The outdated business practice that's sabotaging your IT budget
As our world becomes more digital by the day, IT leaders are under ever-increasing pressure to perform in a measurable way. From the demands of cutting costs and modernizing workflows to bolstering security and optimizing cloud migration, their strategic and technical priorities extend into every aspect of the business. On a more comprehensive level, 70 percent of IT leaders regard digital transformation as a top priority within their organization. With so many initiatives demanding their attention, CIOs and IT managers must allocate their time and resources wisely.
Yet there are several challenges that can obstruct the path to modern IT success. In Gartner’s 2016 CIO Agenda Report, the technology research company asked 2,994 CIOs from 84 countries to identify their main barrier as an IT leader. Twenty-two percent of participants responded with skills and resources, while 15 percent pinpointed funding and budgets as their biggest obstacle. The fact of the matter is that IT departments don’t always have the funds and resources they need to truly drive digital transformation and stay on the cutting edge of technology. A company’s available budget reflects an abundance of tireless work and careful strategy, making the question of how to save and maximize hard-earned revenue one of the most pressing issues to affect enterprises across the globe.
Have the exploding Galaxy Note7 phones put you off Samsung?
Samsung’s Galaxy Note7 smartphone has received universally favorable reviews, and looked to be a big hit for the South Korean company… and then came the news that some devices had exploded, leading to a massive recall.
Since then, in addition to the estimated $5 billion the recall is expected to cost, Samsung has seen $14.3 billion wiped of its market capitalization. There have been stories of children being injured by exploding devices, cars being set on fire, airlines warning passengers not to take the device on flights, and so on. It's a major catastrophe for Samsung.
Microsoft adds guest access to Office 365
Microsoft keeps adding new features to its Office 365 suite, and now it has made easier for people outside a group to collaborate on files. A new feature, for Office 365 groups, allows people who aren't staff members, or members of a particular group, to join in and collaborate.
Group owners can now use the web version of Outlook to invite non-staff members in.
New partnership aims to improve threat detection
The problem with many security solutions is that the number of alerts they generate leads to a good deal of time in investigations, some of which will turn out to be false positives.
Real-time analytics company Corvil is partnering with endpoint security specialist Carbon Black to offer customers unified cyber threat detection, analysis, and response.
New solution prevents loss and corruption in big data environments
The pressure to move towards using big data can often lead to management practices lagging behind. While storage is managed often data flows aren't, which leads to breakdowns and corruption of the data.
The bigger and more complex the data, the greater the problem becomes. To address this, San Francisco-based StreamSets is launching its Dataflow Performance Manager (DPM), a solution that makes it possible to manage the operations of a company's end-to-end dataflows within a single pane.
Samsung will prevent Galaxy Note7 from exploding with an OTA update
The Galaxy Note7 recall is a huge mess. Samsung may be giving customers the option to have affected devices replaced, but there is no word as to how long it will take before every faulty Galaxy Note7 is exchanged. But the biggest problem is that users who want to take Samsung up on its exchange offer still have to live with a device that could explode and cause some real damage after that.
The only way to prevent that from happening is to stop using the device, but for customers who have the Galaxy Note7 as their only smartphone that is clearly not an option. The good news is that Samsung will come up with a solution to keep them going until a replacement device arrives.
New software applies machine learning to contract reviews
When contracts need to be reviewed, renewed or revised, the process tends to be labor intensive and time consuming.
Contract delivery and analytics specialist Seal Software is launching version 5.0 of its contract analysis software, which uses machine learning to speed up the process. It also includes a new add-in which allows contract data extraction and review capabilities to be used within Microsoft Word.
Employees sue Seagate over HR department's private data leak
After falling victim to a phishing scam in March, Seagate is now being sued by its own employees whose sensitive data was exposed in the leak.
The company's HR department was tricked into providing the operators of the phishing scheme with the personally identifiable information (PII) of 10,000 past and current employees and W-2 forms that include their Social Security numbers along with their wage, salary and tax information.
Ancile is a script-based Windows 7/8 telemetry-blocker
Increasing concern over Windows "spying" technologies has brought a host of free tools claiming to disable them, but are they safe to use? It’s often hard to tell, as developers don’t clearly explain what they’re doing.
Ancile is easier to evaluate, at least for experienced users, because it’s just a Windows script -- open the files in your text editor of choice and it’s all there.
Broadband customers need accurate speed comparison sites
There are calls for ISPs to provide more accurate broadband speed information to customers to allow them to make better comparisons between companies. The current method of providing theoretical maximum figures is just not acceptable, says the UK's Local Government Association.
The LGA points out that ISPs' current provision of estimated speeds are not necessarily a true reflection of the reality. Just as consumers can use price comparison sites to check out the best deals for electricity and other utilities, so the LGA believes a similar service should be available to allow for more accurate speed comparison.
In less than a week Twitter will allow longer tweets
Twitter 140-character tweet limit has been one of its defining features for a number of years now. Originally introduced because of the limitation of SMS, the restriction has frustrated many users who find it too much of a constraint.
On 19 September it all changes. Unlike what it has done with Direct Messages, Twitter is not dramatically increasing the maximum length of a tweet, but it is changing what counts towards that limit. Images and other attachments, for example, no longer use up characters, leaving more for messages.
eBay 'Quick Sale' pays you cash for your smartphone (so you can get the iPhone 7)
Apple's iPhone 7 and 7 Plus smartphones hit stores this Friday, and many people -- including yours truly -- want one. Unfortunately, the phones are not free, meaning those without sufficient funds cannot get in on the party. Not to mention, if your current phone is working fine, it would be wasteful to buy another -- having two smartphones makes no sense, right?
What some folks do in this situation, is sell their current iPhone or Android smartphone, and then put the proceeds of the sale towards the purchase of the newest iPhone. Unfortunately, selling a phone can be stressful and sometimes dangerous. If you meet someone from Craigslist, for instance, they could end up hurting or stealing from you. If you opt for an online 'for cash' service, they could prove to be unreliable or maybe even a scam. Today, eBay launches a service called 'Quick Sale', designed to take the pain out of getting cash for your current phone.
Dispelling 5 common myths about desktop printers in the office
They may seem like technology from the days of old, but make no mistake -- desktop printers still can hold an important place in British businesses today. Not only do they help create efficient and flexible printing management, but they also can help keep British office workers at their most productive, rendering them potentially one of the most important products for IT managers in 2016.
The value of desktop printers is often overlooked due to advancements of new printer technology services, including an array of enterprise-orientated features, however, the traditional role of the printer mustn’t be forgotten. Desktop printers intertwined within a multi-device print and document management strategy, whilst also combining bigger multi-function devices with smaller devices, should arguably become commonplace for all managers responsible for their company’s printing activities.
The growing security risks in enterprise Windows environments [Q&A]
ManageEngine recently announced the results of its global Active Directory and Windows Server Security -- Trends and Practices Survey for 2016, which found that 70 percent of IT administrators across the globe agree that their Windows environments are not immune to malicious attacks.
To delve a bit deeper, we spoke to Derek Melber, a technical evangelist for ManageEngine.
Google brings Cardboard Camera to iOS for virtual reality fun
Google's dream of bringing virtual reality to the masses just took another big leap forward. The popular Cardboard Camera app is now available for iOS, giving iPhone users the chance to capture and share VR photos.
For many people Google Cardboard has been all about finding a cheap way to enjoy virtual reality experiences that other people have created. Cardboard Camera gives you the chance to create your own.
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