Author: Nick Farrell

Tata joins Cohesity Data Security Alliance

Posted on September 28, 2023 by - News

Cohesity has announced that Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is joining the Cohesity Data Security Alliance ecosystem.

Cohesity and Data Security Alliance partners offer current and potential new customers a suite of data security and management solutions and services to help build a cybersecurity strategy and enhance cyber resilience.

This news builds upon Cohesity and TCS’ long-standing partnership and commitment to providing modern and automated data management solutions with end-to-end security.

eCommerce will double by 2027

Posted on September 28, 2023 by - News

A recent study by flyers-on-line.com claims that eCommerce will double by 2027.

The study places China as the undisputed leader, with a market value of $779.858 billion in 2022, predominantly driven by the electronics sector.

This is projected to double, soaring to approximately $1.73 trillion by 2027. Meanwhile, Europe and the United States are also pivotal players in this rapidly expanding field. In 2023, Europe is expected to generate revenues of $730.3 billion, while the United States is projected to contribute $917.6 billion.

The global eCommerce landscape is poised for significant growth. According to flyers-on-line.com projections, global eCommerce revenue is expected to grow by 64.69 per cent from 2023 to 2027, reaching $6.34 trillion.

Monitor market drops 17.1 per cent

Posted on September 27, 2023 by - News

Beancounters from IDC say that the global PC monitor market saw a year-on-year drop of 17.1 per cent during the second quarter of 2023.

The researcher said it could have been much worse and the market “slightly exceeded” expectations by reaching just over 29.9 million units.  It was still lower than pre-Covid levels.

IDC claims this is a sign that “recovery remains a work in progress” following the surge in volume witnessed from 2020 to 2022.

Top PC monitor vendor leader was the grey box shifter Dell, earning a market share of 20 per cent. TPV, HP , Samsung and Lenovo rounded up the rest of the top five.

TD SYNNEX sees revenue fall

Posted on September 27, 2023 by - News

TD SYNNEX has seen a reduction in its third quarter 2023 numbers, with revenues falling 9.1 per cent to $14 billion, compared to $15.4 billion.

The company blamed weak performance in its endpoint solutions business due to post-pandemic declines in the PC market.

Net income shrank 6.4 per cent to $139.3 million.

TD SYNNEX said the slump was partially offset by growth in its advanced solutions arm.

TD SYNNEX CEO Rich Hume said that the company’s results demonstrated the momentum in its strategic goal to expand in high growth technologies, with robust margin expansion in the Americas and strong EPS generation.

“Our expansive portfolio of products, solutions, and services, along with a relentless focus on execution allowed us to successfully navigate the post-Covid IT spending environment, while our resilient business model enabled us to generate over $500 million in cash from operations, equipping us to increase capital returned to shareholders via share repurchases,” he added.

TD SYNNEX merges Epson A3 print devices into its its OpenMPS

Posted on September 26, 2023 by - News

TD SYNNEX has integrated its Epson A3 office print devices into its OpenMPS-managed print service.

This means that its partners can offer customers automated cartridge replacement, on-site warranty cover, and the positive energy and waste-saving benefits of Epson’s unique Heat-Free inkjet technology from day one.

For those not in the know, OpenMPS is a simple service that allows partners to manage their end customers’ existing printing devices – whether they are deployed in the workplace or the home.

Partners can set up automated shipments of supplies to their customers and monitor print devices through a simple app that customers can install on their networks and client devices.

Businesses are unimpressed with B2B gated content.

Posted on September 26, 2023 by - News

A new study has discovered that while most businesses believe that B2B content improves their perception of a brand, 71 per cent are often or sometimes disappointed in the value of B2B gated content.

The numbers, compiled by Informa Tech, measure the state of the relationship between marketers and senior B2B technology-buying decision-makers.

The Index, which reveals an overall score of 61 on a scale of 1 to 100, uncovers the disparity between existing content marketing practices and the preferences of senior business technology decision-makers, giving marketers essential insights into how to elevate trust with this key audience.

Doherty Associates calls for a holistic approach to security.

Posted on September 26, 2023 by - News

Caleb Mills, Professional Services Director at Doherty Associates, has called for a more holistic approach to security.

Mills was commenting on new research by law firm RPC, which showed that the amount of reports of cyber security breaches to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) has increased from 187 to 640.

He said the findings were a stark reminder of the ever-escalating threats facing the financial services industry.

Mills thought the increase in reported cyber incidents could be a positive sign. It showed that more firms are aware of cybersecurity issues and actively reporting incidents.

WatchGuard swallows CyGlass

Posted on September 25, 2023 by - News

WatchGuard Technologies has snapped up the cloudy security outfit CyGlass Technology Services.

For those not in the know, CyGlass’s cloud-native platform uses AI and ML capabilities to deliver cyber defence across hybrid networks, primarily to SMEs who need more hardware.

Watchguard wants CyGlass to help it deliver AI-based detection of network anomalies with a future network detection and response (NDR) service. It also aims to accelerate open eXtended detection and response (XDR) capabilities within WatchGuard ThreatSync.

WatchGuard chief product officer Andrew Young said that CyGlass’s success in the last year demonstrates that mid-sized companies and MSPs are seeking innovative detection and response solutions independent of costly hardware.

Cisco buys Splunk

Posted on September 22, 2023 by - News

Cisco has snapped up unified security and observability platform developer Splunk for roughly $28 billion, claiming it will enable it to “drive the next generation of AI-enabled security and observability.”

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024, pending regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions, including acceptance by Splunk’s board.

The deal’s announcement comes roughly a year after Cisco reportedly put down a takeover offer for Splunk worth more than $20 billion.

Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins said: “From threat detection and response to threat prediction and prevention, we will help make organisations of all sizes more secure and resilient.”

Quantexa snags three high profile hires

Posted on September 22, 2023 by - News

AI Big-Data outfit Quantexa has appointed three industry luminaries to its Advisory Board.

These hires include Ralph Schlosstein, former CEO of Evercore and former President of BlackRock, Matthew Gould, former CEO of NHSX, and Sir Jeremy Fleming, Former Director of GCHQ.

Ralph Schlosstein, former CEO of Evercore and former President of BlackRock, brings decades of experience in investment banking to Quantexa’s Advisory Board. His career includes playing a strategic role in helping the world’s largest asset management firm go public. Ralph’s financial understanding will be pivotal in shaping corporate strategy initiatives.

Retail sales volumes increase

Posted on September 22, 2023 by - News

UK retail sales are increasing, but consumers are spending less.

Trading Economics figures show that retail sales volumes rose by an estimated 0.4 per cent in August, following a fall of 1.1 per cent in July. Sales volumes are up 0.3 per cent in the three months to August 2023.

However, most of this increase was on food, with non-food items only increasing by 0.6 per cent and non-store retail volumes falling by 1.3 per cent.

This was a disappointment as retail sales had been expected to rise by 0.5 per cent.

Wealth Club Investment Manager Nicholas Hyett said high street sales in August bounced back after a wet July saw shoppers stay home. Meanwhile, the more robust high street performance dampened online sales as more of us ventured back into the shops.

“While sales weren’t quite as strong as economists had expected, the broad narrative of a relatively strong UK consumer remains intact. However, it’s worth noting that while sales values have ticked up, volumes have continued their recent downward trend. We’re spending more but getting less as inflation bites,” Hyett said.

Economically speaking, the consumer may be robust, but it probably doesn’t feel like that to the individual when the shopping bags get lighter every month.”

HPE restructures for cloudy day sales

Posted on September 21, 2023 by - News

Hewlett Packard Enterprise is restructuring to accelerate its hybrid cloud sales offensive.

The former maker of expensive printer ink wants to create a new hybrid cloud organisation that includes a storage business unit, and this will require a shake-up, including executive departures and reassignments.

The new hybrid cloud business unit will be led by HPE CTO Fidelma Russo, who will be responsible for a business that includes HPE Storage, HPE GreenLake Cloud Services Solutions and the current Office of the CTO, all under the umbrella of the HPE GreenLake platform.

After the restructuring, HPE executive vice president and general manager of the storage business unit, Tom Black, will report to Russo.

CrowdStrike snaps up Bionic

Posted on September 21, 2023 by - News

CrowdStrike wants to buy the application security posture management (ASPM) outift Bionic.

The move is part of Crowdstrike’s cunning plan to extend its cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP) with ASPM to deliver comprehensive risk visibility and protection across the cloud- from cloud infrastructure to the applications and services running inside them.

If it pulls it off,  CrowdStrike will be one of the first cybersecurity companies to deliver complete code-to-runtime cloud security from one unified platform.

The deal comes on the heels of CrowdStrike’s rather brilliant financial results.

CrowdStrike chief executive officer George Kurtz said that the cloud is cybersecurity’s new battleground, but the industry’s answer to-date has been disjointed point security tools or ‘platforms’ with multiple consoles and agents.

Raunds warehouse and distribution facility set to close

Posted on September 20, 2023 by - News

Exertis has announced a consolidation, which will probably close its Raunds warehouse and distribution facility next year.

The outfit is considering consolidating its stock and warehousing activities into its Burnley Bridge Warehouse.

If it does this, then 50 employees will be picking up their P45s and pink slips, although the company currently says no final decisions have been reached.

It officially says it is entering a consultation phase to explore alternatives that could avert job losses.

Salesforce rehires staff it booted out

Posted on September 20, 2023 by - News

After laying off 8,000 employees earlier this year, Salesforce wants to rehire about 40 per cent of them again.

More than 3,300 new employees will be hired, including some recently told to clean their desks.

Workers needed include engineers, sales and cloudy experts.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said that the outfit knew it had to hire thousands. This is a little odd, given that he thought he had to fire 8000 in January due to a bad case of economic headwinds and budget tightening.