Cisco unwraps Cisco Plus, a NaaS offering focused on security and hybrid cloud for now. Cisco has taken a big step forward with its first network-as-a-service offering that ultimately will let customers buy enterprise-network hardware and software components on an as-needed basis. The company announced the service, called Cisco Plus, at its virtual Cisco Live … Read more
Microsoft’s messaging around its upcoming Windows 10 variant has changed over time. You have questions? We have answers. There’s a good chance you’ve heard about Windows 10X, the new version of Windows that’s about to be released. And if you have, there’s a reasonable chance you’re confused about what exactly it is. You’re not alone. … Read more
In 2012, UsedSoft won a case for second user software, which has enabled the market to grow across Europe. But it is now under threat. Second user software licence reseller ValueLicensing has picked up where the 2012 European Economic Area ruling in favour of UsedSoft left off. The company has filed a claim in the High … Read more
The first three months of 2021 saw three billion-dollar-plus acquisitions in hardware, software, and services, and plenty of other merger activity in professional services. Already in 2021, we’ve seen enterprise tech acquisitions in hardware, software, and services that have topped $1 billion — although so far there’s nothing to rival the two blockbuster deals announced … Read more
Microsoft’s decision to buy Nuance for $19.7 billion highlights how important voice-activated technology is already in healthcare and how ubiquitous it might become elsewhere. Microsoft’s decision to acquire speech-recognition firm Nuance Communications for $19.7 billion, the company’s biggest purchase since forking out $26 billion for LinkedIn, could provide a real boost for voice technology, analysts said. “There … Read more
With the need for efficient collaboration tools exploding in recent months, a variety of companies hope to refine how those tools work and what they can do. We look at eight now pushing the envelope. Keeping employees connected and working productively has become the glue holding many businesses together during the COVID-19 pandemic. And with … Read more
By acquiring Turbonomic, IBM gains tools that manage performance of everything from applications and containers to virtualization, cloud, and on-prem compute, storage, and network resources. Big Blue kept its checkbook open this week buying AI-based application and network-performance management vendor Turbonomic for an unconfirmed estimate of $2 billion. The acquisition is the eleventh hybrid-cloud and AI-focused buy … Read more
The just-published patent describes a feature that generates an employee “anxiety score” based on data such as blood pressure and heart rate, suggesting when workers need to take a break. Microsoft has patented an employee “wellbeing” recommendation feature that uses biometric data to detect a worker’s stress levels when completing tasks such as sending emails, … Read more
The year’s first feature upgrade for Windows 10 arrived this week with little fanfare, largely because it offers little new functionality because Microsoft has abandoned its major-minor release cadence. Microsoft Tuesday issued Windows 10 21H1, officially the year’s first feature upgrade even though new functionality was largely absent because the company has abandoned its major-minor … Read more
Microsoft is trying to make good on its commitment to managing not only assets in Azure cloud but on customer premises and in other providers’ clouds. Azure Arc for servers, a centralized management tool that provides visibility into Azure data services, Kubernetes clusters, and servers running Windows or Linux, has been generally available since September, … Read more
