Author: Nick Farrell

Distology sees “disruptive” channel consolidation

Posted on April 21, 2022 by - News

The channel is about to be walloped by a disruptive wave of consolidation among managed security services providers (MSSP).

A survey from security distributor Distology found that customers (38 percent) saw a link between consolidation and cyber security as a service (CSaaS) as channel players gain the ability to cover more bases through mergers.

Apparently, when IT leaders were asked what would be the biggest disruptions over the next five years, attracting talent was high on the list, which could increase risks for firms.

Distology chief product officer Lance Williams said: “With the way organisations operate having evolved considerably over the last two years, it goes without saying that cyber security needs have also changed and this is only set to continue. We are seeing digital transformation continue to accelerate across most sectors, while more SMEs are digitising their product offering and customer experience.

Windows 11 less popular than XP and 7

Posted on April 20, 2022 by - News

Software King of the World, Microsoft, seems to be having issues getting its Windows 11 onto computers — with even Windows 7 and XP being on more seats.

Part of the problem is that less than half of business PCs are capable of running the latest Microsoft Windows operating system (OS), according to a Lansweeper audit.

Attack resistance gap widening

Posted on April 20, 2022 by - News

Organisations face a significant attack resistance gap between what they are able to protect and what they need to protect

HackerOne has compiled a report from survey responses from enterprise organisations in North America and Europe, and found four areas critical for organisations to increase their resistance to attack:

  • An understanding of their attack surface
  • The cadence of application testing compared to release cycles
  • The depth and style of security testing
  • The availability of technical talent capable of carrying out these tasks

 Hadston 2 permitted to buy UKCloud

Posted on April 20, 2022 by - News

Hadston 2 has got the nod to buy the MSP UKCloud under the National Security and Investment Act.

For those not in the know, Hadston 2 is a newly created special-purpose investment company led by entrepreneur and UKCloud Chairman Jeff Thomas and backed by existing institutional investors including BGF and Digital Alpha.

The partner says the “significant” new investment will allow it to begin executing its strategic plan, while “redoubling its commitment to the UK’s technology sector”.

Exclusive network boss calls it quits

Posted on April 19, 2022 by - Moving People, News

Exclusive network boss Graham Jones has confirmed that he will be retiring after spending 45 years in the IT industry.

Jones has worked at multiple companies during his career and most recently acted as UK and Ireland divisional director at Exclusive Networks.

But after nine years with the business, Jones said he has now decided to “hang up his boots” and retire immediately.

Confirming his retirement on LinkedIn, he said that he has had a “great ride” during his career and is “over the moon” that his “last gig” was with Exclusive Networks.

He said: “(There are) too many people to thank for making my career so fulfilling and enjoyable. At Exclusive we managed to show that value can be scaled and vars and vendors alike will pay a little more for real people who care and do a great job. It’s not all about price.”

Datto partners revolt over Kaseya acquisition

Posted on April 19, 2022 by - News

Some of Datto’s channel partners are considering their options after hearing of Kaseya’s planned $6.2 billion acquisition.

According to some reports, loyal Datto partners are worried that Kaseya will not provide the same high-level partnership and channel-friendly experience. Apparently some channel partners across the pond have already cancelled meetings because of the impending acquisition.

One MSP currently does about $200,000 per month in Datto SaaS protection and is now assessing whether to move that business elsewhere. He said that the company got a bad rap for doing things like sending out renewal paperwork that’s automatically in force for three years instead of one year, without telling the partners and giving them advance notice that there’s a change in the terms and conditions.

Openreach claims more Brits on full-fibre

Posted on April 19, 2022 by - News

Openreach claims to have bought full-fibre broadband to more than seven million homes and businesses across the UK, including more than two million in the places others can’t reach.

Openreach said its engineers were installing about 800 metres of cable every minute and passing more than 50,000 new homes and businesses every week. The end result was that it was confident of being on track to reach 25 million premises in the UK by December 2026.

Cyber-duck revamps office

Posted on April 15, 2022 by - News

Cyber-Duck has written a cheque for the Elstree property that has been its rented headquarters for more than a decade.

It now plans to restore the Grade 2-listed property – an old coach house on Watling Street, the Roman road running between Marble Arch and St Albans – and refurbish its interior to provide a hybrid working environment designed to foster collaboration, productivity, social interaction and staff wellbeing in support of the company’s ambitious growth plans.

Men from the ministry try to boost tech startups

Posted on April 15, 2022 by - News

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has launched a new grant competition to boost the growth of innovative tech start-ups and scale-ups across the UK.

For the previous six years the grant has been awarded to Tech Nation. The government is introducing a competitive process to ensure value for money for taxpayers, and to bring the funding in line with the majority of government grants, which are awarded under a competitive process.

Commenting on the decision, Jonathan Moyes, Head of Investment Research, Wealth Club said: “Any rival bidder will have their work cut out. Tech Nation has done a stellar job of raising awareness of the UK’s thriving start-up ecosystem and helping nurture promising start-ups and scale-ups.”

Decision makers racked with self-doubt

Posted on April 15, 2022 by - News

A Trachet study has found that the workforce is riddled with self-doubt with decision-makers needing high-level advice. (Psycotherapy? Ed.)

The report comes at a time when the UK is facing the worst cost-of-living crisis for 30 years, with business leaders and employees feeling more pressure than ever to perform at work.

The report with the catchy title “From Burnout to Earnout”, found that nearly a third of Brits were suffering from imposter syndrome, which is hindering their ability to run their businesses effectively.

For those who don’t know the lingo imposter syndrome is when people believe they don’t deserve their achievements. Trachet’s study found it to be more common among Millennials, as 40 percent state they have feelings of imposter syndrome in the workplace compared to a significantly lower 18 percent amongst Generation X. 

Sustainability is not a real priority

Posted on April 14, 2022 by - News

Despite sustainability being hailed as a key area of business focus, most companies are just using the term as another layer of management-speak.

Research commissioned by Google Cloud, which featured responses from about 1,500 C-level executives from 16 countries across Europe, sustainability is being inserted into every press release and dull business meeting.

However, money to bring about sustainability goals is surprisingly lacking with cash being earmarked for more pressing projects.

The vast majority of respondents (90 percent) name-checked environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives as being a top organisational priority for their enterprises, with the UK participants in the poll giving themselves an above-average rating for their efforts.

But the research also revealed that businesses across EMEA are allocating only nine percent of their budget towards ESG initiatives, with this figure dropping to eight per cent for UK firms.

Oracle platform helps employees decide what to do with their life

Posted on April 14, 2022 by - News

Oracle has announced an employee experience platform for workers contemplating life after the pandemic lockdowns.

Dubbed Oracle ME the platform is described as “a complete employee experience platform to help organisations increase employee engagement and ensure employee success”.

It is part of Oracle’s Fusion Cloud Human Capital Management (HCM) product suite.

Oracle’s Yvette Cameron said: “The way we work is drastically different to a few years ago, so employee experience, as a category, needs to reflect that.”

She claims that Oracle ME is the only end-to-end employee experience platform in the market built natively into a cloud HCM platform.

Cybersecurity taking a back seat to other digital projects

Posted on April 14, 2022 by - News

Organisations have taken a step back with cybersecurity in favour of accelerating other digital business initiatives.

CyberArk Research shows one in five organisations deprioritised security investment in 2021, even if  70 percent having experienced at least one ransomware attack.

According to CyberArk’s latest report reveals that 79 percent of senior security professionals agreed their organisations prioritised maintaining business operations over ensuring robust cyber security in the last 12 months.

IAM policy is cloud’s Achilles heel

Posted on April 13, 2022 by - News

Proper identity and access management (IAM) policy controls are the Achilles’ heel of most cloud-based companies.

Palo Alto Networks, released a report that accuses 99 percent of organisations of taking an “overly permissive IAM approach.”

Palo Alto analysed more than 680,000 identities across 18,000 cloud accounts at 200 organisations to understand configuration and usage patterns, and described its findings as “shocking”.

SAP scores big Gloucestershire County Council contract

Posted on April 13, 2022 by - News

SAP has scored a big contract with Gloucestershire County Council (GCC).

The GCC has become the first UK public sector organisation to select RISE with SAP to modernise its IT and technology infrastructure, accelerate its transformation into the cloud and deliver efficient services to its local residents.