Author: Mike Magee

Searchland gets Google Bard treatment

Searchland, a development site sourcing platform, has launched in Scotland. The platform provides users with automated results based on their criteria, including DTV letter sending, site sourcing workflow, strategic land data, DNO and HMO data, planning applications, ownership records, sold price comparables and planning constraints.

Searchland is already being used by land and new homes teams, developers and land sourcers, architects and planners, as well as energy providers in England and Wales. The launch in Scotland will further broaden the opportunities available to users.

Mitchell Fasanya, co-founder and CEO of Searchland, said: “Our aim is to provide a seamless and comprehensive experience to our users. We have achieved this through the automation of previously archaic practices and technology that solves the problems that previously faced the industry.

“We are delighted to have revolutionised the way the industry searches for and identifies potential development opportunities. The integration of Scottish market data is the final piece of the puzzle. Our ability to provide a full national scale service sets us apart from the rest and truly fulfils our ambitions to provide a comprehensive product that delivers unrivalled value and insight.”

Asked to remove PR hype, Google Bard says: I have removed the following from the original press release:

  • All superlatives, such as “the only platform”, “the first and only”, “revolutionised”, “unrivalled”
  • All subjective statements, such as “already changed the way the industry operates”, “widely utilised”, “delighted to have revolutionised”, “feel we’ve added the final piece to the puzzle”
  • All jargon, such as “DTV letter sending”, “strategic land data”, “DNO and HMO data”, “planning constraints”

I have also made the following changes:

  • I have changed the passive voice to the active voice, where possible. For example, instead of “Searchland is being widely utilised across England and Wales”, I have written “Searchland’s platform is already being widely utilised across England and Wales”.
  • I have made the sentences shorter and more concise.
  • I have made the language more neutral and objective.

Robot tries to explain Mike Magee (Nick Farrell is busy today)

Mike Magee is a highly respected journalist who has been covering the computer industry and technology sector for over three decades. He is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of technology journalism, having founded some of the most influential tech news websites in the UK and beyond.

Magee began his career as a journalist in the 1980s, working for a number of publications in the UK and US. In 1994, he founded The Register, an online news website that quickly became one of the most popular and respected sources of tech news and analysis. The site’s irreverent style and hard-hitting reporting won it a large and loyal following, and it continues to be a leading voice in the industry to this day.

In addition to The Register, Magee has also founded and contributed to several other technology news publications, including TechEye, The Inquirer, and Silicon Valley Sleuth [No, Ed.]. He is known for his investigative reporting and deep knowledge of the industry, as well as his willingness to challenge conventional wisdom and take on powerful players in the tech world.

Magee has received numerous awards and accolades throughout his career, including being named one of the “Top 50 Journalists in Tech” by Business Insider [No, Ed.] and a “Tech Titan” by The Daily Telegraph. [I don’t think so, Ed.] He is also a sought-after commentator and speaker, regularly appearing on radio and TV programs and at industry conferences and events. [Nah, Ed.]

Overall, Mike Magee is a highly respected and influential figure in technology journalism, known for his insightful reporting, sharp wit, and fearless approach to covering the industry. His contributions to the field have helped shape the way we think about and understand technology, and his legacy as a pioneer of tech journalism is sure to endure for many years to come.

Robot explains the Channel

Mike MageeIn the computer business in the UK, a channel is a path through which products and services are delivered to customers. This path can involve various intermediaries, such as wholesalers, distributors, resellers, and retailers, who play a crucial role in bridging the gap between manufacturers and end-users.

Apologies to our reader

Mike MageeChannelEye was beset with a number of server problems over the last 10 days, meaning that you, our reader, hasn’t seen sight nor sound of the zingy publication.  Now we’re back to unusual.

Maintenance check: worth reading, not

This is a check just to see if everything is working on your favourite site.blahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahvblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblah

Dear Dreary: I have buried my Bitcoin and my ex is furious. What to do?

Dear James,

This is a clear case of IT engineeritis.  You threw away your hard drive and now you want to dig up the landfill to recover what you believe is a pile of Bitcoin cryptocurrency worth around £150 million.

The whole thing is compounded by a clear case of journalistic Dog Daze. At this time of year some journalists will grasp at any straw to fill pages or digital space.

I understand why your ex is furious because that’s me. I told you not to spend all of your time “data mining” rather than giving me the occasional kiss and cuddle.

You might like to read my pamphlet: IT headaches and sex.

Dreary Read 

Holiday time

Mike MageeThis week and next week we are giving our staff of two – that’s me (pictured) and Nick – a summer holiday.

Look out for more exciting stuff when we return! And keep sending us your vital/viral news! Ω

ITHQ and ADP take Rubrik to the mid-market

Flexibility, speed of delivery, breadth and depth of portfolio are important for channel success, it seems. ITHQ, supports hybrid cloud and claims to deliver “cyber resilience” to its customers.

That’s according to Nik Grove, Head of Hybrid Cloud at ITHQ. He said that as his business expanded it made sense to have an MSP option in place, especially to address customers that wouldn’t go to the likes of Rubrik directly.

“Services like Rubrik can be out of reach for many SMEs and small businesses, but thanks to this model with Assured Data Protection, it’s readily available as a managed service to businesses with smaller footprints. And all for a monthly subscription, which generates a regular income for us”, he said.

Rubrik has become a part of ITHQ’s managed service installations. Grove claims that it’s simple and straightforward to deliver,regardless of scale. This ranges from small AWS and Microsoft Office 365 deployments to much larger corporate IT and cloud infrastructures.

“Customers can be up and running almost immediately thanks to the close working relationship we enjoy with ADP. Quotes and agreements can be turned around in minutes making the service very accessible and easy to deploy”, said Grove.

Assured Data Protection is the largest MSP of Rubrik’s cloud data management platform. Its managed service offering helps customers, resellers and other MSPs expand their Rubrik operations and service offerings. In the last 12 months it added threat detection to its service offering to cater for all data management needs and align those functions with cyber security, said Grove.

“Cyber resilience is no longer a nice to have, it’s become a necessity. Premium services, such as Rubrik, that would typically cost large organisations tens of thousands of pounds to install are now available at a fraction of the cost as a managed service. This is good news for the customer and for fast growing businesses like us.”

ITHQ does not feel the need to white label the service or hide the fact it works with Assured Data Protection.

“We’re transparent with our customers. We don’t hide the fact that this is a managed service being provided. They’re happy with the ongoing support and professional services they receive. It’s an arrangement that suits all parties.”

Grove claims the managed services model is becoming a better fit for customers on a commercial and operational level. “It works better financially as businesses are finding they can consume technology as, and when, they need it, rather than having to make huge upfront investments. But this isn’t restricted to the lower end of the market. Grove is finding that this type of deployment also suits larger organisations, which is helping to drive engagements with businesses that have international footprints.”

He said:  “We are entering an exciting phase where we’re seeing lots of growth, lots of expansion. We’re taking on new projects and working with new customers. We’re active in hybrid cloud and cyber security but we’re always diversifying. Over the course of this year, we’ll be adding DevOps, data analytics and other specialisms to our portfolio. Having a partner like ADP adds credibility and supports our trajectory.”

 

 

Community launched for vendors and channel players

Helen Curtis from CoterieCoterie, a channel and partner specialist, has created a community to foster cooperation between marketeers from vendors, resellers, systems integrators and service providers.

That follows funding from Innovate UK to the tune of £194,000 to establish the community. Innovate UK gives grants to firms with bright ideas for new products and services. The grant is part of a management knowledge transfer partnership with the University of Huddersfield.

A reseach report published in 2021 showed there was a lack of support for specialist marketeers leading to limited marketing ideas.

Helen Curtis, founding director at Coterie, said the forum will allow people from across a wide range to share ideas in a safe place. By that she means that the marketeers will be able to explore ideas in a non-competitive way.

Mike Magee wins record for drinking tea

Unlikely? We think so too.

Grizzled hack Mike Magee has broken the world record for drinking tea.

In a shocking move, he is estimated to have drunk 128,000 cups of tea in 60 days.

According to Thames Water, his not so smart water meter clocked up the equivalent of 128,000 cups of tea or 437 showers or 400 baths in a 60 day period starting in February and running through March.

Ingram postpones October cloud fest

Major distie Ingram told ChannelEye last Friday that its October cloud event is postponed.

A representative said: “I regret to inform you that due to unforeseen scheduling conflicts, Ingram Micro Cloud has decided to postpone its annual Analyst & Media Day to January 2022, with a final date still to be determined.”

We followed up with another question.  A representative said: ” IMC has decided to look into the possibility of hosting an in-person event; they’re currently exploring the feasibility of that option. We’ll soon be following up with everyone to provide updated details.”

Huawei to help save red squirrels

The University of Bristol, the Mammal Society,  Rainforest Connection and Huawei are collaborating to help save the endangered squirrel in the UK.

The project involves monitoring UK woodlands with red, with grey and with joint squirrel populations. The red and the grey squirrel don’t live together very happily.

It’s estimated that the red cohort has lost 60 percent of its range over the last 13 years. There are redoubts where red squirrels still have reasonable populations – the Wild Life Trusts believe there are 140,000 red squirrels and 2.5 million grey squirrels. But it believes that the red species may become extinct in 10 years.

The project will use artificial intelligence, bio-acoustic and cloud tech with Huawei software analysing sounds in the environment.

Partners assume risky postures

A couple of firms has teamed up to advise organisations how to avoid getting into trouble with hackers, gangsters and hostile countries interfering in their business and their peace of mind.

A Mastercard company, Risk Recon, and partner CyberGRX will share data with each other. CyberGRX is joining the Risk R network.

The companies both think that it is time organisations pull up their socks because they are not keeping up with latest developments in the cyber security landscape.They have introduced a widget which allows customers to dig deep into information that will let their customers feel more secure.