Author: Nick Farrell

British Computer Society’s Alina Timofeeva said that the Crowdstrike situation proved that you need more than one partner.

She highlights that the outages caused by a CrowdStrike update have far-reaching effects beyond the initial chaos.

Timofeeva said the incident underscores the risks associated with technology and the lack of customer awareness about them. The global ripple effect demonstrates the market’s interconnectivity and risk concentration.

She said that large software vendors like CrowdStrike can significantly impact the global economic system and millions of customers when they fail. She stresses the importance of companies, governments, and regulators being mindful of the systemic risks of relying on a single primary provider. Future failures by cloud giants like Amazon, Microsoft, or Google could have even more extensive impacts. Read more…

Nvidia has acquired Brev.dev, a startup that helps AI developers find cost-effective GPU compute across cloud providers,

For those not in the know Brev.dev, based in San Francisco, offers a platform for building, training, and deploying AI models on CPU and GPU cloud instances.

Brev.dev aims to simplify GPU usage for AI/ML developers by combining powerful hardware with leading software. The startup lists Nvidia, Intel, and Amazon Web Services as partners, providing a single interface for various GPU clouds.

This is Nvidia’s fourth acquisition of the year, and the company has been expanding its cloud infrastructure business, which is crucial for AI development, through software and services. Read more…

Westcon-Comstor has partnered with AppViewX to enhance its quantum security portfolio.

This agreement targets the UK, Benelux, and DACH markets to provide better crypto-agility solutions.

The collaboration is timely, with the quantum security market expected to reach $9.8 billion by 2030. AppViewX’s expertise in certificate lifecycle management automation and PKIaaS will help address the growing complexity of application delivery infrastructure and security.

AppViewX, based in the US, is already partnered with F5 through F5’s technology alliance programme. Read more…

Distribution giant TD SYNNEX has launched a new programme to support the growth of NetApp partners.

Open to existing and new NetApp partners, the programme offers resources and benefits to help businesses develop their data management solutions offerings.

TD SYNNEX stated that as organisations grapple with managing vast amounts of data from various sources stored across multiple on-premises and cloud environments, its new programme is designed to equip NetApp partners with the tools and knowledge needed to address these complex data management needs.

TD SYNNEX MD Simon Bennett said: “End-user organisations want efficient and effective ways to access, protect, and manage their data as they strive to gain a competitive edge in the digitally driven era. Read more…

The Labour government has announced its legislative agenda for the new Parliament, with the King’s Speech outlining bills covering cyber security, data sharing, and skills among proposals likely to impact IT professionals.

However, there are no plans for artificial intelligence (AI) regulation at this stage.

The King highlighted his government’s intention to “pursue sustainable growth by encouraging investment in industry, skills and new technologies”.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the measures in the King’s Speech focus on “national renewal” and economic growth.

“This is an agenda focused entirely on delivering security, opportunity, prosperity and justice for every person across the country,” said Starmer. Read more…

Gartner’s latest forecast for worldwide IT spending projects a total of $5.26 trillion in 2024, marking a 7.5 per cent increase from 2023.

This figure represents a slight decrease from the previous quarter’s forecast of eight per cent growth but still indicates an overall increase in spending.

VP analyst at Gartner John-David Lovelock said that the increase was due to the pervasive influence of Generative AI (GenAI) across all technology segments.

“GenAI is being felt across all technology segments and subsegments, but not to everyone’s benefit,” Lovelock said.

He noted that while some software spending increases are attributable to GenAI, they often act as a “tax” for software companies, with revenue from GenAI add-ons or tokens flowing back to AI model provider partners. Read more…

Schneider Electric has introduced five new certifications within its EcoXpert Partner Programme.

The company wants these certifications to enhance skills development across their partner base, focusing on sustainable data centres and critical infrastructure.

The EcoXpert Partner Programme provides a collaborative forum for various partner types, offering training and support.

Schneider said it wants to support better partners in designing, building, and maintaining data centres. These include service providers, cooling and power specialists, systems integrators, and electrical/mechanical contractors.

Schneider Electric Senior Vice President of the Secure Power Division Marc Garner said the move emphasises the company’s commitment to a greener and more secure future. The new certifications align with operational excellence and responsible practices in the data centre industry. Read more…

According to JumpCloud’s Q3 2024 SME IT Trends Report, SMEs are rushing to adopt AI solutions.

The JumpCloud report draws insights from 311 IT decision-makers in UK organisations with 2,500 or fewer employees. It says that UK SMEs are caught between the allure of AI and the risks of cybersecurity threats. While 81 per cent believe in investing in AI initiatives (up from 70 per cent in Q1 2024), 64 per cent worry that AI threats outpace their defense capabilities.

Security remains the biggest concern for UK businesses, with 61 per cent emphasizing its importance, the report said.

More than 44 per cent of UK SMEs have fallen victim to cyberattacks, primarily through phishing (43 per cent) and shadow IT (33 per cent).

Meanwhile, 85 per cent of respondents express concern about shadow IT, reflecting the challenges of managing IT resources. Read more…

The latest analysis from Canalys indicates that worldwide shipments of desktops and notebooks are up 3.4 per cent year-on-year.

The figures show laptops improved by four per cent and desktops by a per cent, setting the stage for further growth this year.

Canalys principal analyst Ishan Dutt said: “ The PC industry is going from strength to strength with a third consecutive quarter of growth.”

The market turnaround coincides with exciting announcements from vendors and chipset manufacturers as their AI PC roadmaps become a reality. Read more…

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is reportedly in advanced talks to buy cybersecurity startup Wiz for around $23 billion.

According to an anonymous source, the deal, mainly funded in cash, could be finalised soon. This acquisition comes amid a surge in tech sector deals, with Alphabet aiming to boost its cybersecurity capabilities.

Wiz, founded in Israel and now based in New York, is a leader in cloud-based cybersecurity solutions. Its platform uses AI for real-time threat detection and response, meeting the growing demand for cloud security. Read more…

The software king of the world Microsoft is rather pleased with VMware’s post-acquisition pricing changes.

Microsoft executive vice president and chief commercial officer Judson Althoff said the “the greatest gift of all” and had boosted  Microsoft’s cloud migration business.

He said, “everyone wants to get off of VMware and into the cloud.”

Althoff said that Cloud migrations, although less glamorous than other priorities, was where “all the money is.”

He highlighted the ongoing “migration opportunity” and promoted a specialised offer with Azure VMware Solution (AVS). This offer aims to help customers overcome VMware pricing challenges and move their licenses to the cloud. Read more…

Exclusive Networks has now confirmed the interest from private equity and confirmed rumours that it might be going private.

“Exclusive Networks confirms receipt of a non-binding indication of interest from a consortium of investors led by Clayton Dubilier & Rice and the Company majority shareholder Everest UK Holdco Limited (an entity controlled by Permira), at a price of EUR24 per share,” it said in a statement.

“There can be no certainty at this stage that these discussions will result in any agreement or transaction, or as to the terms, conditions, and timing of any transaction.”

Permira first invested in Exclusive in 2018. Following the distributor’s IPO in 2021, Permira held 55.2 per cent of the capital and voting rights in Exclusive Networks. Read more…

IT providers are navigating the intersection of AI, cybersecurity, and efficiency while adapting to economic fluctuations, according to a new “Future of IT Survey” report by Kaseya.
The report said that investments among IT service providers were increasingly directed toward AI and cybersecurity. AI has emerged as a significant focus, with 40 per cent of respondents expecting it to be the primary budget driver in 2024.
More than 75 per cent of participants acknowledge the benefits of AI for business operations with only three per cent expressing doubts about its impact. Read more…

About a month after changing CEOs, business automation platform provider UiPath announced plans to reduce its employee base by 10 per cent, to approximately 4,200.

Most of these cuts are expected to occur by the end of the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 (specifically, in April 2025). Currently, UiPath is in the second quarter of its 2025 fiscal year.

UiPath claims that eliminating staff will enhance operational efficiency and customer-centricity. It wants to streamline its organizational structure, particularly in operational and corporate functions.

It added that its research and development investments will focus on artificial intelligence and innovation across the platform. Read more…