2018 will be remembered for GDPR impact

In 2018, all of us got used to giving privacy permissions on our apps, subscriptions and websites, thanks to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Although the GDPR affects residents of the European Union (EU), penalties still apply for companies doing business outside of the EU, so long as EU residents are involved. This has made GDPR a global concern, rather than just a European concern.

Several vendors have highlighted the impact that GDPR has had:

Source: Sage. Wherrett.

Arlene Wherrett, VP and MD, Sage Asia said, “The GDPR perhaps had the biggest impact on businesses this year. With the new GDPR requirements on data privacy, businesses can no longer leave the security and privacy of their customers’ data on the back-burner. GDPR is also timely in providing an opportunity for businesses to audit their own data management and operational processes. This provides them with a chance to weed out system inefficiencies allowing them to put in place a foundation for greater success in the new data-driven business landscape.”

“The value of consumer consent will also continue to be a key focus area in 2019. We will see an increasing emphasis on regulations to protect consumer data, ensuring businesses are extracting and using information transparently and securely. Businesses and industries will need to keep up with data security measures, while still enabling meaningful consumer experiences,” said Experian Asia Pacific's CEO Ben Elliott.

Privacy by design

Source: Micro Focus. McNulty.

“2018 revealed the importance of consumer privacy and data protection, with the implementation of regulations such as the GDPR bringing 'privacy by design' to the fore. As numerous data breach incidents have shown, organisations must have a complete overview of the data collection processes – what is being collected, how it is being utilised, stored and encrypted – or risk bearing the brunt of losing stakeholders’ trust,” noted Stephen McNulty, President, Asia Pacific and Japan, Micro Focus.

“Consistent data security should be centrally managed, so developers will not have to worry about policy and can get on with advancing the business with innovation and insight. 2019 will be the year where businesses will shift towards data-level security solutions such as analytics and machine learning – coupled with a unified, uncompromising approach towards implementing such solutions as part of the core business and consumer engagement strategy,” he said.

Source: Cloudera.

Micallef.

McNulty explained that developers today typically do not have time to think about risks, “hence data-security and privacy controls should be built and embedded into their systems by default, rather than added as an afterthought”.

Figuring out privacy in the cloud

The cloud brings complexity in complying with regulations like GDPR, added Mark Micallef, VP, Asia Pacific and Japan, Cloudera.

“Despite its benefits, cloud presents two major challenges to organisations: it increases the possibility of data leaks, and makes it difficult to determine the applicable privacy law as it is not always clear where data in the cloud is physically stored.

Source: Symantec. Trilling.

"With the EU General Data Protection Regulation being enforced in May this year, it is now important for organisations to ensure that the cloud services they use are compliant and that the systems and applications they design do not expose risk,” Micallef said.

“Although the GDPR isn’t a global regulation, it also affects organisations located outside of Europe as long as they collect and store personal data of European citizens. Already, Cloudera customers and organisations that would not be subject to GDPR are taking it as their starting point for their own personal data privacy and protection guidelines. This is in addition to their efforts to comply with their country-specific privacy regulations such as Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Act and Australia’s Privacy Act 1998," Micallef observed.

“Expanding GDPR to become a global regulation is a certainly a potential further evolution. For it to become a truly global regulation though, it will first need to prove its worth in its current form; once that has progressed well and has proven workable, the chances of it influencing international practice will be much higher.”

Source: Symantec.

Thompson.

More privacy-related regulations to come

“The European Union’s mid-2018 implementation of the GDPR will likely prove to be just a precursor to various security and privacy initiatives in countries outside the European Union... Australia and Singapore have enacted a 72-hour breach notice inspired by the GDPR, and India is considering GDPR-inspired legislation. Multiple other countries across the globe have adequacy or are negotiating GDPR adequacy,” said Hugh Thompson, Symantec's CTO and Steve Trilling, Senior VP and GM, Security Analytics and Research at Symantec.

“While we are almost certain to see upticks in legislative and regulatory actions to address security and privacy needs, there is a potential for some requirements to prove more counterproductive than helpful. For example, overly broad regulations might prohibit security companies from sharing even generic information in their efforts to identify and counter attacks. If poorly conceived, security and privacy regulations could create new vulnerabilities even as they close others.”

Source: Experian. Elliott.

“2018 was all about GDPR and the ramifications this change in European data regulations would have on how organisations conducted business globally. In 2019, privacy will continue to be an area of focus for the global market, as new regulations such as e-privacy start to be fleshed out and additional regions such as the US look to implement their own data privacy laws, all of which could have global financial impact," predicted Laurence Pitt, Global Security Strategy Director, Juniper Networks and Mounir Hahad, Head of Juniper Threat Labs, Juniper Networks.
 
"2019 will also be the year that many large non-European players will come to grips with the ramifications of GDPR as it is put into practice.”

Source: Juniper Networks. Pitt.

Wherrett said that other legislative changes have affected businesses in 2018, adding to the responsibilities of CFOs and accounting departments.

“For example, new taxation laws like the Sales and Services Tax (SST) in Malaysia and the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India can pose significant challenges for businesses operating in these markets.

"For CFOs and accounting practice partners, this means reviewing financial projections as well as implementing new practices to incorporate the regulatory changes. Moreover, many finance professionals will also need to manage these regulatory changes while going through a role transformation as their organisations continue to adapt to digitalisation," she said.

Silverneedle opens Sage Hotel in West Perth

Source: Silverneedle. Sage Hotel, West Perth.

Singapore-based hotel group SilverNeedle has opened a new Sage Hotel in West Perth in partnership with local Perth private property development and investment group Australian Development Capital (ADC).

The A$35 million dollar development signals the entry of the Sage Hotel brand into the upscale hotel segment in Perth, a growing destination for Singapore’s business and leisure travellers.

Sage celebrates the richness, colour and life of local communities, demonstrating the brand’s departure from the commoditisation of global hospitality. Chairman and Chief Executive of SilverNeedle Hospitality Anand Nadathur says: “Sage was the ideal brand to enter Perth – as our largest growing brand, we undertook a partnership with local developers who held our core values of technology, innovation and design. We took every effort to respect and celebrate the heritage of the original family home with our construction process and look forward to a long-term Sage presence in Perth.’’

A 1902 heritage-listed black and white family residence forms the centrepiece to Perth’s newly constructed Sage Hotel, which features 101 guest rooms, multiple meeting spaces and 24-hour room service.

Once the famed Julio’s restaurant known for its celebrity clientele, the in-house restaurant has been renovated to restore original iconic design features. Guests are able to dine in-house for breakfast, lunch or dinner, bringing a much-needed dining offering back into the local area.

In the spirit of showcasing the local community’s produce, in-room mini bars are stocked with Swan Valley snacks, as well as the ‘fair value promise’ - the mini-bar and laundry service prices match those from local suppliers.

Guests receive unrivalled connectivity to the local area through seamless technology and complimentary Wi-fi across all Sage properties. The hotel’s pocket hotspot Wi-fi allows guests to stay connected at all times. Guests can also enjoy the interactive Sage mobile App, created to provide access to points of interest from a local’s perspective, encourage review-sharing and create an online community.

Interested?

Sage West Perth has the Sagacation introductory offer, which includes welcome drinks, breakfast, one course at Julio’s authentic Italian restaurant, a hotspot device for wireless access on-the-go and welcome gift showcasing the best of Western Australia’s local purveyors. The package is priced at S$215 per night for two people on a minimum two-night stay. A child under 12 stays for free and can enjoy free breakfast and one-course dining with an accompanying adult at Julio’s. Book


posted from Bloggeroid

SilverNeedle Hospitality launches upscale Sage Hotel brand for business travellers

Singapore-based SilverNeedle Hospitality has launched a modern upscale hotel brand that caters to the business traveller, Sage Hotel, with its first Sage Hotel to be situated in Brisbane, Australia. 

“At SilverNeedle Hospitality, we recognise there is an important group of business travellers who desire a stable and uncomplicated life as they conduct their business in unfamiliar cities,” said Iqbal Jumabhoy, Managing Director & Group Chief Executive Officer at SilverNeedle Hospitality. “Not only is the Sage Hotel designed to fulfill the needs of this group, it also complements our suite of offerings that includes six other brands. Our intention is to develop the Sage Hotel brand throughout Asia Pacific in the upscale segment.” 

The brand promise of Sage Hotels, The Complex Made Simple, the Simple Made Special, focuses on the guests’ desire for simplicity. Its typical guests comprise the small business owner or entrepreneur, or a senior manager or family breadwinner.  

“Every stay at our Sage Hotel will bear the hallmarks of simplicity, familiarity for these guests who want to feel at home, while at the same time offering our guests uncompromised quality,” said Jumabhoy.  
Guests at Sage Hotel will enjoy the Fair Value Promise of competitive room rates, free Wi-Fi and free local calls. Mini bar items will be priced at 30% above local convenience stores, and laundry services priced at just 20% above street pricing. Another brand standard that all guests will enjoy is the SilverNeedle DreamWeave Sleep System, which consists of the highest quality pillow-top mattress with gel-infused memory foam, Egyptian Cotton 300 thread count per inch linens, and a selection of premium pillows.
 
The first Sage Hotel is in Fortitude Valley, northeast of Brisbane’s Central Business District (CBD), true to the Sage Hotel positioning of being located in primary and secondary urban cities in Asia Pacific in CBD and CBD fringe areas, near primary transportation hubs. It will comprise 111 rooms when it is refurbished from two storeys of the heritage landmark known as TCB. 
 

Source: Silverneedle Hospitality. Sage Hotel Fortitude Valley.

The TCB building dates back to 1902, when it was a department store operated by Irish draper Thomas Charles Beirne, and was acquired by Forwin International Investments in 2003. The three-storey building houses about 22 tenants including eateries and boutiques on the first floor, with the remaining storeys leased as offices. Forwin International will convert the office space to Sage Hotel Fortitude Valley, which is scheduled to open 18 months after the refurbishment is complete.
“We are excited that our heritage building will house the new Sage Hotel brand,” said Gavin Tseng at Forwin International. “As owners of TCB, an iconic building with a rich history, we align ourselves with brands that have strong prospects for long-term business growth.” 

Sage Hotel Fortitude Valley is SilverNeedle Hospitality’s second commitment to Brisbane, following NEXT Hotel in the CBD which will open later this year. SilverNeedle Hospitality also operates the SilverNeedle Collection of boutique hotels, Chifley, Country Comfort, Australis and Sundowner brands.