Robots Could Replace 48,000 Employees At This Bank...And Other Small Business

Here are five things in technology that happened this past week and how they affect your business. Did you miss them?

1 — Deutsche Bank CEO suggests robots could replace half the company's 97,000 employees.

The CEO of Deutsche Bank says technology will lead to significant layoffs at his organization in the not-too-distant future. To date, 4,000 jobs have been cut of the 9,000 the bank announced in late 2015 were threatened as part of a 5-year plan. According to its CEO, technology will allow Deutsche to cut thousands more jobs, and he believes entire industries will be able to replace workers with robots. (Source: CNBC)

Why this is important for your business:

When big company CEOs are openly talking about robots replacing their employees then the writing is on the wall.  Smart business owners are already investing in technology to reduce the overhead associated with their employees and that will increase over time.

2 — This phishing attack pretends to come from someone you trust.

A new social engineering and phishing campaign tries to trick victims into downloading credential-stealing malware and other threats. It uses invoice impersonation attacks to persuade victims that the messages are from trusted sources, planting the idea that the target has lost money. (Source: ZDNet)

Why this is important for your business:

Make your employees aware.

3 — Facebook Messenger plugin enables cross-platform customer service.

In an effort to refine its messaging platform to improve business-customer relationships, Facebook introduced in April a Discover tab to better connect individuals with companies they'd enjoy while also enhancing chatbot functionality. An update launched on November 7 adds Customer Chat—a plugin that lets businesses carry on Facebook Messenger conversations right on their own website. (Source: engadget)

Why this is important for your business:

Facebook Messenger is becoming an increasingly useful tool for many businesses to help them with customer service and communications.  If you’re using this tool, be sure to check out the new update.

4 — A new tech firm wants to protect real estate agents from opioid addicts.

If you’re a real estate agent, you’ll want to learn about Forwarn—a new company offering an app that performs instant background checks on potential clients. Much like a police report, this tool will help keep agents—especially those representing higher-end properties—safe from opioid addicts who, increasingly, are posing as potential homebuyers and booking house tours in order to get access to medicine cabinets. (Source: MSN)

Why this is important for your business:

Seems like a great tech tool for people in the real estate business and worth giving a try.

5 -- Medical startup raises £15m for augmented reality surgery headsets.

The backers of Facebook’s Oculus headset have pledged $20m to help a startup company in London develop holographic surgery headsets. The two former surgeons who founded Touch Surgery will launch an “augmented reality” tool that trains medics on the finer points of surgery. By wearing a Microsoft Hololens headset, they’d see a live video feed of a professional surgeon, overlaid with virtual guides to how the surgery is performed. (Source: The Telegraph)