Business
Beating Burnout – Arise the transformational IT leader

Jen Brown, Senior Director, EMEA at GoTo
Burnout and stress continue to be prevalent in the workplace, yet few industries are feeling the burn quite as intensely as IT. You just have to look at the figures to prove that new pressures and pain points just keep adding to the workloads of IT leaders. New global 2023 research targeting Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) found burnout and stress to be the most significant personal risk CISOs face in their role today, for the second consecutive year. Not only that, but the number reporting burnout and stress jumped up notably year on year. A recent GoTo study found that 65% of businesses say their IT team workloads have increased over the last year, with 92% reporting that reducing this burden is a critical consideration when choosing their IT software.
What’s behind the burnout?
Recent years have meant that IT Professionals have had to make hard work and agility their mission critical. As the need for tech in business keeps ramping up, IT teams have doubled down like never before to lay all the right foundations for business success and survival. The old protocols are out while ushered in are hybrid and work from anywhere teams and rapid digital transformation with more devices and infinite data to secure far beyond the secure perimeters of the office.
The new working world has arrived with a bang and IT Professionals have never been as critical to or as synonymous with its success. But with that shift comes the white-hot heat of demanding hours and smaller teams as businesses do battle against cost of living and talent shortage challenges. IT pros have been working at pace to protect their teams at all costs but with sky high reports of elevated burnout, it’s clear these levels of stress are unworkable in the long term. The only end result will be driving good talent out of the industry completely.
A new style of leadership
Today, we need a total rethink and reset on how we turn the tide on the worrying burnout trend. Business demands are evolving and so too must the role of IT leaders. Once upon a time IT leaders were a siloed part of most businesses, beavering away without complaint in the background. Today they are an indispensable bridge between the C-suite and an entire organisation’s security posture, working to drive value and buy-in to IT management and security in ways that resonate with everyone at every level across a workforce.
As the world becomes increasingly built on software, today the transformational IT leader must map out a future where consolidation and smarter more streamlined ways of working are all the name of the game. This approach must bring together the very best in both technology and people strategies. It’s essential groundwork but consolidating tech, automating workflows and embedding streamlining into the approach are all essential parts of the process. This will allow IT leaders to make smart choices that empowers teams. Today the transformational IT leader is more than ever a people manager who is charged primarily with helping workforces change their behaviours to support the working world of today. Here’s what a transformational IT leader needs to have in their roadmap right now:
Success through streamlining
Consolidation among SMBs has become increasingly popular as decision makers start to acknowledge its many benefits. The main advantages being increased productivity, lower costs, and ease of management.
The recent report on IT Priorities sees 83% of businesses considering consolidation of communication and IT management and support tools an important initiative for 2023. Crucially, this consolidation helps to alleviate the burden on IT, a key goal for 92% of the report’s respondents. It can do this by providing greater oversight and control for less money whilst increasing employee productivity – a golden triangle of outcomes amid the current economic headwinds.
Consolidation of tools is even more valuable when IT teams are provided with a comprehensive view of operations. Unifying status updates, performance insights, and more information in a single dashboard to control and monitor processes, through a remote monitoring tool, can dramatically improve workflows and enable quick resolutions without overburdening IT teams.
Automation: paving the way for increased efficiency
For businesses that do not have dedicated support staff to handle administrative, customer service, or other time-consuming tasks, IT automation tools can be the difference between growth or stagnation. Automating tedious tasks frees up time for teams to focus on projects that require detailed human attention and move the business forward, allowing companies to allocate resources more effectively. It can also serve as a morale boosting tactic, helping employees to tick more off their never-ending to-do list by giving them valuable time back to focus on more fulfilling tasks.
Furthermore, automating certain business practices helps to alleviate the stress put on individuals and avoid bottlenecks at the same time. Simplifying tasks and responsibilities means that teams aren’t left in limbo if colleagues are out sick or away from their desk – knowledge and workloads can easily be shared and managed without direct management.
For all these reasons, built-in automation features are considered absolutely critical when choosing new business solutions. Moreover, integrations with new generative AI technologies like ChatGPT are introducing even more valuable automation capabilities across applications like customer engagement, generating and running programming scripts, and more. AI chatbots can also aid in IT ticket deflection and resolution which would otherwise need to be opened and worked on by support staff. All of this means that AI tools are increasingly handling even complex tasks with minimal time and resources required from human team members.
Collaboration and pooling resources for greater impact
The final piece of the puzzle is complete when companies can make the most of the resources already available to them. By eliminating the limitations of a traditional in-office mindset, businesses can combine resources by region and empower transformational IT teams to offer support from anywhere, anytime.
A company with multiple offices around the country can still effectively operate with one shared IT team to look after different regions. Additionally, implementing unified problem management processes across teams and employee locations can ensure faster resolution times when incidents do occur, and significantly reduce the potential for subsequent disruptions. Sharing resources and practices in this way can save significant costs, reduce downtimes, and improve efficiency. And with 50% of businesses still using hybrid workplace models, IT management needs to reflect this flexibility.
This is why features such as unattended access and multi-session handling are now considered essential. A remote access tool can not only minimise operational downtime and ensure continuity, but also save on travel expenses and office costs – allowing IT teams to support customers and colleagues from anywhere in the world. Additionally, when companies no longer need to worry about providing support in close physical proximity to their employees, this also means that companies can recruit and source the top talent for the job they need, regardless of their location.
The road ahead
In times of uncertainty, budgets are squeezed, and workloads are stretched to capacity. Ultimately, the keys to success during such times are streamlining technology and prioritising the people that make up a workforce. By looking for ways to consolidate their technology stack, automating menial tasks where possible, and pooling resources, companies can reinvest money into employees and customers instead. Let’s lean into these approaches so we beat burnout and help put people first in today’s workplace.
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Business
Innovation in banking must go hand in hand with security, and here’s why

Dean Clark, Group Chief Technology Officer for GFT
The banking sector is transforming more and more, with banks under pressure to meet customers’ evolving expectations. This means that even the most traditional institutions have to move away from legacy systems and adopt modern technologies such as cloud computing and AI. The aim of this shift is not just to keep pace with digital-native competitors, but also to improve operational efficiency and deliver better customer experiences.
However, innovation brings new challenges. Transitioning from centralised mainframes to cloud-based platforms is a complex process that can’t happen overnight. Amid this transformation, banks must ensure that security remains a top priority. Striking the right balance between modernisation and robust security is essential to building and maintaining consumer trust in the digital age.
Balancing agility with security
Multicloud is a key component of digital transformation strategies in the financial sector. Many banks are relying on hybrid multicloud to modernise and keep up with the evolving tech landscape. In the meantime, new digital banks are launching entirely on cloud-native platforms, which helps support agility and scalability from day one.
Cloud technologies offer many advantages, including improved performance, flexibility and faster innovation. However, despite these benefits, they do come with security challenges. Cloud infrastructure, often built and managed using Infrastructure as Code (IaC), can include some vulnerabilities and give an entry point into a bank’s system to malicious actors. As such, ensuring that IaC adheres to best practices is essential to avoid misconfigurations or exploitable vulnerabilities as early as possible.
The protection of consumer data must also be central to any digital transformation strategy. Security must be deeply embedded not only in backend infrastructure but also in the user-facing layers such as web portals and mobile applications. This is critical to maintain consumer trust and improve retention.
Why a unified security platform is essential
When undergoing digital transformation, financial institutions need a unified security solution to help streamline the security management process by having all the necessary tools in one place. In fact, a unified security solution is built on three interconnected pillars. First, security must be embedded directly into development pipelines. This integration helps identify and mitigate risks and misconfigurations early, before they can impact production. Second, through continuous monitoring and management of cloud assets, banks can gain more visibility and control over their security posture. Third, runtime protection safeguards cloud workloads, web applications and APIs through tools like cloud threat detection, host security, container security, serverless security, and web application & API protection. Together, these pillars help to establish a robust security framework. This way, digital banks can minimise risks, streamline operations and ensure compliance with regulatory demands.
The benefits of ‘zero trust’
Modern cloud-native banks rely on ‘zero trust’ security models more and more. ‘Zero trust’ refers to the principle according to which every request to access an organisation’s system should be carefully reviewed. This means that no user or system is trusted by default. They’re all subject to identification and authentication checks. This helps set clear boundaries between the applications the users are accessing and the resources available in the cloud. And even after access has been granted, all activity is monitored on an ongoing basis to identify potential malicious behaviour that could compromise digital banking systems. This continuous verification enhances visibility into potential threats and facilitates compliance with regulatory standards.
To further reinforce security, mutual transport layer security (TLS) can be implemented as a core design principle, enabling secure authentication with third-party entities over the internet. By adopting such measures, digital banks can build a resilient security foundation that safeguards against evolving threats whilst preserving customer trust and operational integrity.
The example of Salt Bank
Salt Bank is a next-generation digital bank launched in Romania. It serves as a good example of a financial institution that embedded security into its digital banking platform from the start. Salt Bank was built and launched in under 12 months, showcasing the power of an approach to innovation that heavily relies on security.
Salt Bank implemented a range of advanced security measures, including zero trust architecture, threat modelling, cloud security posture management, and automated security operations, guided by this security-by-design philosophy. These tools helped the bank implement a strong defence against cyber threats whilst still focusing on improving customer experience.
Central to Salt Bank’s strategy was Engine by Starling, a SaaS platform designed specifically for digital banking, paired with Palo Alto Networks’ Prisma Cloud. Prisma Cloud played a key role in securing the bank’s cloud infrastructure, offering capabilities such as misconfiguration monitoring, risk detection, remediation and compliance management. Together, these technologies provide a unified and efficient approach to managing security in a complex cloud environment.
The future of modern banking is all about security
As digital transformation accelerates across the financial sector, companies must keep security at the top of their agenda. Whilst innovating is key to keeping up with evolving trends and changing customer expectations, it can’t be done without prioritising security. If security isn’t embedded in every layer of an organisation’s digital infrastructure, vulnerabilities may be introduced within the system and easily exploited by malicious actors. And once cyber attackers are in the system, everyone knows it can lead to chaos.
But security isn’t just for defensive purposes, it’s also a strategic advantage. In a climate of growing digital distrust, the most secure bank doesn’t just win compliance, it also wins customers. By choosing to turn advanced security into a visible product feature, not just an internal practice, banks can build marketable trust and differentiate from fintech challengers who may cut corners in pursuit of speed.
Business
Why heat pumps are the future of heating and cooling

Drew Tozer
We live in a technologically advanced world with artificial intelligence, electric cars, and advancing space travel.
But our primary strategy for heating homes is still “burning stuff”.
We pump gas, propane, or oil into a traditional furnace and light the fuel on fire to keep houses warm. It’s an archaic solution—like sending a fax instead of an email.
Furnaces are popular because the majority of HVAC is replaced in emergency “no heat” situations. The default option becomes a like-for-like replacement (swapping an old furnace for a new furnace) because it’s quick and easy.
HVAC is a top 5 most expensive purchase that a homeowner will make in their lifetime, and we rush the decision by ignoring equipment until it breaks.
Choosing the right HVAC system is an opportunity to improve homes. HVAC is the biggest factor for indoor comfort and air quality, and the chance to pick the right system only comes around every 15 to 20 years.
Heat pumps operate like two-way air conditioners. In the winter, they take heat (energy) from the outside air and use it to heat homes.
So, what makes heat pumps the right decision?
Because electric products are just… better
Consumer experiences matter, and electric products create better experiences. The quality of electric appliances (like heat pumps, electric vehicles, induction cooking, and electric yard tools) surpassed gas alternatives in recent years.
For now, there continues to be a place for gas appliances in niche situations. But the overwhelming consensus is that electric products are better than gas products
A few examples:
- Oversized furnaces are the primary cause of comfort issues. Heat pumps are the direct solution—they can be properly sized to match the heating and cooling needs of a house, improving comfort and eliminating hot and cold rooms.
- EVs are more fun to drive, while being quicker, quieter, more convenient, and lower maintenance. The stress of “range anxiety” has largely disappeared with better infrastructure and battery performance.
- Electric yard tools are quieter, safer, and lower maintenance than gas tools.
- Gas stoves increase the risk of asthma in children. Induction is safer and healthier while offering similar control and faster boiling times.
The performance gap of electric over gas is growing. Every generation of electric products takes a leap forward while gas appliances stay largely the same.
Over the last decade, gas furnaces have increased from 90% to 97% efficiency. That’s the only change.
By comparison, cold climate heat pumps achieve efficiency ratings above 300% by moving heat instead of burning fuel to create heat. Heat pumps continue to improve, both in efficiency, reliability, and cold weather performance. They’re a proven success in cold climates like Canada, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway.
Heat pumps can also be sized to provide the right amount of heating and cooling at any given time, and the lack of combustion eliminates the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, gas leaks, and explosions.
A sustainable world is an electric world
The cost of ignoring climate change continues to grow.
There’s no way around it. Ignoring climate change won’t solve it.
The frequency and severity of wildfires in North America are a key example. Large parts of the US are becoming uninsurable as the damage risk becomes untenable for banks and insurance companies.
These aren’t political choices, it’s the free market working: climate change is bad for business.
When we choose to not take action, it increases pain and suffering without decreasing the economic burden. We’ll have to implement the same solutions, but we’ll have to pay more to rebuild and replace more infrastructure and homes along the way.
Delaying action is the more expensive choice.
Heat pumps are part of the solution because they create a path to sustainable heating. They can be powered by renewables, either on-site or within grids.
We have access to the cheapest source of electricity in human history: solar. We choose not to embrace and scale renewables for political reasons. It’s a people problem, not a technical one.
We’re fortunate that the sustainable option (heat pumps) is also the choice that improves the comfort, health, and safety of homes.
Energy (in)dependence matters
Heat pumps and renewables allow homeowners and countries to heat and power their homes with local energy. It makes homes and communities resilient against geopolitics and global energy costs.
A house can be entirely energy independent by combining a heat pump and electric appliances with rooftop solar and battery storage.
Conversely, you can’t extract and refine oil in your backyard. If you rely on combustion heating, then you’re dependent on the person or country that supplies your oil and gas. A situation that played out with Europe’s reliance on Russian gas.
In the tenuous landscape of global politics, energy dependence is a risk.
Heat pumps are the future of heating and cooling because they create a path to sustainable heating powered by renewables. They create comfortable, healthy, sustainable homes that benefit from energy independence and improve consumer experiences.
Business
What can the West learn from the Arabian Gulf’s payments revolution?

Hassan Zebdeh, Financial Crime Advisor at Eastnets
A decade ago, paying for coffee at a small café in Riyadh meant fumbling with cash – or, at best, handing over a plastic card. Today, locals casually wave smartphones over terminals, instantly settling the bill, splitting it among friends, and even transferring money abroad before their drink cools.
This seemingly trivial scene illustrates a profound truth: while the West debates incremental upgrades to ageing payment systems, the Arabian Gulf has leapfrogged straight into the future. As of late 2024, Saudi Arabia achieved a remarkable 98% adoption rate for contactless payments in face-to-face transactions, a significant leap from just 4% in 2017.
Align financial transformation with a bold national vision
One milestone that exemplifies the Gulf’s approach is Saudi Arabia’s launch of its first Swift Service Bureau. While not the first SSB worldwide, its presence in the Kingdom underscores a broader theme: rather than rely on piecemeal upgrades to older infrastructure, Saudi Arabia chose a proven yet modern route, aligned to Vision 2030, to unify international payment standards, enhance security, and reduce operational overhead.
And it matters, because in a region heavily reliant on expatriate workers whose steady stream of remittances powers whole economies. The stakes for frictionless cross-border transactions are unusually high. Rather than tinkering around the edges of an ageing system, Saudi Arabia opted for a bold and coherent solution, deliberately aligning national pride and purpose with practical financial innovation. It’s a reminder that infrastructure, at its best, doesn’t merely enable transactions; it reshapes how people imagine the future.
Make regulation a launchpad, not a bottleneck
Regulation often carries the reputation of an overprotective parent – necessary, perhaps, but tiresome, cautious to a fault, and prone to slowing progress rather than enabling it. It’s the bureaucratic equivalent of wrapping every new idea in bubble wrap and paperwork. Yet Bahrain has managed something rare: flipping the narrative entirely. Instead of acting solely as gatekeepers, Bahraini regulators decided to become collaborators. Their fintech sandbox isn’t merely a regulatory innovation; it’s psychological brilliance, transforming a potentially adversarial relationship into a partnership
Within this curated environment, fintech firms have launched practical experiments with striking results. Take Tarabut Gateway, which pioneered open banking APIs, reshaping how banks and customers interact. Rain, a cryptocurrency exchange, tested compliance frameworks safely, quickly becoming one of the Gulf’s trusted crypto players. Elsewhere, startups trialled AI-driven identity verification and seamless cross-border payments, all under the watchful yet adaptive guidance of Bahraini regulators. Successes were rapidly scaled; failures offered immediate lessons, free from damaging legal fallout. Bahrain proves regulation, thoughtfully applied, can genuinely empower innovation rather than restrict it.
Prioritise cross-border interoperability and unified standards
Cross-border payments have long been a maddening puzzle – expensive, sluggish, and unpredictably complicated. Most Western banks seem resigned to this reality, treating the spaghetti-like mess of correspondent banking relationships as a necessary evil. Yet Gulf states looked at this same complexity and saw not just inconvenience, but opportunity. Instead of battling against the tide, they cleverly redirected it, embracing standards like ISO 20022, which neatly streamline data exchange and slash friction from global transactions.
Examples abound: Saudi Arabia’s adoption of ISO 20022 through its Swift Service Bureau will notably accelerated cross-border transactions and improve transparency. The UAE and Saudi Arabia also jointly piloted Project Aber, a digital currency initiative that significantly reduced settlement times for interbank payments. Similarly, Bahrain’s collaboration with fintechs has simplified previously burdensome remittance processes, reducing both cost and complexity.
Target digital ecosystems for financial inclusion
One of the most intriguing elements of the Gulf’s payments transformation is the speed and enthusiasm with which consumers embraced new technologies. In Bahrain, mobile wallet payments surged by 196% in 2021, contributing to a nearly 50% year-over-year increase in digital payment volumes. Similarly, Saudi Arabia experienced a near tripling of mobile payment volumes in the same year, with mobile transactions accounting for 35% of all payments.
The West, by contrast, still struggles with financial inclusion. In the U.S., millions remain unbanked or underbanked, held back by distrust, geographic isolation, and high fees. Digital solutions exist, but widespread adoption has lagged, partly because major institutions view inclusion as a long-term aspiration rather than an immediate priority. The Gulf shows that when digital tools are made integral to daily life, rather than optional extras, the barriers to financial inclusion quickly dissolve.
The road ahead
As the Gulf region continues to refine its payment systems experimenting with digital currencies, advanced data protection laws, and AI-driven compliance the ripple effects will be felt far beyond the GCC. Western players can treat these developments as an external threat or as a chance to rejuvenate their own approaches.
Ultimately, if you want a glimpse of where financial services may be headed towards integrated platforms, real-time international transactions, and widespread digital inclusion – the Gulf experience is a prime example of what’s possible. The question is whether other markets will step up, follow suit, and even surpass these achievements. With global financial landscapes evolving at record speed, hesitation carries its own risks. The Arabian Gulf has shown that bold bets can pay off; perhaps that’s the most enduring lesson for the West.

Innovation in banking must go hand in hand with security, and here’s why

Why heat pumps are the future of heating and cooling

What can the West learn from the Arabian Gulf’s payments revolution?

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