Category: News

Quantexa snaps up Aylien

Posted on February 28, 2023 by - News

Quantexa has acquired a Dublin-based leader in natural language processing (NLP) and advanced AI outfit Aylien to help it collect, analyse, and understand unstructured text data.

This will be Quantexa’s first acquisition since the company raised $153 million in its Series D funding in late 2021 from Warburg Pincus and a group of blue-chip investors, this combination will see the company enter the $11 billion text analytics market.

Founded in 2012, Aylien’s solutions include a News API for building intelligent applications with aggregated multi-lingual content from over 80,000 trusted sources across the web, traditional media, and licensed news outlets.

Intel staff nervous about pay cuts

Posted on February 27, 2023 by - News

Intel staff are getting increasingly nervous about the state of their company after a wave of pay cuts was announced last week.

When Chipzilla announced its lacklustre results it believed that firing people and reducing the pay of employees who stayed working was the best way to secure loyalty.

However, to its surprise, Intel staff were unhappy about this 19th-century style approach and several are believed to have handed in their notice. The head of the company’s Europe, Middle East and Africa business Frans Scheper has resigned, although it is unclear if this was connected to the cuts.

Scheper had only been in the job a year and holds the role of corporate vice president in Intel’s Sales, Marketing and Communications Group.

ICT spending growing

Posted on February 27, 2023 by - News

ICT spending in Europe is set to grow 4.2 per cent yearly and reach $1.2 trillion in 2023.

According to IDC’s Worldwide ICT Spending Guide: Enterprise and SMB by Industry, spend will then surpass $1.4 trillion by 2026, posting a 5.4 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the 2021-2026 period.

According to the analysts, the UK and Scandinavian countries will be amongst the main drivers of this growth.

Meanwhile, Russian ICT spend is forecast to shrink by 9.4 per cent year on year, due to EU sanctions.

Ingram Micro brings in AI-powered Xvantage platform

Posted on February 27, 2023 by - News

Ingram Micro has launched an AI-powered, self-learning Xvantage platform in the UK.

CEO Paul Bay said the distribution giant launched Xvantage in the US and Germany in September. The move will “consumerise distribution” and make Ingram easier for resellers to interact with the company.

Ingram Micro global chief digital officer Sanjib Sahoo said Xvantage is “not a website or webshop”.

“The difference is that this is a platform. This is an intelligent, self-learning ecosystem,” he said.

Broadcom and VMware deal postponed

Posted on February 24, 2023 by - News

Broadcom and VMware have mutually agreed to postpone the completion date of their $61 billion merger by 90 days.

The original deadline was set for February 26, 2023, however, the deal is now expected to close May 26.

The takeover is the second biggest in the channel this year but has unleashed a pack of wild regulators.  In the EU and across the pond.

The EU competition watchdog said it will decide by June 7 whether it will hit the brakes on the deal or give it the greenlight.

Online traders worried about tax

Posted on February 24, 2023 by - News

More than 87 per cent of sellers using marketplaces to trade online report experiencing revenue increases and see it it as a vital channel for growth, according to new research from Vertex.

However, 70 per cent believe that indirect tax challenges could deter them from using marketplaces in the future.

The research which surveyed 479 finance professionals globally (split between operator and seller businesses) found that 81 per cent of businesses are taking advantage of marketplaces to attract new customers and sell into more countries.

They attribute this expansion into marketplaces for the following reasons: to reach a wider geographical market (57 per cent); to be more competitive (50 per cent); to tap into cross-border sales opportunities (48 per cent); and to help manage tax liabilities (34 per cent).

Oracle likely to step up hunt for Java licences

Posted on February 24, 2023 by - News

Analyst Gartner has warned that Oracle will target organisations on Java compliance.

Big G said that in the 12 months leading up to 31 December 2022, half of the Oracle software compliance and audit-related interactions focused on Oracle Java. In 2023 following some recent licensing changes mean that this will become an issue.

In 23 January 2023, Oracle introduced changes to Java SE licensing. Unlike the previous Java SE licence, which was measured either per named user or per processor basis, the new subscription includes usage across desktops, servers and third-party cloud deployments.

Cybersecurity experts facing too much stress

Posted on February 23, 2023 by - News

Nearly half of the cybersecurity leaders will be changing jobs by 2025 mostly due to work-related stress.

Researchers at Gartner say that cybersecurity professionals are facing unsustainable levels of stress.

Gartner’s director analyst Deepti Gopal said that chief information security officers were on the defence.

“The psychological impact of this directly affects decision quality and the performance of cybersecurity leaders and their teams.”

Amazon profit fall hits corporate employees

Posted on February 23, 2023 by - News

Amazon’s falling stock price means some corporate employees will see wage packets with some losing half.

Amazon pays some corporate (non-warehouse) employees “a large chunk” of their annual salaries in restricted stock units.

Because the company’s share price has taken a 35 per cent tumble this year, employees’ pay will be between 15 per cent and 50 per cent lower than Amazon’s projected targets.

Amazon’s stock price has fallen from about $150 per share in February 2022 to $97 this week.

Gamma Communications teams up with Ingram Micro

Posted on February 23, 2023 by - News

Gamma Communications has announced a new strategic relationship with Ingram Micro to offer its UK partners Operator Connect for Microsoft Teams.

Operator Connect, a new operator-managed programme from Microsoft Teams Phone, has been designed to enable seamless and integrated calling. There are only a few providers of the programme in the UK.

The pair want to provide partners with a new opportunity in the business voice market. Additionally, Gamma will become the first provider to offer Operator Connect for Microsoft Teams to Ingram Micro’s partners in the UK.

Bytes will scale migration offerings on AWS

Posted on February 22, 2023 by - News

Bytes is partnering with Amazon Web Services (AWS) as part of a plan to scale migration and modernisation offerings on the cloudy outfit.

Bytes is an AWS Solution Provider that wants to improve its products for existing and new customers and offer fully managed cloud services on AWS. These will include cloud security, storage, backup and disaster recovery, focusing on cloud cost optimisation.

AWS and Bytes say the partnership is targeted at the SMB market uses AWS’s cloud native data and AI and machine learning solutions for verticals like Retail, Financial Services and Hospitality.

Newsbridge appoints Jean-Philippe Maheu to lead US moves

Posted on February 22, 2023 by - News

AI and cloud media outfit Newsbridge appointed Jean-Philippe Maheu to its board of directors.

Maheu (pictured) joins the Newsbridge board following the company’s 7 million euro Series A fundraising, U.S. entity establishment, and opening of its first North American office in New York.

Newsbridge co-founder and CEO Philippe Petitpont said: “Maheu has U.S. market and operational expertise, combined with a bold approach to scaling, that will be invaluable as we accelerate our growth ambitions.”

TD SYNNEX donates old office furniture to charity

Posted on February 22, 2023 by - News

TD SYNNEX has donated its old furniture with a fair market value of £158,828 – via redistribution specialist charity, the Waste to Wonder Trust – to UK charities and schools in Senegal and Cameroon.

The cycling back of desks, chairs and other items has resulted in 135,205 kilograms of carbon savings. With 100per cent all materials being re-used, all of the furniture or equipment that TD SYNNEX has yet to be recycled will go to landfill.

The donation was made as part TD SYNNEX’s recent re-location of its Basingstoke offices to a more energy-efficient building last month. At the same time, TD SYNNEX took the opportunity to purchase new sustainable office furniture, including new office chairs made from recycled fishing nets.

AI industry will grow by 25.5 per cent by 2026

Posted on February 21, 2023 by - News

According to IDC beancounters, the European AI market is set to carry on an upward trajectory by 2026.

The IDC Worldwide Semi-annual Artificial Intelligence Tracker reports that market areas, such as AI services, non-AI-centric software and AI hardware, will see moderate growth.

IDC expects AI’s total addressable market to reach $191 billion by 2026.

Senior research manager at IDC, Martin Nuska, commented on the results saying: “The next five years will represent a crucial period in the commercial adoption of AI software, as many companies and governments are now investing more to make their processes more agile, efficient, and resilient.”

CityFibre lays 240 km in Bolton

Posted on February 21, 2023 by - News

CityFibre has laid a 240km of full-fibre internet beneath the streets of Bolton as part of its £37 million plan to future-proof the town’s digital connectivity.

This milestone from the UK’s largest independent full-fibre platform now means there is enough full fibre connecting the town’s homes to take in 723 laps of the University of Bolton Stadium’s pitch, home of Bolton Wanderers FC.

Steve Moore, CityFibre’s Area Manager for Bolton, said: “We’re well on our way to making Bolton world-class in terms of its digital infrastructure, and the residents here will reap the benefits for decades to come. With our network now live across many parts of the area, including Astley Bridge and Farnworth, we are pleased to enable residents to connect to the fastest and most reliable broadband services available.”