Technology

It is no surprise that digital transformation remains a top priority for business leaders in 2024. New technology is rapidly changing the business landscape, there is a heightened demand from workforces for hybrid and remote working, and legacy systems are increasingly at risk of falling victim to sophisticated cyber-attacks. Companies are also getting to grips with how best to adopt Artificial intelligence (AI). Not to mention coping with current customer expectations for a seamless customer experience delivered across multiple digital channels.

Yet, while the reasons for digital transformation are clear, the route to success is often less obvious. It is a huge undertaking – and one that can incur considerable costs – requiring far more than simply updating old technology or migrating processes to the Cloud. Despite this, there is still a prevailing attitude that transformation should be approached from a purely technological standpoint, which is part of the reason why as many as 70% of transformation projects fail.

For most companies, the digital transformation journey can be made a lot smoother by embracing the human element behind the process. Companies must recognize the unique needs, motivations, and behaviors of their employees, customers, and other stakeholders, if they are to succeed.

For those seeking a partner that can help guide them through the process, it is important to look beyond the technology here as well. Additional considerations such as shared values, chemistry, and effective communication all become paramount given the length of time digital transformation takes to complete.

People drive change

The starting point for digital transformation should always be people. Whether that is customers, partners, or employees – or a combination of all three – any updates made to IT infrastructure should be led by the benefits it will provide to users. Clear goals link to business outcomes and the needs of the users should be put in place first, with technology acting as the means to achieve those goals.

This, of course, necessitates research before embarking on the digital transformation journey. By engaging in direct conversations with users and leveraging data analytics, businesses can gain a better understanding of the pain points and inefficiencies in their current technology and where their efforts should be focussed.

These insights can then guide businesses through the process, helping set clearer company goals and inform more strategic decisions while benefitting users. Taking a human-led approach can also prevent businesses from falling victim to the common mistakes and pitfalls that other organizations may succumb to; providing more assurance that the time and money spent on the project will not be wasted.

Find the right transformation partner

While some larger organizations may have the resources needed to manage digital transformation in-house, in many cases it makes sense to seek support from a digital transformation partner. By finding people who can take the time to get to know your business, they can help define the strategy, identify the best technology, and put together a roadmap that leads to the desired outcomes. To ensure success, however, it is critically important to find the right partner who is prepared to understand how digital transformation will help both your business and your users.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer here either. Some will be better suited to certain businesses or industries, there will be budget considerations, and both parties will need to be aligned on the deliverables. It is important to remember that a digital transformation partner is more than just a technology vendor though and once again, a key consideration needs to be people and what they can achieve through technology.

There are many companies that offer digital transformation support, including some of the world’s largest consultancy firms. But to ensure the transformation process is set up for success, a methodical approach should be taken when choosing a partner.

These four key considerations can help to determine the best transformation partner for your organization:

1. Focus on the outcome: Before starting the journey, you need to clearly define what you want to achieve through digital transformation. Determine the problems you are trying to solve and how technology can help, then work backwards to outline the smaller goals that can get you there. Knowing what you want to achieve, and how you will work towards it, will be crucial when finding the right partner to get you there.

2. Focus on the people: Transformation is an ongoing process and the importance of finding people you are happy to work with cannot be understated. The technology is, of course, important, but this is an undertaking that will likely go on for years. Therefore, it is essential you find a partner that is committed to your transformation, communicates effectively and, ultimately, you have good chemistry with.

3. Look at change management skills: A successful transformation will mean major changes for your organization, which in turn requires change management. When assessing potential partners, it is important to look at their approach towards change management and determine if it matches your own.

4. Experience, expertise and budget: These are fairly common considerations for any partnership and are no less important here. Review potential partners’ previous experience to see if it aligns with what you need, look at where their expertise lies and the technologies they offer and ensure they are within your budget.

Digital solutions with real world outcomes

Digital transformation is a necessary yet complex endeavor requiring a holistic approach that goes beyond mere technology upgrades. It is, of course, a technical process, but success will be far easier to achieve if goals are set with users in mind.

The same people-first mentality should be applied by those looking for a digital transformation partner. Organizations need to find a partner that not only possess the required technological expertise, but also has the personnel that understands their business and is aligned on goals, values and culture.

Though the transformation process will undoubtedly be challenging, with many pitfalls along the way, prioritizing the human element will help pave the way to success; helping businesses to remain competitive and relevant in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 2

Here are some hints and the answer for Wordle No. 1201 for Wednesday, Oct. 2.

Here are some hints, and the answers, for the Oct. 2 Strands puzzle, No. 213.

Here are some hints — and the answers — for Connections No. 479 for Oct. 2.

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Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need clues.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Wordle hints and answers, Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #479) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• JOKER
• DICE
• CHANCE
• CASINO
• OCTOPUS
• SLOT MACHINE
• CUBE
• GAMBLE
• SLICE
• BET
• SHIVA
• JULIENNE
• HEAT
• VENUS DE MILO
• RISK
• TAXI DRIVER

NYT Connections today (game #479) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• Yellow: Play the odds
• Green: Cut differently
• Blue: Cape Fear is another
• Purple: You'll need to be armed with this knowledge

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #479) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: PUT ON THE LINE
• GREEN: USE A KITCHEN KNIFE
• BLUE: ROBERT DE NIRO FILMS
• PURPLE: DISTINCTIVE NUMBER OF ARMS (OR LACK THEREOF)

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #479) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #479, are…

• YELLOW: PUT ON THE LINE BET, CHANCE, GAMBLE, RISK
• GREEN: USE A KITCHEN KNIFE CUBE, DICE, JULIENNE, SLICE
• BLUE: ROBERT DE NIRO FILMS CASINO, HEAT, JOKER, TAXI DRIVER
• PURPLE: DISTINCTIVE NUMBER OF ARMS (OR LACK THEREOF) OCTOPUS, SHIVA, SLOT MACHINE, VENUS DE MILO

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I'm always pleased with myself when I solve the purple group early on. That's because it's supposedly the most difficult of the four, and even if that isn't always the case it is usually the one with the most interesting format, in that it's rarely just synonyms for another word as yellow and green often are. Today, purple was a really creative one – DISTINCTIVE NUMBER OF ARMS (OR LACK THEREOF). I focused on VENUS DE MILO, which seemed to only have a couple of possible connections to anything: it's a statue, a work of art, and a figure without arms. Looking at the board, I spotted OCTOPUS and then SHIVA, and though it took me a while to realize that SLOT MACHINE also fitted, I was delighted when all four proved to be right. The other three groups were mundane by comparison – although I'll never not enjoy thinking about ROBERT DE NIRO FILMS…

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Tuesday, 1 October, game #478)

• YELLOW: FLUSTERED STATE LATHER, STEW, SWEAT, TIZZY
• GREEN: FITNESS CONDITION, FORM, HEALTH, SHAPE
• BLUE: FAST-MOVING WATER CASCADE, CURRENT, RAPID, WAVE
• PURPLE: DISHWASHER CYCLES NORMAL, QUICK, RINSE, SANITIZE

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now nearly 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my Wordle today, NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #982) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 5*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #982) - hint #2 - repeated letters Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 0.

Quordle today (game #982) - hint #3 - uncommon letters Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #982) - hint #4 - starting letters (1) Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #982) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• A

• C

• T

• P

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #982) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #982, are…

• ARGUE
• CRANE
• TOKEN
• PRINT

With two extremely common – and commonly spelled – words among today's Quordle answers (in the form of CRANE and PRINT), this was a straightforward day for the game. Neither ARGUE or TOKEN are particularly hard either, although at least the latter has an uncommon letter in it to make the task a little harder. But really, this is about as simple as Quordle ever gets.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Daily Sequence today (game #982) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #982, are…

• LOOPY
• BURLY
• ALERT
• DEMON

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #981, Tuesday 1 October: FRILL, MADLY, GRANT, NYLON
• Quordle #980, Monday 30 September: CRUSH, TARDY, TEACH, STUMP
• Quordle #979, Sunday 29 September: SERIF, BORNE, WRITE, SLEEK
• Quordle #978, Saturday 28 September: BUSHY, CIVIC, SNOUT, EQUIP
• Quordle #977, Friday 27 September: GUEST, CHASM, ROOST, BASAL
• Quordle #976, Thursday 26 September: STAGE, VOGUE, CLUMP, HEATH
• Quordle #975, Wednesday 25 September: UMBRA, DADDY, GLAZE, PRANK
• Quordle #974, Tuesday 24 September: SPACE, INNER, SPAWN, BEGAT
• Quordle #973, Monday 23 September: GUILT, STERN, ANNEX, FIELD
• Quordle #972, Sunday 22 September: ZESTY, MEATY, ALIVE, DRAWN
• Quordle #971, Saturday 21 September: VITAL, FRAIL, SPEAR, EERIE
• Quordle #970, Friday 20 September: ELIDE, DITTO, SHAWL, BONUS
• Quordle #969, Thursday 19 September: MARRY, OWING, DICEY, LUCKY
• Quordle #968, Wednesday 18 September: CEDAR, VENOM, MIGHT, MEDIC
• Quordle #967, Tuesday 17 September: ETHOS, COUNT, PRINT, THREE
• Quordle #966, Monday 16 September: ROUGE, SWAMP, FUGUE, UNDUE
• Quordle #965, Sunday 15 September: VILLA, SMOKE, BULKY, THRUM
• Quordle #964, Saturday 14 September: ESSAY, GENRE, WIMPY, CHUTE
• Quordle #963, Friday 13 September: LEANT, ORGAN, FILLY, PLAIT
• Quordle #962, Thursday 12 September: ARBOR, STARK, LEAVE, GOOFY

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my Wordle today, NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #213) - hint #1 - today's theme What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Fresh out of the oven

NYT Strands today (game #213) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• TRAIT
• STONE
• SOAR
• TRUMP
• DINE
• LINE

NYT Strands today (game #213) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram?

• Dough but not nuts

NYT Strands today (game #213) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First: top, 3rd column

Last: bottom, 4th column

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #213) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #213, are…

• SCONE
• DANISH
• CROISSANT
• MUFFIN
• STRUDEL
• GALETTE
• SPANGRAM: PASTRIES

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: Perfect

Hello, Mr/Mrs/Ms NYT, I have a question for you: in what way is a MUFFIN a PASTRY? Or a SCONE? STRUDEL, yes. CROISSANT, definitely. DANISH, sure. GALETTE… well, we'll get to that. But not MUFFIN or SCONE, which are both quick breads or potentially cakes. Maybe I'm missing some crucial detail here – I'm not a chef – but I just don't get why they were included.

Fortunately, it wasn't too difficult for me to find them anyway, because I'm well aware that sometimes the NYT makes odd decisions with categorization, so I always watch out for curveballs. That didn't help me with GALETTE, though, chiefly because I've never heard that word before. Still, they look lovely, so I shall be trying one next time I see one.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Tuesday 1 October, game #212)

• PARAMOUNT
• DISCOVERY
• HISTORY
• HALLMARK
• LIFETIME
• SPANGRAM: NETWORK

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

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After an early tease this month, Google’s Gemini Live AI assistant has now rolled out to all Android users for free. Gemini Live was initially limited to those subscribing to the Gemini Advanced plan for $20 a month, but the voice assistant is now available to anyone who downloads the Gemini app. However, it is only available in English at the moment.

For users who own one of Google’s latest devices, such as the Pixel 9 or Pixel 9 Pro, accessing Gemini Live is as simple as launching the Gemini app and selecting the Live icon at the bottom right corner of the screen. Gemini Live has ten voices to choose from, and you can pick your favorite from the list of star and constellation-based voices.

Gemini Live acts in ways familiar to those who have used Google Assistant or Alexa. The AI can understand casual language and behave in much more human ways during conversations. For instance, it can speculate, help you brainstorm ideas, and even multitask by handling your requests while still carrying on a conversation. The voice options add to the human illusion by being more emotionally expressive than the previous standard for speech.

Live is now available for all Gemini users in English on the Android app. We can’t wait for you to try it. https://t.co/jev4pnuZJ0September 30, 2024

Gemini's starring role

Gemini Live’s rollout comes even as Google’ faces a rapidly growing array of rivals in the space, including the Advanced Voice Mode for ChatGPT and Microsoft’s newly revamped Copilot AI with voice interactions. 

Like Microsoft, Google clearly hopes that making Gemini Live free will help it stand out in the crowd. The integration with the Android operating system and Google’s ecosystem of devices will likely help in that regard. But, even then, Google has to contend with Apple’s upgrades to Siri as part of the range of Apple Intelligence features that the company will begin rolling out soon. 

Still, if you’re frustrated with the limitations of current voice assistants, Gemini Live will feel like a significant upgrade. How Gemini Live stacks up against its many new competitors remains to be seen, though. 

It’s obvious that Google wants Gemini to seem more than just Google Assistant. Enhancing Gemini’s place in people’s lives, especially on mobile devices, is how the company hopes to win the current AI assistant war.

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