• Article

When it comes to cloud skills, there’s a significant gender gap, and it’s particularly visible in the UK. This is according to a new report by Microsoft, entitled "Microsoft Cloud Skills Report: Closing the Cloud Skills Chasm." According to it, the gender mix among technical IT staff is 20 percent female versus 80 percent male. In just a fifth of companies (21 percent) the gender mix was 40 percent or greater.

Microsoft says this gender imbalance is "concerning," but perhaps even more concerning is the fact that very few companies are actually doing something about it. A third (35 percent) said they had no policies to address the issues (46 percent for companies with 250 to 999 staff). A quarter (23 percent) said they didn’t know of any actions put in place.

Continue reading →

Digital transformation is happening at a rapid rate, and in order to stay competitive, organizations need to push the limits of their traditional BI and analytics frameworks with predictive and prescriptive capabilities to generate faster and more accurate business outcomes. Gartner predicts that by 2020, predictive and prescriptive analytics will attract 40 percent of enterprises' net new investment in business intelligence and analytics.

Traditional Business Intelligence (BI) tools and analytics frameworks are still in the descriptive stage and can only assist users with the two questions -- "what is happening?" or "what has happened?" To answer the "what will happen next?", predictive, prescriptive, and cognitive computing is necessary. These 3 types of analytics are being enhanced by AI technology to automate mundane and repetitive tasks and predict a clear path going forward. Data is being analyzed faster and more accurately with these advanced analytics frameworks, and decisions are being automated with machine learning to decrease human error and increase the organization’s bottom line profit. Machine learning can detect new patterns and opportunities that humans cannot.

Continue reading →

There has been something of a trend in recent years for phones to grow taller and slimmer. Aspect ratios are changing, and the familiar 16:9 is being met by the LG G6's 18:9 (oh, ok, 2:1) and, in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S8, 18.5:9.

Google sees these emerging aspect ratios as the start of a trend rather than obscure rarities, and it's encouraging developers to embrace them fully.

Continue reading →

When I first set up a Logitech Harmony hub in my home, it was life-changing. No longer did I need to have multiple remote controls littering my living room table. The one Harmony remote (or mobile app) controls my television, cable box, sound bar, and Xbox One. Once I linked it with my Amazon Echo, things got even better -- I could control my entertainment devices by voice. If I am dozing off on the couch while watching TV, for instance, and the remote is out of reach, I can simply say "Alexa, tell Harmony to turn off the TV." Like magic, the television shuts off.

Amazon Echo is not the only voice assistant device available -- Google offers its own called "Home." It is very similar to Amazon's offering, but it is not compatible with all of the same devices and services. For instance, Home did not work with Harmony. Today, this changes, as both Logitech and Google's hardware can now work together. It is not compatible with all Harmony devices, however -- only Hub-based models, such as Elite and Companion.

Continue reading →

FocusOn Image Viewer is a stylish and straightforward image viewer, easy to use but with one or two unexpected bonus features.

This all starts with the interface. There are no stupid gimmicks, no attempts to do things differently for no reason at all. Instead FocusOn Image Viewer starts with the look and feel of Explorer, and adds just a little more.

Continue reading →

In an age of constant surveillance and eroding privacy, there is increasing interest in secure messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram. While Telegram has gained quite a following, there is one feature that users have been begging for: voice calls.

Now users' prayers have been answered. The latest update to Telegram finally heralds the arrival of secure voice calling, and it features an interesting key exchange mechanism: users need just compare four emoji. If the emoji match, the connection is secure!

Continue reading →

Recent changes at Twitter have focused mainly on clamping down on abuse and trolling, but there have also been adjustment tweaks that allow users to send longer messages. Now the site is introducing another change that effectively means you are able to send longer replies to people.

The latest change does not mean that you are given more than 140 characters to play with, but the 140 character limit is now put to better use. In short, all 140 characters are available for you to reply with as @usernames no longer count towards the total.

Continue reading →

Yesterday's Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ announcement held few surprises (with the possible exception of Samsung DeX) thanks to all of the leaks ahead of the event. But something we didn’t find out until today is that there is a customized Microsoft Edition of the handset available too.

Not only will there be a Samsung Galaxy S8 Microsoft Edition and a Samsung Galaxy S8+ Microsoft Edition, but the smartphones will be available to buy direct from Microsoft. Pre-orders start today, but only in Microsoft's US retail stores.

Continue reading →

It’s no secret that cloud-based collaboration tools are transforming the way we work, and Microsoft, with Office 365, is playing a major role in shifting workplace communication. Last year, Microsoft continued to enhance and develop Office 365 Groups as a powerful hub for team productivity. When armed with Office 365 Groups, employees have the opportunity to collaborate within a dedicated space with popular Office 365 features like mail, persistent chat, and collaboration powered by familiar technologies like Exchange, SharePoint, OneNote, Skype for Business, and Planner.

Before organizations can embrace this new way of working, however, IT teams need to combat the challenges of natively managing Office 365 Groups. Why? First, there are several ways for users in an organization to create a Group within an Office 365 tenant -- meaning IT admins must determine the most effective way to implement administrative controls to prevent unnecessary sprawl. Once users have the ability to create new Office 365 Groups, IT is also tasked with controlling group membership, placing safeguards around content within groups, and overseeing the lifecycle of Groups, including the eventual decision to delete or archive a Group and its content.

Continue reading →

If you need money for something, you might think about using a service such as GoFundMe to ask people to donate cash to you. But now you can turn to Facebook instead, as the social network launches a new "personal fundraiser" feature, as well as Donate buttons in Facebook Live for Pages.

As the name suggests, a personal fundraiser is a way for individuals to raise money for themselves -- or someone they know. To start with, Facebook says that it is only possible to raise money for "critical financial needs" that fall under one of six headings, but this may expand over time. So how do you go about looking for donations through the social network?

Continue reading →

Samsung just unveiled what are likely the best Android smartphones of the year -- the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. They have novel displays, impressive cameras, the fastest hardware, superb build quality, and cutting edge software. If you're looking to get one of the new flagships, you can pull the trigger right now because, chances are, you'll be super happy with it...

...except if you have a Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge, that is. As attractive as the new flagships are, and as much as I like having the latest and greatest smartphone, there simply aren't enough reasons to upgrade. Here's what I mean.

Continue reading →

Organizations are using multiple cloud services and security staff are worried about the visibility problems this presents as well as the risks presented by IoT devices.

These are the findings of a survey of RSA attendees, carried out by security management and threat intelligence specialist AlienVault. A third of respondents to the survey describe the state of security monitoring within their organization as 'complex and chaotic'.

Continue reading →

The UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd is today meeting with technology firms to discuss how they can help to combat terrorism. The meeting comes just days after Rudd said that encrypted messaging services such as WhatsApp should not be a "secret place to hide."

Calls for backdoors to be built into encrypted apps and services have been met with shock, derision and incredulity, but some have pointed out that the controversial Investigatory Powers Act (aka the snooper's charter) already grants the government the right to force the removal of encryption. Ahead of the Rudd's meeting, civil liberty organizations have written a letter demanding transparency.

Continue reading →

More and more of us are using voice operated personal assistants like Siri and Alexa, but a voice only interface can prove frustrating as it offers no visual cues.

Technology startup Daptly is aiming to build a better assistant with a smart, gesture and voice controlled display that manages your life and seamlessly blends technology into your home or office.

Continue reading →

For anyone looking to stream music and movies around their home to various devices, Plex is a solid media server solution that won’t hurt your pocket; it's free! But things are about to get even better for Plex Pass subscribers thanks to the arrival of the Plex Pass Perks hub.

Depending on where you are in the world, you might be able to bag yourself a discounted external hard drive or NAS to use with your server, and there is the promise that new deals will be added all the time.

Continue reading →