Alasdair Lane

The New York Times • 11th January 2022

What Will the Highways of the Future Look Like?

The Romans built 50,000 miles of them. Today, there's at least 500 times that number worldwide. They convey goods and people over vast distances at speed, allowing societies to bloom and economies to thrive. Highways were a cornerstone of the ancient world — and in the 21st century, they’re no less important.

The New York Times • 12th November 2021

How Crypto is Re‑Writing the Rules of Digital Ownership

Shortly after the financial crisis of 2008, a group of tech-minded trailblazers sought a solution to the shortcomings of conventional finance. They envisaged a world underpinned not by centralized power, but by a distributed, democratic system of ownership that was inclusive, transparent and secure. This world, the crypto world, grew steadily in the years that followed. Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Global lockdowns have hastened the advance of all things digital and, in this uncertain age of

The ACR Journal • 1st January 2015

Building sustainability: a smart solution

Buildings aren’t merely bricks and mortar. They’re where business deals are brokered, and families gather at the end of the day. They’re where we work, and where we play; where we grow up, and grow old. They are the centrepieces of cities, towns, and villages, and where most of our lives are spent. And, sadly, they are part of the greatest challenge that confronts us all: climate change.

Global Banking & Finance Review • 1st January 2015

Global supply chains: three predictions for the future

It’s been a tumultuous couple of years for global supply chains. First came the pandemic; an unforeseen public health emergency that disrupted the flow of goods and materials, prioritizing essential goods over non-essential goods as well as changing trading patterns. As the virus spread, national lockdowns were implemented, piling added pressure on already creaking commercial networks.

Finance Derivative • 1st January 2015

Harnessing Connectivity: The Key To Global Exchange Operators Finding New Horizons In The Cloud

Offering the massive amounts of storage and compute power that drives our digital lives, the cloud is an incredible innovation, one that has changed the way we communicate, the way we consume entertainment, the way we work – and, yes, the way we do business. But the cloud cannot work without the network infrastructure underneath.

Telemedia Online • 1st January 2015

Predictions for 2022: The communications trends that will shape the year ahead

We started 2021 with a quiet sense of optimism, hopeful that this year had to be better than the twelve months prior. And though the first weeks of 2021 saw the pandemic reach its very worst, we rebounded strongly, edging closer to total a return to normality.

LiveArea, a Merkle Company • 1st January 2016

Inspiring Innovation: Building Retail Agility

No industry has been left untouched by the COVID-19 pandemic — a crisis that emerged with little warning, throwing business plans into disarray. Thrust onto the backfoot, companies have had to react or face ruin. To better understand the retail industry’s approach to innovation, LiveArea, a Merkle Company surveyed retail decision makers across three regions: the UK, the USA, and the Netherlands, to explore the drivers, priorities, and investment needs of their company’s particular approach to i

Avanade • 1st January 2015

Healthcare’s most precious resource: people and time

Healthcare organisations like yours are a vital cog in the smooth running of society. In the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, that’s true now more than ever. All too often, however, vital organisations and departments such as yours are held back by fragmented legacy systems, disparate data silos spread across different teams and departments, and poor collaboration between team members.

Avanade • 1st January 2015

The Private Equity Integrated Ecosystem

The upheaval of Brexit, then a global pandemic. It’s certainly been an interesting year for private equity (PE) firms. But with the industry’s appetite for new deals growing all the time and SPACS making a splash — plus global dry powder estimated to be around $1.9trn — 2021 is promising to be a big year for PE firms.

Medium | UK Research and Innovation • 17th December 2021

How Covid-19 is helping us fight climate change

The arrival of COVID-19 was a crisis that few foresaw. Almost overnight, organisations and individuals had to adapt to the realities of life under a global pandemic. Across the UK, people started doing things differently, seeking solutions to the most pressing problems — from business who pivoted to make hand sanitiser and face masks, to scientists who redirected their research to fight the disease.

Maintel • 1st January 2015

UK Government increases tech estate at breakneck speed – but cannot leave the back door ajar to cyber criminals

A digital revolution is underway. More and more organisations are opening their eyes to the merits of modernisation, exploring new technologies to help drive efficiency, keep connected and cut costs. This is true not only in the private sector, with public institutions just as eager to reap the rewards of digitalisation.

IT Pro Portal • 1st January 2015

How can firms shatter the glass ceiling when it comes to achieving gender parity?

In the professional world, we’ve taken some laudable steps on the path to gender parity — but there’s still an awful lot of work to be done. This is true especially in the technology sector; a realm in which women remain woefully underrepresented with recruitment structures skewed heavily towards their male counterparts.

AI Magazine • 1st January 2015

Should we find leaders who use AI, or expert AI leaders?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here to stay; of that, there’s little doubt. For business leaders eager to build back better post-pandemic, this is good news — AI technology can save time and money with sophisticated automation, boost productivity, and give invaluable insights to the trickiest commercial conundrums.

Smart Buildings Magazine • 1st January 2015

The road to net zero

They consume half of the world’s electricity, use a third of all energy, and produce 40% of the planet’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Buildings are the beating heart of human civilization — but in the race to avert climate disaster, they’re a cause of huge concern.

Business Reporter • 1st January 2015

Build smart, build sustainably

Buildings aren’t merely bricks and mortar. They’re places where business deals are brokered and families gather at the end of the day. They’re spaces we live, work and play, where we grow up, and grow old. They are the heart of our cities, towns and villages and where we spend most of our lives. And, sadly, they are our greatest challenge in the battle for sustainability.

CI&T • 1st January 2015

Measurability is at the heart of customer experience success

There’s little doubt that a first-class customer experience (CX) is worth investing in. Research from Microsoft indicates that experience is chief among customer considerations, with 90% saying CX is important to their choice of (and loyalty to) a brand. Indeed, more than four-fifths of respondents in a similar study said they’d be willing to pay more for a better experience.

CI&T • 1st January 2015

Three ways that technology can make retail more sustainable

At the place where production meets consumption, retailers are a vital component of any modern economy. This is truer today than ever before: in the tumultuous first days of the pandemic, retailers kept kitchen cupboards stocked, bathrooms clean, and supplied the entertainment that sustained us through long spells of lockdown. But like many industries, the retail sector must acknowledge an area in which it’s lacking – sustainability.

Kindred • 1st January 2015

Kindred management consultancy

We are… meeting you where you are. Whether you’re setting out, scaling up, or becoming more sustainable, we roll up our sleeves and get stuck in. We get your ideas happening.

Dealing with job rejection: How to make the most of it | TopCV • 1st January 2015

Dealing with job rejection: How to make the most of it

’Thank you for your application. Unfortunately…’ They're the words all job seekers dread, and if they're wearily familiar, you're not alone. The job market is engorged and job rejection is commonplace. Upsetting, demoralising and just downright frustrating, being discarded from the applicant pack is tough to take. But from the ashes of one prospective career path, others can sprout ‒ if you know how to best to deal with the regrettable news. Read on for our top tips on how to best absorb the

The key to a successful ‘thank you’ letter after your interview | TopCV • 1st January 2015

The key to a successful ‘thank you’ letter after your interview

After your interview, a little thanks can go a long way. Good manners alone won't land you a job, but their absence can go a long way in keeping you off the payroll. A warm smile, gracious manner and plentiful expressions of gratitude will leave a good impression on any recruiter ‒ but you should be going one step further: a thank-you note after the interview. Is it really worth risking overenthusiasm by penning an interview thank-you letter? In a word, yes. A survey conducted by TopResume fou