Rigby Group completes FluidOne sale to Livingbridge

Rigby Group has flogged off its data connectivity aggregator FluidOne to Livingbridge.

Rigby Group initially invested in Fluidata in 2015 to drive the next phase of growth for the leading data connectivity business, which had been founded in 2006 by Piers Daniell. Following the investment, Fluidata acquired OnePoint, a voice and mobile specialist, creating FluidOne in 2016, at which point Rigby Group became the sole owner of the enlarged business.

Cloudflare wants to expand its channel

Cloud-based internet security outfit Cloudflare says it wants to expand its channel.

For those who came in late, Cloudflare provides a cloud-based alternative to top of rack options like load balancing, web optimisation, DNS and firewalls and has developed its product range to appeal to those looking to migrate those tasks into the cloud.

Siemens wants its suppliers to meet tough new rules

Any supplier hoping to peddle their wares to Siemens will have to meet tough new cybersecurity standards.

The new requirements will be introduced step-by-step starting on February 15, 2019, and anchored in a separate, binding clause in all new contracts. They mostly apply to suppliers of security-critical components such as software, processors and electronic components for certain types of control units.

PC market plagued by component shortages

The industry is going to be plagued by component shortages, macroeconomic and political factors across EMEA, according to IDC.

The analyst outfit’s latest quarterly PC tracker forecasting unit thought that sales across EMEA of 67.6 million in 2019. This is a 3.5 percent decline compared to the previous year.

Cyber security services get top priority

MSPs are seeing cybersecurity as their top priority, according to Kaseya’s 2019 MSP Benchmark Survey,

The survey found that nearly a fifth of managed service providers listed cybersecurity services as their top IT problem this year followed by ‘public cloud adoption/migration/support’ (11 percent and ‘private cloud adoption/migration’ (nine percent).

Digital twin adoption to skyrocket in IoT

Beancounters at the Gartner Group have added up some numbers and reached the conclusion that two-thirds of organisations implementing the Internet of Things (IoT) projects are using or planning to use digital twin technology.

For those who came in late, a digital twin is a “software design pattern that represents a physical object with the objective of understanding the asset’s state, responding to changes, improving business operations and adding value”.

Digital workplace led by medium sized businesses

Medium-sized businesses are investing fast in digital technology to stay ahead according to HPE outfit Aruba.

Aruba’s ‘The Hidden Middle’ report quized more than 2,700 employees in management and non-management roles across medium-sized businesses.

It discovered  medium-sized businesses are the most active users of workplace technology with almost two-thirds of business employees rated the ‘choice of technology, applications and IT support’ at their company as either good or very good.

That compared to 53 percent of those also surveyed from the largest companies. Medium-sized businesses were ahead of the competition in their use of advanced audio-visual technologies (such as voice-activated speakers), which are offered by an average of 27 percent of medium-sized business, compared to 16 percent of smaller and 22 percent of larger employers.

Court shuts Leicester-based IT supplier

Bradwell Communications has been wound-up by the High Court following an investigation that found it “lacked transparency”, following a  report by the Insolvency Service.

The  Leicester-based IT supplier was found to have links to Direct United (Services) and Fibre Tex which were closed down in April 2018, after investigations found a lack of transparency in their operations and that they had traded in an improper manner, resulting in both organisations incurring significant liabilities, according to the Insolvency Service.

Retailers have five days before losing customers

Retail technology outfit Conversity has worked out that 43 percent of shoppers researching complex purchases such as mobile phones, laptops or broadband packages make a buying decision within five days.

Within this five days window,  67 percent of shoppers will visit at least two online sites, with 57 percent then narrowing their enquiries to one or two in-store premises. This means that retailers with an integrated approach to engaging with customers are more likely to keep the customer interested throughout the process, and close the sale during this critical period.

HP provides DaaS Apple support

HP has expanded its enterprise device-as-a-service (DaaS) programme to include support for Apple products.

Until now, it was impossible for Apple fanboys outside the US with access to the company cheque book to put Apple gear onto the desks of employees under HP’s DaaS scheme.

SoftwareONE launches UC managed services in UK

Licensing outfit SoftwareONE has launched its unified communications (UC) managed services in the UK.

The Swiss firm launched UCSimple in the US, Germany, Switzerland and Austria last year and has now added Blighty to its list.

UCSimple is based on a premise that traditional UC tools are ineffective because they don’t take into account the number of employees working remotely will increase over the next few years.

Customers fear cloud lock-in

A report from Fujitsu suggests that punters fear that they will be locked into their cloud contracts and never escape.

Fujitsu’s report “Where is Hybrid Heading?” claims that users are concerned that as they move deeper into a hybrid and multi-cloud world, they will get trapped working with just a handful of vendors.

Huawei to invest £3 billion in the UK

Huawei is looking at shifting all the cash it is spending in the US to the UK.

The announcement follows the National Cyber Security Centre saying the vendor will not be treated as harshly as it was in the US.

The NCSC said it it believed it could mitigate any security concerns related to China, although the final decision as to whether Huawei will be allowed to work on the UK’s 5G network will be made by the government.