The latest contender on the cloud market is Chinese-owned Alibaba. Gartner data currently shows that Alibaba has a higher market share than Google, but is still considerably lower than Amazon Web Services and Microsoft.

Alibaba’s cloud proposition is increasingly attractive to Chinese companies wanting to go global, as well as other businesses that want to break into the Chinese market. The key difference is the one thing that none of the US giants have a share of just yet: China. 

In a recent survey of 400 Senior IT decision-makers, Alibaba was the least trusted tech brand when it came to handling company data and was trusted by a meagre 3% of the US and European firms.

The likes of Microsoft, Google, and Oracle will point to the fact that Alibaba does not have a SaaS (software-as-a-service) presence offering full package cloud computing services. Similarly, this has also been a criticism of Amazon Web Services.

Many large businesses have already begun relying on one of the big three US cloud giants when it comes to moving more of their IT infrastructure off-premise.  While it may not be a forever deal, the likelihood of them moving over to a new provider is small.

John Lewis, for example, is a Google Cloud Platform user. Waitrose, which is part of the company, was an Amazon Web Services customer before a decision was made to combine the company’s IT. Therefore, the company has used two of the big cloud providers already, meaning Alibaba would have to provide something special to be considered.

If other providers are thinking in the same way, Alibaba will still be reaching to make it to the big three. However, that doesn’t mean they can’t compete and build other unique elements in the next few years. The next few years will showcase whether they have the chance to enter the US and European leagues, becoming the next global cloud provider.

https://kinsta.com/blog/google-cloud-vs-aws/

https://cloud.google.com/docs/compare/aws

https://www.eweek.com/cloud/aws-vs-google-cloud-platform/ 

https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Alibaba-versus-Amazon-Microsoft-and-Google-Does-the-Chinese-cloud-challenger-have-what-it-takes

The Battle for the Clouds

The ESG space continues to be on every companies lips for 2023 and as a result a whole ecosystem continues you to grow in order to support companies goals.  We have seen a continuous increase in funding being injected into Sustainable tech vendors, which also increases the demand for hiring and expanding current teams. 

Climate tech investment as a proportion of total investment has increased from just over 3% in 2017 up to 16.88% in 2022. 

At Osmii, we support not only the consultancies building ESG capability, but also climate/green tech businesses to grow across EMEA. Helping the Tech for good effort has gained huge momentum in our business and 2023 we are investing further.  

On our travels, we found some really interesting start-ups that have been making an impact and without a crystal ball to hand we believe they will thrive in 2023! 

Here is a list of some of our favourites. 

CarbonCure Technologies: This startup develops carbon dioxide utilization technology that can be used in the concrete industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Enbala Power Networks: This startup provides a software platform that allows utilities and grid operators to optimize the integration of distributed energy resources, such as renewable energy and energy storage.

Echogen Power Systems: This startup develops waste heat-to-power technology that can be used to generate electricity in industrial and commercial settings.

Pivot Bio: This startup develops microbe-based fertilizers that can be used to improve crop yields and reduce the need for chemical fertilizers.

Heliogen: This startup develops technology that uses concentrated solar power to generate high temperatures for industrial processes, such as cement and steel production.

LanzaTech: This startup develops technology that captures and repurposes carbon emissions from industrial processes, such as steelmaking, into sustainable chemicals and fuels.

Zeroavia: From 20 seat regional trips to over 100 seat long-distance flights, ZeroAvia enables scalable, sustainable aviation by replacing conventional engines with hydrogen-electric powertrains.

Freewire: Fully-integrated ultrafast electric vehicle charging solutions that free customers from the limitations of the electric grid.

 This is my list - what is yours? I would be keen to hear from businesses with all things sustainable, all things green and all things ESG at the heart of what they do. 

You are welcome to reach out to me here or at maia.visnikar@osmii.com

Climate Tech Companies to watch

We are quickly heading towards the sustainability reporting deadlines for all large companies in the EU which should make businesses more accountable by obliging them to regularly disclose information on their ESG impact- adopted by the CSRD this week with 525 votes in favour. 

The goal is to “end greenwashing, strengthen the EU’s social market economy and lay the groundwork for sustainability reporting standards at a global level.”

This will of course have a huge effect on the job market with companies increasingly looking to hire staff with specialised skills such as “climate risk modelling” and the ability to develop and lead multi-pronged strategy for ESG. 

The new rules of when reports are due according to the size of the organisations are as follows:

From 1 January 2024 for large public-interest companies (with over 500 employees) already subject to the non-financial reporting directive, with reports due in 2025;

From 1 January 2025 for large companies that are not presently subject to the non-financial reporting directive (with more than 250 employees and/or €40 million in turnover and/or €20 million in total assets), with reports due in 2026;

From 1 January 2026 for listed SMEs and other undertakings, with reports due in 2027. SMEs can opt-out until 2028.

As the intentions are all well and good and the “CSRD being one of the cornerstones of the European Green Deal and the Sustainable Finance Agenda and part of a wider EU policy to commit companies to respect human rights and reduce their impact on the planet” the questions that remain are: 

How will companies sustain the demand of hiring the right staff to lead their ESG transformation according to guidelines in their respective region? And where will these new and high-demand experts emerge from? 

Osmii recently put together material on how the European market looks for ESG hiring. We are covering topics from salary benchmarking to the concentration of candidates and pitfalls to avoid when hiring in the ESG and sustainability space. 

 Please get in touch to learn more and access the document - maia.visnikar@osmii.com

SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING DEADLINES...

As Osmii have been building out their ESG network, we have noticed ESG is the current topic at everyone's business due to higher consumer demands and the rapidly changing legal European landscape with ESG based business laws, such as SCDDA. Below we have outlined SCDDA and the future implications for businesses as we move towards an ESG conscious society and workforce.

Many European organisations will now have to rapidly transform their ESG practices for their survival.

In 2016, the German National Action Plan (NAP) of business and human rights set expectations of majority of mid-large German companies to perform effective human rights due diligence by 2020. In 2019, an assessment demonstrated only 17-19% of participating companies should support their compliance to the requirements; then declining more in 2020 with 13-17% companies complying. The reports proved to the German government the urgency of mandatory human rights due diligence legislation. As a result, Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz (LkSG) became official German law in 2021. In English it is commonly referred to as German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (SCDDA). 

From January 1st 2023, SCDDA will apply to companies:

That employ more than 3,000 employees in Germany or via a German contract abroad

Foreign companies with a branch office in Germany of similar size

Furthermore, from January 1st 2024, the law extends to companies with head offices or branches in Germany with 1,000 or more employees.

Companies may technically not meet the SCDDA scope and still face requirements as suppliers to in-scope corporations. This creates the corporate responsibility for in-scope companies to conduct risk analysis on their direct suppliers and implement preventative measures where appropriate around human rights and the environment. Facilitation abilities of these obligations will be key considerations in contract negotiations. Companies risk management systems will be measured against the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights:

States have a duty to protect human rights, and laws and regulations should be used to prevent, investigate, punish, and rectify such abuse

Businesses have a responsibility to respect human rights, and due diligence is the means through which they are expected to do this

Affected people must have access to remedy

To cover the complexity of manufacturing supply chains, the legalisation includes stipulations to assess and report on:

Negative community impacts e.g. land access and use of security forces 

Environmental harm related to the production and use of persistent organic pollutants

The regulation defines two major protected legal positions: human rights and the environment

SCDDA defines nine high-level requirements: 

1.       Establish a risk management system- the goal of which is to:

          a.       Identify existing risks or areas where risks may originate

          b.      Prevent the realization of these risks and ensure all legal requirements are met

2.       Define the party or parties responsible for compliance- in-house responsibility systems must keep company management informed of any developments and work to improve the system over time

3.       Perform regular risk analysis- must be conducted annually with any identified risks must be appropriately weighted and prioritised and communicated internally to relevant decision-makers to take appropriate corrective action

4.       Issue a policy statement inline with SCDDA goals- the policy must:

        a.       Outline the company-wide human rights strategy, including the human rights and environmental related risks                  identified

       b.      Describe the risk management strategy that’s been put in place

       c.       Communicate expectations regarding human rights to employees and the supply chain

5.       Establish preventative measures within the company’s business unit and for direct suppliers- the first goal of SCDDA is always to prevent human rights violations from occurring in the first place. Organisations must implement training courses and control measures that address the  varied requirements of the act

6.       Take remedial action when risks are discovered- failure to do so runs risk of fines and significant civil action from impacted parties, NGOs or competitors

7.       Establish complaints procedure- additionally companies must introduce contractual controls to their suppliers. 

8.       Implement due diligence with regard to risks posed by indirect suppliers- cross-sector initiatives such as the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) help companies acquire meaningful data deep in the supply chain. This benefits companies by creating an increase of pressure on suppliers by establishing joint best practices and information sharing

9.       Document and report on due diligence activities- provided annually by internal quality assurance, supply chain procurement teams or legal and direct suppliers. Companies can use widely used by industry templates such as Slavery and Trafficking Risk Template (STRT) to establish risk scores. Reports must be publicly available for seven years via a company’s website.

1.       Fines- Periodic or recurring penalty payments of up to €50,000. Fines can range up to €800,000 or two percent of average annual global turnover for companies earning over €400 million.

2.       Exclusion from Public Tender- companies in violation of the SCDDA can be excluded from public contract competitions for up to three years, potentially costing millions in lost revenue.

3.       Lawsuits- In certain situations, companies that have not performed due diligence activities or taken remedial action in response to violations will be open to lawsuits from affected persons, NGOs, and/or trade unions. The SCDDA, however, does not provide for or change existing civil liabilities with respect to damages incurred abroad.

The wider future                                          

Mandatory human rights due diligence and reporting is rapidly becoming normalised in Europe. France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway and others now require some form of due diligence from companies headquartered or operating in their nations.

When compliance is outsourced there is an inconsistency of what is covered and not; resulting in patchwork compliance solutions with poor integration, incongruences and an increased risk of error.

Osmii specialise in ESG recruitment and have a wide network of ESG profiles from start-ups to large companies such as Unilever. 

For over 3 years, Osmii are proud to be working in collaboration with Workiva, ESG software (SaaS) reporting platform. A Forrester Wave leader, Workiva is also publicly listed (NYSE). Companies across the world use their platform to transform the way they report and manage ESG data, integrate their existing work streams into their reports and seamlessly enable collaboration. Osmii are very excited for their ESG event (Amplify) coming up soon in September with high profile attendants such as Coca Cola and Google as well as sponsors such as PwC.

With collaborations like these, Osmii are experienced and here to help your company with the dramatic shift towards sustainability and optimise your business performance to make the most of ESG developments.

Green Supply Chains: a Growing European Necessity

In a post-COVID society, companies are dramatically accelerating their digitisation processes. For some, it is simply technology. Others, digital is a new form of customer engagement. For others, it represents the innovation of creating a new business path.

This raises the question of how are companies utilising these tools to enhance their business capabilities, growth and sustainability. 

What are the key drivers for adopting digital as a consumer goods company?

Cost of living crisis- with the UK reaching record levels of inflation, companies are increasingly forced to rely on more technology based solutions 

Increased supply chain disruption- as supply chains account for over 90% of an organisation’s environmental impact (McKinsey) organisations are confronted with an increased demand to improve their supply chain organisation. For example, a letter by the Road Haulage Association to the Prime Minster in 2021 identified Brexit as a significant contributor in the shortage of HGV drivers.

 EU supply chain laws- the emergence of the new German law SCDDA means by January 1st 2024 companies with head offices or branches in Germany with 1,000 or more employees will have to produce cross-company ESG reports.

The Ukraine conflict- exacerbates both inflation and supply chain issues for example 80% of sunflower oil production and distribution is located in Russia and Ukraine which is beginning to strain the supply chain demand as even the alternative oils are increasing price.

Consumers demand more improved processes and systems such as more flexible payment options and website/ app interactivity- as technology becomes increasingly integrated into consumer’s lifestyles, consumers have begun to rely and demand for more technology based solutions and interactions from brands. For example, the increased mainstream adoption of AI through digital voice assistants such as Alexa, Siri, Amazon and Google Nest.

As the industry tries to make sense of artificial intelligence, machine learning and how they can leverage Robotics Process Automation we looked at success cases amongst our clients:

Consumer goods manufacturer, Majans, is transforming data into actionable insights on the production through IoT-enabled devices. This technology helps Majans to efficiently and sustainably manage their supply chain and quality control; effectively minimising the company’s waste. 

We are proud to work with companies like Unilever who are constantly innovating and growing with technology to make their business better. Currently, Unilever are using IoT and AI which allows them to connect their machines and equipment to send a mass of data from temperatures to production cycle times. Through their data analytics platforms Unilever has reduced the quantity of alerts requiring action by 90% per day to ensure optimal working performance with less interruptions and quicker responses. Additionally, this enables everyone to see their energy outage e.g. on a batch of Dove soap and work together to reduce it. 

Two of the biggest international consumer goods firms, Unilever and Alibaba, have collaborated to develop recycling machines that use AI to automatically identify and sort plastic packaging. By scanning QR codes on plastic bottles, the AI then detects and organises the type of plastic. It is then fast-tracked for re-use at recycling centres instead polluting and gradually degrading into the environment.

This initiative is helping Unilever to achieve their mission of halving their amount of virgin plastic use by 2025. 

Today Coca-Cola offers a total of 4,000 drink options through the main coke business and subsidiary brands.  Over a decade ago, 165 of the most popular drinks where offered via a touchscreen vending machine which allowed consumers to interact and customise through mix-and-match of Coke branded products with 200 variations. As these machines were cloud-connected and AI-enabled they collected data on the popular combinations for market research on future products. In 2017, this process and technology resulted in cherry-flavoured Sprite as a permanent and popular addition to the brand’s wide beverage offering based on consumer demand. This not only enabled Coca-Cola to save costs (the average research and development projects cost them a few hundred million per year) but also helped to reduce their carbon footprint. This is because the design stage of research and development influences up to 80% of the product’s resource footprint. 

Consumer goods companies, like the ones above, continue to affirm the significance of digital from an environmental perspective and a competitive advantage. Digital can unlock a company’s growth; how a company understand this and leverages digital now, may ultimately determine its future success. 

At Osmii, we have a dedicated team to help your company shift to a more digital approach and grow with the wave of digital businesses. If you are a consumer goods business looking to understand the power of digital, please email our digital team. 

Consumer goods industry: harnessing the power of digital

At Osmii we believe personal development and learning is a constant journey that does not stop on your first week. On Thursday, John Wakeford (the W and a leader in HW) led a masterclass with our consultants and managers: Marta Wolk, Max Birchenough, Maria Ioannou and Barton Townley. This masterclass is part of our amazing "Stretching" program, designed to encourage career growth and confidence!

John Wakeford has over 18 years’ experience in recruitment and spoke to Osmii pitching retainers. This masterclass is part of our amazing "Stretching" program, designed to encourage career growth and confidence!

Training day at Osmii (2).mp4

Click here to get a quick insight into the day!

Our consultants and managers gained valuable information from John’s many years’ experience and we can’t wait to watch them continue to grow and progress! Below is what they said about the masterclass:

“Great training from John Wakeford today. A very concise and detailed presentation around the structure, benefits and deployment of a retained search. The main take home for myself were the ways to handle the almost inevitable objections you will hear when pitching a retained search. Mainly how a retained search is great a ROI based on the comprehensive market intelligence provided, resulting in the “right hire” rather than a having to make a decision without having explored all the options” – Max

“I really felt I got a lot out of the training - I truly appreciated it! Very useful and informative. Great presentation style with lots of opportunities to ask questions and talk about real life examples which all made for a really enjoyable and informative course”- Marta

Our co-founder Neil strongly prioritises a continuous loop of learning to inspire personal and career development: 

“We really value training across the span of our employee’s careers. Rather than a 6 month crash course when they join and very little training after that, our unique Osmii stretch program keeps on stretching” - Neil

If you want to join our stretch program, fantastic team and get exposure to exciting opportunities with huge brands, check out our current vacancies!

Career Development at Osmii: Stretching Program

Importance of sustainable investment banking

More and more investment banks are becoming completely "green", basing their founding practices and principles on improving sustainability. Recently as governments have stressed the significance of environmental conservation and rehabilitation during the 2020s. COP26 reshaped global business agendas with the core principle aim of attaining Net Zero status by 2023. Therefore, organisations having rapidly evolving business needs focusing on sustainability efforts. The growing amount of sustainable investment banks help organisations meet these needs.

As the achievement of COP26's goals is projected to cost $6.9 trillion annually until 2030, the head of United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative addresses the significance of the Financial sector in this race to succeed in COP26's goals, stating:

“If we want to meet global sustainability challenges, we absolutely need the support of the private sector, there just isn’t enough public money out there, especially in the wake of COVID-19, to finance the massive structural changes our societies desperately need.”

According to McKinsey, at both institutional and consumer levels, banks are confronted with increasing demands to be more sustainable. Furthermore, banks are beginning to acknowledge that investing in fossil fuel energy and other environmentally damaging projects is not as economically sustainable or viable as before.

Companies that participate in sustainable banking are ultimately securing future financial stability globally. 

Below as a spotlight we picked three companies who are currently market leaders in sustainable banking due to their massive and inspirational projects in the ESG space.

Currently active in over 25 global markets and a UK-based market leader, Green Investment Group set out with a “mission to accelerate the green transition”. They have committed or arranged £2.9bn in the global portfolio of over 250 projects.

Some of their exciting 2020 projects included:

·  Financing affordable green housing in Kenya- the aim of delivering 10,000 energy and waste efficient home 

·  Providing UK wide solar power- working with Tesco to generate 10% of their energy needs by 2030

·  Accelerating Taiwan’s offshore wind industry- powering the equivalent of two million Taiwanese homes

Collaborating with charities such as WWF, BeyondNetZero are committed to global sustainability. Their recent projects included:

Helped EcoVadis (ESG reporting software company) reach unicorn level as a startup by investing $500m with Astorg

Invested $295m with partners into o9 (ESG supply chain software company)

Invested $260m with partners into Sun King (solar power energy company)

Amongst the COVID difficulties Triodos Bank continued to thrive with a net profit growth of $23.4 million from the same period last year. In 2021, their projects :

· Co-financed 586 projects in the sustainable energy sector which generated the equivalent of the electricity needs of 6 million households worldwide

· Financed the equivalent of 34 million meals through organic farming and food sector

· Financed 33,000 hectares of nature and conservation land, representing around 440m2 of nature and conservation land per customer

· Provided 59,000 people with accommodation via social housing projects financed

Banks like Green Investment Bank, BeyondNetZero and Triodos continue to confirm the success of sustainable investment banking. As we witness the rapid evolution of ESG investment banking, Osmii are beginning to wonder if there will be a increase in the number of completely "green" banks?

The Importance of Sustainable Investment Banking

Increasingly consumers are demanding more sustainable practices from companies. Globally, 85% of people indicated a shift in the purchase behaviour to become more sustainable in the last five years (The Global Sustainability Study, 2021). Although attitudes do not always translate into behaviour and actions, the European Commission are also calling for harsher legalisation around climate change and sustainability to prevent companies from greenwashing (EU, 2022). This suggests a shift in sustainability from motivator factors to hygiene factors for business survival.

Companies with sustainability agendas are better positioned to anticipate and react to environmental, social, economic, and regulatory changes as they arise (Harvard Business Review, 2016). Supply chains also need better implementation of ESG metrics to improve risk management due to increasing extreme weather (UN, 2020). McKinsey reported the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation value is 70% at stake with sustainability concerns (McKinsey, 2022)

A systematic literature review from Arabesque and University of Oxford revealed out of 200 studies on corporate performance and sustainability:

90% good ESG standards lower the cost of capital

88% good ESG practices result in better operational performance

80% good sustainability practices are significantly and positively correlated with stock price performance (Arabesque, 2015)

Despite tangible business performance benefits linked to improved sustainability and increased demand for organisational sustainability, we know improving a company’s sustainability can be difficult. It also raises the question of how companies measure and improve their sustainability performance. 

Osmii has been working with Workiva, an ESG software (SaaS) reporting company. Workiva is publicly listed (NYSE) and a Forrester Wave leader. Their solutions transform the way companies manage and report ESG data. Globally, people use their platform to seamlessly enable collaboration and integration into existing work streams to simplify Financial and ESG reporting. In September, they are even holding their own ESG event (Amplify) in Las Vegas with high profile sponsors such as PwC and attendants such as Google and Coca Cola.

Proposal for a Directive on empowering consumers for the green transition and annex by European Commission, 30th March 2022- Document retrieved from: https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/proposal-empowering-consumer-green-transition-and-annex_en 

Un Office for Disaster Risk reduction, 2020- Document retrieved from: https://www.undrr.org/publication/human-cost-disasters-overview-last-20-years-2000-2019

From the stockholder to the stakeholder by Arabesque- Document retrieved from: https://arabesque.com/research/From_the_stockholder_to_the_stakeholder_web.pdf 

Global Sustainability Study 2021 by Simon Kucher- Document retrieved from: https://www.simon-kucher.com/sites/default/files/studies/Simon-Kucher_Global_Sustainability_Study_2021.pdf 

Comprehensive Business Case for Sustainability by Harvard Business School- Document retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2016/10/the-comprehensive-business-case-for-sustainability 

The growing importance of business sustainability

Osmii has been acquired, and why you should take note.

In 2017 the founders of Osmii created a plan to initiate an ‘Event’. Our goal was to make our business the most attractive we could across the 5 years for Staff, and Clients and while doing so, drive M&A interest. 

Whilst on the journey we built a community that staff and clients bought into – Brands trusted us with their growth, and our Employees with their professional development… 

In the final days of 2021 the mission materialised. HWJ Group acquired a majority shareholding in Osmii. 

This move solidifies our place as a recruitment firm that can offer an end to end solution from C-suite to project Delivery. We have HW Global for Executive Search, HW People for Business functions, Zebra People for Creative Technology, and Osmii for Development, Cloud and Digital Technology across Europe. 

Being part of HWJ is a fantastic proposition for any company striving for a harmonious and professional service across different levels and global markets. 

Our new cycle is just beginning and this opens up multiple opportunities across our different service lines. It is the most exciting time in our 10 year history to work for Osmii. 

For people looking at new opportunities in 2022. What better place to start looking than Osmii? We are in a position to offer serious investment in career trajectory, best in class training from executive search leaders with years of experience, and as our service lines grow due to unprecedented demand, more opportunities to earn great commission. 

For more information on the acquisition, see the press release. 

HW Global announces further acquisition after acquiring a majority shareholding in Osmii | Hitchenor Wakeford (hwglobalpartner.com)

For further information on the opportunities at Osmii, please email hello@osmii.com to request a group pack. 

Osmii has been Acquired 
More Support for Clients & Staff

If you partner with Osmii you will already know that we are an actions led business when it comes to belonging, diversity and inclusion. We are always looking at innovative ways to shine the spotlight on this topic and our long-standing relationship with OpenUK presented us with the perfect opportunity! OpenUK work tirelessly to promote an open technology world and in doing so, tackle many issues concerning diversity in technology.

This year, we are proud to be sponsoring the Belonging Award, at the Open technology awards event on November 11th. This award recognises D&I leaders and projects in the UK that demonstrate outstanding contribution and impact for the Diversity and Inclusion ecosystem. This includes solving unique challenges, with emphasis on transparency of opportunities, mentorship, coaching and nurturing the creation of diverse, inclusive and neuro-diverse communities. This can be any contribution including creation of engagement programmes, leadership, support, promoting awareness or encouraging D&I practices within the wider community.

Not only have we sponsored this event but we also had the pleasure of appointing one of the judges to evaluate the value and impact of these contributions.

This task led us to @jaicampbell. Jai is a senior Cloud Architect and is hugely active on the Open Source scene being a Founder of the London SRE meetup community, a Mentor at KubeCon, a Google Sponsored Advocate, and a collaborator at Google Women Tech-makers program.

His outstanding contributions and activity as well as being a fantastic placement and project partner to Osmii over the last 4 years, meant for us, he was a perfect match to judge such a prestigious event. https://openuk.uk/openuk-awards-second-edition-2021/

Open UK Awards @COP26

After the shift to remote working and moving away from physical workspaces, it’s no secret that the sales landscape has changed and with it arise brand new challenges. Thankfully, we will soon see the return to face-to-face meetings —but are you prepared?

Osmii takes a look at the top three problems salespeople can expect to encounter in the hybrid version of 2021, and how to overcome them.

Firstly, the shift to Zoom calls and Teams chats has developed a sure change to the sales playing field. We all need to adapt and learn how to establish credibility with a virtual barrier between us and our potential clients. Prior to the pandemic, we could build in-person trust and demonstrate why our products and services are beneficial to our clients.

Even as we return to face-to-face meetings, the likelihood that key players will decide to have meetings from behind their screens is an inevitable aftermath of the pandemic. The salespeople that can creatively use technology to personalise messages versus their competitors’ emails and phone calls are the ones who will win the business. 

 2. Getting in front of the decision makers

In a newly evolving hybrid world, knowing when to meet virtually as opposed to face-to-face will be the new sales skill. How do we weigh up when it is beneficial to do an in person meeting and how do we sell that meeting in the first place?

This is a similar concern to building virtual trust, as our transition to a hybrid sales landscape will be challenging for salespeople looking to connect with decision-makers. The ability for face-to-face meetings has become increasingly challenging, especially with the majority of leaders and executives are still working from home. Getting a time commitment to meet means there needs to be perceived value very early in the process.

Some people may be eager to meet in person again, but the planning process is not business as usual. Travel and risk mitigation has started to come to the forefront of peoples’ priorities, making their reason for virtual meetings more prominent. We will need to ensure that we have not just researched an account, but that we come with a very clear call to action.

As businesses have been forced to operate remotely, we need to become more creative as buying habits have changed. Managers are now being asked to find new ways to improve seller productivity, and leaders are being asked to drive growth through ongoing uncertainty.

One struggle salespeople can expect to face is the adaptation to their clients' new habits and sensitivities. Managers need to step in to provide clarity and firm guidance. Sticking to a solid sales process and thorough communication between sales leaders and their teams will be absolutely essential.

Prioritising clients’ interests will have more importance than ever before on how we conduct our sales efforts. We're going to look at how they want to buy versus how we choose to sell to them. It's all about mindset and resetting the hard drive from that pre-pandemic mindset.

It’s going to be a tricky transition for all industries to fit the new hybrid model, but ever more so for those in sales. However, even with its share of troubles and hitches, the year brings an opportunity for creativity and a fresh mindset. So long as we demonstrate persistence, adaptability, and a constant commitment to solving problems for our customers, we should be able to handle the challenges of the new sales landscape.

https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/challenges-threatening-salespeople

https://www.meetingsnet.com/corporate-meetings-events/3-questions-going-back-face-face-meetings

3 Challenges Facing Salespeople in 2021

Surprisingly, wearable tech did not start with Fitbits, smartwatches, and fitness trackers alike. It took off in the 1980s, when the first digital hearing aids were released. In the last 40 years, wearable tech and its AI partner have grown into an entire industry aimed at aiding us to lead healthier and more efficient lives, becoming so intelligent that there is value in every interaction for users. This sector has been given the name ‘Wearable AI’.

Fitness trackers and smartwatches are the most recognisable examples of Wearable AI, but the industry is so much larger. For example, intelligent clothing such as smart swimsuits by Neviano includes a waterproof UV sensor that communicates with your smartphone to tell you when UV levels are high, meaning you should apply more sunscreen. 

If you want some smart sunglasses to go with your smart beachwear, you’re in luck. Snapchat Spectacles 2.0 come with a built-in camera that allows you to take photos and videos directly from your glasses. They link to your smartphone, so you can share your photos and videos via the Snapchat app.

The demand for wearables is predicted to evolve into a seamless merger of humans and technology, along the lines of using your mind to update your Facebook status. We take a look at some of the biggest industry impacting predictions for the future of Wearable AI.

The first industry transformation will be the increased use of exoskeletons. These are robotic suits that humans wear, and they’re already in use by some manufacturers to help human workers perform better and lift heavier weights without injury. Hyundai Motor Group has been testing its Hyundai Vest Exoskeleton, to reduce pressure on factory workers’ necks and backs. The prediction is that similar exoskeletons will become standard in industrial settings around the world.

The second prediction encompasses a new wave of prosthetics and robotic limbs that are currently being developed and will revolutionise the healthcare industry. These are increasingly being designed to be more intelligent and intuitive, by responding to the human nervous system or brain signals. Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab is involved in a research project where robot prosthetics are being designed for ten volunteers, with the hope that these volunteers will be able to operate their prosthetics via their nervous systems. It is predicted that in the future, intelligent prosthetics will respond to the individual’s commands more intuitively and become the norm for special amputation surgery.

If we can create replacement limbs, why shouldn’t we create replacement organs? The third prediction for Wearable AI is one that researchers are already working on and involves the 3D bioprinting of viable human tissue. A team in Houston claims to have made a significant breakthrough, giving hope that it will be possible to print fully working replacement organs in the future. If research into this area continues, it could mean that if you need a heart transplant in the future you could be given a choice between a robotic heart and a lab-grown heart.

The final prediction would directly link AI and the human brain. Social media platforms such as Facebook are developing brain-computer interfaces that would, in theory, allow you to type your status update telepathically. On the healthcare side, Elon Musk’s company Neuralink is working on helping people with severe brain injuries and, in 2019, he predicted a future where humans would have the option of merging with AI.

Alongside huge benefits to our lives, AI on a larger scale could have serious implications for data privacy and security breaches. Wearable technology already creates a huge amount of data on the wearer, so it follows suit that the more we embrace wearables, the more data will be available about us.

Of course, this begs the question of whether we want companies like Facebook to know more about us than they already do. Even if the majority of us are fine with handing over our data in exchange for improved AI, we would all need to become much savvier about what we are actually giving to the manufactures of wearable solutions and they, in turn, would need to make genuine strides in how seriously they take data privacy. 

https://www.hollerings.com/gadget-garments/

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/04/17/2017857/0/en/The-Global-Wearable-AI-Market-size-is-expected-to-reach-38-3-billion-by-2025-rising-at-a-market-growth-of-20-2-CAGR-during-the-forecast-period.html

https://appinventiv.com/blog/ai-and-wearable-technology/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2020/06/08/5-predictions-for-wearable-technology-from-fitness-trackers-to-humans-20/?sh=6209e3a565a5

https://hbr.org/2019/04/how-wearable-ai-will-amplify-human-intelligence

What is the Future of Wearable AI?

It’s a common assumption that salespeople are simply extroverted and assertive, but in fact there is a deeper psychology behind selling that creates a sales mindset which sells products and services faster. Psychologists and salespeople have much more in common than you might think.

As a standard, people often compare athletes to salespeople.  They’re competitive, have a strong work ethic, and are driven to succeed. You often see a sales floor comprised of a majority of athletes with competitive natures.

What is less commonly spoken about, mainly as their goals are so fundamentally different, is that the similarities between psychologists and salespeople is even more significant. While a psychologist's goal is to help another person with no personal gain, a salesperson's goal is to close deals primarily for a monetary benefit.

However, after examining the underlying principles, techniques, and traits that each profession has, you discover a range of similarities. Given these analyses, hiring salespeople who possess traits of a psychologist will have a hugely positive impact on your business.

The predominant source of a company's revenue and overall growth relies largely on the ability of its salespeople to effectively generate leads and execute deals. This is why it has become increasingly important for companies to find, recruit, and hire top salespeople and be able to distinguish them from less competent ones.  

Firstly, salespeople and psychologists have the inherent ability to build empathy, as both must be able to build empathy with prospects and clients. There is huge importance placed on psychologists being able to build trust and empathy with their clients to be successful. Finding a salesperson who also has the ability to connect, build relationships, listen, and build rapport is important for a company’s culture and success.

Secondly, both professions have the ability to listen and be naturally inquisitive. Listening really is the most important part of any sales process, as it enables you to ask provoking questions and get your prospect speaking. For psychologists, listening is the core of their profession. They are able to extract their clients’ views and solve problems by asking questions and listening closely.

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