CRM systems have become essential tools for sales and marketing teams, giving them the ability to organize and automate the processes that build good customer relationships.

But off-the-shelf solutions don't always meet the needs of specialist industries. Insurance technology specialist Vertafore is launching its new Agency SalesTrack solution, built on Microsoft Dynamics CRM to cater specifically for the insurance sector.

Continue reading →

Azure already supports a number of major Linux distributions, like CentOS and openSUSE, but Microsoft is now taking things one step further by offering Red Hat Enterprise Linux instances through the cloud platform's Marketplace.

This comes as a direct result of Microsoft's partnership with Red Hat, which, among other things, is meant to "help customers embrace hybrid cloud computing by providing greater choice and flexibility deploying Red Hat solutions" on the software giant's cloud platform.

Continue reading →

Traditional endpoint security often ends up generating lots of false alerts which take up valuable support time to investigate and resolve.

Anti-malware specialist Malwarebytes is aiming to make things easier for businesses with the launch of its latest Breach Remediation product, a platform that improves organizations' ability to remove advanced threats from their endpoint systems.

Continue reading →

Microsoft keeps shouting about the millions of users that have switched to Windows 10, and soon the company will have another 4 million to bray about. The US Department of Defense is the latest big name to give Windows 10 the seal of approval apparently unconcerned with the privacy and telemetry issues that have put off others.

4 million enterprise upgrades for Windows 10 is a real feather in the cap for Microsoft, and the aim is to get each system running the latest version of the operating system inside a year. The DoD has also announced that it is granting certification to Surface 3, Surface Pro 3, Surface Pro 4, and Surface Book devices, meaning that they now appear on its Approved Products List.

Continue reading →

Keeping systems secure has become more complicated as companies adopt cloud and hybrid environments for their systems.

To eliminate the need for multiple different security products and give users a single-pane view into workloads, infrastructure monitoring, vulnerability management, threat intelligence and compliance reporting, Threat Stack is launching a new Cloud Security Platform.

Continue reading →

We're all aware that sometimes data can be put at risk by third party systems belonging to suppliers. But a new report by security rating company BitSight looks further down the chain at vulnerabilities posed by fourth parties -- the subcontractors of third party vendors.

Changes in the way organizations source their IT have increased their dependency on cloud service providers, web hosting platforms, and other external services. Cyber criminals are recognizing that these outside vendors and subcontractors can often be their best point of entry into many companies.

Continue reading →

Some of the latest cyber attacks seek to steal information using man-in-the-browser (MITB) attacks. These represent a dangerous trend because they circumvent even the strongest authentication techniques by hijacking the session after the user has authenticated a bank or other site.

Threat intelligence start up buguroo is looking to combat this with its new online fraud detection solution that can detect hijacked sessions in real time and stop them before any money leaves the bank.

Continue reading →

More and more organizations are seeing the benefits of adopting the hybrid cloud, but they don’t want to risk sacrificing the security advantages of more traditional systems.

To help businesses tap into hybrid cloud without sacrificing security, IBM is announcing a new mainframe, the z13s. Building on the mainframe’s world-class performance and security profile, the z13s features new embedded security technologies, enhanced data encryption and tighter integrations with IBM Security solutions.

Continue reading →

Generally speaking, biometrics refers to the measure or statistical analysis of a person’s physical or biological characteristics. However, increasingly the term is being defined more narrowly, at least in a business context, to refer to biometric security.

Although passwords can be guessed and network vulnerabilities exploited, overcoming biometric security protocols is significantly more challenging. For example, how would a cybercriminal go about duplicating a fingerprint or an iris scan? As a result, the unique aspects that make up our physical features are increasingly being utilized for authentication methods by businesses all over the world.

Continue reading →

In any discussion about cloud computing, it is becoming harder and harder to ignore Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3), the massively scalable, cost-effective cloud storage solution developed specifically to house the huge influx of data created by organizations worldwide.

Amazon S3 commands twice the market share of all its closest competitors combined and is likely to be the storage platform of choice for on-premise hybrid or private cloud deployments for some time to come.

Continue reading →

A new Flexera Software report reveals that most organizations are unnecessarily wasting significant portions of their enterprise software budget.

Consider these statistics: 75 percent of enterprises are out of compliance with regards to at least some percentage of their software, 44 percent of enterprises (compared to only 25 percent the prior year) paid $100,000 or more in true-up costs to their software vendors as a result of noncompliant software use; and for 20 percent (up from only 9 percent in the prior year) the software audit true-up costs were $1,000,000 or more! In addition, 93 percent of organisations report spending money on at least some software that is under-used -- i.e. shelfware.

Continue reading →

Privacy concerns about Windows 10 have existed since the moment the operating system was released. Endless virtual column inches have been spawned from fears about the telemetry features Microsoft employs, and a small cottage industry has sprung up creating tools that disable 'spying' features. But for all of the words that have been spilled, how much does the average user know -- or indeed care -- about privacy issues, data collection and the like?

There's one thing that just about everyone can agree on: Microsoft did a terrible job of communicating information about data collection in Windows 10. We also know that the mere existence of data collection features has irked a lot of people. Microsoft listened to enterprise users and made it possible to completely disable telemetry in Windows 10 Enterprise, but the same courtesy has not been extended to home users. Are you bothered by this?

Continue reading →

When people are booking travel, companies like travel agencies, hotel chains and airlines have an opportunity to gain a loyal customer.

But a new survey of more than 500 travelers from data science specialist Boxever suggests that the window to turn searchers into bookers and beat the competition is a narrow one.

Continue reading →

Hackers are constantly seeking new ways to attack systems and gain insider access to data. A new survey from IT security company Balabit reveals the 10 most popular hacking methods to help companies understand how to protect themselves.

The survey of almost 500 IT security practitioners reveals that social engineering is the most popular means of attack. Hackers aim to get a 'low level' insider user account by means of phishing and escalate its privileges.

Continue reading →

There’s been an explosion in products that promise to make our facilities, assets, networks and cloud resources "smarter", more secure and safe, but do they?

With control system hacks on the rise and traditional lock/entrance manufacturers like Honeywell, Assa Abloy and Stanley developing more intelligent lock systems, it’s clear that enterprises in hospitality, healthcare and government are looking for a more granular access control that increases security.

Continue reading →