SBWire

The number of COVID-19 cases in India has been shocking for those involved in healthcare with the country rapidly overtaking its first wave peak in 2020. Since April, India has been recording more than 300,000 cases of COVID-19 every day and the health infrastructure in place in a number of Indian cities has already collapsed under the weight of these shocking numbers.

The COVID-19 vaccination programs have dominated the news headlines in recent months, especially in the context of countries where there is less structured healthcare provision and access to treatment is less than easy. While much of the western world works towards getting entire populations vaccinated, countries such as India are seeing infection rates spiraling out of control. However, the new Biden-Harris administration has been one of the first to recognize that steps need to be taken to ensure much more equal access to vaccines.

Green energy has become an accelerating growth area across the world as countries look for more sustainable power options moving forward. The Biden Administration has now taken a big step towards the targets set for renewables with approval of the first commercial scale offshore wind farm built in the US and permitted in federal waters.

The past year has presented challenges for businesses across the globe. Those that have been agile and constructive in their approach to the pandemic have fared the best over this difficult time. This is specifically relevant in regard to supply chain management, where there are so many people and variables involved. Taking a systematic approach to supply chain management entails evaluating the whole supply chain and determining the risks that could impact manufacturing or final delivery. Proactive supply chain management requires a high level of flexibility. Being adaptable involves providing reliable replacements and contingency measures for all procedures involved in manufacturing, transport and delivery.

Procurement professionals play an important role in establishing resilient supplier networks. Discussions around increasing resiliency focus on increasing transparency and visibility in our supply chains, particularly given recent technological advancements. However, technological advancements such as artificial intelligence (AI) can be used in a variety of ways. Resiliency is heavily reliant on the ability to adapt in the face of adversity. AI can support category managers to stay on top of industry trends as well as find additional suppliers in the global market, making agile supply sourcing a reality.

Manufacturing production in the United States rose at a slower rate in April, hampered by input shortages as increasing COVID-19 vaccines and major fiscal stimulus released pent-up demand. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) released a report in May that revealed record-long lead times, widespread shortages of essential raw materials, increasing commodity costs, and transportation challenges across industries. Supply chains have been greatly affected by the pandemic, with organizations and manufacturers continuing to struggle and satisfy rising demand rates due to the impact of COVID-19, according to the ISM. Worker absences, short-term shutdowns, and difficulty filling open vacancies could restrict manufacturing's growth potential, according to the report.

The reliance on multiple organizations to produce components has never been a greater driving factor in a company's success or failure in today's manufacturing industry. Global procurement and processing have resulted in an ongoing, complex, supply chain ecosystem, with a plethora of coursing and production options. As a result, a dynamic, interconnected network of vendors has emerged. Situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic highlight and intensify supply chain flaws, and with producers pursuing lean principles, the supply chain is stretched even further.

IT and Technology Recruitment On either side of the Channel, recent steps have been taken to improve the security of public telecoms networks which are witnessing dramatics technical transitions. Although 5G can provide many advantages for consumers and businesses, its advances in virtualisation, cloud computing, and software are expected to advance supply chains, technology convergence, and service provision. The UK Government has enacted new laws to strengthen the protection of telecoms infrastructure, under the Telecoms Security Bill, in order to ensure that telecoms networks and facilities are stable and robust.

The role of supply chain managers has become ever more intense over the last decade. SCM links the entire manufacturing process, from raw material processing and distribution to effective production, logistics processes for moving goods to manufacturers and consumers, and ever systems for returning unwanted or faulty products. External forces outside the manufacturing companies' reach affect this increasingly dynamic ecosystem of processes.

The German government has announced that by 2025 the science ministry will invest €1.1 billion in quantum computing research and development whilst the economics ministry will invest €878 million in application development. The German economy minister, Peter Altmaier, commented, "Quantum computing has the potential to revolutionise key industries of our economies". He went on to say that it is their goal to establish Germany as "one of the best players worldwide in the development and practical application of quantum computing". This is one example of how Germany is making strides in the IT and technology industry – using technology to reimagining the way we manage supply and demand and testing new active substances.

In the face of fast-paced digitalization and a constantly changing technology world, artificial intelligence is emerging as one of the most auspicious technologies. Accelerated growth across a multitude of applications and a wide variety of sectors is driving business growth. The adoption of AI technology in many end-use industries is on the rise, thanks to substantial advancements in data storage efficiency and parallel processing capabilities. This fast rate of development is fueled by the increasing adoption of cloud-based services and software and the exponential growth of big data. In the fight against COVID-19, artificial intelligence has proven to be a potent weapon. Governments are using this technology to predetermine the rate of circulation of the COVID-19 virus, allowing them to locate vulnerable people and pinpoint viral mutations.

FinTech has not grown as quickly in Germany as many other locations. However, there are signs that the financial market in Germany is now really getting behind this vibrant and innovative sector. One recent study by Comdirekt Bank found that the German market is now made up of more than 900 FinTech companies - within this the most represented industries are real estate and the financing sector.

The British Standards Institution (BSI) has recently joined an Innovate UK initiative aimed at digitalising British fresh produce supply chains. Produce Logistics' two-year 'Trusted Bytes' project will leverage emerging technologies to ease the international movement of produce and products whilst boosting productivity in the UK food industry. This will aid in the development of food provenance by digitalising vital border transfer processes and providing supply chain managers with integrated real-time digital communications. It would also allow for secure data encryption for the supply chain, the government, and other key stakeholders – improving cross-border transfers, enforcement, and amenability.

Global procurement and supply chain jobs have been heavily impacted by COVID-19. However, there are many opportunities within this sector, especially in Hong Kong and Singapore which are transforming into a global digital supply chain services hub. From product design to development and delivery, Hong Kong and Singapore have placed themselves at the centre of the evolution of the manufacturing chain, creating a wealth of procurement and supply chain jobs and playing a key role as regional hubs for Asia.

By 2025, the German government intends to invest up to 700 million € in research into 6G technology. Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research stated that the first German research project into 6G technology would begin mid-April. The aim of the first funding measure, according to the ministry, is for it to lay the groundwork for an engineering environment for future communication technology, centred around 6G. Federal Research Minister, Anja Karliczek, said "We have to think about the day after tomorrow and help shape new key technologies and standards in communication technologies right from the start.

The UK procurement industry continues to adapt to the challenges presented by the Brexit transition as the UK Government's changed to the procurement process presents a radical divergence from the pre-Brexit regimes. The changes are aiming to speed up and simplify procurement processes, deliver value for money and give small businesses the opportunity to innovate in public service delivery. This modification, in principle, gives a significantly greater discretion of authorities in relation to their public procurement processes.

The technology sector is urging G7 policymakers to work collaboratively to ensure economic recovery and resilience in a post-pandemic age - by outlining 4 specific objectives. A joint effort between techUK, the Technology Sector Trade Associations of the G7 countries, and the EU (Tech7*), have been tasked to push for international cooperation to reap the rewards of technical growth in a post-COVID world. The Tech7 alliance is calling for their countries to work together to facilitate global trade flows and provide common guidelines for the digital economy that prioritises a transparent, compliant and non-discriminatory digital policy, which will be implemented at an international level.

Clinical jobs have been at the heart of the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling governments to mobilize vaccine programs and care strategies that have helped to keep infection rates under control.

Risk is an area where cutting edge technology can have a big impact in terms of producing more effective solutions to existing obstacles. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning have a lot to offer and are already being employed by forward thinking firms in order to close loopholes and create opportunities for greater efficiency. One recent example of this comes from BNP Paribas Asset Management, which is using machine learning in order to estimate carbon emissions for those organisations that don't report their carbon footprint. The modeling of carbon emissions to be provided by the machine learning technology will provide estimates for around 10,000 companies, supplying data that simply wouldn't otherwise be available.

The past year has seen a great deal of progress in innovative areas of financial services such as quantitative analytics. Two key trends look set to dominate in 2021: Portfolio Construction/Optimisation and FICC Execution. As a quant recruiter we've seen demand for those with skills in both these areas start to spike. Portfolio Construction/Optimisation has been a growth area for several years now and many hedge funds have already invested in team building to support it. However, this is now a dominant trend in the StatArb industry and, as a result, there is an increasing need for candidates with the right skills.

There is no doubt that 2020 was a challenging year for the financial services sector in Hong Kong. Like many other jurisdictions the region was hard hit by the pandemic. However, there are now plenty of green shoots of recovery across the industry and specialisms such as fintech jobs have continued to thrive even through pandemic conditions. Many positive signs exist for 2021. For example, Chinese intentions to open the domestic Chinese financial services sector to foreign investment have been made clear by the wholly foreign-owned enterprise rules (WFOE), which will enable foreign investors to tap into growing investor demand. The Wealth Plan from the People's Bank of China is another clear sign of recovery in the region and is especially promising for Hong Kong. Innovative banking is also gaining ground in Hong Kong, from fintech jobs to virtual banks and there have even been record trading volumes in many of the world' largest banks, all indicating a promising 2021 to come.

The past 12 months have had plenty of lessons for investor relations recruiters - in particular, that change is constant. This is especially apparent from trends that are emerging in areas such as corporate and investment banking. An increasingly competitive and swiftly changing landscape represents one of these trends, with the launch of Hong Kong's first virtual bank a prime example of just how fast the industry here is moving to get ahead.

This is a great time to be a quantitative analyst - even the impact of a global pandemic has barely slowed the demand for talented people. In fact, as a quaint recruiter we have noticed that many of our liquidity providing clients had one of their best years in decades in 2020, and expect this to continue throughout 2021. There is obvious resilience in this area of banking and financial services and there are two key skill sets that are likely to be in demand across the buyside and the sell side throughout the year. The first of these is portfolio construction/optimisation, which is being driven by a focus on creating novel portfolio construction and optimisation techniques now that uncorrelated alphas are proving increasingly hard to come by.

Cloud infrastructure has emerged as the preferred method of modernizing IT portfolios, with CIOs stating that the intermixing software between public and private clouds permits them greater market agility. Increased use of cloud computing to improve enterprise resiliency, and the transition to e-commerce models during the pandemic, each acted as some of the strongest validations of the market for software provisioned over the internet. However, incorporating hybrid cloud frameworks comes with its own challenges, including the viral sprawl which comes with significant migrations. Operating cloud environments has its own set of financial challenges, as IT leaders have discovered that inadequate governance will make running cloud computing more costly than managing computer services on premises.

In the wake of the US economy battling to regain control after the onslaught caused by the pandemic, there's a significant short supply of the computer chips that power a wide variety of products that connect, transport and entertain us. Since last summer (2020), the shortage has been oscillating through different markets. This has made it impossible for schools to purchase enough computers for students who have been expected to study from home, postponed the arrival of iconic products, such as the iPhone 12, and caused major frenzies when it comes to sourcing the latest video game consoles. Unfortunately, in recent weeks the situation has worsened, specifically in the automobile industry where factories are closing due to a lack of chips to finish the construction of technology-heavy cars.