Author: Nick Farrell

Rubrik names Keech VP United Kingdom and Ireland

Posted on May 23, 2023 by - Moving People

Security outfit Rubrik has named Toby Keech Vice President for the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Keech has been told to focus on expanding Rubrik’s data security leadership across the region, further developing the company’s sales strategy and go-to-market function.

He has been in the business for 20 years and joins Rubrik from Zscaler, where he has spent the last four years leading UK&I and MEA business units. Before this, he held senior sales roles at several technology businesses, supporting these organisations through acquisitions by the likes of NetApp and HP.

He said that ransomware continues to threaten the UK&I economy due to expanding attack surfaces are expanding and a need for organisations to protect more data.

Keech said he was excited to join an already fantastic team and continue to support our UK&I customer base to secure their data.

IBM snaps up Polar Security

Posted on May 22, 2023 by - News

A not so mobile X86 PCBiggish Blue has written a cheque for Polar Security as part of a cunning plan to automate cloud data protection.

Founded in January 2021, Polar Security is a data security management solution (DSPM) developer which has all the gear to reveal where sensitive data is stored, who has access to it, how it’s used, and identifies vulnerabilities.

IBM says it plans to integrate Polar Security’s DSPM technology within its Guardium family of data security products.

IBM’s focus has been rapidly shifting towards automation in the last few months, proudly saying it was taking the “human” out of some human resources and other back-office jobs that AI and automation can do instead of people.

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said he plans to suspend or slow hiring for about 26,000 non-customer-facing back-office roles, a tenth of the company’s total workforce.

Krishna said he “could easily see” 30 per cent of those roles – 7,800 jobs – replaced by AI and automation over the next five years.

Telcoms industry about to be shaken and stirred

Posted on May 22, 2023 by - News

Innovation Park CEO Julia Vorontsova says that the Telecom industry is about to be dramatically shaken up as new technology like AI, IoT, and 5G make lasting changes.

Vorontsova said that last week’s announced plans by Vodafone to slash nearly half its staff over the next few years was part of what would become a new era.

“ The telecom industry is on the cusp of a new era marked by AI, IoT, and 5G. Companies must adapt or risk becoming obsolete. While unfortunate for those affected, this restructure signifies a company gearing up for the future,” said Vorontsova.

CEOs optimistic about AI and recession

Posted on May 19, 2023 by - News

Happy man portrait

CEOs asked by analyst outfit Gartner do not seem to have many fears about an economic downturn or recession in 2023, believing that if it happens, it will be “shallow and short”.

Analyst house Gartner surveyed over 400 CEOs and other senior business executives worldwide from July through December 2022.

Researchers found that AI was the top technology CEOs believe will significantly impact their industry over the next three years, cited by 21 per cent of survey respondents.

Big G analyst Mark Raskino said that generative AI will profoundly impact business and operating models.

Kyndryl produces terrible earnings

Posted on May 19, 2023 by - News

Kyndryl, the world’s largest infrastructure services provider, began trading as an independent company under the symbol KD from the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, November 4 in NYC. (Jon Simon/Feature Photo Service for Kyndryl)

IBM global infrastructure service provider spin-off, Kyndryl suffered terribly at the hands of Wall Street after it released some miserable results.

The company’s stock sank more than 12 per cent Wednesday, with shares closing at $12.53 and its market cap at $2.85 billion.

The company published guidance for fiscal 2024 revenue expected to fall six per cent to eight per cent compared to its fiscal 2023 revenue, with positive revenue growth not expected until fiscal 2025.

Kyndryl reported revenue of $4.26 billion, which beat analyst expectations by $110 million, but its GAAP loss per share of $3.24 was $2.21 per share below expectations.

BT downsizing

Posted on May 19, 2023 by - News

BT Group wants to reduce its workforce by 40,000 to 55,000 employees by the decade’s end.

The upcoming layoffs at BT Group will affect direct BT employees and third-party contractors, resulting in a reduction of 31-42 per cent in the company’s overall staffing.

The move comes as the company finalises its nationwide fibre-optic deployment and adapts emerging technologies like AI.

BT employs 130,000 people, including third-party contractors, but after the axeman has finished his work, this figure will be 75,000-90,000 individuals.

CEO Philip Jansen has been reducing headcount as part of his efforts to increase profitability in recent years. The aim is to achieve annual savings of £3 billion by the end of 2025, compared to the company’s cost base in 2020. BT says it has successfully attained £2.1 billion in cost savings out of its £3 billion target.

Tags:

Retailers upgrade tech as cost-of-living crisis continues

Posted on May 18, 2023 by - News

UK retailers are upgrading their tech to offset a loss of a third of their customer base as the cost-of-living crisis bites.

New research from Ensono was based on a survey of 500 senior IT decision-makers working in UK retail, which revealed retailers feeling the strain of rising prices and the worsening cost-of-living crisis.

It found department store brands expect to lose an average of 32 per cent of customers – the most significant drop across the different areas of retail surveyed.

SoftwareOne sees revenue up 8.7 per cent

Posted on May 18, 2023 by - News

SoftwareOne has reported a solid start to 2023 with its revenue increased by 8.7 per cent to £213.3 million on the first quarter.

SoftwareOne CEO, Brian Duffy said who joined the company in May after it carried out a rebrand said that it was an exciting time for the company.

The partner’s software & cloud marketplace delivered revenue growth of 6.4 per cent to £111 million in Q1, up from £108.6 million during the prior year period, driven by a 30 per cent revenue rise in the ISV portfolio.

Gross billings in the Microsoft business came to $4.2 billion, up 13 per cent year on year, driven by solid momentum across customer segments.

PubMatic partners with SeenThis

Posted on May 18, 2023 by - News

Digitial advertising outfit PubMatic has partnered with adaptive streaming specialist, SeenThis in a deal it claims will deliver faster, better-quality digital advertising while minimising carbon emissions.

SeenThis’ proprietary video streaming technology allows advertisers to stream high-resolution video content rather than relying on publishers to download video creative files. Compared to running the same quality creative using conventional technology, this results in lower data usage, energy consumption, and a smaller carbon footprint.

Alibaba Cloud wants to grow global partner ecosystem

Posted on May 17, 2023 by - News

Alibaba Cloud wants to grow its global partner ecosystem and is ramping up its support and incentives.

At the Alibaba Cloud Partner Summit 2023, the firm outlined several initiatives to grow its partner base. These included launching an independent software vendor (ISV) acceleration programme, increased training for partners and more rewards for the best performers.

The ISV programme includes incentives and technical support to make Alibaba Cloud more attractive and add more depth to the cloud player’s marketplace offering. Its rivals have similar offerings, having recognised the importance of offering customers a wide range of applications.

EY buys whyaye to create EY whyaye and why not?

Posted on May 17, 2023 by - News

Consulting outfit EY has acquired whyaye, a UK-based consulting services provider for the ServiceNow platform.

This is EY’s eighth acquisition since April 2021, and the firm claims it’s part of “significant ongoing investments” in technology consulting services.

Founded in 2019, whyaye is a Newcastle-based ServiceNow MSP with more than 100 employees across the UK.

The acquisition will be known as EY whyaye [no, really.ed] and will support the growth of EY Technology Consulting services by expanding capacity, capabilities and market presence around the ServiceNow technology platform.

whyaye CEO Maureen Robson-Norman will join Ernst & Young LLP as a Partner.

SMBs optimistic about AI

Posted on May 17, 2023 by - News

A new report from market analysts Aircall-Sapio Research says most UK SMBs are optimistic about AI even if their staff fear it will take their jobs away.

Most SMBs plan to invest in the technology in the next twelve months even as half their staff are worried about its impact on their jobs, and quality of work.

Over half (53 per cent) of UK SMBs of those surveyed confirm they will be investing in AI in the next 12 months.

However, just under two-thirds of UK employees (64 per cent) think there is a lack of understanding of what AI can do in the workplace, and over three-quarters (76 per cent) would be interested in learning more about how AI can benefit them.

Connexin onboards two new Tier 1 contractors

Posted on May 16, 2023 by - News

Hull-based IoT and digital Infrastructure specialist, Connexin, has onboarded two new Tier 1 contractors — SCD Group and MAP Group.

The move is part of its cunning plan to accelerate its rapidly increasing Full Fibre network expansion,  and reach its target of half a million broadband-connected homes.

SCD Group and MAP Group obtained their Tier 1 contractor status from decades of experience delivering large-scale infrastructure projects. MAP Group is an independent provider of professional technology services and SCD Group is a multi-discipline infrastructure contractor.

They will work closely with Connexin to fully complete the Fibre to the Premise (FTTP) expansion across all of Hull and key areas of the East Riding of Yorkshire by December 2023, aiming to cover virtually every single home and business.

Unit4 and Phase 3 partnership announced

Posted on May 16, 2023 by - News

Cloud-based Unit4 announced a strategic partnership with Phase 3, a professional and managed services provider for HR, Payroll and Finance technologies.

Unit 4 believes the partnership will give its customers an accredited reseller partner which has nearly 20 years’ of experience implementing people-focused technology, creating the potential for customers to do even more to support their people.

With extensive knowledge of the Public Sector, Professional Services, and Nonprofit industries, Phase 3’s expertise means that the company can easily interpret Unit4’s customer requirements and translate these into efficient implementations, the company said.

UK facing persistent labour shortages

Posted on May 16, 2023 by - News

Blighty is facing a labour shortage which is not going away thanks to the super soaraway oven-ready post-Brexit points-based immigration system.

According to a recent survey by Finbri, 83.51 per cent of UK business owners are concerned about the impact of labour shortages on their companies, with 47.69 per cent being “concerned” and 35.82 per cent being “strongly concerned.”

Finbri Bridging Loan Broker Stephen Clark said labour shortages had become an ongoing conversation among businesses since Brexit, and the issue is only likely to worsen in the short term, offering little to contribute to the UK economy’s rebound.