Author: Nick Farrell

Computacenter sees trouble ahead

Posted on March 13, 2020 by - News

While Computacenter CEO Mike Norris has just reported a stonkingly good financial year, he is a little worried about what he is seeing in his crystal ball.

The services giant saw overall revenue grow 16 percent year on year to £5.02 billion, with its Technology Sourcing unit contributing over £3.8 billion to that number.

Norris warned that last year has set a “high bar” for its current fiscal year and that it may not see the same level of growth due to the impact of coronavirus.

“It is too early to predict the outcome for the year as a whole and there is still much work to be done, particularly as we have not yet completed our first quarter. Our services pipeline is the strongest we have seen for some time in both professional and managed services. While we still believe customers will continue to invest in product, particularly in the areas of security, networking, and cloud, it may well be difficult to achieve the same growth rates we have seen in recent years.”

E-commerce boosts parcel delivery businesses

Posted on March 13, 2020 by - News

The rise in e-commerce is fueling rapid growth in parcel delivery volumes, a market expected to grow to $665 billion by 2030.

Consumers are increasingly expecting parcels to be delivered quickly. This demand is driving companies to explore using automated delivery technologies to cover the last leg of the delivery journey.

Lux Research’s new report, “Automating the Last Mile,” predicts that automated last-mile deliveries will generate up to $48.4 billion in revenue by 2030, even though automated deliveries will only address 20 percent of all parcel deliveries.

Avaya provides free collaboration software to education institutions

Posted on March 12, 2020 by - News

Avaya is providing its Avaya Spaces collaboration software for free to education institutions, including colleges and universities, along with qualified non-profit organisations worldwide.

Since January, Avaya has seen a 200 percent increase in video collaboration traffic on this platform.

Avaya CEO Jim Chirico said: “Coronavirus (COVID-19) is impacting the lives of people around the globe and every day we hear new sobering stories about the very real health and safety implications of the spread of this virus.

Rubrik appoints Dan Rogers

Posted on March 12, 2020 by - News

Multi-Cloud Data outfit Rubrik has appointed Dan Rogers as its new President.

Rogers will lead Rubrik’s GTM Operations, driving the product, marketing, and GTM strategy. Working closely with CRO, Brett Shirk, Rogers is responsible for continuing to build upon Rubrik’s momentum and accelerating the company’s next phase of global growth. Rogers will report to Rubrik’s co-founder and CEO Bipul Sinha.  

Anomali teams up with One Distribution

Posted on March 12, 2020 by - News

Cybersecurity outfit Anomali and distributor One Distribution have entered a strategic partnership.

The move gives One Distribution the ability to deploy and support Anomali threat intelligence solutions in the UK and Ireland. By broadening its portfolio to include Anomali, One Distribution is expanding its ‘One’ Intelligence suite of integrated solutions.

Anomali GM and SVP, EMEA Jamie Stone said: “Organisations recognise that without a high level of visibility over cyber threats, there is no way to detect and respond to the constant attacks hitting their organisations.

NetApp gets its paws on Talon

Posted on March 11, 2020 by - News

Cloud data services outfit NetApp  has bought Talon Storage, a software-defined storage company.

NetApp says that the combination of NetApp Cloud Volumes technology and Talon FAST software, enterprises can centralise data in the cloud while still maintaining a consistent branch office operation.

Anthony Lye, senior vice president and general manager of NetApp’s Cloud Data Services business unit said: “As we grow our cloud data services offerings with solutions like Cloud Volumes ONTAP, Cloud Volumes Service, Azure NetApp Files and Cloud Insights, we are excited about the potential that lies in front of this new combined team to deliver complete solutions for primary workloads.”

Netskope goes Exclusive

Posted on March 11, 2020 by - News

Exclusive Networks UK announced a commitment from leading cloud security vendor Netskope on a new value-added sole distribution contract. The deal will support sharply rising enterprise demand for Netskope’s market-leading Security Cloud, with Exclusive Networks growing the Netskope partner base and delivering dedicated in-country expertise along with a wealth of value-creation services.

Since 44 percent of security threats now come from cloud applications and services, and more than half of DLP violations are cloud related. Netskope was built within the cloud to address the needs of a world in which cloud is pervasive and security needs to follow data wherever it goes. The Netskope Security Cloud provides visibility, and real-time data and threat protection when accessing cloud services, websites and private apps from anywhere, on any device.

Global AI software market to grow by five times

Posted on March 11, 2020 by - News

One in five workers in a non-routine job will rely on artificial intelligence (AI) for at least part of their role, according to forecasts. The growing volume and complexity of business data have forced many firms across a variety of industries to adopt AI to boost growth.According to data gathered by LearnBonds, this trend is set to continue over the coming years, with global artificial intelligence software market value jumping from $22.6 billion in 2020 to a remarkable $126 billion by 2025.

Artificial intelligence has already begun to revolutionise industries across the world, helping businesses to improve their efficiency, quality, and speed. By using automation, deep learning, and natural language processing, AI helps streamline business operations, decision making, and help predict trends.

Over the years, many of the biggest names in the tech industry have invested heavily in AI acquisitions and AI-related research and development. Companies such as IBM, Microsoft, Google, and Samsung have each submitted thousands of AI patent applications, while AI-related startups will rake in billions of dollars in investment each year.

Data worth more to companies than tangibles

Posted on March 10, 2020 by - News

Beancounters at Anvizent have done a survey and discovered that senior managers in mid-sized manufacturing firms value their data more than tangible assets.

The survey of 100 companies showed that the managers looked after £120 million worth of data. This figure was calculated using the average value of business assets in manufacturing (£599 million) and the percentage of respondents who identified data as being the most valuable business asset in the company (20 percent).

Dell Technologies World Kung Flued

Posted on March 10, 2020 by - News

Dell Technologies’ largest event of the year, Dell Technologies World 2020, will go virtual conference due to concerns around the coronavirus outbreak.

In a statement Dell said:  “Nothing is more important than the health and safety of our team members, customers, partners and suppliers, we have decided to make Dell Technologies World 2020 a virtual event. This decision was not made lightly. As we learn more about the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, we know this is the right thing to do, given the global nature of Dell Technologies World.”

Blue Prism partners with Red Hat on Robots

Posted on March 10, 2020 by - News

Robotic expert Blue Prism has announced a new collaboration with Red Hat, designed to create next-generation intelligent automation capabilities and services for the enterprise.

The initiative will see Red Hat’s Process Automation Manager platform integrated with Blue Prism’s connected-RPA suite to enable businesses to create a more comprehensive automation strategy that can increase process efficiencies and improve ROI.

Available now on Blue Prism’s Digital Exchange (DX) portal, the integration allows users to quickly build and deploy executable, automated processes to tackle tasks such as processing claims, filling orders reducing inventory and onboarding customers, it’s claimed.

Global technology industry deals totalled $42.98 billion in January

Posted on March 9, 2020 by - News

Beancounters at GlobalData have added up some numbers and worked out that the total technology industry deals for January 2020 were worth $42.98 billion.

The value marked an increase of 11.9 percent over the previous month and a drop of 7.8 percent when compared with the last 12-month average of $46.59 billion.

In terms of number of deals, the sector saw a drop of 12.7 percent over the last 12-month average with 1295 deals against the average of 1483 deals.

Allvotec “near shores” to Bulgaria

Posted on March 9, 2020 by - News

Channel services provider Allvotec is preparing to “near shore” some of its back-office and support functions.

Having taken on 70 staff based in Sofia via its recent acquisition of Cisco partner ISG, the firm – formerly known as Daisy Partner Services – plans to enlist a further 200 Bulgarians.

CEO Glen Williams said it is the first time Allvotec has done this.

WatchGuard acquires Panda

Posted on March 9, 2020 by - News

WatchGuard Technologies has entered into a definitive agreement to buy Panda Security, a global provider in advanced endpoint protection.

The outfit said that once the integration is complete, its joint customer and partner community will benefit from a security platform that bridges the network and user perimeter, touting the same combination of innovative security features and simplified packaging, deployment and management capabilities.

Canon fires off salvo at Xerox

Posted on March 6, 2020 by - News

Canon will bring its long-standing relationship with HP to an end if the maker of expensive ink merges with Xerox.

For those who came in late, Canon has been providing laser jet components to HP. But Canon and Xerox compete in the multi-function printer and copier markets, and CEO Fujio Mitarai told Nikkei Asian Review that the 35-year relationship will be ended if Xerox gets its way, leaving HP to source another supplier.