Nearly 70% of small and midsize businesses are concerned about cybersecurity vulnerabilities at their business locations, with 18% reporting an increased need for data security due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Parks Associates Friday. Many companies have to extend their networks into households to allow their employees to work at home, which introduces connected devices to the business network, affecting performance and expanding cybersecurity risks, said analyst Jennifer Kent. Parks plans a webinar with Irdeto on data security and network management for the SMB segment Nov. 11 at noon EST.

The world “has come to rely more heavily on semiconductor-enabled technology to work, study, communicate, treat illness, and do innumerable other tasks remotely” during the pandemic, said an interim “decadal” report Thursday from the Semiconductor Industry Association and Semiconductor Research Corp. that seeks $3.4 billion in federal R&D funding annually. “The future holds boundless potential for semiconductor technology, with emerging applications such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and advanced wireless technologies like 5G and 6G promising incalculable benefits.” It requires addressing five “seismic shifts shaping the future of chip technology,” including smart sensing, memory and storage, communication, security and energy efficiency, said the report. The U.S. semiconductor industry invests about a fifth of its revenue yearly in R&D, second only to pharmaceuticals, it said. The final report is due in December

Senior executives consider the possibility of a second COVID-19 wave their most concerning threat, reported Gartner Thursday. It canvassed 119 executives across most industries and geographies, finding their “operational concerns” also continued to dwell on managing long-term remote work, it said. “The consistency with which executives around the world are highlighting the second wave of COVID-19 as the top risk is notable in light of a looming and significant U.S. presidential election, continued extreme weather events and broad social instability.” Beyond accounting for the health and safety of employees in a second wave “is the prolonged and dramatic impacts to how organizations will work effectively,” said Gartner. It found 19% of employees will work from home permanently, compared with 10% pre-pandemic. “We are beginning to see executives come to terms with prolonged remote work in a way that wasn’t feasible in the early stages of the pandemic,” said Gartner. The “abruptness” of the move away from physical offices revealed “large operational holes in the ability to manage people and risks,” it said. “HR leaders have drastically stepped up their programs for monitoring employee productivity, with 73% indicating they are partaking in some sort of monitoring, compared to less than half in April.”

Nokia developed and itself uses an automated, zero-touch fever “detection solution” to help spot potential COVID-19 infections in facilities with thousands of people, said the company Thursday. The tool leverages advanced analytics, machine learning and “ubiquitous connectivity,” it said. “Organizations can also expand the solution to support other ongoing use cases to protect employees and building assets, including predictive surveillance, machine maintenance and security threats.”

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Q3 revenue increased 17% in U.S. dollars sequentially on "strong demand for advanced technologies and special technology solutions” in 5G smartphones, high-performance computing (HPC) and IoT applications, said Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang on a Thursday investor call. Smartphone revenue increased 12% and was 46% of third-quarter sales, he said. TSMC continues to expect “faster penetration” of 5G smartphones compared with 4G, he said. “For this year, we still forecast a high-teens penetration rate and next year even higher.” Though the pandemic brings “some level” of negative impact to global economies, “COVID-19 is accelerating digital transformation, while 5G and HPC-related applications continue to drive semiconductor content enrichment,” said CEO C.C. Wei. He expects TSMC customers to maintain inventories well above their seasonal levels as a buffer against further COVID-19 supply-chain disruptions. Due to the “uncertainties” of the supply chain now, expect the high-level inventory trend to “continue for a longer period,” he said. TSMC won’t use any “short-term supply shortage” as an opportunity to raise “our wafer price,” he said. TSMC forecasts that semiconductor industry revenue, excluding memory, will rise by mid-single digits in 2020, he said. TSMC is “evaluating the impact to the semiconductor industry” from DOD’s export restrictions on Semiconductor Manufacturing International, China’s largest chipmaker, said Wei.

Amazon’s disclosure Thursday that Prime Day third-party sales grew 60% could signal a “busy holiday season,” Cowen's John Blackledge wrote investors. Amazon said small and medium businesses raked in $3.5 billion in sales over the 48-hour Prime Day event, which Blackledge called a “robust start” to the holiday sales season, with an estimated total Prime Day gross merchandise value of $6.6 billion. It’s a “positive note for what is likely to be an unusually long 4Q / holiday shopping season, as consumers order earlier to ensure delivery in time for key holiday dates," said the analyst. Amazon appeared to have overcome any supply chain hurdles “as they manage an unprecedented 4Q with Prime Day so close to the post-Thanksgiving Cyber Monday events.” Consumer appetite appears to be "strong," underscoring Cowen’s belief that the pandemic is driving a “meaningful and sustained increase in consumers’ online purchasing habits.”

The large-screen TV business in Germany is thriving during the pandemic, gfu reported Wednesday. Vendors sold 4.6 million TV sets in the first three quarters of 2020, a 5.5% increase from a year earlier, said the IFA show producer. Revenue increased 5.5% to 2.6 billion euros ($3.05 billion). Sets with screen sizes exceeding 54 inches were 47%, and TVs with 4K or better resolution were 89%, of sales. “People spend significantly more time at home,” increasing the need for entertainment, it said. Germans also are ready to “invest in innovative technology to adapt their homes to the changed reality,” it said. “The trend towards larger and very well-equipped televisions continues.” The organization canvassed 2,000 consumers online in July and August, finding the desire for bigger screens motivated 65% to buy a new TV, while 59% wanted 4K or better resolution.

Black Friday is taking on a new look at Walmart, it said Wednesday, the second and final day of Amazon’s Prime Day two-day sales fest. Walmart promised “increased availability of event items" and a monitored in-store experience. The “revamped Black Friday savings event” will deliver prices customers expect in “an entirely new way to help provide a safer and more convenient shopping experience,” Walmart said, with the health and safety of customers and employees its “top priority.” Employees will "meter customers into the store to help reduce congestion and promote social distancing inside stores." Consumers will be directed to "shop down the right-hand side of aisles to be able to easily -- and safely -- select the Black Friday items they’re interested in purchasing." On in-store Black Friday event days, “customers will form a single, straight line to enter the store,” it said. That's in contrast to past Black Fridays, when customers crowded entrances to secure doorbuster items before they sold out. This year, associates will hand out “sanitized shopping carts to customers to help with social distancing, and Health Ambassadors will be placed at entrances to greet customers and remind them to put on a mask.” It's offering the option of curbside pickup for the first time, said Scott McCall, U.S. chief merchandising officer. The company will hold its biggest wireless phone event in-stores and online on Nov. 14 with deals on iPhones and Samsung Galaxy phones.

Consumers now deem high-end audio products “essential in today's home,” Voxx CEO Pat Lavelle told a quarterly call. Its Klipsch is poised for “the best year in its history,” he said. The premium audio industry has seen COVID-19 boost sales, said Lavelle. Consumers “rediscovered quality audio, and not just for listening to a stereo system but for movies,” evidenced by growth in home theater and high-end sound bars, he said. Home gyms have become an “integral part” of the home workplace, further feeding audio sales, he said. “We've seen the market grow, and we have seen the audience grow.” Pandemic lifestyles breathed new air into premium audio, which grew by double digits as an industry last quarter, the corporate chief said. “We believe this is sustainable.” The stock soared 31% higher Wednesday to close at $11.32, just 38 cents short of its 52-week high.

Nearly nine in 10 "business leaders" who work for CTA member companies view “flexible work arrangements” as the most important benefit for the next five years, the association reported Tuesday. CTA canvassed 240 respondents online Aug.11-Sept. 11, finding 40% say their companies allow “designated telework/work from home day(s) during the pandemic.” Roughly seven in 10 expect to hire more employees to work remotely, and 80% plan to do more job interviews by video chat or teleconference. Fewer than a quarter expect to hire employees to work onsite in the next five years. Sixty-two percent say their companies hadn't “displaced” any workers through furloughs or layoffs “as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic” and don't expect they will. A quarter of the companies have let employees go. Three-quarters of respondents report difficulty finding job candidates “with the right skills and abilities.” Fifty-seven percent crave candidates with data analytics skills, while equal 56% proportions seek recruits who excel at software development or project management.