EDITOR ’ S NOTE
CATHERINE DARWEN , EDITOR
Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Intelligent Fin . tech . I hope you had a lovely month and enjoy this newest issue . For our cover story this month we feature Lorenzo Villa , Head of Digital Channels and Team Leader , Touchpoints IT , at Credem Banca . Founded in 1910 in Emilia- Romagna , Italy , Credem Banca is one of Italy ’ s most reputable retail banks . It focuses mainly on consumers , private banking and small businesses . Recently , it started to respond to the challenges posed by Open Banking and digital banking by improving its online banking services .
To do this , the bank enlisted Applause , a world leader in testing and digital quality services . Applause scouted out testers from across Italy – who had already Credem bank accounts – and trialled the app at scale , providing real-time feedback for the bank so it could make sure its new platform would meet customer expectations .
The launch was a success and Credem experienced increased mobile application adoption and usage across its customer base . On page 48 , Villa tells us more about the company ’ s partnership with Applause .
Increasing productivity is only one way automation is aiding businesses . It can also be very successful in preventing cyberattacks . We hear more from Derek Manky , Chief Security Strategist & VP Global Threat Intelligence , Fortinet , on page 32 , about the company ’ s threat predictions for 2023 and how companies can use technology – like automation – to stop attacks before they even start .
Planning is a key theme in this month ’ s issue , with our Regional Review focusing on the UAE ’ s new Corporate Tax . On page 44 , Armin Moradi , Co-founder and CEO at Qashio , goes into detail , telling us how businesses in the UAE can best financially plan in light of the new Corporate Tax . He also speaks to us about how these companies can use technology to manage spending efficiently .
Chequing Out takes a slightly different approach , on page 67 , highlighting the struggles SMEs can face in the industry . Companies are facing an evergrowing compliance burden as regulations increase and with skilled talent hard to come by , finance teams are trying to do more with less . Businesses in the SME bracket will potentially feel this more than larger corporations who may have bigger , better-equipped finance teams . Adam Zoucha , MD EMEA at FloQast , talks to us about this and how automation will only help these small businesses thrive .
We also have a range of ‘ intelligent ’ pages , which feature the latest in the cloud , security , mobile , software , blockchain and Artificial Intelligence .
I hope you enjoy this issue and if you would like to contribute to any future editions then please do not hesitate to contact me .
Catherine Darwen , Editor
On page 17 , we explore women in the finance markets . For years , a woman operating in the financial markets was someone unique . However , in recent years , there has been a dynamic change and women investors is increasing year by year . XTB Group tells us more .
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