Broadcom VMware deal has big trouble in China

Posted on October 25, 2023 by - News

Broadcom wants to close its $61bn deal for VMware in a couple of weeks, but the deal is in peril with Chinese government regulators.

Three people told the Financial Times that Beijing is threatening to block the merger, even after it has cleared regulators around the world, in retaliation for new US trade rules that prevent China from receiving advanced chips from Nvidia and Micron.

The US this week announced tougher measures to limit China’s access to high-end chipsets that could fuel breakthroughs in AI and sophisticated technology for its military. The US restrictions hit China, Russia and Iran and blacklisted a Chinese chip designer.

Forrester principal analyst Tracy Woo said it was unlikely China would follow through on its threats to block the deal and was more likely just trying to rain on Broadcom’s parade.

Softcat has up and down results

Posted on October 25, 2023 by - News

Softcat’s weird year of up and down results has continued.

Softcat has reported 14.2 per cent growth in gross profit in its latest annual results to £373.8 million and operating profit up 3.5 per cent to £140.9 million. However, the company has reported a decrease in revenue – down 8.6 per cent to £985.3 million.

Softcat CEO Graham Charlton said the decrease was due to the revenue figures only accounting for the margin element of software growth.

Westcon-Comstor reports record revenue

Posted on October 24, 2023 by - News

Westcon-Comstor is reporting a record 14.9 per cent year-on-year increase in first-half revenue to $1.85 billion.

The company saw double-digit revenue growth for the six months to 31 August 2023 (H1 FY24) across each of its three operating regions: Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East and Africa.

Gross profit jumped 33.4 per cent to $203.7m, with gross margins increasing to 11 per cent due mainly to more stable foreign exchange rates than H1 FY23. The company’s EBITDA also increased by 15.9 per cent to $59.7.

Nokia improves operator network capacity

Posted on October 24, 2023 by - News

Former rubber boot maker Nokia announced a new 5G Fixed Wireless Access outdoor receiver and a new indoor gateway with Wi-Fi 7.

The FWA devices enable operators to conserve radio capacity and improve coverage of their FWA service.

Nokia said that operators can save as much as 60 per cent of potentially wasted network capacity simply by placing the right device in the right location of the customer premise.

This means using outdoor Receivers where signals are weaker and indoor Gateways where signals are strong. Proper placement of these devices in or on the home with the aid of intelligent smartphone applications alone, can help operators to recover 30 per cent of network capacity.

Print customers want more sustainability commitments

Posted on October 23, 2023 by - News

The print channel is seeing increased pressure from customers to demonstrate their sustainability commitments, according to a new report from Quocirca.

Quocirca customers increasingly look at corporate sustainability goals as part of their supplier selection process, and failure to provide any enthusiasm could result in lost contracts.

Most of those making buying decisions want to see a commitment from suppliers to reduce carbon emissions. Quocirca’s Sustainability market trends study makes it clear many users are tracking their print suppliers’ efforts.

Quocirca CEO Louella Fernandes said: “A combination of stakeholder expectations and the implementation of legislation such as the corporate sustainability reporting directive [CSRD] are prompting organisations to speed up their sustainability initiatives.”

Rubrik hires another Zscaler

Posted on October 23, 2023 by - News

Security outfit, Rubrik has appointed Ismail Elmas as GVP of international business.

The former Zscaler GVP is the second Zscaler staff member to be poached. This year, Rubrik hired Sean Sullivan from the Zscaler ranks to lead its sales strategy development and support for service providers in EMEA.

Rubrik CRO Brian McCarthy said Elmas will build and scale Rubrik’s international business.

“His expertise and skill set is a great fit for our vision as we accelerate our market strategies to deliver cyber resilience to our customers worldwide,” McCarthy said.

GenAI impacts unfelt until 2025 predicts Gartner

Posted on October 20, 2023 by - News

Fortune tellers at Gartner predict that GenAI impacts will not be felt until 2025 despite a boom in IT spending next year.

Gartner said that worldwide IT spending is projected to total $5.1 trillion in 2024, an increase of eight per cent from 2023.

However, the soothsayers said that while generative AI (GenAI) has not yet had a material impact on IT spending, investment in AI more broadly supports overall IT spending growth.

Gartner analyst VP John-David Lovelock said that GenAI impacts will not be felt until 2025, even if organisations continue to invest in AI and automation to increase operational efficiency and bridge IT talent gaps.

IP Infusion teams up with NTT DATA

Posted on October 20, 2023 by - News

IP Infusion has teamed up with global IT services provider NTT DATA to accelerate the adoption of open networking technologies and solutions.

The pair will bring go-to-market open networking solutions to bring enhanced disaggregation, scalability, and choices to network operators.

For those who came in late, open networking enables network operators to use disaggregated hardware and software components from different vendors rather than relying on proprietary and closed systems from traditional vendors. This allows operators to reduce costs, increase flexibility, and foster network innovation.

This collaboration for expanding broad connectivity was initiated by the Telecom Infra Project (TIP), including TIP solutions for Disaggregated Cell Site Gateways (DCSG) or Cell Site Routers and Cassini for Routed Optical Networking projects. Both NTT DATA and IP Infusion are members of TIP, which is driving development and deployment of open, disaggregated, and standards-based technology solutions to advance global connectivity.

IP Infusion is seen as a pioneer in open networking and flogs a comprehensive portfolio of products and services that support various open networking standards and platforms, such as Open Compute Project (OCP), Telecom Infra Project (TIP), Open Network Install Environment (ONIE), Open Network Linux (ONL), Open Network Operating System (ONOS), OpenDaylight (ODL), OpenSwitch (OPX), and SONiC.

GenAI software and related hardware and services set to boom

Posted on October 19, 2023 by - News

Beancounters at IDC have added up some numbers and divided by their shoe size and concluded that GenAI software and related hardware and services are expected to see a massive surge in demand in the next few years.

In a new report, IDC predicts that worldwide spending on GenAI solutions will reach $16 billion in 2023 and grow to $143 billion in 2027, with a CAGR of 73.3 per cent. This is much faster than overall AI and IT spending.

IDC’s group vice president of worldwide artificial intelligence and automation market research and advisory services, Ritu Jyoti, said that GenAI is not just a hype but a game-changing technology that can transform industries and society.

Avanade research uncovers AI skills gap

Posted on October 19, 2023 by - News

Avanade has published a report on the state of artificial intelligence (AI) skills in the business world.

The report, entitled “AI and Me: The Skills Gap”, reveals that while most organisations recognise the value and potential of AI, they lack the talent and expertise to use it fully.

According to the report, which surveyed over 1,200 senior decision-makers across 12 countries, 85 per cent of respondents agree that AI is essential for their organisation’s competitiveness and growth. However, only 16 per cent of respondents say they have enough AI skills in their workforce, and 69 per cent say they face a moderate to extreme AI skills gap.

Park Place snaps up Xuper

Posted on October 19, 2023 by - News

Global data centre and networking outfit Park Place Technologies has acquired Xuper an IT solutions provider based in Derby, UK.

Xuper was founded nearly 40 years ago and has grown to include UK, US, and German offices. The company offers various services, primarily third-party maintenance and professional services.

Xuper’s chairman and managing director, Peter Grogan, has announced his retirement alongside the acquisition. He will continue to assist during the transition period, ensuring a smooth handover.

This acquisition holds promise for both Xuper’s and Park Place’s clients. Xuper’s customer base will benefit from Park Place’s global reach, access to a vast inventory of parts and engineering expertise. Additionally, they will have access to Park Place’s complete portfolio of IT lifecycle offerings, including professional and managed services.

Major shake-up at Atos

Posted on October 18, 2023 by - News

It is starting to look like the predicted changes at Atos will be profound and transformative.

In August, the company said it was about to sell its Tech Foundations business to EP Equity Investment (EPEI).

Atos now confirms that preparatory stages of the project are underway and it has started social consultation with the Societas Europaea Council (SEC) and submitted most regulatory pre-filings or filings across the various concerned jurisdictions.

Atos reaffirmed the sale would offer the “most achievable execution path” to the separation of Tech Foundations and Eviden and would improve the risk profile of the group post-transaction.

The company announced its transformation plan in June 2022 of the full separation of Eviden and Tech Foundations.

Windows 12 will not be subscription based

Posted on October 18, 2023 by - News

Channel partners are breathing a sigh of relief after the software king of the world, Microsoft, revealed that its comping Windows 12 will not be subscription-based.

Windows 12 is expected to be released in 2024 and the dark satanic rumour mill has been manufacturing a lot of rumours claiming it would be subscription-based.

After introducing “Windows as a Service”, reports suggesting that the next Windows will be subscription-based have started to surface online. Microsoft introduced Windows as a Service to provide customers with a consistent Windows 10 experience.

A Windows Central report suggests the recently discovered references could be linked to the “IoT Enterprise Subscription” edition of Windows 11 rather than the client version of Windows vNext. Furthermore, the publication’s Zac Bowden says the upcoming version of Windows isn’t likely to boast new features that may require a subscription.

Rubrik, ManageEngine and LogRhythm expand cyber resilience

Posted on October 17, 2023 by - News

Rubrik, ManageEngine and LogRhythm have increased investments. in managed service providers in a bid to push their software-as-a-service (SaaS)

Rubrik said it is keen to get more managed service providers (MSPs) in a position where they can sell zero-trust solutions and will support those who want to get involved with its cyber resilience offering.

Rubrik’s vice president of worldwide channels and alliances, Ghazal Asif said MSPs must face the cyber security problems daily and stay ahead of modern threats to defend themselves and their customers.

Juniper Predicts Cybersecurity Boom

Posted on October 17, 2023 by - News

A new study by Juniper Research predicts a 107 per cent growth in the number of industrial endpoints featuring cybersecurity protection in the next five years.

The research identified the rise of interconnected processes within the Industry 4.0 revolution as increasingly exposing critical industrial infrastructure to external threats, requiring wholesale changes in how industrial stakeholders secure their operations.

Juniper Research defines an industrial endpoint as any physical or virtual device connected to a network to send and receive information in an industrial setting.