We evaluated the Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) of companies that simultaneously use two order management systems (OMSes). Our research uncovered surprising findings. Our TEI focused on businesses that had a preexisting, primary OMS and then added modules of a newer, secondary OMS to fill functionality gaps. Our central question: Why — and is it worth it? For our study, we applied the Forrester Total Economic Impact methodology, which allows us to calculate the ROI of a business decision. The TEI process includes interviewing representatives from companies that have made the business change in question. Then, we aggregate the experiences of interviewees into a composite organization. Finally, we create a financial framework from the material gathered in the interviews to prove the ROI. It considers everything from hard, direct costs to labor. What did we learn? Spoiler: Pursuing a dual OMS strategy is worth it! The positive ROI has a very short break-even point (less than six months). But there are major caveats, and these results aren’t guaranteed. What we expected: Based on conversations with Forrester clients, we expected to find that organizations plan to perpetually maintain both solutions. We believed we would prove such significant benefits that the costs of maintaining both would be worthwhile. We were wrong — at least partially. Two of the most unexpected takeaways: The dual-OMS approach has a big impact on topline revenue in the pre-purchase stages. In fact, businesses that gained revenue-increasing benefits from the secondary OMS saw the most significant results. Modules that add functionality such as enterprise inventory management had the biggest impact. In fact, the modern module additions gave organizations tools to lock in sales that they previously lost due to stock inaccuracies. The dual OMS strategy allows brands to manage complicated inventory calculations and logic, such as managing “safety stock” more tightly. Organizations also served near-real-time inventory data into the shopping experience, which reduced order cancellations from overselling. Organizations unintentionally have begun a slow-motion “strangler” process. Most firms that used the dual OMS strategy initially intended to maintain both OMSes indefinitely, but businesses saw that slowly adding new modules from the second solution was as effective as a replatforming initiative but at a nondisruptive pace. That is why three of the four interviewees said they ultimately intend to incrementally replace their primary OMS with the secondary one. In addition to the considerable benefits the secondary OMS brought, interviewees realized the add-on process had inadvertently jump-started their replacement. They won’t move quickly, but with such a major step toward replacement complete, they now feel that the rest of the migration is possible. The OMS market right now is currently in flux as longer-standing systems work to modernize their architecture. Meanwhile, the vendors with open, modular architecture are developing functionality and enhanced experiences that push the market forward. In the full report, we dive into the details of how the organizations realized the ROI of their approach and how we calculated the economic benefits. We also noted the risks of attempting similar strategies due to the varying needs of digital businesses. To learn more, read the full report here. Have questions or need support about how to embark on a dual-system strategy in OMS or commerce? Please book a guidance session with me! source

Europe’s space launch industry reopened for business today when the Ariane 6 heavy rocket lifted off at 17:24 CET from a spaceport in French Guiana. Originally scheduled for December, the Ariane 6 mission was delayed first to February 26 and subsequently to March 3 due to issues in transporting the satellite to the launchpad. However, just minutes before Monday’s launch, engineers identified an “anomaly” in one of the refuelling pipes, postponing the launch further. Finally, Ariane 6 had its first successful commercial launch today. The milestone came seven months after the rocket’s maiden flight, which restored sovereign access to space for Europe.  Ariane 6 carried CSO-3, a French military spy satellite capable of taking high resolution images of Earth. The probe is the final piece of a three-satellite system designed to improve France’s ability to monitor global activities from space. The first two probes were launched aboard Russian Soyuz rockets in 2018 and 2020. TNW Conference – The 2025 Agenda has just touched down Discover the insightful and dare we say controversial sessions that will take place June 19-20. Since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, Europe has been unable to access Soyuz rockets. Meanwhile, the retirement of the Ariane 5 in 2023 and delays to the new Vega-C small-launch vehicle left the continent without independent access to space. Europe was forced to rely on Elon Musk’s SpaceX for over a year. The Ariane 6 mission In 2023, Europe completed only three successful orbital launches — its lowest total since 2004. The US, meanwhile, had 109 — the most a single country has ever made. However, with Ariane 6 now up-and-running and Vega-C having launched in December, things are looking up for Europe’s space capabilities. And it’s not just publicly-funded missions that are on track. German startup Isar Aerospace is ready to blast Europe’s first privately-funded rocket in orbit from Andøya Spaceport in Norway, pending regulatory signoff. Isar is one of several startups like PLD Space and Rocket Factory Augsburg looking to provide a local alternative to SpaceX. Both of those companies are also set to launch for the first time this year.  The progress of European rocket startups — and veterans like Arianespace and Avio (the company behind Vega-C) — couldn’t come at a better time. European states have long sought to strengthen their security autonomy, a priority that has gained renewed urgency following the Trump administration’s thawing relations with Russia. However, Europe might not be able to replace SpaceX altogether. Ariane 6, unlike SpaceX rockets, is not reusable. And while Europe is fostering private companies with reusable, light-lift rockets, it likely won’t have a reusable heavy-lift option until the 2030s, when a successor to Ariane 6 may emerge.  Nevertheless, while not a panacea for Europe’s autonomy in space, the boost in local capabilities is still good news for the region’s broader space tech sector. “The increased access [to space] will no doubt accelerate the pace of innovation and deployment of new space technologies in Europe,” Mark Boggett, the CEO of investment firm Seraphim Space, previously told TNW.  The progress could also yield immense financial rewards. McKinsey and the World Economic Forum expect the global space economy to rise from $630 billion in value in 2023 to $1.8 trillion by 2035. Update (7:45PM CET, March 6, 2025): This article has been updated to show that the launch was successful. source

Which should come first, the plan to adopt AI or an assessment of the available resources an enterprise has to support AI? Is it better to develop AI in-house or turn to third parties? What third-party resources should enterprises look to in order to deliver on their AI plans? In the final week of “The Cost of AI” series, the focus shifts to practical ideas to advance plans for AI. Organizations might feel compelled to acquire top-tier AI resources or search for only the most elite AI professionals to enact their strategies for AI, but that might not make efficient use of an enterprises actual resources. It might not even be realistic. How should companies structure their AI strategies in order to deliver positive ROI? How should short- and long-term plans be mapped out? What can companies do to stay on budget when pursuing AI? How can they determine a rational budget for the scope of their plans? What happens if they realize they cannot achieve their goals within that budget? In this episode of DOS Won’t Hunt, Fred Sala, chief scientist at Snorkel AI; Becky Carroll, partner, IBM Consulting Global – AWS strategic partnership lead for data and AI; Charles Xie, CEO and founder of Zilliz; Srujan Akula, CEO of The Modern Data Company; and Deepak Singh, vice president of developer experience at AWS, discussed these and other questions to bring some clarity and efficiency to AI strategies. source

By Matt Perez ( March 11, 2025, 3:52 PM EDT) — Sullivan & Cromwell LLP announced Tuesday the hiring of a former deputy director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition as a partner in its Palo Alto, California, office…. Law360 is on it, so you are, too. A Law360 subscription puts you at the center of fast-moving legal issues, trends and developments so you can act with speed and confidence. Over 200 articles are published daily across more than 60 topics, industries, practice areas and jurisdictions. A Law360 subscription includes features such as Daily newsletters Expert analysis Mobile app Advanced search Judge information Real-time alerts 450K+ searchable archived articles And more! Experience Law360 today with a free 7-day trial. source

To explore workers’ views of AI use in the workplace, we asked about their broad attitudes on how AI may be used in the future and how it will affect their job opportunities in the long run. How workers feel about AI use in the workplace About half of workers (52%) say they feel worried about how AI may be used in the workplace in the future. Just over a third (36%) say they feel hopeful about this, 33% feel overwhelmed and 29% feel excited. Workers’ views vary by age, education and income levels. Even so, feelings of worry tend to cut across these groups. Differences by age Workers ages 18 to 49 are more likely than those ages 50 and older to say they feel excited about future AI use (32% vs. 24%). About half of workers or more across age groups say they feel worried about the use of AI in the workplace, but the youngest workers are most likely to say they feel overwhelmed: 40% of workers ages 18 to 29 say this, compared with about three-in-ten among older age groups. Differences by education Workers with at least a bachelor’s degree are more likely than those with less education to say they’ve heard of workplace AI use (91% vs. 76%). They are also more likely to say they feel each of the following about its future use: Worried (57% vs. 48%) Hopeful (44% vs. 30%) Overwhelmed (36% vs. 30%) Excited (38% vs. 23%) Differences by income Across income levels, workers in the upper income tier are the most likely to say they feel: Hopeful (45% vs. 35% among middle-income workers and 30% among lower-income workers) Excited (39% vs. 28% and 24%) Differences across income groups on feelings of worry and overwhelm are either small or not statistically significant. Workers’ views on how AI will affect their job opportunities Relatively few workers think that workplace AI use will improve their job prospects in the future – only 6% say it will lead to more opportunities for them in the long run. About a third (32%) say it will lead to fewer opportunities for them, and a similar share (31%) say it will not make much difference. Some 13% say they are not sure, and 17% have not heard of workplace AI use. A couple of key demographic groups stand out as being less concerned about the impact AI will have on their future job prospects. Workers with a postgraduate degree: 24% say AI use will lead to fewer job opportunities for them in the future. This compares with 35% of workers who have a bachelor’s degree and 33% of those with some college or less education. About half of workers with a postgraduate degree (48%) say this won’t make much difference for them. Upper-income workers: 26% say AI use will lead to fewer job opportunities for them in the future. Larger shares of middle-income (33%) and lower-income (37%) workers say the same. A substantial share of upper-income workers (44%) say this won’t make much of a difference for them. Differences by AI use AI users are more likely than non-AI users to say workplace AI use will impact their job prospects – leading to either fewer (42% vs. 30%) or more (15% vs. 5%) job opportunities for them in the long run. In turn, non-AI users are more likely than AI users to say AI will not make much difference in their job opportunities (33% vs. 28%). Among non-AI users, 21% have not heard about AI use in the workplace. Differences by industry Not surprisingly, workers’ views on how AI will affect their own job opportunities in the long run differ across industries. Workers in the following industries are among the most likely to say AI use will lead to more job opportunities for them: Information and technology (16% say this) Banking, finance, accounting, real estate or insurance (11%) source

在飲食業有25年豐富經驗的Namnam餐廳經理Andy Lai 認為，由於目前飲食業經營困難，所以需要絞盡腦汁以出奇制勝 。他認為，堅持25年的宗旨就是「禮貌及招呼」。而且，餐廳的地理位置也重要，如目前這間餐廳受惠啟德體育園帶旺啟德附近生意。Airside商場為寵物友善空間，廣受愛寵人士歡迎，Namnam越南餐廳由正宗越南廚師團隊主理，呈現道地越式風味。 另外，食物質素和性價比高也很重要。餐廳提供的下午茶menu 在同區勝人一籌，如越南特色拼盤二人餐只需要138元，便有越南春卷、扎肉蒸粉包、香茅雞翼、堤岸蔗蝦及豬肉蝦片。 其餘特色招牌菜，包括具有越南特色的豬頸肉撈檬 $58、會安雞配香茅椰香飯 $78、咖喱牛肋條配白飯$78等。 LinkedIn Email Facebook Twitter WhatsApp source

According to Pitchbook News, 35.7% of venture capital investments in 2024 were made in AI and ML startups, which isn’t surprising given Big Tech’s investment in the same space. Meanwhile, EY reported that in Q4 2024, AI startups represented 60% of investments. While AI will continue to be a major focus area, under the Trump administration, there’s a more bullish attitude about crypto, so some VCs are adding those companies to their portfolios while others are investing in space tech and ESG.  “If you increasingly think about agents interacting with one another without necessarily humans in the loop, you need to have a payment layer that is as scalable as millions of agents. [This is] the biggest promise in what’s happening on the crypto front,” says Pascal Unger, managing partner of pre-seed VC firm focal.   He also says software is moving from, or has moved from, a system of engagement to a system of intelligence. That system of intelligence enables AI-powered automation that is accelerating the pace of business.  “One of the ways that we’ve added to our diligence is trying to understand the current AI tech stack that founders are leveraging, what all they’ve tried and how much people lean into constantly getting better and trying experimenting. Understanding why [founders] chose a certain tech stack says a lot about people’s willingness to lean into these things, which will eventually, at least we believe, translate into faster speed.”  Related:Top IT Insights 2025: Navigating the Future of Tech Execution speed is critical, so software abstraction enables founders and their teams to get to market faster with solutions.   “You move from incredibly in the weeds into a manager and orchestrator of different tools, and you spend a lot more time on oversight and thinking and structuring things so that’s changed,” says firms Unger. “I won’t be surprised if we get a useful warm up period for new products where it needs to get to know us, basically, and it gets better over the first three to six months. That will become a normal thing down the road. We [also] believe in the importance of nailing distribution. If you want to build a differentiator product from the start, you now need to nail the distribution even earlier.”  Pascal Unger, focal Pascal Unger, focal That approach results in faster early-stage growth, such as going from zero to more than $10 million in less than a year. Unger says that just three years ago, that sort of company performance would have been an outlier.  Hemant Mohapatra, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, expects 2025 to be a lot like 2024, but the target segments will shift. As AI foundational layers stabilize and the winners become more apparent, the next phase will focus more on middleware and application startups.   Related:Tech Company Layoffs: The COVID Tech Bubble Bursts “At Lightspeed we have been very active globally across the AI stack — foundation models, data, middleware, both horizontal and vertical apps, as well as AI enabled services,” says Mohapatra. “Our investment strategy remains the same: Find the most compelling founders with clear right to win in their categories and find and back them no matter which part of the world they come from.”  Mohapatra sees a lot of potential in AI and gaming in terms of creating immersive worlds dynamically, non-player characters with advanced conversational capabilities and personalized gameplay.    “We are also very early in LLMs controlling various software tools to get complex jobs done and we will see a few mind-boggling demos here in 2025,” says Mohapatra. “I also expect consolidation across the middleware layer — LLMs or scaled out AI companies looking to vertically integrate across data, tool orchestration or memory infrastructure.”   Daniel Kang, CEO and co-founder of Y-Combinator backed startup Flowbo and former VC at SoftBank Vision Fund expects the proportion of VC investments in AI to likely increase over time for a few reasons   Related:Winning the War Against Social Media Disinformation “Most of the AI discussion is not just about the technology, but its position as a platform. Foundational model companies like Anthropic and OpenAI have made it easy for anyone to use their technology to build on top of it,” says Kang. “It’s akin to Apple creating a mobile platform powered through the iOS for others to build apps, shifting the platform from desktop to mobile. That’s why many ‘wrapper’ companies will continue to emerge.”  Meanwhile, models are improving by the day, which is creating more opportunities for startups. However, the complexities will likely require greater precision, which is probably why many middle layers already exist between the foundational models and applications.   “On top of that, intense competition among model providers like OpenAI and Anthropic is creating a downward pricing pressure to provide compute at cost,” says Kang. “APIs costs have already been revised several times to be cheaper, while their app products, ChatGPT and Claude, have remained the same.”  He expects general purpose application as “wrappers” to lose their edge as models improve and companies require more specialized solutions for specific tasks or functions. That probably will mean verticalization and the middle layers adapting general models for specific requirements.   “For apps specifically, the primary differentiation will likely be around distribution and brand more than technology, as the models improve and costs fall,” says Kang. “Foundational models and middle layers will probably continue to differentiate through tech. While the timing is unclear, the rise of middle layers seems imminent.”  Where Else Money Is Flowing  Viktor Shpakovsky, general partner at the Beyond Earth Technologies VC firm thinks space tech is a smarter bet than AI or crypto.  “AI and crypto have dominated headlines, but both sectors are showing signs of overinflation and speculative hype. Meanwhile, space tech is emerging as the most promising industrial growth sector, driven by government backing, geopolitical competition and technological breakthroughs,” says Shpakovsky. “With Trump [in] office, defense and space budgets are set to increase dramatically. Elon Musk and SpaceX continue to push commercial space forward at an unprecedented pace. At

However, smooth integration does not guarantee seamless execution. Successfully embedding agentic AI into an enterprise platform requires careful alignment with security, governance, and compliance standards, according to Abhivyakti Sengar, practice director at Everest Group. “Additionally, ServiceNow must ensure Moveworks’ AI enhances, rather than disrupts, existing customer workflows,” Sengar said. “Moreover, as regulatory scrutiny of AI and large-scale tech acquisitions intensifies, ServiceNow will need to demonstrate that this deal fosters innovation and competition rather than consolidating market power.” Despite such concerns over AI regulation, the deal is unlikely to attract major antitrust scrutiny due to Moveworks’ relatively modest market footprint. “Although Moveworks is considered a leader in the enterprise assistance space, its $100 million+ annual revenue is probably not enough to invite monopoly or trade scrutiny compared to the likes of OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, Google, or other behemoths that have billions of dollars in revenue or billions of dollars in funding,” Park said. source

TL;DR: Don’t miss out on your dream job in a competitive market just because your resume isn’t optimized for ATS filters when you use ResumeFromSpace. As the job market heats up, don’t let your resume get tossed in the digital trashcan by robots — make role-specific resumes optimized for AI-powered applicant tracking bots when you use ResumeFromSpace, and a lifetime subscription is now discounted 75% to $59.99. Some industry insiders claim up to three out of four resumes don’t make it past these digital gatekeepers. Make sure yours is one of the one in four. Of course, ResumeFromSpace is also AI. AI isn’t the enemy in job searching — it’s a tool you can use just as much as hiring managers. It’s a real case of if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em when it comes to using AI tools to make resumes that are optimized for AI applicant tracking programs. But it helps to think of it as a compatibility solution. Hiring managers have moved to using more digital screening tools. It’s up to you to show you’re equally flexible and tech-savvy by using AI tools like those in ResumeFromSpace, including: Resume builder for ATS standards: Generate a resume designed to be ATS-friendly instantly when you provide your experience and in-demand skills. Smart recommendations: Optimize wording and structure, as well as clarify your intentions. Cover letter generator: Generative AI can take the information from your resume and help you craft a cover letter from scratch. Keyword optimization: Which words are the ATS bots scanning for? Keyword optimization can help you integrate these words naturally throughout your resume to rank it higher. Customizable templates: Modern designs you can customize and edit easily with an AI-powered layout. If you already have a resume crafted, try out the Resume Scanner, a tool where you can upload it, get it scored for ATS matching, and get suggestions on improving it. Directly import info from your upload to start a new resume with ResumeFromSpace as well. Make the most of your lifetime subscription by taking advantage of unlimited resumes, unlimited revisions, and unlimited downloads. The subscription comes with 1000 extra AI credits to fund each AI move you make. Get by the AI job filters with ResumeFromSpace, now just $59.99. StackSocial prices subject to change. source

Hospitality scaleup Mews, based at TNW City in Amsterdam, has secured $75mn in its third major cash injection of the last year. The round follows a raise of $100M in credit financing in September and a $110mn equity round in March 2024 — when the startup became a unicorn. In total, Mews has bagged over $500mn to date, making it one of the Netherlands’ most cash-flooded scaleups. Mews was founded in 2012 by Richard Valtr, an ex-hotelier on a mission to transform the way hotels do business. “Digital transformation is challenging for many hospitality brands because too many run their systems with legacy, on-premise technology,” Valtr previously told TNW. Mews has built a cloud-based system that helps hotels and other hospitality businesses handle tasks like booking rooms, checking guests in and out, processing payments, and managing housekeeping. It also provides tools for reporting and analytics. The company is riding sustained growth in global travel to fuel its expansion. Mews reported 50% year-on-year growth in 2024, processing more than $10bn in payments volume and surpassing $200mn in revenue. It has also acquired 12 companies in total at it looks to swallow up market share. The most recent acquisitions include Sweden’s Atomize, a cloud-based revenue management system for hotels, and Germany’s HS/3 Hotelsoftware. The 💜 of EU tech The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol’ founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It’s free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now! Mews plans to continue its shopping spree, aiming for up to four acquisitions in 2025. Fuelled by fresh funding, it’s also looking to expand its presence in the US. It’s no surprise then that the main investor in this latest capital raise was American investment firm Tiger Global. “Tiger Global is a compelling partner for the next chapter of our journey,” said Valtr. “Their experience with high-growth technology companies and category winners in the US, including Toast, Procore and ServiceTitan, is invaluable as we continue to expand our footprint, accelerate innovation, and pursue strategic acquisitions.” source