Author: Nick Farrell

Windows 12 will not be subscription based

Posted on October 18, 2023 by - News

Channel partners are breathing a sigh of relief after the software king of the world, Microsoft, revealed that its comping Windows 12 will not be subscription-based.

Windows 12 is expected to be released in 2024 and the dark satanic rumour mill has been manufacturing a lot of rumours claiming it would be subscription-based.

After introducing “Windows as a Service”, reports suggesting that the next Windows will be subscription-based have started to surface online. Microsoft introduced Windows as a Service to provide customers with a consistent Windows 10 experience.

A Windows Central report suggests the recently discovered references could be linked to the “IoT Enterprise Subscription” edition of Windows 11 rather than the client version of Windows vNext. Furthermore, the publication’s Zac Bowden says the upcoming version of Windows isn’t likely to boast new features that may require a subscription.

Rubrik, ManageEngine and LogRhythm expand cyber resilience

Posted on October 17, 2023 by - News

Rubrik, ManageEngine and LogRhythm have increased investments. in managed service providers in a bid to push their software-as-a-service (SaaS)

Rubrik said it is keen to get more managed service providers (MSPs) in a position where they can sell zero-trust solutions and will support those who want to get involved with its cyber resilience offering.

Rubrik’s vice president of worldwide channels and alliances, Ghazal Asif said MSPs must face the cyber security problems daily and stay ahead of modern threats to defend themselves and their customers.

Juniper Predicts Cybersecurity Boom

Posted on October 17, 2023 by - News

A new study by Juniper Research predicts a 107 per cent growth in the number of industrial endpoints featuring cybersecurity protection in the next five years.

The research identified the rise of interconnected processes within the Industry 4.0 revolution as increasingly exposing critical industrial infrastructure to external threats, requiring wholesale changes in how industrial stakeholders secure their operations.

Juniper Research defines an industrial endpoint as any physical or virtual device connected to a network to send and receive information in an industrial setting.

Advania pushes into Sweden with RTS buy

Posted on October 16, 2023 by - News

MSP Advania has acquired large-scale digital transformation provider RTS as part of a cunning plan to enter the Swedish market.

Advania says it wants to become the preferred IT-services provider in Northern Europe and acquire all RTS’s shares from ShortCap and management.

The transaction is expected to close during Q4 2023, if the regulators give it the nod.

For those not in the know, the Swedish privately-owned IT services company specialises in large digital transformation projects and managed services as well as offering hardware and licenses.

UK government wants AI for the public sector

Posted on October 16, 2023 by - News

The UK government wants to use AI in the public sector to increase productivity.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, John Glen, hosted a meeting with AI experts focused on the safe and secure use of AI to enhance public services and find ways to balance public spending with the need to manage taxes more efficiently.

During the meeting, Glen said that AI, could be a vital driver of productivity growth within the public sector.

Glen said the benefits of AI implementation were evident in various sectors, with cutting-edge AI tools already making a difference in England’s stroke units. These AI tools assist clinicians in treating stroke patients more efficiently, cutting treatment time in half and significantly increasing patients’ chances of independent living post-stroke.

Glen’s roundtable discussions included input from both academia and industry, offering valuable insights into how AI can be harnessed effectively. It was evident that companies were already using AI to benefit their employees and customers. AI has been instrumental in enhancing customer experiences and has shown remarkable results in terms of productivity.

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Only a third of companies get much from the cloud.

Posted on October 13, 2023 by - News

A new study has revealed that only a third of companies are seeing their cloud ambitions realised.

HFS and EYGS announced the findings of a six-month study related to the challenging results that many enterprises find during the cloud-native transformation (CNT) process.

HFS CEO Phil Fersht said the study showed that while 65 per cent of organisations made strategic investments in the cloud, only 32 per cent are realising their ambitions.

“Many are failing to capture the value of their investment. The report clarifies the disconnect between many organisations’ supply and buy side while highlighting the need for a clear understanding of business objectives. It also pinpoints the challenge of justifying moving workloads to the cloud and aiming for business transformation through that process,” Fersht said.

Google Cloud wants new partners

Posted on October 13, 2023 by - News

Google Cloud wants new partners and is offering augmented incentives and resources for global partners to exploit the burgeoning opportunities in AI.

Its plans were revealed at this week’s Google Cloud Next ’23 summit in London.

Google’s cunning plan involves using tools such as Duet AI and Vertex AI in critical domains like data modernisation and cloud migrations, incorporating these tools into partner systems and processes and making a concerted global push through managed service providers (MSPs).

Google Cloud plans to significantly boost funding by up to tenfold for independent software vendors (ISVs) and systems integrator partners aiming to implement gen AI.

UK government launches Chipstart

Posted on October 13, 2023 by - News

UK government has launched ChipStart, a two-year pilot programme to support twelve cutting-edge startups in developing revolutionary semiconductor chips.

A £1.3 million investment backs the programme which SiliconCatalyst facilitates.

The two-year pilot initiative will provide critical support to twelve semiconductor design startups, helping them navigate the complex world of semiconductor chip design.

These companies are expected to address diverse global challenges, from brain implants for Parkinson’s patients to quantum computing for enhanced online security and more efficient AI model training.

Performanta named top UK MSSP

Posted on October 12, 2023 by - News

Managed services provider Performanta has been recognised as the top MSSP in the UK.

The cybersecurity firm landed on MSSP Alert’s Top 250 list for 2023, ranking 28 globally and the only UK company to get into the top 30.

It is a step up for the group which made it to number 40 in 2022.

Performanta CEO Guy Golan said the ranking was an exceptional achievement for the Performanta team.

AMD swallows Nod.ai and gives new life to SHARK

Posted on October 12, 2023 by - News

AMD has snapped up Nod.ai as part of a cunning plan to improve its growing AI capabilities using its SHARK product.

The compiler-based automation software capabilities of Nod.ai’s SHARK software is designed to reduce the need for manual optimisation and the time required to deploy AI models to run across a broad portfolio of data centre, edge, and client platforms.

The company says that the deal should enhance the deployment of AI solutions for its instinct datacentre accelerators, Ryzen AI processors, EPYC processors, Versal SoCs and Radeon GPUs.

The agreement follows the company’s AI growth strategy centres on an open software ecosystem that lowers the barriers of entry for customers through developer tools, libraries and models.

Mendix teams up with Red Hat

Posted on October 11, 2023 by - News

Siemens-owned Mendix has partnered with the open saucy Red Hat.

The idea is to mix Menix’s to mix its agility and speed low code platform with the scalability and flexibility of Red Hat OpenShift.

Mendix said that working with Red Hat in this capacity will help organisations build scalable, flexible, and security-focused applications and make it easier to deploy and manage Mendix applications across various cloud environments and on-premises infrastructure using Red Hat OpenShift.

Red Hat vice president of partner ecosystem success Penny Philpot said that the partnership will change how how organisations develop and deploy applications.

Pulsant expands Rotherham data centre

Posted on October 11, 2023 by - News

Edgy Pulsant is expanding its Rotherham data centre capacity by 116 per cent to 380kW. The new power will accommodate growing regional demand for low latency, high performance, scalable network infrastructure.

At more than 2000 SQM, the Rotherham site will increase IT space by 30 per cent to support a growing technology sector demand in the Yorkshire and Humber region with edge colocation, hyperscale cloud access, and distributed compute services.

PC sales may have bottomed out

Posted on October 10, 2023 by - News

Sales of PCs have continued to decline during the third quarter but may have gone as low as they can, according to the number crunchers at IDC.

IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker says that the downward spiral for PC shipments continued during Q3 as global volumes declined 7.6 per cent year over year, with 68.2 million PCs shipped.

Demand and the global economy remained subdued, while PC shipments increased in each of the last two quarters. This slowed the rate of annual decline indicating that the market has bottomed out.
PC inventory is better than it has been for a while with less stock on hand.

Climb Global Solutions completes DataSolutions buyout

Posted on October 10, 2023 by - News

US Value-added global IT channel company Climb Global Solutions has completed the acquisition of UK cloudy security outfit DataSolutions.

DataSolutions is an Ireland-based, speciality IT distributor serving the Irish and UK reseller markets. DataSolutions brings its robust share of the Irish market and growing position in the UK to Climb with 14 carefully selected strategic vendor partners, including Check Point, Citrix, Neustar, HPE Aruba, IGEL and Color Tokens.

Climb CEO Dale Foster said the DataSolutions acquisition builds upon his outfit’s goal to strengthen its line card with new strategic, cutting-edge technology vendors and bolsters its geographic footprint in Western Europe.

Startups with female founders get less VC cash

Posted on October 9, 2023 by - News

According to the Alan Turing Institute’s women in data science and AI team, startups with female founders account for less than three per cent of all venture capital (VC) funding deals involving AI.

In a new report, Rebalancing Innovation, Women, AI And Venture Capital in the UK, the Institute points to a need for more diversity in AI investment by UK VC firms.

The research covers the past decade of investment, between 2012 and 2022, and indicates that in that time, 80 per cent of capital raised went to all-male founding teams, while all-female teams received 0.3 per cent of VC investment.