Author: Nick Farrell

Softcat new device partner for Liverpool University Hospitals

Posted on September 6, 2022 by - News

Softcat has scored a new contract to be the new device partner for Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The Trust is giving Softcat £4 million to sort out its end-user devices, peripherals, pre-staging, deployment, engineering, and recycling services. It will help deliver modern health-specific solutions.

Adam Rice, public sector director at Softcat, said: “Softcat plc is delighted to be working with the Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to support the organisation sort out its digital transformation.

Swales defects to Lenovo

Posted on September 6, 2022 by - Moving People

VMware channel leader Bill Swales has defected to Lenovo.

Swales joined VMware in 2018 as VP of global commercial sales before moving to the role of VP and channel chief of its Americas partner organisation.

According to a LinkedIn post he is leaving in mid-October. Swales did not say what his role would be but since his farewell post said “our paths will absolutely cross again”, he probably will be talking to partners.

Rocky Linux will be public domain forever

Posted on September 6, 2022 by - News

Gregory Kurtzer said he had taken steps to keep Rocky Linux in the public domain forever to avoid what happened to CentOS.

Development of Rocky Linux began shortly after, in late 2020, Red Hat terminated development of CentOS, a community-based Linux distribution derived from Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) that had been in existence since 2004.

Rocky was named after Jason Dale “Rocky” McGaugh, a talented programmer involved in CentOS development, who died in December 2004 at the age of only 30.

Kurtzer said Rocky was a huge advocate of open source and a big fan of open source and he did not think he would have liked what happened with CentOS.

Security bosses focus on cloud

Posted on September 6, 2022 by - News

Enterprise security leaders in the UK are focused on cloud security, building up resilience against threats and aligning cybersecurity strategies with overall business goals.

A new research report The 2022 ISG Provider Lens Cybersecurity report from Information Services Group (ISG) claims cloud security is an enterprise manager’s top priority.

The growing use of cloud models such as infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) is forcing companies to adapt their cybersecurity approaches, with a focus on holistic resilience that requires more communication and training for employees and outside stakeholders, the report says.

Giganet turns nests on Cuckoo

Posted on September 6, 2022 by - News

Giganet has reversed the course of nature and stolen Cuckoo from the market.

The company announced  that it was writing a cheque for Cuckoo as part of its UK growth plans.

Since launching its fibre broadband service to households just over 12 months ago, Giganet has seen its reach extend to over nine million homes across the UK.

Giganet said that both it and Cuckoo will work together to disrupt the UK broadband market by prioritising service and customer experience as the rollout of full-fibre accelerates over the next few years.

Both providers have been vocal against ‘loyalty taxes’ and price hikes, pledging to charge loyal customers the same as new customers, and opting not to increase charges mid-contract, with prices currently frozen until 2023.

PC and tablet shipments will suffer into 2023

Posted on September 2, 2022 by - News

Beancounters at IDC have warned that PC and tablet shipments will suffer into 2023.

IDC projects global shipments of traditional PCs to decline 12.8 percent in 2022 to 205.3 million units and table shipments to drop 6.8 percent to 158.8 million units. IDC blamed inflation, a weakening economy and the pandemic-fuelled surge in tech buying over the last two years for the demand drop.

The firm also expects further declines in 2023 as consumer demand slows and education demand drops off – enterprise purchasing, the firm says, will also suffer because of macroeconomic conditions. The combined market for PCs and tablets is expected to decline 2.6 percent in 2023 before rising again in 2024.

ARM sues Qualcomm and Nuvia

Posted on September 2, 2022 by - News

ARM has sued Qualcomm and the startup it acquired, Nuvia, claiming breach of license agreements and trademark infringement.

The 29-page complaint filed Wednesday in US District Court in Delaware said ARM, a subsidiary of Softbank Group Corp., seeks unspecified punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, and an order prohibiting the use of Arm’s trademarked technology.

“Qualcomm and Nuvia have continued working on Nuvia’s implementation of ARM architecture in violation of Arm’s rights as the creator and licensor of its technology”, the lawsuit said.

HPE has new UK managing director

Posted on September 2, 2022 by - Moving People, News

HPE has appointed a new UK managing director.

Matt Harris will run the end-to-end management of HPE’s UK business, people, and operations from Marc Waters.

Waters has been running the outfit since 2016 and is moving to the senior vice president for the UK, Ireland, Middle East, Africa and High Performance Computing in EMEA chair.

COVID-19 made digital tech healthier

Posted on September 1, 2022 by - News

A virus accelerated the adoption of digital technologies and resulted in the expansion of digital workplaces, according to beancounters at IDC.

IDC senior research manager for global services and market trends, Supriya Kamath said that the push to become a digital-first organisation has created opportunities for managed service providers.

The researcher’s data shows that around 94 percent of H122 deals were in the IT outsourcing market, while the remaining six percent were business outsourcing deals.

Broadcom over-excited about its partners

Posted on September 1, 2022 by - News

VMware has announced that its takeover by Broadcom is going to plan and the tech giant is apparently “excited” by the virtual PC company’s partners.

VMware CEO Raghu Raghuram said the acquisition of his company by chipmaker Broadcom is “on track” and Broadcom understands its product portfolio and is looking at how to benefit from VMware’s channel partners.

Raghuram told the gathered throngs at VMware’s Explore conference in San Francisco that his company’s channel was a huge part of what it did. He insists that Broadcom are “super excited about using that channel in the ways that we are doing today and growing from there”.

Infinigate buys Vuzion to create cybersecurity and cloud hybrid

Posted on September 1, 2022 by - News

Infinigate has acquired  Vuzion to create a value-added distributor which combines cybersecurity and cloud services.

Vuzion is a Microsoft CSP indirect provider and cloud aggregator focusing on the SMB market. The firm also partners with vendors including Mimecast and Acronis.

More than 43 Vuzion staff will join the distributor as part of the acquisition, Infinigate claims, with Vuzion’s managing director Michael Frisby joining Infinigate as SVP of cloud services to drive Vuzion’s growth within EMEA.

The company will remain “operationally independent” for the time being and will be focused on supporting partners and helping them grow, Infinigate claims.

Checkpoint Partners with Intel on IoT

Posted on August 31, 2022 by - News

Security outfit Checkpoint says  that it is teaming up with Intel to create Quantum IoT Protect which will appear within its Pathfinder for RISC-V.

Intel’s Pathfinder is a new platform for IoT device developers and the increased security aims to remove a particular issue that IP cameras, routers, HVAC systems, and medical devices have with being hijacked by hackers.

IoT device security has been low on developers’ priorities because they have limited processing power and storage, leaving little room for traditional security software. IoT devices run older operating systems that cannot be patched, use weak or default passwords, and are not monitored for security breaches.  Unfortunately, cybercriminals target these vulnerable IoT devices as an entry point into a corporate network.

Miri Ofir, R&D Director at Checkpoint Software commented: “Cyberattacks are increasing in number and sophistication all the time. It has never been more important for IoT device developers to prioritize cybersecurity, not just to win a competitive edge or comply with emerging regulations but to give their end customers enterprise grade security and peace of mind.”

 

 

Poly is an ex-parrot

Posted on August 31, 2022 by - News

HP has completed its acquisition of the  videoconferencing giant Poly.

The PC and print vendor completed the deal – first announced in March and valued at $3.3 billion.

HP CEO Enrique Lores said: “It is a historic day for our business as we mark the union of two iconic companies that are innovating at the heart of hybrid work.”

The PC and print vendor expects the move to drum up more hybrid work business as employers look for more at-home videoconferencing solutions.

Google rains on Microsoft’s cloud licensing plans

Posted on August 31, 2022 by - News

Google is unimpressed with Microsoft’s plans to change its licensing on its cloud products.

Microsoft’s licensing changes, going into effect on 1 October claim to enable more expansive software rights and lower-cost customer solutions.

However, its rival Google claims the changes ignore the crux of the company’s most anti-competitive cloud practices.

Dell finally pulls out of Russia

Posted on August 30, 2022 by - News

Michael DellIt might have taken a while, but Dell has pulled completely out of Russia.

The global technology giant completed its promised withdrawal of resources from Russia last weekend, finishing a break that started in February with the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

A Dell spokesperson said that Dell had shut down its Russian offices in mid-August after deciding to not to service or support products in Russia, Belarus and the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, and the already embargoed Crimea.