Tech Republic

A stateful firewall is capable of tracking the state of active connections between devices on the network. It logs when devices are requesting data, sending data, or closing the connection. With this context, a stateful firewall knows whether incoming data is part of an established, legitimate session or if it’s an unsolicited request that needs to be blocked. This allows the firewall to make decisions about which traffic to allow or deny based on the flow of the communication, rather than just matching packets to predefined rules. This added intelligence gives businesses a more adaptive, dynamic defense against evolving threats and technical glitches. Now, let’s take a closer look at the key reasons why businesses benefit from using a stateful firewall. 1 RingCentral RingEx Employees per Company Size Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+) Medium (250-999 Employees), Large (1,000-4,999 Employees), Enterprise (5,000+ Employees) Medium, Large, Enterprise Features Hosted PBX, Managed PBX, Remote User Ability, and more 1. Stateful firewalls provide critical data Unlike stateless firewalls, which only inspect individual packets in isolation, stateful firewalls track the entire lifecycle of a connection — from initiation to termination. This enables them to understand the context of the communication, ensuring that only valid, ongoing sessions are allowed while blocking any unauthorized or anomalous requests. With its ability to monitor traffic in real-time, a stateful firewall provides administrators with useful visibility into network performance. They can quickly detect technical glitches, dig into any suspicious patterns, block potential intrusions, and help prevent unauthorized access. Stateful firewalls generate logs in real time that are stored for analysis. In the event of a security breach, these firewall logs become crucial for forensics and cybersecurity incident response. They provide a detailed record of what happened before, during, and after the attack, enabling security teams to trace the source of the breach, understand the attack, and take corrective actions. 2. Stateful firewalls support compliance Many industries are highly regulated and monitored, and that means today’s businesses need to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and regulations. While most business owners have good intentions, they can’t always stop breaches from happening. If you’re dealing with sensitive customer data or highly classified customer information, you simply don’t have room for accidents. That’s where a stateful firewall can come in handy. Essentially, a stateful firewall will help businesses meet compliance requirements by guarding against unauthorized access to data, controlling network traffic, and blocking content that could potentially be malicious. Depending on the type used, a stateful firewall can also protect against specific threats. For instance, a next-generation firewall can inspect traffic beyond the IP and TCP layers, helping it detect and stop persistent threats and other sophisticated attacks. 3.  Stateful firewalls adapt to fit unique needs The beauty of stateful firewalls is that they’re designed to differentiate between types of network traffic like HTTP, FTP, and SMTP. By examining the content of each packet, stateful firewalls can filter out malicious traffic and clear the way for legitimate traffic to pass through. Not only does this improve security, but it also reduces network congestion and boosts your overall network performance. Additionally, stateful firewalls can be configured to block out specific types of sites, such as social networking and peer-to-peer file-sharing sites. This can be good for quelling non-work activities on company networks and reducing the risks posed by shadow IT. Similarly, a stateful firewall can protect against all kinds of different network security threats, from viruses and worms to trojans and spyware. They can even be configured to block traffic from specific, targeted IP addresses and certain geographic regions. 4. Stateful firewalls improve threat detection Stateful firewalls analyze traffic patterns to identify potential threats. By maintaining context, they can detect anomalies like unauthorized access attempts, port scans, or deviations from expected behavior. This ability to track connection states allows businesses to respond proactively to suspicious activity. If a company is using a VoIP phone system to make calls over the internet, for example, a stateful firewall can prevent VoIP toll fraud by identifying unauthorized attempts to establish a session. If a malicious actor tries to inject fraudulent calls by exploiting open ports, the firewall can block the traffic based on discrepancies in the session initiation process. SEE: Learn how to future proof your VoIP phone system.  This is just one common example I’m using because millions of dollars each year are lost to toll fraud. The latest and greatest Next-Gen Firewall (NGFW) solutions have advanced intrusion detection and prevention tools designed to protect companies from the world’s worst threat actors. 5.  Stateful firewalls support remote work environments As remote work increasingly relies on Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and other secure access methods, stateful firewalls are used to monitor and verify the integrity of these connections. They ensure that only authorized traffic enters the network, blocking unauthorized access attempts and preventing potential breaches. For instance, when a remote employee connects via VPN, the stateful firewall tracks the session state, identifying legitimate traffic and rejecting suspicious packets that don’t align with the established connection. This helps protect sensitive data shared during remote collaboration and shields businesses from common threats like brute-force attacks or exploitation of misconfigured remote access ports. By integrating with secure access solutions and providing reliable perimeter defense, stateful firewalls contribute to strong remote work security without complicating network management. source

Whether you’re showcasing a new listing, promoting your services, or sharing details of an open house, real estate marketing calendar templates can make your life much easier. These tools help you stay organized while planning all of your upcoming marketing activities in one place. From video walkthroughs on social media to newsletters, blogs, and beyond, you can use any of these templates to organize and plan your real estate marketing calendar. monday.com: A customizable real estate marketing calendar template built for collaboration monday.com is a project management platform that’s highly collaborative and built to scale. It’s a great option for real estate agencies of all sizes — your entire team can use it to plan, track, and assign marketing activities. While monday.com offers a free plan for up to two users, it doesn’t include a calendar view so you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan if that’s something you need. More on monday.com: monday.com Review | monday.com vs Jira | monday.com vs. Notion. monday.com’s real estate marketing calendar helps agents and their team collaborate on marketing activities. Image: monday.com If you’re anything like me, you’ll appreciate that monday.com can be so much more than just a generic calendar template to plan your marketing activities. You can use it to run just about every aspect of your entire business if you’d like, from managing projects and listings to clients, budgets, digital assets, and more. Whether you have a team of realtors working collaboratively or you have a dedicated department for marketing, you can easily assign tasks to everyone involved and track progress as you go. It also works well if you manage different types of content across different platforms. You can use built in color coding or a custom field to designate whatever you need. Larger agencies may set up one calendar for shared responsibilities while giving each agent their own calendar to manage individual marketing needs. Smaller teams, on the other hand, can probably get away with one calendar instead. The biggest drawback of this template is that you likely won’t be able to use it to its full potential for free. If you prefer saving money, there are plenty of free platforms that give you a calendar view at no cost. ClickUp: A free planning and budgeting real estate marketing template ClickUp offers an excellent free plan for solo users and small teams. Unlike monday.com, ClickUp includes a calendar view in its free plan and unlimited free users so you can onboard your whole team for free. The free plan also includes Kanban view, team chat, collaborative docs, and more. And like most project management solutions, you can use it for a lot more than just marketing if you want to. It’s just as great for managing clients, employees, HR activities, listings, and anything else you might need. More on ClickUp: ClickUp Review | ClickUp vs Asana | ClickUp vs. Notion. Easily plan and manage content alongside your marketing budget with ClickUp. Image: Clickup.com One of the best parts of this template is the ability to plan and track your marketing budget. You can set a budget for each campaign or piece of content if you want to get really granular. If you’d rather focus on selling properties, you’re likely working with (or will soon work with) photographers, videographers, and maybe even writers to produce your content. This template makes it easy to track those expenses and ensure you stay under budget along the way. This is particularly useful if you base marketing spend on commissions or want to dedicate extra funds to specific listings. There’s also a space to manage tasks without cluttering up your calendar. You’ll be able to switch between various views, including list, Kanban board, table, and more. You can also invite your clients to collaborate with you at no extra cost if you’d like them to weigh in on your marketing plans. They’ll need to create a ClickUp account to do this, but it’s a nice option to have for your clients who expect you to go the extra mile. Wrike: A template for real estate marketing teams Wrike is a traditional project management solution that comes with a lot of powerful features for workflow management and automation. Although it can work well for agents, it’s a better fit for full marketing teams who have (or want) well-defined processes. There’s a free plan with unlimited users, up to 2 GB of storage, and basic task management capabilities. It’s a good place to start, but it won’t work for the long long term. Wrike’s paid plans start at $10 per month and include calendar view, custom fields, Gantt charts, dashboards, generative AI, and more. More on Wrike: Wrike Review | Wrike vs Asana | Wrike vs Smartsheet. Marketing teams will appreciate Wrike’s built in request forms, approval flows, and multiple work views. Image: Wrike.com This Wrike template is a general marketing calendar designed for marketing teams managing numerous campaigns at a time. It’s a great option if you have a dedicated marketing team working with multiple agents or clients that need an easy way to stay organized. Although it’s not specifically for real estate, it’s easy to customize to match your needs. Once it’s set up, it’ll help your team adhere to your processes and stay on track. One of the most helpful features is a pre built marketing request form. Say an agent secures a new listing and wants to start marketing it right away. They can submit a request that includes photos, details, post ideas, the target market, and more. From there, your marketing team can come up with ideas, create all the content required, publish it, and let the requestor know it’s ready. Wrike’s overall architecture lets you create folders and individual projects, which can work well for managing marketing calendars for different agents or clients. On top of that, marketers can see all of their work across projects in one place, so nothing falls through the cracks. More expensive

Senior executives from Dell are urging enterprise leaders across the Asia-Pacific region to create chief AI officer roles and to adopt a “top-down” approach to AI implementation. While 2024 has primarily seen early adopters experimenting with AI in production, Dell anticipates a pivotal shift in 2025, with more enterprises transitioning from proof-of-concept initiatives to deploying AI as core projects that deliver measurable returns on investment. John Roese, Dell’s global chief technology officer and chief AI officer, emphasised in a media briefing that the region’s primary challenge is not the technical feasibility of AI but rather creating the right organisational strategy and framework to ensure successful adoption. SEE: Dell’s 5 Tips for Enterprises Wanting to Accelerate AI Innovation “If you’re not the chief AI officer and you’re not empowered and supported by your board and your leadership, your ability to prioritise the right AI work in a company is limited,” he said. “You may not get any budget, you may not have control, and there may be competing AI efforts that are not the right ones.” The rise of chief AI officer roles in Asia-Pacific Peter Marrs, Dell’s president for the Asia Pacific, Japan, and Greater China region, explained at the briefing how he regularly meets with CTOs and CEOs across the region. As recently as November 2024, Marrs observed signs of AI project overload, with one customer managing over 300 AI projects simultaneously. “I am seeing in some of the biggest customers in the world, where they don’t have that strategy locked down, they’re still kind of swinging all over the place,” Marrs said. SEE: A Sovereign Cloud Boom is Happening In APAC Right Now To overcome these challenges, Marrs said more companies in APAC are now appointing chief AI officers to steer AI strategies. This is expected to bring more coherence and focus on enterprise AI strategies. “We are seeing a lot of our customers right now, especially the more mature enterprise customers, making investments in chief AI officers,” he noted. While they are also appointing AI committees with representation from business units, such as marketing, software development, and manufacturing, these business units are ultimately led by a chief AI officer. “Sometimes the CIO is playing a dual role, but more and more we are seeing companies investing in CIOs or chief AI officers to help them on their strategy and path forward around their AI enablement.” More must-read AI coverage The benefits of the ‘top-down’ approach to implementing AI Roese said the biggest issue for companies rolling out AI is no longer technology or methodology, which Dell believes it has solved for its customers with its defined “AI factory” model and approach. Instead, Roese said: “The thing that is still an issue which we are seeing, which has nothing to do with technology, is organisational complexity. How to do [AI] is becoming clearer, but how to organise a company to do it successfully is the really big active conversation right now,” he explained. Roese explained that even the most advanced companies are still struggling “to build the right organisational model to make sure they have an empowered leader” for AI “who can actually make strategic decisions.” This AI leadership role would involve confronting the reality that “some people won’t like those decisions” made about AI strategy and having the authority to enforce the chosen direction among business leaders. Roese said Dell was “very thoughtful” about internally structuring its AI efforts. The business has implemented measures to ensure all AI projects are “top-down and strategic.” Leveraging this top-down approach, all AI projects and use cases now require approval from Roese, CIO Doug Schmidt, and COO Jeff Clarke. SEE: Rethinking AI: How Organisations Can Become More Sensitive & Resilient “We knew that it would be impossible to get a consensus amongst all the business leaders about what the single most important AI project was to go implement, because all of them are important to our business leaders,” Roese explained. “But our ability to implement them is limited to only a handful at a time.” Roese strongly favors the top-down approach over the “bottom-up” option. While the bottom-up approach, where a business unit creates and implements an AI project, can foster innovation and experimentation, it may lead to misaligned priorities and inefficiencies without clear oversight and direction. Roese warned that this approach “cannot happen in the organisation.” SEE: AI Market Trends: Key Insights & How Enterprises Should Adapt Return on investment to spike in 2025 According to Dell, the first wave of AI return on investment will start next year. Roese said this will come in the form of savings, revenue, margin improvement, or significant changes in outcomes and result from having figured out through experimentation over the last two years how to use AI effectively. “We have seen that most of the AI tools needed to do enterprise AI have become standardised and turnkey,” he explained. “You do not need to build your own coding assistant. You can simply buy one and implement one on premise. There is now a clear methodology for implementing AI. “And what we have learned is, if you pick the right projects and approach them the right way, there is significant business impact in terms of hard ROI dollars. And that is important because enterprises do not like going first into an area where there is no proof they will be successful.” source

Two new Google generative AI models, Veo and Imagen 3, are now available on the cloud hosting service Vertex AI. Veo generates videos, and Imagen 3 creates photos. Google proposes these models could be used in marketing, e-commerce, and more. Veo builds video from text or image prompts After companies like OpenAI experimented with video generation to mixed success earlier this year, infrastructure and processing power have caught up and made video generation more practical. Just this week, Amazon introduced a video-generation model called Amazon Nova Reels on AWS. Veo creates videos from text or image prompts and can add elements to existing videos. Google addressed common challenges in video-generation AI, such as maintaining continuity and avoiding unnatural-looking movement. This effort followed OpenAI’s February Sora demonstration, which highlighted issues such as bizarre movements, including surreal examples featuring wolves. Veo can generate images over a minute long at 1080p resolution, and longer videos can include multiple scenes generated from sequential prompts. Veo can replicate different art styles, as shown by this video, generated entirely by the model. Image: Google DeepMind Veo is available now in private preview. To get started, account holders can contact their organization’s Google Cloud account representative. More Google news & tips Imagen 3 creates photorealistic or animated-looking images Imagen 3, released in Vertex AI in a private preview in June, will be generally available “starting next week.” Imagen 3 can create realistic or stylized images from text prompts. Google said the detail, lighting, and artifact reduction have improved over Imagen’s previous generation. For marketing, Google highlighted that organizations can incorporate their own “brand, style, logo, subject or product features” into AI-generated images. That customer data is not fed back into the model to train newer iterations of Imagen. A company can insert its own product images into Imagen 3’s AI-generated content. Image: Google Cloud Google has offered a guide to working with Imagen 3 for developers. For security, Imagen 3 comes with digital watermarking, content filters, and data governance safeguards. SEE: These video production templates for Google Sheets and more could make your workflow run more smoothly. Companies offer more generative AI options, explore ROI sources Google Cloud has sold Veo and Imagen 3 on Vertex AI to various high-profile clients, who have praised the tools for rapid iteration of content using generative AI. However, generative AI giants and their customers sometimes struggle with how to derive value from the tools. Meanwhile, Google claimed that 74% of organizations with generative AI investments see ROI. However, the reception to AI-generated content hasn’t been universally positive: Coca-Cola’s November AI-generated video ad created controversy, with some consumers reacting negatively to what they perceived as a lack of creativity or authenticity. source

In his first speech on Tuesday, the new head of the U.K.’s National Cyber Security Centre warned that the country’s cyber risks are “widely underestimated.” Richard Horne, who took the position in October, says that hostile activity has “increased in frequency, sophistication and intensity,” largely from foreign actors in Russia and China. He highlighted the ransomware attacks on the British Library and pathology company Synnovis, which disrupted the NHS, illustrating a dependence on technology for knowledge access and health. “Actors are increasingly using our technology dependence against us, seeking to cause maximum disruption and destruction,” he said in the speech. SEE: 1.1 Million UK NHS Employee Records Exposed NCSC annual report saw a rise in cyber incidents in 2024 Horne’s words come on the heels of the NCSC’s Annual Review 2024, which reveals that its Incident Management team handled 430 incidents this year compared to 371 in 2023. Of these, 347 involved some form of data theft, while 20 involved ransomware. The report singles out ransomware as the most pervasive threat to U.K. businesses, especially in academia, manufacturing, IT, legal, charities, and construction. According to the NCSC, the pervasion of generative AI has been found to increase the risk of ransomware by providing “capability uplift” to attackers. Amateur attackers can use it to craft social engineering materials, analyse exfiltrated data, code, and reconnaissance, essentially lowering the barrier to entry. The NCSC’s Annual Review described 12 of the 430 incidents as “at the top end of the scale and more severe in nature,” a threefold increase over the year prior. Must-read security coverage The country is not taking cyber resilience seriously enough, Horne says “What has struck me more forcefully than anything else since taking the helm at the NCSC is the clearly widening gap between the exposure and threat we face, and the defences that are in place to protect us,” he said. “And what is equally clear to me is that we all need to increase the pace we are working at to keep ahead of our adversaries.” Indeed, research from this year has found that 87% of U.K. businesses are unprepared for cyber attacks, 99% faced one in the last year, and only 54% of U.K. IT professionals are confident in their ability to recover their company’s data after an attack. Horne added that the guidance and frameworks drawn up by the NCSC are not widely used. Ultimately, businesses need to change their perspective on cyber security from a “necessary evil” or “compliance function” to “an integral part of achieving their purpose.” State-led threats are closing in on the U.K., according to the NCSC State-led threats form a key part of both Horne’s speech and the Annual Review, as there is “no room for complacency” regarding their volume and severity. Russia This year, the NCSC and other international cyber authorities, including the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, warned about pro-Russia hacktivist attacks targeting operational technology such as smart water meters, dam monitoring systems, smart grids, and sensors for precision agriculture. Multiple instances of Russian intelligence services mandating attacks and espionage against NATO allies were also exposed. “Russian threat actors almost certainly intensified their cyber operations against Ukraine and its allies in support of their military campaign and wider geopolitical objectives,” the Annual Review reads. “Through its activities in Ukraine, Russia is inspiring non-state threat actors to carry out cyber attacks against western CNI.” China Horne calls China “a highly sophisticated cyber actor, with increasing ambition to project its influence beyond its borders.” This year it was revealed that Chinese state-sponsored attackers have compromised critical national infrastructure in the U.S. and targeted U.K. MPs and Electoral Commission. SEE: Volt Typhoon Hackers Exploit Zero-Day Vulnerability in Versa Director Servers Used by MSPs, ISPs The Review states that Iran “is developing its cyber capabilities” and “willing to target the UK to fulfill its disruptive and destructive objectives” after attacking organisations in the U.S. North Korea and Iran The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea also remains a prolific cyber threat actor, targeting cryptocurrency and defence organisations to raise funds and collect military intelligence. The NCSC believes that U.K. firms are also at risk from North Korean IT workers disguising themselves as freelancers to generate further revenue, according to the Review. Critical infrastructure is most at risk “The defence and resilience of critical infrastructure, supply chains, the public sector and our wider economy must improve” to protect against these nation-state threats, Horne said. Ian Birdsey, partner and cyber specialist at law firm Clyde & Co, told TechRepublic in an email: “The UK has increasingly become a target for hostile nations due to the redrawing of geopolitical battle lines and the rise in global conflicts in recent years. In turn, threat actors based in those territories are increasingly launching more severe and sophisticated cyberattacks on UK organisations, particularly within critical national infrastructure and its supply chain. “As these systems become more digitalised and interconnected, the pace of these threats continues to escalate. Cyberwarfare has become an ever-present feature and routine dynamic of traditional warfare.” source

TL;DR: Get lifetime access to 2TB of secure FileJump cloud storage for just $69.97, complete with future updates and no recurring fees. For business owners and professionals, managing data securely and efficiently is critical. That’s where FileJump can really deliver — a powerful and affordable cloud storage solution that offers 2TB of lifetime access. Now, through December 8, at just $69.97 (reg. $467). What’s included With this one-time purchase, you’ll not only have a hearty cloud storage platform at your disposal but also benefit from future updates. This is a great way to ensure you always have the latest tools and features without ever paying a subscription fee. FileJump guarantees 256-bit AES encryption, providing the highest level of security for your data. Whether you’re on the go or working from your desk, you’ll be able to access, sync, and share your files from anywhere with the confidence that your information is protected. Unlike some cloud storage solutions, FileJump is incredibly easy to use. The intuitive drag-and-drop interface makes uploading and managing files seamless — no need to navigate complex systems. With unlimited downloads and no transfer speed restrictions, you’ll have complete freedom to access and share your files whenever needed. This storage solution is all about making your workflow easier. Preview images, videos, and Excel documents directly on the platform without the need for downloads. When it’s time to share, simply provide access via links or set up free accounts for team members or clients. Collaboration has never been easier. Whether running a small business, managing multiple clients, or working on large creative projects, FileJump’s 2TB of storage allows you to keep your data organized and secure. And with future updates included in the deal, FileJump will continue evolving to meet your storage and collaboration needs. Don’t miss lifetime access to 2TB of secure FileJump cloud storage for just $69.97 (reg. $467). Prices and availability subject to change. source

Construction projects require managing specific components, such as materials, employees, project deadlines, and client expectations. With the right construction project management software, you can more easily complete these tasks while collaborating with your team members. In this product guide, I evaluate nine of the best construction project management software options. I’ve taken a close look at their costs, features, and pros and cons to help you determine the best software for your team. 1 monday.com Employees per Company Size Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+) Any Company Size Any Company Size Features Analytics / Reports, API, Budget / Expense Tracking, and more 2 Quickbase Employees per Company Size Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+) Small (50-249 Employees), Medium (250-999 Employees), Large (1,000-4,999 Employees), Enterprise (5,000+ Employees) Small, Medium, Large, Enterprise Features Analytics / Reports, API, Billing / Invoicing, and more 3 Contractor Foreman Employees per Company Size Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+) Micro (0-49 Employees), Small (50-249 Employees) Micro, Small Features Billing / Invoicing, Document Management / Sharing, Instant Message / Internal Message, and more Top construction project management software comparison When choosing the best construction management software for your business, you need to consider pricing as well as features. This table shows a comparison of cost and functionality for my top software picks. Scheduling Bid management Mobile app Client portal Starting price Fieldwire Yes Yes Yes No $54 per month Contractor Foreman Yes Yes Yes Yes $79 per month Jira Yes No Yes Yes $8.15 per month Confluence Yes No Yes Yes $6.05 per month Buildertrend Yes Yes Yes Yes $499 per month Houzz Pro Yes No Yes Yes $85 per month Procore Yes Yes Yes No Contact sales for pricing monday Yes No Yes Yes $9 per user per month Sage Yes Yes Yes Yes Contact sales for pricing Fieldwire: Best overall for construction project management Image: Fieldwire Fieldwire is purpose-built construction project management software designed for general contractors, specialty contractors, owners, architects and designers. It offers functionality to help plan, manage, and track construction-specific projects from start to finish, providing the necessary features for successful project delivery. Fieldwire lets users connect with their teams in real time while interacting with project tasks, uploading documents, and sharing photos. Its capabilities also include task management, checklists, punch lists, inspections, and reports. Fieldwire pricing Basic: This is a free plan with a limit of five users and three projects. Pro: $39 per user per month when billed annually, or $54 per user when billed monthly. Business: $59 per user per month when billed annually, or $74 per user when billed monthly. Business Plus: $79 per user per month when billed annually, or $94 per user when billed monthly. Enterprise: Contact the Fieldwire sales team for custom quotes. Fieldwire feature spotlight Supports real-time communication among teams for accelerated decision-making. Includes team performance tracking to ensure timely task delivery. Allows users to manage upcoming items with customizable PDF reports that can be scheduled. Includes all-inclusive features for various types of contractors, including concrete, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, interior finishing, and fire-stopping contractors. Offers platform support for 19 languages; the customer support team is fluent in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Czech, and Italian. Supports kanban boards, Gantt charts and calendar views. Figure A: Fieldwire task management. Image: Fieldwire  Fieldwire top integrations Dropbox. Google Drive. SharePoint. OneDrive. Fieldwire pros and cons Pros Cons Transparent pricing. Basic and Pro plans lack phone support. Free plan available for budget-conscious users. API access limited to the Enterprise plan. File sharing and plan viewing. Free trial must be requested. Multi-device support for Web, Android, iOS. Basic plan is limited to five users. Real-time push notifications. Limited customization for smaller contractors. Custom form creation. Onboarding can be time-consuming. Why I chose Fieldwire Fieldwire was my best overall pick for its real-time communication and custom reporting features, as well as the high level of customization available. I found Fieldwire to be an effective project management solution specifically-designed for construction as it offers a wealth of features for contractors, plumbers, HVAC, and more. In my hands-on trial of the software, its detailed task management and inspection features allowed me to stay on top of every detail, which showed me it would manage complex construction projects with ease. Contractor Foreman: Best for ease of use Image: Contractor Foreman Contractor Foreman is easy-to-use, intuitive, and user-friendly cloud-based construction project management software. It helps contractors and subcontractors manage their entire project life cycle, from estimating and bidding to project scheduling and job costing. Contractor Foreman offers a 30-day free trial and flat annual pricing options for a limited number of users. Although Contractor Foreman offers four pricing plans, the lower-tier plans include the core features most teams will need to manage their projects. Contractor Foreman pricing Basic: $49 per month, billed annually. Standard: $79 per month when billed annually, or $99 per month when billed quarterly. Plus: $125 per month when billed annually, or $155 per month when billed quarterly. Pro: $166 per month when billed annually, or $212 per month when billed quarterly. Unlimited: $249 per month when billed annually, or $312 per month when billed quarterly. Contractor Foreman feature spotlight Allows users to run an unlimited number of projects. Includes daily logs of complete project records, weather tracking and material and equipment used. Allows electronic approvals and signatures. Supports Gantt charts. Figure B: Contractor Foreman dashboard and mobile app. Image: Contractor Foreman  Contractor Foreman top integrations Google Calendar. Gusto. QuickBooks. SweetPay. Zapier. Contractor Foreman pros and cons Pros Cons 30-day free trial available. Standard plan lacks client portals. 100-day money-back guarantee. Somewhat limited integrations. Easy-to-use and intuitive user interface. Training on how the modules integrate could be improved. Designed with the needs of contractors in mind. User interface can feel outdated. Why I chose Contractor Foreman I found Contractor Foreman to be a tool that teams with several construction projects to manage would want to use, as it

Smartphone devices allow users to do much more than make phone calls. They also facilitate email communications, instant messaging, video conferencing, and many other forms of mobile communication. They offer a smart way to remain connected to business activities on the go. As a business professional, deciding which smartphone is best for managing and monitoring your business can be daunting. Let’s examine the ideal smartphones for business needs. Should you always choose from the newest phones? No. The best phone for your business is the one that most efficiently gets the work done. We’ve compared between generations, with the understanding that different features may appeal in various use cases. However, we have updated this article with the latest models. Best smartphones for business professionals in 2025 iPhone 16 Pro Max Image: Apple The iPhone 16 Pro Max has several differentiators from the previous generations, but one of the most remarkable is the battery life. Do you need a phone that can hold up to a day of filming, taking client calls, and hailing Ubers? Apple says the iPhone 16 Pro Max has enough juice for 33 hours of video playback, which is plenty of time to reduce energy anxiety even on long work days. That’s 10 more hours than the estimated battery life of the iPhone 15 Pro. The iPhone 16 Pro Max boasts an A18 Pro chip for speed. It is also the first generation of iPhone made with Apple Intelligence in mind. Writing assistance, image editing, and a chattier Siri are all baked into the design. The cameras have a host of new features, including 4K120 fps video recording, a new 48MP Ultra Wide camera, and a 5x Telephoto camera. Satellite messaging and roadside assistance (free for two years after purchase) provide safety nets on the go. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Image: Samsung The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is a high-end Android offering with 12 GB of RAM, storage of up to 1 TB, and a bright Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display. Similar to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, it’s set apart somewhat by its size, with a 6.40-inch screen that works with the S-pen stylus. Samsung says the battery provides 30 hours of video playback time. Galaxy AI brings Circle to Search, live translation, note-taking assistance, and photo editing. If photo editing is part of your business, the ProVisual Engine might be key – it rounds up all of Samsung’s AI editing tools. Google Pixel 9 Pro Image: Google Google phones are known for remarkable cameras, and the premium Pixel 9 Pro is no different. Google’s flagship Pro model brings souped-up camera options — a 50 MP main camera, 48 MP telephoto, 48 MP ultrawide, and a 42 MP front camera — and advanced photo settings. It captures 8K video, too. Built-in AI features mean you can also edit photos with unprecedented versatility — including some not found on the base model of the Pixel 9. The Pixel 9 Pro uses the Google Tensor G4 chip and has 16 GB RAM, compared with the base model’s 12 GB RAM. The Google Pixel 9 Pro comes in the XL option, measuring 6.8” instead of 6.3″. Mobility must-reads SEE: Malware targeting banking information was a popular tool for threat actors attacking mobile phones this year. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 Image: Samsung The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6’s large screen with various configuration possibilities makes it a versatile companion during business meetings or day-to-day work. If you want a device that sits between a phone and a tablet, this might be the right pick for your professional life. Samsung advertises greater durability for the most vulnerable part of the device: that stylish hinge. The screen has been slimmed down to 6.1 mm, and the display brightened compared to the previous iteration. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 runs on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy and an NPU, allowing Galaxy AI features. Samsung Galaxy A35G Image: Samsung While there are phone brands outside the big three that could work for business, it’s hard to argue with the pedigree of the most popular options. But what about a phone on a budget? Samsung offers the cost-effective A series with many of the same features as the flagship series for a fraction of the price. The Galaxy A35 5G runs on Samsung’s small but effective Exynos 1380 processor. By default, the phone comes with 6GB of memory and 128GB of storage, which can be expanded to 1 TB through a microSD slot. It includes Google’s new Circle to Search but not as many Galaxy AI capabilities as the flagship phones. The array of cameras includes a 50 MP wide-angle lens. source

Key takeaways: Cross-border payments depend on key factors such as currency conversion, country-specific and international financial regulations, and available payment methods. Interoperability among banks and other financial institutions is the major challenge for cross-border payments. Fintech innovation in digital payments continues to improve the state of cross-border transactions. Cross-border payments make global trade possible in commerce, personal finance, charitable work, and investments. As digital payment adoption grows, cross-border transactions become more efficient and accessible. What are cross-border payments? Cross-border payments refer to the transfer of funds between parties in different countries. These transactions often occur through online payment platforms, banks, or credit card networks. They typically involve additional complexities such as currency conversion, international financial regulations, and compliance with the legal frameworks of multiple jurisdictions. Types of cross-border payments Cross-border transactions can be classified according to the nature of the payor and payee: Person to person (P2P): Transfer of funds across countries between two individuals (e.g.: remittances). Person to Business (B2C): Funds that transfer from a customer in one country to a business in a different country for a commercial transaction (example: retail e-commerce, online subscriptions). Business to business (B2B): Transfer of funds across countries between business organizations (example: wholesale e-commerce). Cross-border payment methods As with local transactions, there are different ways to process cross-border payments. You can choose from credit cards, wire transfers, electronic fund transfers (EFTs), and cryptocurrencies. To further explain, the table below compares each payment method. Type Source of fund Payment platform Funding speed Processing fee Credit card Credit line E-commerce, digital wallets Instant up to 2 business days Low Wire transfers Bank deposits Interbank system 3-5 business days High EFTs (ex: e-checks, ACH) Bank deposits E-commerce, international ACH, digital wallets 2-3 business days Very low Cryptocurrency Crypto portfolio Digital wallet, crypto, and e-commerce platforms Instant Low Digital wallet In-wallet funds (ex: PayPal balance) E-commerce, digital wallets Instant up to 2 business days Low SEE: Best Online Payment Methods for Small Businesses  How do cross-border payments work? Cross-border payments works similarly to local payments but with the added elements needed to move funds to a different country, such as financial intermediaries and currency conversion. The following elements are needed to facilitate cross-border payments. Sender or payor: An individual or organization that sends funds for various purposes such as remittance, bill payments, retail or wholesale purchases, and more. Receiver or payee: An individual or organization that accepts the funds as a remittance or in exchange for goods or services. Sender and recipient banks: Where the source of funds originate on the part of the sender and will be held on the part of the recipient. Payment processor: The service that provides technology to securely share transaction data. Financial intermediaries: Networks that regulate the movements of funds across banks and countries. For card payments, these are the card networks and merchant acquirers. For bank transactions, these are global financial institutions such as Chase that partner with local banks worldwide. Cross-border payment processing in 5 steps Step 1: Sender initiates the transfer of funds by providing their payment details via a payment platform. Step 2: The payment processor encrypts the payment details, creates a payment authorization request, and sends it to the sender’s bank. Step 3: The sender’s bank confirms the availability of funds before approving the authorization request. Step 4: Once the request is approved, the payment details are sent to the financial intermediaries to verify that the transaction meets various regulatory compliance and assess other factors such as exchange rates and conversion fees. Step 5: The receiver’s bank accepts the cross-border payment proceeds in the receiver’s bank’s currency minus all the processing fees. Note that depending on the payment method, the sender may be able to pay for the cost of processing cross-border transactions. Cost of cross-border payments Businesses that accept cross-border payments should take note of the various fees involved in completing each transaction. Cross-border fees from payment processors. Some payment processors charge up to 2% in cross-border fees when there is a high payment fraud risk in the sender’s country. International payment gateway fee. Using an international payment gateway to accept cross-border payments may incur an additional monthly cost. Country taxes. Fees are imposed based on the seller’s country’s current tax framework for sales and other activities where money is transferred. Currency exchange. If your business sources products from international suppliers or hires remote employees based in other countries, your payments will be subject to currency fluctuations. SEE: Best International Payment Gateways Benefits of cross-border payments Businesses with access to cross-border payment processing, such as international retailers, wholesalers, professional consultants, subscription-based service providers, and charitable organizations, can: Grow their customer base by attracting sales from consumers around the world. Access supplier networks with more competitive pricing to reduce business costs. Choose and hire from a wider pool of potential employees with different skill sets to match your business needs. Generate additional income from conversion rates if the customer’s local currency valuation is higher than the seller’s currency. Additionally, the right international payment processor would allow businesses to manage multiple currencies and make seamless cross-border payments with easy-to-use online platforms. More about Innovation Key challenges with cross-border payments Unlike accepting local payments, cross-border transactions present unique challenges driven by the varying economic standing, political climate, and financial regulations in every country worldwide. These challenges limit interoperability and increase the cost of cross-border transactions. Exchange rate fluctuations Cross-border payments are affected heavily by unequal currency valuations, and fluctuations in exchange rates can either result in a gain or loss to your business. These exchange rate fluctuations are often unpredictable, and international companies can only manage their interest in part by keeping up-to-date with foreign exchange trends. Varying financial regulations that limit available payment methods Each country operates under its unique financial regulations. What may be considered a risky practice in the merchant’s home country might be entirely acceptable where the customer is located. This results in merchants being unable to support a customer’s popular local payment

The head of security advocacy at Datadog, a cloud-based monitoring and analytics platform, has urged enterprises in Australia and the APAC region to accelerate phasing out long-lived credentials for popular hyperscale cloud services, warning that they remain a serious data breach risk. Speaking with TechRepublic, Andrew Krug highlighted findings from Datadog’s State of Cloud Security 2024 report, which identified long-lived credentials as a persistent security risk factor. While credential management practices are improving, Krug noted they are not advancing as quickly or effectively as needed to mitigate risks. Long-lived credentials are still a big threat to cloud security The report revealed that nearly half (46%) of organisations using AWS rely on IAM users for human access to cloud environments — a practice Datadog called a form of long-lived credential. This was true even for organisations using centralised identity management to grant access across multiple systems. Moreover, nearly one in four relied solely on IAM users without implementing centralised federated authentication. According to Datadog, this highlights a persistent issue: while centralised identity management is becoming more common, unmanaged users with long-lived credentials continue to pose a significant security risk. Nearly half of organisations using AWS are still using long-lived credentials. Source: Datadog The prevalence of long-lived credentials spans all major cloud providers and often includes outdated or unused access keys. The report found that 62% of Google Cloud service accounts, 60% of AWS IAM users, and 46% of Microsoft Entra ID applications had access keys that were more than a year old. Long-lived credentials come with a significant risk of data breaches Long-lived cloud credentials never expire and frequently get leaked in source code, container images, build logs, and application artifacts, according to Datadog. Past research conducted by the company has shown they are the most common cause of publicly documented cloud security breaches. SEE: The top five cybersecurity trends for 2025 Krug said there is mature tooling in the market to ensure secrets do not end up in production environments, such as static code analysis. Datadog’s report also notes the rise of IMDSv2 enforcement in AWS EC2 instances, an important security mechanism to block credential theft. There are less long-lived credentials, but change is too slow There have been moves to mitigate the problem, such as AWS launching IAM Identity Centre, allowing organisations to centrally manage access to AWS applications. While companies are in the process of changing to the service, Krug said, “I just don’t know that everyone considers this their highest priority.” “It definitely should be, because if we look at the last 10 years of data breaches, the primary theme is that long-lived access key pairs were the root cause of those data breaches combined with overly permissive access,” he explained. “If we eliminate one side of that, we really substantially reduce the risk for the business.” The long-lived credentials problem isn’t exclusive to APAC — it’s a global issue According to Krug, APAC is no different from the rest of the world. With no regulation to control the management of long-lived credentials in the cloud in any particular jurisdiction, companies worldwide use similar approaches with similar cloud providers, often across multiple global jurisdictions. More Australia coverage What is stopping the move away from long-lived credentials? The effort required to transition teams to single sign-on and temporary credentials has slowed the adoption of these practices. Krug said the “lift and shift” involved in migrating development workflows to single sign-on can be considerable. This is partly due to the mindset shift required and partly because organisations must provide adequate support and guidance to help teams adapt. Many cloud credentials are over one year old. Source: Datadog However, he noted that tools like AWS Identity Centre, which has been available for three years, have made this transition more feasible. These tools are designed to reduce developer friction by streamlining the authentication process, minimising the need for repeated MFA sign-ins repeatedly, and ensuring that workflows remain efficient. SEE: How AI is amplifying the risks of data in the cloud “AWS Identity Centre is a great product and enables these very seamless user flows, but folks are still midstream in migrating to it,” Krug said. What should you do with your long-lived credentials? Datadog’s report warned that it is unrealistic to expect that long-lived credentials can be securely managed. The vendor recommends that companies adopt secure identities with modern authentication mechanisms, leverage short-lived credentials, and actively monitor changes to APIs that attackers commonly use. “Organisations should leverage mechanisms that provide time-bound, temporary credentials,” the report said. Workloads. For workloads, Datadog said this end can be achieved with IAM roles for EC2 instances or EKS Pod Identity in AWS, Managed Identities in Microsoft Azure, and service accounts attached to workloads for Google Cloud if the organisation uses the major global hyperscalers. Humans: For human users, Datadog said the most effective solution is to centralise identity management using a solution like AWS IAM Identity Center, Okta, or Microsoft Entra ID and avoid using individual cloud users for each employee, which it labelled “highly inefficient and risky.” source