The best business innovations of 2014

Introduction and innovations 1-4There's no question that 2014 was a year of great innovation for business technology. From faster airport security screening, to longer lasting smartphones and much easier mobile payments at retail, these advancements helped to make business life more productive.1. CLEAR airport passOne of the great challenges for business travel is getting through airports faster, making your flight, and getting to your meeting on time. In 2014, we saw the introduction of the CLEAR pre-screening system. With CLEAR, you can bypass the security line and, using a biometric scanner for your fingerprint or iris, walk directly through the metal detectors.The innovation is important because of how much it expanded. It's installed at airports in San Francisco, San Jose, Denver, Orlando, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Westchester. Miami and Los Angeles will also get the upgrade soon.2. Long lasting batteries2014 was the year smartphones finally started lasting longer, although we're still waiting for phones that last all week. The first sign of good news came from a company called StoreDot in April when they posted a video that showed how a smartphone could charge up in 30 seconds. It's not available for the masses, but it proved prescient when the Motorola Droid Turbo debuted, a phone that also charges up quickly (you can get eight hours of charge in only 15 minutes) but even more importantly lasts much longer using a massive 3,900mAh battery with a longevity of 48 hours per charge.The Samsung Galaxy Alpha is a much slimmer, lighter phone that accomplishes a similar feat using an "ultra" power-saving mode that turns the screen black and white and disables apps, but pumps out another two days of usage.3. FIDO securityWith multiple high-profile hacks in 2014, from the recent Sony infiltration to the celebrity nude photo hack that compromised Apple iCloud passwords, it became obvious that businesses needed a better way to protect their data.With devices like the Yubico FIDO U2F Security Key and Google 2-Step Verification, which you load onto a FIDO USB key, business users can rely on two-factor authentication. If the key is not present, it is impossible to gain access.Apart from the less common biometric security enhancements, including one called MyIris that scans your iris to gain access to a computer, having a hardware key adds a layer of security but also makes the login process faster and more intuitive.4. Easy videoconferencing with Chromebox for MeetingsBoth Dell and Asus released new videoconferencing computers in 2014 based on the Google Chromebox for Meetings operating system. Designed specifically for small teams in a company to chat over video using the included video camera and high-quality speakerphone, the small Chromebox also fits nicely in a conference room and doesn't look too obtrusive.The OS boots directly into Google Hangouts and IT admins and meeting organisers can send meetings to a calendar so the people in the conference just click a link to get started. The computers can also boot into Chrome OS for normal productivity computing sessions.Could Chromebox for Meetings change business videoconferencing?Innovations 5-75. Mobile payments with Apple PayMost business technology pundits will point to 2014 as the advent of widespread mobile payments thanks to Apple Pay. (A few will snicker that NFC-based payments and Google Wallet on an Android phone have existed for years.) Still, the main innovation is that mobile payments reached a crescendo as banks, particularly in the US, partnered directly with Apple to support mobile payments and retailers started embracing the idea in full force."Without any doubt, the greatest business innovation of 2014 was the rise of mobile payments, specifically Apple Pay on the iPhone 6," says Dr. Satya Ramaswamy, the Vice President and Global Head of the Digital Enterprise at Tata Consultancy Services.Ramaswamy noted: "Because of its ability to do tight integration between hardware and software within the phone, Apple could make the iPhone instantly connect and start talking to the NFC terminal, without having to unlock the phone, open an app, or enter a passcode. To make it even more appealing for retailers and consumers, Apple Pay makes credit card hacks nearly impossible." Rob Enderle, an IT analyst for Enderle Group, added: "While NFC has been around for some time it took Apple to get people to start using it in mass and finally making it real. The issue is that we are creatures of habit and it required someone of Apple's stature to get people to charge differently. Apple Pay, and other NFC technologies, are far safer and more secure than the magnetic strip which is the most common form of credit card technology in use in the US." 6. Domain expansionIt may have skirted under your own purview, but another interesting innovation from 2014 pertained to the domain extensions we all use when browsing the web. They seriously expanded over the past year with 700 new domain extensions. Some experts even argue that the days of the .com extension being the only one that is viable for a "real" business are long over."Domain expansion is literally changing the way businesses market and drive online traffic and is changing forever the way people navigate on the internet. In the largest naming expansion since the advent of the internet, this year has seen nearly four million new businesses and websites spring up around these new extensions," says Bridgette King, a spokesperson for .CLUB Domains. "When you add an extension like .club, .wiki or even .guru, you know much better what you'll get and businesses can better target their online presence."7. Intel IOT GatewayBusiness users will welcome any device or technology that can create a more unified (and secure) experience, connecting disparate gadgets and making management easier and more robust. That's exactly what the Intel IOT Gateway provides, a sign of things to come when the Internet of Things becomes more common in business. Video cameras, wearable tech, sensors on the front door of the office, and even gadgets that monitor the parking lot can connect through one secure gateway instead of requiring separate management functions."The Intel IOT Gateway is a single device that can connect the various device networks to secure, better integrate, and better manage these networks together," says Enderle. "Existing IOT devices only work within families and weren't designed to be secure. The Intel IOT Gateway acts as translator and firewall both allowing different technologies to work together and preventing them from being compromised by an attacker."

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