Digital Operation Research Articles

COVID-19 SMB Networks Transition to Remote Work

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a rapid shift to remote work, posing significant challenges and opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). This paper examines the transition of SMBs to digital operations, highlighting the critical role of technology in facilitating this shift, with a focus on networking infrastructure choices between wired and wireless systems. It explores the advantages of wireless networks in terms of flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, supported by cloud services for enhanced operational efficiency and security. The paper further discusses the security challenges encountered by SMBs in remote work settings, including VPN vulnerabilities, unsecured Wi-Fi networks, weak passwords, and compliance risks. Through a comprehensive analysis, the paper advocates for a hybrid approach to networking and emphasizes the importance of robust security measures, including the use of content delivery networks (CDNs), OAuth 2.0, and virtual private networks (VPNs) provided by major cloud services like AWS, Azure, and GCP. The conclusion underscores the necessity for SMBs to adopt advanced technologies and security practices to navigate the complexities of a post-pandemic world, ensuring business continuity and laying the groundwork for future resilience and success.

The causal relationship between digital literacy and students’ academic achievement: a meta-analysis

The causal relationship between digital literacy and students’ academic achievement: a meta-analysis

Cybersecurity governance: Strengthening policy frameworks to address global cybercrime and data privacy challenges

In an increasingly interconnected world, cybercrime and data privacy challenges have escalated into critical global issues, threatening governments, organizations, and individuals alike. The proliferation of sophisticated cyberattacks, including ransomware, data breaches, and nation-state hacking, underscores the urgent need for robust cybersecurity governance. Compounding these threats are evolving regulatory landscapes and a lack of harmonized international frameworks, leaving gaps in addressing cross-border cybercrimes and ensuring data privacy. This article explores the imperative of strengthening cybersecurity policy frameworks to combat global cybercrime and safeguard sensitive data. It begins with an overview of the current cybersecurity governance landscape, highlighting gaps and inconsistencies in policy enforcement. Emphasis is placed on the integration of adaptive regulatory mechanisms, public-private partnerships, and standardized global practices to ensure a unified response to cyber threats. Key strategies discussed include the adoption of proactive risk assessment methodologies, the implementation of privacy-by-design principles, and the enhancement of international cooperation for intelligence sharing and joint cyber defense initiatives. The article also delves into case studies illustrating the effectiveness of comprehensive policy frameworks in mitigating cyber risks and fostering organizational resilience. As cyber threats continue to evolve, addressing these challenges requires a coordinated and forward-looking approach that balances innovation with security. By advancing cybersecurity governance, stakeholders can strengthen trust in digital ecosystems, safeguard privacy, and ensure the continuity of global digital operations.

High-Detail 3D Reconstruction and Digital Strategies for the Enhancements of Archaeological Properties in Museums

In recent years, increasing attention has been directed toward the application of digitization through geomatic-based technologies for museum assets. These powerful tools have proven valuable in assisting museums in the dissemination of cultural heritage. Additionally, museums around the world are implementing strategies to improve the accessibility of their assets by involving the use of 3D digital reconstruction. The 3D high-precision survey is employed in several fields to scan objects with a geometrical accuracy up to the micrometer level. These technologies come into play when dealing with detailed surfaces and complex geometry, as often occurs with cultural heritage assets. This paper presents a set of experiences in high-precision 3D scanning and post-processing operations in the framework of a project at the Territory Museum of Riccione (Italy). The 3D data acquisition methodology conducted and digital operations are reported on for some of the scanned artifacts.

Digitalisation of spare parts provision: co-evolution of digital service providers and original equipment manufacturers

Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) face challenges associated with spare parts provision, such as high inventory, and missed deliveries due to inventory obsolescence or long supplier lead times. Digitalisation of spare parts, enabled by additive manufacturing, address some of these challenges. In this digitalisation of spare parts the roles of digital service providers (DSP) and the OEMs co-evolve. We examine three DSPs developing services for their OEM customers and their value offering from the perspective of three user organisations, as well as two OEMs not using the services. We find that OEMs turn to the service providers for support to overcome a gap in their information processing needs and internal capabilities in the exploration stage. The use of the DSP addresses a large initial capability gap in information processing for identifying the opportunity to digitalise spare parts. Over time, once digital spare parts operations have been established, OEMs can begin to digitalise their spare parts during the product design stage. This reduces the demand for the exploration services initially offered by the DSP, such as digital scanning of parts and reverse engineering. To adapt, DSPs must explore new service opportunities as OEMs develop their digitalisation capabilities in the product design process.

Is the right going wrong? Analysing digital platformization, data extractivism and surveillance practices in smallholder farming in Ghana

ABSTRACT The development of digital platforms is seen as a tool to promote inclusion and foster collective action, particularly for smallholder farmers in the Global South. However, the rise of platformization has given large organizations control over these platforms, raising concerns about whether digital innovations are truly benefiting smallholder farmers. This study examines digital platform practices in Ghana’s smallholder farming sector, drawing on concepts such as datafication and surveillance capitalism. Evidence suggests that digital platform operators have gained more from these technologies than the farmers they aim to support. Numerous digital technologies – enabled by donor projects, accelerators, and startups – collect extensive data from farmers through GPS, drones, surveys, and mobile apps. These practices risk creating new forms of extractivism and surveillance. The study provides policy recommendations and outlines future research directions to address these challenges.

Risk Analysis of Digital Twin Project Operation Based on Improved FMEA Method

With the advent of digitization, digital twin technology is gradually becoming one of the core technologies of the Industry 4.0 era, highlighting the increasing importance of digital twin project management. Despite its potential, DT projects face significant risks during implementation, stemming from technical, managerial, and operational complexities. To address these challenges, this study proposes an improved failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) framework by integrating double hierarchy hesitant fuzzy linguistic term sets (DHHFLTSs) and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). This framework converts qualitative assessments into quantitative metrics and calculates weights using a hybrid approach, enabling more precise risk prioritisation. Application of the model to an automotive manufacturing company’s DT project identified key risks, particularly in the iteration and upgrade phase, emphasising the importance of cross-departmental collaboration and robust digital infrastructure. The proposed model provides a systematic framework for enterprises to assess and mitigate risks, ensuring the successful deployment of DT projects.

Prospects for the Use of Quasi-Mersen Numbers in the Design of Parallel-Serial Processors

It is shown that a serial-parallel processor, comparable in bit capacity to a 16-bit binary processor, can be implemented based on an algorithm built on the residue number system, a distinctive feature of which is the use of the first four quasi-Mersenne numbers, i.e., prime numbers representable as pk=2k+1, k=1,2,3,4. Such a set of prime numbers satisfies the criterion 2p1p2p3p4+1=P, where P is also a prime number. Fulfillment of this criterion ensures the possibility of convenient use of the considered RNS for calculating partial convolutions developed for the convenience of using convolutional neural networks. It is shown that the processor of the proposed type can be based on the use of a set of adders modulo a quasi-Mersenne number, each of which operates independently. A circuit of a modulo 2k+1 adder is proposed, which can be called a trigger circuit, since its peculiarity is the existence (at certain values of the summed quantities) of two stable states. The advantage of such a circuit, compared to known analogs, is the simplicity of the design. Possibilities for further development of the proposed approach related to the use of the digital logarithm operation, which allows reducing the operations of multiplication modulo 2k+1 to addition operations, are discussed.

The Effects of Multipath on the Performance of High Rate Digital QAM and OFDM Wireless Link Operating in Tunnels

The Effects of Multipath on the Performance of High Rate Digital QAM and OFDM Wireless Link Operating in Tunnels

Visible light communication technology in digital operating room: Experiment and equipment manufacturing

Visible light communication technology in digital operating room: Experiment and equipment manufacturing

Design and research of numerical control simulation platform in discrete manufacturing disturbed by vibration

It is of great significance to study the deep integration of manufacturing technology and new-generation information communication technology under vibration interference of machine tools to improve the intelligence level of CNC machine tools. In this paper, a numerical control manufacturing workshop affected by vibration in discrete manufacturing is taken as the research background, and a solution for a digital workshop operation simulation platform based on the industrial internet is proposed. By constructing the simulation environment of the operation process of the digital factory, the generation and transmission of manufacturing information in the digital factory are simulated. The application architecture of the machining workshop based on a numerical control simulation platform is proposed, and the business process of the numerical control machining workshop is analyzed. Then, the key technologies of NC machine tool modeling, synchronous mapping of data and model, data integration, and fusion are studied. Through the integration and implementation of the NC machine tool simulation platform in the machining workshop, the top-down data instructions can be issued accurately, and the bottom-up feedback information can be confirmed in time. Finally, the system is applied to the electronic information and ship machining workshop to verify the effectiveness of the system framework and method proposed in this paper.

Central command suite: futureproofing next-generation surgical environments to embrace the digital operating room.

Central command suite: futureproofing next-generation surgical environments to embrace the digital operating room.

The impact of digital banking channels and organizational culture on operational excellence in Jordanian banking

This study explores the impact of digital banking channels on the operational excellence of Jordanian banks. It investigates the impact of social media, chatbots, digital wallets, and mobile applications on operational excellence in Jordanian banks, focusing on the moderating role of organizational culture. The study used a quantitative research method and a stratified random sampling technique to ensure a diverse sample of the five largest banks in Jordan, including managers and IT professionals responsible for managing digital banking operations. A total of 276 completed questionnaires were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings show that digital banking channels significantly contribute to operational excellence. Social media banking (β = 0.155, p < 0.05) and chatbots (β = 0.212, p < 0.01) positively impact operational excellence, while digital wallets (β = 0.301, p < 0.001) and mobile banking applications (β = 0.22, p < 0.01) also exhibit significant positive effects. The structural model explained 63% of the variance in operational excellence. Additionally, organizational culture was found to positively moderate the impact of social media banking (β = 0.20, p < 0.01), chatbots (β = 0.10, p < 0.05), and digital wallets (β = 0.16, p < 0.01) on operational excellence. However, the interaction between mobile applications and organizational culture was not significant (β = 0.078, p = 0.065).

Banking Transformation in the Digital Era: Bank Cooperation with Financial Technology and the Role of the Financial Services Authority in Digital Bank Supervision

The Industrial Revolution 4.0 has brought significant transformations to various aspects of life, including financial activities, which have increasingly transitioned into digital systems facilitated by financial technology (fintech). Fintech accommodates remote financial activities, reshaping the banking industry through the emergence of digital banks that enhance customer convenience in accessing banking services. This development reflects the growing cooperation between banking institutions and fintech companies. However, digital-based financial activities are inherently susceptible to system vulnerabilities, potentially causing customer losses. This study explores two main issues: (1) the nature of cooperation between banks and fintech and (2) the role of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) in supervising digital banking operations. The findings reveal that collaboration between banking and fintech is achieved by integrating banking services with fintech platforms, enabling seamless customer access. The OJK employs direct (on-site) and indirect (off-site) supervision methods to ensure regulatory compliance and mitigate risks. Additionally, the OJK leverages advanced technologies such as the OSIDA (OJK Suptech Integrated Data Analytics) system to optimize supervision and implement a regulatory sandbox framework to foster innovation while maintaining oversight.

Analytical method for analyzing message transmission processes in FDDI networks for digital substations

Objectives. To develop analytical approaches for the evaluation of probability-time characteristics and fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) network performance with the marker access method, thus enabling communication processes for digital electrical substations to be automated.Methods. The authors used theory reliability methods, random process theory, mass maintenance theory, the Laplace–Stieltjes transformation for inferring functional equations and the probability-time characteristics calculation for the information transfer processes with the occurring failures.Results. We conducted a numerical study of packet transfer processes between central processing stations in the FDDI network. We considered the processes of discrete information exchange between electronic devices in the system of electrical digital substations. These included the main technological operations and electrical digital substations operator performed when preparing reports. We described the different modes of operation, both for the individual electrical digital substation and for the system. The authors calculated node loading dependencies, FDDI network performance and temporal characteristics of the packet transfer processes on the incoming message flow intensity and the transmission medium reliability. We conducted a functional analysis of the FDDI networks on two fiber-optic rings which form the main and redundant path of data transfer between the network nodes, significantly increasing network resiliency. The objective of the study was to analyze the information transfer processes in FDDI networks with an accent on ensuring the transmission medium reliability.Conclusions. We were able to establish the existence of the critical operating network region, which leads to a sharp increase in node load and temporal characteristics, while performance reaches its maximum value and then sharply decreases. We propose the exchange of discrete messages to reflect the electronic devices state and information messages of operator between various remotely spaced electrical digital substation with the FDDI fiber-optic network.

Machine Learning-Based Outlier Detection for Business Intelligence: A Scalable Time Series Analysis Framework

The exponential growth in digital business operations has resulted in an unprecedented volume of time series data generated from diverse business metrics, creating an urgent need for sophisticated anomaly detection systems. This paper presents a comprehensive framework for detecting outliers in business time series data using advanced machine learning techniques, addressing the challenges of scale, accuracy, and real-time processing. We propose a novel hybrid approach that seamlessly integrates statistical methods with deep learning architectures to identify both point anomalies and pattern deviations in multivariate business metrics. The framework incorporates adaptive thresholding mechanisms and contextual awareness, leveraging business domain knowledge to reduce false positives while maintaining high detection accuracy across varying business cycles and seasonal patterns. Our approach addresses the challenges of scalability and real-time processing through a sophisticated distributed computing architecture, making it suitable for enterprise-scale deployments. The framework demonstrates superior performance in handling concept drift, seasonal variations, and complex interdependencies between metrics, while maintaining computational efficiency and interpretability. Keywords—anomaly detection, business intelligence, machine learning, time series analysis, deep learning, statistical methods, distributed computing, real-time processing, adaptive thresholding, feature engineering

Gatekeeping With Privacy: The Facebook Case, Apple’s ATT Framework and Google’s Privacy Sandbox

Digital ecosystem operators can obtain an unmatchable information advantage with respect to the preferences of platform users by implementing privacy-related regulation and relying on the attractiveness of their core platform services. Implementing privacy-related regulation may violate competition law if it is done in an exclusionary or exploitative manner, but not simply because following the rules increases entry barriers and the dependency of other online service providers. Where dominant digital ecosystem operators reap advantages in competition from simply following privacy-related rules in line with the prevailing market standards (in contrast to either deviating from market standards or transgressing privacy rules), the competition issue is one of market structure, not one of anticompetitive behaviour.

Implications of Digital Operations Management Strategies for Chinese Retail-based Service Companies A Case Study of Service-oriented Companies Starbucks

Under the impetus of digitalization, China's retail service industry can no longer achieve higher development through traditional operation and management modes, so it is necessary to explore digital operation and management strategies that are suitable for China in the wave of the development of digital economy. This paper takes Starbucks, a global coffee chain, as an example to explore the favorable reference and inspiration provided by the digital operation management strategy to Chinese retail service enterprises. By analyzing the main reasons that motivate Chinese retail-based service enterprises to undergo digital transformation, and using Starbucks' digital transformation strategy as a case study, this paper concludes that Chinese service-oriented retail enterprises have to follow the development mode of integrating online and offline in digital transformation. China's retail-based service industry can mainly start from four major aspects in the process of digital transformation, namely, the inclusion of digital technologies, optimisation of supply chain management, innovation in marketing, and establishment a new talent training model. To promote the continuous development and innovation of the enterprise through the adoption of concrete and implementable measures.

Personal devices: investing apps and the selectively self-directed digital-financial subject

ABSTRACT Across the world, a growing number of financial non-professionals are investing in stocks through mobile and web-based trading apps that are designed to be ‘convenient’ and ‘easy’ for non-expert investors to use. What new kinds of investor subjects are being formed through the use of these devices, which bring the opportunities and uncertainties of the financial market into the layperson’s smartphone and laptop computer? Drawing on interviews with twenty trading app users in Singapore, this article argues that app-using investors commonly conduct themselves as selectively self-directed digital-financial subjects. In contrast to the paradigmatic neoliberal subject, who strives to be as informed, calculative and controlled in investing their money as possible, the app-using investor aims to understand and control only some aspects of their investing practice, while in other aspects allowing their practice to be shaped and determined by digital designs and operations that are opaque and even threatening to them. App-using investors selectively choose to go along with arrangements in which their autonomy and agency are compromised, on the chance of profitable outcome. With the proliferation of consumer ‘fintech’ applications that invite lay users to enter such arrangements, the selectively self-directed subject will likely become a more commonly encountered figure.

Sustainable digital rent: a transformative framework for value dynamics in the digital age

IntroductionThis paper introduces the concept of Sustainable Digital Rent (SDR), highlighting the shift from traditional economic rent based on tangible assets to rent derived from digital platforms. At the heart of this shift is the “value state,” a dynamic balance between constructive expectations and destructive information. As digital platforms generate increasing amounts of information, expectations are increasingly met and shared more efficiently with all users, leading to a reduction in individual and general motivational, emotional, and cognitive engagement. These platforms, now essential to modern life, facilitate online activities that reduce as well physical engagement and natural interactions, thereby impacting cognitive function and physical health. By extracting rent directly, digital platform operators limit the benefits users could gain to support their mental and physical well-being.MethodsThis paper empirically defines and estimates SDR using the collective estimates of price, cost, and income (PCI) as practiced in North American real estate appraisal, demonstrated through abstract art rent. Our approach provides a new perspective on valuing intangible assets, such as knowledge, by showing the shift from expectation to information, governed by the value state in cognitive evaluations. Emphasizing interdisciplinary relevance, the method underscores the need for an efficient mechanism to redistribute SDR benefits to digital platform users, supporting fair and equitable digital development.Results and discussionThe results show that digital rent is driven primarily by cognitive and informational content, demonstrating the need for redistribution mechanisms to address the growing inequality on digital platforms. The use of abstract art as a case study provides a convenient and illustrative way to explore how intangible assets, like digital rents, can be evaluated and redistributed. SDR offers insights into how digital rents can be captured and redistributed equitably, ensuring that platform users and creators benefit from the knowledge economy’s growth. The findings underscore the relevance of measuring SDR to guide policy recommendations aimed at reducing digital monopolization and promoting sustainable digital development.