The official blog of Stathis Kassios for Business, Media, Economics & Arts

Find below some interesting articles served from yours truly for the relaxing time-intervals between family dinners during Christmas: Digital Streaming Platforms (Netflix) vs. Hollywood - read here ''Mr. Stuber’s operation is set up to supply 55 original films a year, including some with budgets as high as $200 million. Add in documentaries and animated movies, handled by other divisions, and the number of annual Netflix film releases climbs to about 90. To compare, Universal, one of Hollywood’s most prolific traditional studios, releases roughly 30 movies a year.'' #Fintech rises in Europe - read here ''Revolut claims to have attracted 3 million users so far by offering cryptocurrency trading and money transfers at the interbank exchange rate. It also stated that it’s been opening 8,000 to 10,000 accounts daily over the last 12 months while reaching $4 billion per month in transaction volume. The startup also plans to launch commission-free sto...

Dear friends, find below some of the articles I have been reading lately which are ''hot'' in the global media and have caught my interest. You probably know that I work in the IT industry and running consulting & business development projects globally at the same time. Therefore, the topics are related to how technology is shaping the modern business environment. Do not forget to share your thoughts and comments. If you run a startup or want to promote your business venture, do not hesitate to contact me for a short interview in my blog. You are more than welcome. Blockchain explained Business consulting and funding news for companies in Greece and Cyprus M.I.T. Plans College for Artificial Intelligence, Backed by $1 Billion Why data culture matters Huawei expands its open ecosystem of premium brand partners Delivery of new services and applications to augment user experience Yours truly SK

One of the most interesting stories and exciting news I have read recently. I am curious to follow the development of BL's new disruptive business venture and the industry reaction of the existing IT status-quo. Will governments embrace an open or a totally controlled internet? Share your thoughts and comments below. ''Berners-Lee will launch Inrupt, a startup that he has been building, in stealth mode, for the past nine months. Backed by Glasswing Ventures, its mission is to turbocharge a broader movement afoot, among developers around the world, to decentralize the web and take back power from the forces that have profited from centralizing it. In other words, it’s game on for Facebook, Google, Amazon'' Read the full story here

Hosting another article for the digital transformation and the 4th Industrial Revolution, by Marina Alamanou (regional partner at FasterCapital) who gave us permission to publish in our blog space. ''During my first month as a regional partner for the FasterCapital incubator, the most common question I have received from Greek founders around Europe has been the following: “Since FC is based in Dubai how can they help me while I am based in Europe”? While my answer is that “FC is a virtual incubator”, I find myself explaining to them what it means to belong to a “virtual community living in the cloud”! Essentially a community of digital associations, interconnections and new emerging associations of people and businesses all distributed globally and crossing straight through traditional geographical, cultural and political boundaries. So, enter the 4th industrial revolution, an era that is going to be characterized by a fusion of technologies blurring the lines between the...

Was given permission by Ralf Lippold who is a friend and business partner based in Dresden (we developed networking opportunities for young entrepreneurs between Athens and Dresden a few years ago under Founders Accelerating events organized in his hometown), to re-post one of his past articles as I thought it grasps the dynamics of how technology is shaping our lives nowadays. Read below and feel welcome to share your thoughts or leave your comments: We hear it everyday in the news, " Internet of Things ", " Cyberphysical Systems ", " Smart Home ", " Connected Car " - it sounds like a marketing "war" is being pushed on us. Do we really need this new technology? Why should I care? Over five decades ago Jay W. Forrester created, more or less "forced" by several forces that came up around that time, the field system dynamics. In short system dynamics is "a computer-aided approach to policy analysis and design" ...

Across the globe, taxes on corporations plummet The Hong Kong Government has announced that it is allocating US$6.5 billion in fostering Innovation and Technology development in Hong Kong. Mary Meeker’s 2018 internet trends report: All the slides, plus analysis Mobile money in Somaliland App Traps: How Cheap Smartphones Siphon User Data in Developing Countries The Rise and Fall of Urban Economies: Lessons from San Francisco and Los Angeles (Innovation and Technology in the World Economy) Major bank CEOs say blockchain will underpin the financial industry 'in five years' Google just gave a stunning demo of Assistant making an actual phone call Defining Digital Transformation New funding programs for Greek businesses Swedish startup KRY raises €53 million to expand to France and UK Moovit partners with TRAINOSE in Greece VR/AR Dreams? Prep Yourself Now Immigrants founded and co-founded half of all the billion-dollar startups in 2016, ...

The General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR) was passed on 27 April 2016 and is mandatory for all Member States of the European Union since 25 May 2018, creating a single legal framework without the need for national legislation and by deleting existing legislation. The new regulation significantly increases the obligations of businesses, and the size of the fines are set too high on the top management agenda. Object of the General Regulation 2016/679: The establishment of a single legal framework for the processing of personal data in the Member States of the European Union, which sets out a series of restrictions and new obligations on businesses regarding: The processing of personal data throughout its life cycle, from collection to destruction  Transferability to other countries  Protecting the rights of individuals  Security (privacy, integrity, availability) of personal data  The disclosure actions that the business should do in the event of ...