TTIMES WORLD: Today's News Report

Saturday, June 10, 2023
Washington, DC, USA


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Technology and Consumer Engagement
Latest Trend To Watch

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NASHVILLE, TN In Partnership with the Nashville Health Care Council

This fall, experience the nexus of consumer satisfaction and targeted technology. During AHIP’s Consumer Experience & Digital Health Forum, in partnership with the Nashville Health Care Council, discover how smart technology and consumer-focused strategies can advance affordability, value, and customer satisfaction.

You’ll take home timely ideas, partnership prospects, and digital tools that can optimize your organization’s collaboration and connectivity.

Next Generation Trends are:

Next Generation Consumer Engagement and Branding
Leveraging Data Analytics and Insights
Technologies and Tools for Connected and Collaborative Care
Infrastructure and Business Model Innovation
Reaching Consumers at Work: Transformation of Employer Health Benefits
The conference also includes a 50+ company exhibit hall showcasing the latest products and services that are helping health plans succeed.

In Partnership with the Nashville Health Care Council

Getting the Technology Edge
What works Best

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Legal teams in the Technology, Media & Entertainment and Telecommunications (TMT) sectors can set an example for the rest of the business to follow.

In brief
  • By incorporating new technologies legal teams can move faster and become more agile.
  • Outsourcing routine work to managed-service providers can save money and improve speed and consistency.

How EY can help

Legal Managed Services

Legal departments under growing pressure are re-thinking how work is done and by whom. The EY legal managed services team customizes and supports technology and data-driven processes designed to control costs, better mitigate risk, and deliver value to the business.

Read more

Competing in the TMT sector requires speed. New products and services must be brought to market rapidly, technology must be developed and deployed with urgency and relationships with partners and suppliers must be forged with haste.

Legal teams, unfortunately, are not renowned for their dynamism and agility. Sales teams are known to grumble about a perceived lack of urgency when legal is reviewing a contract and product teams complain that their innovation is stifled by bureaucratic compliance procedures. Moreover, those trying to drive expansion into new markets fear getting bogged down by local regulations.

In their defense, for many years, legal departments have been asked to do more with less. This has meant that simply getting the job done has taken precedence over speed and innovation. According to the EY report Why the legal function must be reimagined for the digital age, the majority of legal teams reported a large or moderate increase in demand placed on them over the past five years. In parallel, 72% of TMT companies planned to reduce legal-function costs over the next 24 months ‒ and that was before COVID-19 struck. The economic fallout of the pandemic is likely to put even more pressure on legal departments to control costs, while the volume of work will likely remain high.

But despite these circumstances, these is a perception across many TMT businesses that their legal teams could act faster. Here are four ways that legal teams can shed this reputation, and instead be viewed as beacons of dynamism.

Do more. Spend less.

00%

of TMT companies planned to reduce legal-function costs over the next 24 months.

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Chapter 1

Deploy new technology

Enhance your efficiency and effectiveness through strategic use of technology solutions.

By utilizing new technology, and effectively integrating it into workflows, legal teams can move faster. Take the example of reviewing and generating contracts. By deploying sophisticated automation and contract-management and analytics technology, contracts can be created and reviewed faster and more accurately than they can by lawyers. It can also flag potential anomalies for supervisors to scrutinize.

But technology by itself is not enough. Strict governance around how the technology is used must be established to maximize the benefits. The technology must also integrate with wider workflows, such as how the legal team receives instructions from the business.

Get this right and technology can deliver tremendous benefits. For example, by installing and heavily customizing a legal technology platform, a telecoms company that the EY organization worked with managed to reduce average contracting time from 45 to 31 days, customer churn by 7% and bad debt by a third because it was better able to enforce its contractual positions.

Speed and accuracy aside, this technology lowers costs and frees up lawyers’ time for more complex, high-value and ultimately fulfilling work. These benefits should not be overlooked. The majority of TMT legal departments face challenges in attracting and retaining top talent.1 This is, in part, because around a quarter of lawyers’ time is spent conducting routine compliance and low-value tasks. Automating these tasks can therefore go some way to overcoming legal departments’ talent challenges.

Many general counsels (GC) are already aware of the tremendous improvements that technologies like this can deliver, but they have not yet fully deployed them. Indeed, 63% of TMT businesses say that the legal function has not benefited from innovation as much as other functions.2

Budgetary concerns can be a major obstacle to technology investment. It is therefore up to the GC to make the case to senior leadership that technology can deliver significant value for the entire business.

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Chapter 2

Find the right person (or machine) for the right job

Ensure that your talent is deployed in ways that is rewarding for them and your company.

As mentioned earlier, around a quarter of legal teams’ time is devoted to routine activities that are way below the pay grade of highly qualified lawyers. In addition to automation, these lower-value activities can be outsourced to alternative legal-service providers or contract specialists who are experts in this area. This type of work can also be consolidated into a shared or managed-services delivery model. In addition to saving money, these approaches can improve speed and consistency.

The EY organization has recently helped a telecoms company do exactly this. The business was experiencing frequent bottlenecks in finalizing sales and procurement contracts because many were bespoke. They also lacked a structured contract-review process, which added complexity, inconsistency and, ultimately, delays that led to a loss of business. After learning about the client’s business requirements, we helped redesign and simplify the contracting process before going on to serve as the point of contact for internal business stakeholders. Over time, we’ve further customized the process and undertaken similar work for other types of contracts.

The result? Through outsourcing this type of work, the client reduced average time to contract to one day for nondisclosure agreements and three to five days for more complex contracts. It also cut costs associated with this process by 65%.  

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Chapter 3

Unlock the hidden value in contract data

Deploy intelligent analytics to uncover the rich insights that help drive growth.

Many GCs would be content if they managed to improve speed, enhance accuracy and cut costs by using technology and outsourcing in the ways described above. But they can go a step further. Genuinely pioneering legal leaders have realized that there is tremendous value to the business in the data that are stored in sales, supply and other contracts that are at the legal team’s disposal – and are exploring ways to extract it. The TMT sector in particular is replete with complex business-to-business contracts with significant revenue under contract, so having on-demand insight into contractual obligations and opportunities is critical for driving business value.

For providers of cloud services, for example, contract analytics on service-level agreement provisions can provide legal and business stakeholders with insights into service-quality obligations and incentives, including the financial risks and rewards associated with their performance across their customer base in real time. In the event of an outage, a capability like this allows for rapid assessment of the financial impact to the company in the form of rebates or service credits, an exercise that might otherwise take days or weeks of manual effort.

Mature processes and robust technology can also enable legal teams to spot patterns in their contract negotiations and identify opportunities to remove friction from the deal process. If a template position rarely makes it into a final contract intact or its negotiation is shown to be consistently slowing down deals, it may signal a need to revisit the starting position or align more closely with the business on pre-contracting go-to-market activities.

By utilizing data that they already have, these legal teams are not only accelerating contracting speed, but also adding value to the business in previously unimagined ways.

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Chapter 4

Choose the right international partner

Pick a partner with the expertise to empower your global expansion.

Many TMT companies are aggressively expanding into new markets, acquiring new businesses and divesting non-core assets. In order to seize these opportunities, legal teams need to move quickly. This means working with partners that have expertise in a number of key regions.

Not doing so can result in local laws being overlooked (e.g., data-privacy regulations, which slow down the pace at which companies can begin operating in a new market). A lack of local knowledge could also lead to revenue leakage or increased risk exposure if change-of-control implications in consumer or supplier contracts are overlooked following a merger and acquisition event.

It’s also beneficial to work with partners that have a broad range of skill sets, especially covering legal and tax. For instance, some TMT businesses are shifting the location of their intellectual property in response to heightened geopolitical tensions. There are important tax and legal implications in doing this that need to be considered carefully.

“MTN HOME” To Offer Affordable Internet Services To Customers
MTN Ghana has launched a home internet service dubbed MTN HOME to offer affordable internet services to Customers in their homes.

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MTN Home is an unparalleled broadband service that provides high-speed internet access, facilitating live streaming, video- on-Demand, and home internet automation services ensuring that subscribers truly receive the benefits of a connected world.

MTN Home offers cheaper data, video and voice services to families. The service is currently available to customers nationwide.

Commenting on the MTN Home Service, the Chief Marketing Officer for MTN Mr. Noel Kojo- Ganson said, “the COVID- 19 pandemic has facilitated Work -from- Home, Online Schooling, Webinars and E-Commerce and it takes access to fast and reliable internet service to make these possible”.



“As a network that is working towards leading the delivery of a bold new digital world for customers, we believe that every home and office deserves to experience the benefit of a modern connected life and that is the driving force behind MTN Home service”. We continue to invest in technology solutions that will enable our Customers enjoy the best value propositions”, he added.

Data offers on the MTN HOME service can be accessed by dialing *5057#. Customers can check the availability of the MTN Home service in their locality by visiting the MTN Ghana website on www.mtn.com or calling 0244308111.

The launch of MTN Home adds to the catalogue of other products and services designed by MTN to offer fast and reliable broadband services to Customers.

About MTN Ghana
MTN Ghana is the market leader in the increasingly competitive mobile telecommunications industry in Ghana, offering subscribers a range of exciting options under Pay Monthly and Pay As You Go Services and Mobile Financial Services.


The company has committed itself to delivering reliable and innovative services that provide value for subscribers in Ghana’s telecommunications market. Since its entry into Ghana in 2006, MTN has continuously invested in expanding and modernizing its network in order to offer superior services to a broad expanse of the nation.

Send your news stories to newsghana101@gmail.com and via WhatsApp on +233 244244807

How To Chose the Best Medical Alert System
What the Top Providers Share

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How We Chose the Best Medical Alert Systems

One of the challenges of selecting the best medical alert companies is that, particularly on the surface, many of the deals appear similar. To get past this confusion, we identified several traits that the top providers share.

Monitoring Plans

Nearly all companies offer customers the choice of landline or cellular service for in-home monitoring as well as mobile devices equipped with GPS location tracking. Across the industry, it was common to see surcharges for fall detection, wellness calls and other premium features. If you’re interested in these services, be sure to add $5-$10 to the monthly fee per item when comparing plans.

Response Times

Comparing response times is one of the most effective ways to evaluate service quality. Some providers answered help calls in less than 20 seconds while others took as long as seven minutes. When determining service quality, we looked for companies with multiple U.S.-based call centers and professional operators who have received specialized training.

Reviews and Qualifications

Subscriber satisfaction is another important consideration. We cut one provider from our list because customers had trouble getting their money back after trying the service. Industry certifications from organizations such as Underwriters Laboratories and The Monitoring Association also gave us insight into the provider’s service quality.

Equipment Features

While many providers use nearly identical base units and pendants, we noticed some differences in the product’s battery life and signal range. We also considered the system’s audio quality, weight and appearance while giving preference to devices that were easy to use and maintain.

Ethics

Deceptive pricing schemes and hidden charges booted several companies off our list of contenders. Nearly all of our top picks have monthly service agreements with no long-term commitment, and many offer a 30-day money-back guarantee that gives customers an opportunity to try the service.

In addition to using the above criteria to select the top medical alert companies, we ranked the top twenty providers based on thirty different factors. Each company was awarded a star rating based on this analysis. For more information on our ranking process and the metrics used, read “A Full Explanation of Our Ranking Methodology.”

Ten Best Weight Loss Foods
Start Eating and Living Slim

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1. Egg Whites: This is a favorite of many natural body builders and fitness models because it’s 100% pure protein, containing 4 grams of protein, 0 grams of carbs and fat, and only 16 total calories. Want 10 egg whites for breakfast? Sure why not, it’s only 160 calories and will fill you up.

2. Low Fat Yogurt: Low fat yogurt is a great way to get a compete protein source, a lot of calcium, and a nice tart flavor to help satisfy your cravings. There are a variety of yogurts, but I would go for those that are not too high in added sugars. For example, it’s better to get plain yogurt and add in the fruit yourself.

3. Low-Sodium Turkey. Turkey without the skin is among the lowest fat meats available on the market. To cap it off, it’s also pretty easy to eat on the go. Want to eat 8 ounces of turkey breast? Why not, it’s only about 240 calories and packs a protein punch. I recommend removing the skin, which is all fat, but if you have the skin, just eat in moderation.

4. Apple: This is a favorite of mine, because it’s easy to carry around and eat on the go, but it’s also very nutritious and high in fiber, so it helps fill you up. An apple contains 24 grams of carbs, 3 of them being from fiber, and around 80 calories in a medium sized apple.

5. Lettuce. While lettuce is not that high in fiber, it requires more calories for your digestive system to digest than the lettuce contains. Pretty cool, huh? This is known as a negative calorie balance.

6. Low-Sodium Chicken/Vegetable Soup. Similar to lettuce, drinking soup at a meal can slow you down, which helps your brain register that you are full. It also helps fill you up and is very low in calories because most broth based soups are low in fat, assuming they haven’t been doused in oil. Like lettuce, you can throw in a lot of veggies and lean meats to make it more nutritious and filling.

7. Almonds. While very calorically dense, almonds snuck onto the list because healthy fats are great in moderation, and almonds are among the best healthy fats. An almond is technically the seed of the fruit of the almond tree and is a great source of vitamin E and manganese.

8. Oatmeal. I love oatmeal because it’s filling, but doesn’t provide many calories. My favorite oatmeal is Kashi Go Lean vanilla, which only has 160 calories per serving, but you’ll be amazed at how much it fills you up because it has 6 grams of fiber.

9. Low-Sodium Tuna. There’s a joke that many natural bodybuilders smell like tuna fish, because they are always eating cans of tuna all day long. The tuna you get at the Deli that’s filled with mayo does NOT count. In fact, mayo is a fat loss disaster, because it’s so calorically dense.

10. Broccoli I never used to eat broccoli as a kid, but fortunately I started eating broccoli after college and I developed a taste for it (as long as it’s steamed, I can’t stand raw broccoli!). Feel free to add it to your salads, or as a side with your lean meat, but you can’t go wrong with broccoli. Well, actually, let me clarify that.

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