TechTarget News - Week of Jan 03, 2021
Mon Jan 4, 2021
Covid-19’s impact on the retail supply chain
The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed gaps in the ability of retailers to mitigate supply chain imbalances
Mon Jan 4, 2021
Journalists’ FOI bids stayed as court reconsiders freedom of information rights of people outside UK
Tribunal questions whether people without a British passport or Britons living overseas are eligible to use the UK’s Freedom of Information Act
Mon Jan 4, 2021
Secureworks flagging XDR channel opportunity
Vendor has seen its channel respond to the shift to home working, but is keen to highlight other areas where partners can increase revenues this year
Mon Jan 4, 2021
Openreach takes the strain as broadband usage more than doubles in 2020
In what it says is a year like no other, BT broadband provision division reveals added infrastructure pressures from “new normal”
Mon Jan 4, 2021
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange cannot be extradited to face charges in US, court rules
Court rules it would be oppressive to send Julian Assange to the US to face trial after finding he is at high risk of suicide. US government says it will appeal
Mon Jan 4, 2021
Ericsson to power DTAC 5G network in Thailand
Almost half of Thailand’s 70 million population to be served by a new 5G radio access network from leading local communications service provider DTAC
Mon Jan 4, 2021
Softcat bolsters public sector efforts with major hire
Channel player turns to former VMware staffer to take charge of its public sector division
Mon Jan 4, 2021
Caerphilly council delivers free school meals through automation
Welsh council expands its robotic process automation project, which has successfully helped the council deliver free school meals during the Covid-19 pandemic
Mon Jan 4, 2021
Nominations open for Computer Weekly Innovation Awards APAC
Computer Weekly is looking for nominations for its inaugural Innovation Awards in APAC to honour digitisation initiatives that have transformed organisations in seven industries
Tue Jan 5, 2021
SKT and AWS debut 5G edge cloud service
SK Telecom’s multi-access edge computing service will let enterprises build low latency applications that make use of AWS cloud services
Tue Jan 5, 2021
Qualcomm expands 5G capabilities of Snapdragon 480 mobile devices
Enhanced mobile platform line claimed to be able to accelerate global 5G commercialisation and deliver ‘series-defying’ features to mass-volume smartphone segment
Tue Jan 5, 2021
Government delays digital strategy
The digital strategy, originally due in autumn 2020, is likely to be published at some point in 2021, and the government is ‘continuing to consider the best timeframe for delivering the strategy’
Tue Jan 5, 2021
Ooredoo Group expands Ericsson 5G tech agreement
New agreement promises new functionalities with faster time-to-market and enhancements to the digital experience for people, enterprises and industries across operating companies in 10 countries
Tue Jan 5, 2021
AAT calls on government to re-think the Making Tax Digital exemption threshold
The Association of Accounting Technicians calls for improvements to HM Revenue and Customs’ Making Tax Digital programme, and says the exemption threshold, currently at £10,000, should be raised
Tue Jan 5, 2021
Banking trade body calls for increased contactless payment limit
UK Finance proposes an increase in the limit on spending using contactless cards
Tue Jan 5, 2021
Softcat enjoys strong December and Agilitas sees revenues jump
Channel players share details of their recent trading performance, with both revealing that last year was strong
Tue Jan 5, 2021
euNetworks rounds on The Loop Manchester
Bandwidth infrastructure company enhances footprint with unique routes, extra capacity and flexibility with dedicated high-speed fibre-optic network in northern powerhouse
Tue Jan 5, 2021
Huawei battles for market access in Nordics
Chinese networking equipment supplier Huawei fights to retain access to potential 5G contracts across the Nordic region
Tue Jan 5, 2021
Slack restores service following major outage
Slack's messaging service is back up following a global outage that forced many customers to return to email for communications. Slack had not determined the cause.
Tue Jan 5, 2021
10 of the biggest cyber attacks of 2020
Here is a list of 10 of the largest cyber attacks of a pandemic-dominated 2020, including several devastating ransomware incidents and a massive supply chain attack.
Tue Jan 5, 2021
TelcoSwitch plans to use funding to boost channel
Unified communications specialist TelcoSwitch gains access to a few million pounds in a funding round that should provide more support for its partners
Wed Jan 6, 2021
Scammers impersonating the ACSC on the prowl
The Australian Cyber Security Centre warns of scammers who are using its name to gain control of personal computers and trick users into revealing personal information
Wed Jan 6, 2021
Operators join UK government’s kids’ mobile access scheme
UK mobile operators join scheme to help families that need access to connectivity to support their child’s learning needs during the latest lockdown, while BCS calls for free mobile access to education sites
Wed Jan 6, 2021
NHS trust says appointment processes robust despite criticism of role for Post Office scandal CEO
NHS trust defends its director appointment process following an external review of its recruitment of former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells
Wed Jan 6, 2021
Distributed supercomputer DiRAC gets a £20m upgrade
New funding will be used to boost performance and make the HPC system much more energy efficient
Wed Jan 6, 2021
SolarWinds attack almost certainly work of Russian spooks
Investigations into the far-reaching SolarWinds Solorigate attack did not let up during the holidays
Wed Jan 6, 2021
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to remain in prison despite winning extradition battle
Judge cites Assange’s support of NSA whistleblower as one of the reasons for him being at high risk of absconding. He will remain in Belmarsh prison until the US government completes its appeal
Wed Jan 6, 2021
Commvault ushers in fresh channel chief
Former Dell EMC executive takes up the challenge of strengthening Commvault’s global partner base
Wed Jan 6, 2021
Viasat checks in with Delta to boost in-air connectivity
US airline adds next-generation Ka-band satellite technology to mainline fleet to help modernise how passengers stay connected and enjoy content during travel
Wed Jan 6, 2021
Kaspersky warns against endpoint risks
Security player Kaspersky urges partners to educate customers around the risks of putting their faith in apparent ‘silver bullets’ from rivals
Wed Jan 6, 2021
Enterprise data storage startups to watch in 2021
Launching a data storage startup is always challenging, and the pandemic made it even tougher in 2020. Here are six startups that can change the way enterprises buy storage.
Wed Jan 6, 2021
Qualcomm appoints new CEO
Claiming validation of its business model and leadership in 5G, the communications chip giant appoints successor to retiring chief executive with brief to drive value
Wed Jan 6, 2021
Dremio raises $135M to boost data lake transformation effort
The CEO of Dremio outlines why the vendor is growing as organizations increasingly rely on cloud data storage to fuel business intelligence and analytics.
Wed Jan 6, 2021
Tape storage protects research on Antarctic science ship
British Antarctic Survey outfitted the RRS Sir David Attenborough with Quantum QXS hybrid disk and Scalar i3 tape libraries to store and protect research data mid-voyage.
Wed Jan 6, 2021
Intel launches RealSense ID for facial authentication
Amid a surge of facial recognition technology systems from vendors, Intel introduces RealSense ID, a system that Intel claims can accurately and quickly identify human faces.
Wed Jan 6, 2021
Labour urges government to adopt new plan for at-home education
Labour MPs have written to government officials urging them to provide schools and children with the digital provisions necessary to ensure every child can properly work from home during lockdown
Wed Jan 6, 2021
GrubHub's infrastructure-as-code feeds pandemic resiliency
GrubHub SREs fostered more consistent deployment patterns for resources such as DNS and AWS load balancers with a move to self-service infrastructure-as-code tools for DevOps teams last year.
Wed Jan 6, 2021
Services, cloud dominated data storage news in 2020
Storage as a service, hybrid cloud, Kubernetes storage, economic fallout from COVID-19, and backup mergers and acquisitions dominated data storage news in 2020.
Wed Jan 6, 2021
The SolarWinds attacks: What we know so far
The SolarWinds attacks have left a massive impact on security, tech and the world at large, and events are still unfolding nearly a month after the initial disclosure.
Wed Jan 6, 2021
Dell adds Microsoft Teams to video conferencing monitors
Dell introduced three video conferencing monitors with Microsoft Teams integration this week, as part of its emphasis on a hybrid work model. It also announced new laptops.
Thu Jan 7, 2021
DBS opens tech academy in skills training drive
The DBS Future Tech Academy will focus on training the bank’s technologists in three disciplines for a start – site reliability engineering, data processing and analytics, and application security
Thu Jan 7, 2021
Iskratel top of the world with Potosí fibre-optic deployment
GPON broadband network deployed to meet the needs of thousands of residents in the highest city in the world
Thu Jan 7, 2021
Most British people don't trust government with personal data
The UK ranks high in a list of countries where citizens are least confident about how their private information is handled by public authorities, research shows
Thu Jan 7, 2021
Jeremy Darroch steps down as Sky Group chief executive
Exec who transformed former satellite TV provider into Europe’s largest multi-platform communications provider with mobile, telephony and FTTH steps down after 13 years
Thu Jan 7, 2021
DWS demerges from Daisy with Inflexion investment
Channel comms player starts a fresh chapter with private equity player taking a significant minority stake in the business
Thu Jan 7, 2021
Competition and Markets Authority kicks off Nvidia/Arm investigation
In September, Arm and Nvidia announced a £31bn merger. Will Arm chip design remain free from Nvidia’s influence?
Thu Jan 7, 2021
Hackney Council data leaked by Pysa ransomware gang
Council data stolen in October is leaked online in a double extortion attack
Thu Jan 7, 2021
Trump bans Chinese payment apps
US president signs executive order banning the use of Chinese payments app, citing national security risks
Thu Jan 7, 2021
Vodafone announces free data schemes for small business
As research shows the strain on business from Covid, UK communications operator announces programme to offer free high-speed connectivity
Thu Jan 7, 2021
Sapphire, Charterhouse and Pax8 strike deals
Appetite for acquisitions across the channel shows no sign of abating, with a few deals struck already this week
Thu Jan 7, 2021
Biden picks cyber veteran to reinvigorate security response
Appointment of career intelligence operative Anne Neuberger signals refreshed security approach for the US government under Joe Biden's administration
Thu Jan 7, 2021
Five million UK households paying £804m more than they should for broadband
Significant number of UK householders won’t switch broadband networks for fear of losing their connection or the perceived hassle of switching, but many are left paying too much, research shows
Thu Jan 7, 2021
Defending against SolarWinds attacks: What can be done?
While no defense is guaranteed, zero-trust access and behavioral monitoring can be useful against nation-state hackers and threats like the SolarWinds attacks.
Thu Jan 7, 2021
Quest Software adds data governance and DataOps with Erwin
With new data modeling, catalog and governance technology from an acquisition, Quest looks to build a broader data platform to help organizations optimize and benefit from data.
Thu Jan 7, 2021
Twitter, Facebook bounce President Trump from their platforms
Twitter has permanently suspended President Trump's account. Facebook has banned the president until the end of his term and possibly beyond.
Thu Jan 7, 2021
Data storytelling vendor Toucan Toco poised for growth
Startup data storytelling vendor Toucan Toco has big goals for 2021, including doubling its annual revenues and expanding its customer base by about 50%.
Thu Jan 7, 2021
Capitol insurrection leads to job loss, search for participants
Employers interested in whether their employees took part in the U.S. Capitol insurrection and stormed the building may want to proceed with caution, legal and HR experts said.
Thu Jan 7, 2021
Red Hat buys Kubernetes security player StackRox
Red Hat will donate StackRox Kubernetes security software to open source and build it into its OpenShift platform, while preserving support for cloud Kubernetes platforms.
Fri Jan 8, 2021
Poor data flows hampered government’s Covid-19 response, says the Science and Technology Committee
House of Commons Science and Technology Committee finds poor data management to have hampered the government’s Covid-19 pandemic response
Fri Jan 8, 2021
EXFO forms full-fibre testing initiative with Openreach
BT broadband provision division to deploy permanent full-fibre monitoring technology to assist in programme to deliver broadband across UK homes
Fri Jan 8, 2021
Majority of suppliers won’t have software ready for CDS until March
Brexit IT systems are all up and running, but little traffic through the borders means they haven’t yet been put to the test, and in Northern Ireland, suppliers don’t yet have software ready to use the Customs Declaration Service
Fri Jan 8, 2021
Which? online banking investigation reveals ‘worrying gaps’ in security
Consumer rights organisation has ranked the security of UK online current account providers
Fri Jan 8, 2021
Intel unifies partner programmes
Vendor hoping simplicity and increased support in a fresh partner programme will benefit its channel
Fri Jan 8, 2021
British Gas tackles omnichannel customer correspondence
Utility firm hopes to map out customer communications to help deliver a better customer experience and improve the business
Fri Jan 8, 2021
Brexit deal grants UK temporary data adequacy
The EU-UK Brexit deal has granted the UK temporary data adequacy to allow for the continued flow of data across borders, but the agreement has divided data protection experts
Fri Jan 8, 2021
Atos makes move for DXC
Unsolicited offer from Atos for its rival could see the creation of a mega solutions provider
Fri Jan 8, 2021
AI Council advises government to do artificial intelligence moonshots
The AI Council has published a “roadmap” of advice to government in respect of developing a UK state strategy for artificial intelligence, encompassing skills, vendor support and public sector procurement
Fri Jan 8, 2021
Competition and Markets Authority battles with cookies and privacy
CMA is looking at proposed privacy changes to Google’s Chrome browser that could be seen as anti-competitive
Fri Jan 8, 2021
Major facial-recognition supplier builds system to identify masked faces
Facial-recognition supplier claims new system can accurately identify masked faces, therefore promoting public health during the pandemic. But questions remain about whether its existing UK law enforcement clients will be deploying the technology
Fri Jan 8, 2021
‘Litany’ of UK government failures in gigabit broadband roll-out
Second UK MPs’ report in matter of weeks slams government for dismal failure and lack of sufficient progress in meeting already scaled-back benchmark for gigabit-capable connectivity by 2025
Fri Jan 8, 2021
BT offers unlimited data for remote learning
UK incumbent telco joins campaign to make sure disadvantaged children can get connected as Covid-19 lockdown closes schools and other educational establishments
Fri Jan 8, 2021
JetStream Software carries DR to Azure VMware Solution
JetStream DR for Azure VMware Solution allows customers to failover on-premises VMware VMs to Azure VMware Solution. The data is stored in Azure.
Fri Jan 8, 2021
Atos floats DXC acquisition proposal
Paris-based IT services company Atos is reportedly eyeing DXC Technology as an acquisition target -- a move that would greatly scale Atos' North American presence; other news.
Fri Jan 8, 2021
Starburst raises $100M as PrestoSQL rebrands as Trino
Starburst is advancing its enterprise data platform with new funding that will help advance its cloud efforts around the open source Trino query engine formerly known as PrestoSQL.
Fri Jan 8, 2021
Microsoft slow to fulfill request for more Teams channel control
Microsoft won't prioritize a feature that would let Teams users move channels between groups, despite tens of thousands of requests. Users have asked for the capability since 2016.
Fri Jan 8, 2021
Doubts about Trump video show how hard deepfakes are to detect
Some Twitter users insist that a recent video of President Trump admitting his defeat in the election is a deepfake, although there's no proof. Deepfakes are difficult to detect.
Fri Jan 8, 2021
Government use of 'general warrants' to authorise computer and phone hacking is unlawful
A court has ruled that the security and intelligence services can no longer rely on ‘general warrants’ to authorise the hacking of large numbers of computers and phones belonging to UK citizens