and elect high availability configurations to ensure that database performance and uptime are never affected. The result: less hands-on management expertise is required to deploy applications and a decreased risk of downtime compared to manual management.

At launch, Akamai will offer Linode Managed Database for MySQL in all of Linode’s 11 global data centers, with support for PostgreSQL, Redis, and MongoDB to follow in the second quarter of 2022. With each supported managed database, customers can take advantage of features such as flat-rate pricing, security and recovery measures, flexible deployment options, and high availability cluster options.

https://www.linode.com ■ https://www.akamai.com

Databricks announces lakehouse offering for media and entertainment

April 21, 2022 /

Databricks launched a lakehouse platform for data-driven businesses in the media and entertainment industry. The Lakehouse for Media & Entertainment enables organizations across the media ecosystem to deliver better data and AI outcomes for consumers, advertisers and media partners with a single and collaborative platform for data, analytics, and AI. Databricks is also working with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and industry partners like Cognizant, Fivetran, Labelbox and Lovelytics.

With use case accelerators, custom Brickbuilder Solutions and a partner ecosystem, businesses will be able to deliver a personalized consumer experience, prepare for consumer analytics, and provide collaboration and secure data sharing among media teams. The Lakehouse for Media and Entertainment incorporates data solutions and accelerators for use cases like AI-driven recommendation engines, customer lifetime value and churn, quality of experience, community toxicity analysis, and advertising optimization.

With Databricks, organizations can leverage all of their data to build a holistic view of their audience and advertisers, make real-time decisions and drive innovation with advanced analytics. With business intelligence (BI), and AI capabilities on all data types, Databricks enables media organizations to use all of their data – including images, video and other unstructured data types – to develop a holistic understanding of their customers.

https://databricks.com/company/newsroom/press-releases/databricks-announces-lakehouse-offering-for-customers-in-the-media-and-entertainment-industries

Gilbane Advisor 4-20-22 — Future Twitter, secure blockchains

April 20, 2022 /

This week we feature articles from Ben Thompson and Jesus Rodriguez.

Additional reading comes from Pete Warden, Rand Fishkin, and Nature.

News comes from Adobe, dbt & Databricks, MongoDB & Google Cloud, Yext, and HeartCore.

Opinion / Analysis

Back to the future of Twitter

Ben Thompson has a proposal for Elon Musk, or anyone else willing to take the company private, on what to do with Twitter’s business model that is definitely worth a read. It is one of his weekly posts so not behind his paywall.

If you are familiar with the Bluesky project initially funded by Twitter, and now a separate organization, you might wonder why Thompson didn’t mention it. In response to a question on Twitter on how it differed he said his “proposal is much more technically feasible”. Maybe, maybe not, but his business case is more developed. (10 min)

https://stratechery.com/2022/back-to-the-future-of-twitter/

The paper that can change the foundations of all blockchain cryptography

The foundation of cryptographic techniques used in L1 and L2 blockchains is premised on the existence of one-way-functions. If a one-way-function exists for a given problem, then its cryptographically secured and, if not, its likely to be vulnerable to different attacks. However, so far it has been nearly impossible to prove the existence of one-way-functions. In their paper, researchers from Cornell University found an answer drawing parallels to an obscure area of computer science.

The math behind the paper is well beyond me, but Rodriguez provides an easily digestible description of why this is important (4 min).

https://medium.com/intotheblock/the-paper-that-can-change-the-foundations-of-all-blockchain-cryptography-6df9f077e9d3

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Content technology news

Adobe introduces Frame.io for Creative Cloud

With Frame.io for Creative Cloud, video editors and key project stakeholders are able to collaborate seamlessly in the cloud.
https://gilbane.com/2022/04/adobe-introduces-frame-io-for-creative-cloud/

dbt Labs announces availability on Databricks Partner Connect

Databricks users will now be able to get started with dbt Cloud from directly within the Databricks interface.
https://gilbane.com/2022/04/dbt-labs-announces-on-databricks-partner-connect/

MongoDB announces pay-as-you-go on Google Cloud

Google console integration will simplify discoverability, subscription, onboarding, and management of MongoDB Atlas when running on Google Cloud.
https://gilbane.com/2022/04/mongodb-announces-pay-as-you-go-on-google-cloud/

Yext updates platform

Updated functions include the Nebula algorithm, posting modernization, search merchandiser, connectors, listings, and navigation.
https://gilbane.com/2022/04/yext-updates-platform/

HeartCore upgrades content management system

New CMS version allows for centralized headless distribution of diversified content management and delivery (including PIM and DAM).
https://gilbane.com/2022/04/heartcore-upgrades-corporate-content-management-system/

All content technology news

The Gilbane Advisor is curated by Frank Gilbane for content technology, computing, and digital experience professionals. The focus is on strategic technologies. We publish recommended articles and content technology news weekly. We do not sell or share personal data.

Subscribe | Feed | View online | Editorial policy | Privacy policy | Contact

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