Month: September 2023

Generative AI Watch: Slack Misses an Opportunity to Captivate at the Salesforce ‘Dreamforce’ Keynote

by Gregg Willsky, posted in Cloud Enable, Communicate
G. Willsky

Summary Bullets:

• The positioning of new Slack capabilities at the Dreamforce keynote was underwhelming, lacking cohesiveness and clarity.

• Slack will land on more solid footing if it can craft an AI message as compelling as its productivity message.

During the keynote of last week’s ‘Dreamforce’ event sponsored by Salesforce, Slack CEO Lidiane Jones updated the audience regarding new and forthcoming capabilities on the Slack platform. With a portion of the capabilities saturated with game-changing AI technology and Dreamforce serving as Salesforce’s showcase event, the update was no doubt intended to tantalize but instead was underwhelming.

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MGM Under Fire After a “Cybersecurity Issue”

by Amy Larsen DeCarlo, posted in Secure

Amy Larsen DeCarlo – Principal Analyst, Security and Data Center Services

Summary Bullets:

• On September 10th, casino giant MGM Resorts International was hit with a cybersecurity “issue” that impacted its hotel booking and restaurant reservation systems, as well as digital keys and corporate applications including its web site.

• The company acknowledged the incident in a Securities and Exchange (SEC) filing on September 12th which affected properties in several states including Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio.

On September 10th, an incident came to light that affected multiple MGM casino and hotel properties in a number of US states. The company issued a press release on September 12th and also filed an 8-K report with the SEC. An 8-K filing is a notification of an event that might have a material financial impact on a publicly-traded company.

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The Future is Glass

by Steven J. Schuchart Jr., posted in IT Leader

S. Schuchart

Summary Bullets:

• The physics limits of copper are looming in the next few generation of microprocessors

• Silicon photonics represents a possible solution for interconnections inside and outside the chip

The future is glass, and it’s not just meant to be a play on the old crystal ball. Well, maybe not *strictly* glass but it is with silicon photonics. Fiber optics are proven and effective in data communications. Between use cases such as metro rings, any Ethernet beyond 10GbE or needing more than a 300 meter distance, and more recently a push to bring fiber optic communications to the home. Fiber optics doesn’t have many of the drawbacks that good old copper has, and there are still new research ways to make improvements to commonly deployed fiber optic cable.

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Ericsson Doubles Down on the Enterprise Segment by Leveraging Acquisitions

by Rena Bhattacharyya, posted in Internet of Things, Secure
R. Bhattacharyya

Summary Bullets:

• With the Vonage acquisition, Ericsson acquired a CPaaS with which it can build a global platform that exposes and packages 5G network capabilities as APIs that can be used to add functionality to enterprise applications.

• The Cradlepoint acquisition has provided Ericsson with a more robust device portfolio to support private networks.

After having built a strong heritage of providing solutions and infrastructure for the telecom service provider community, Ericsson is expanding its vision by investing heavily to build out its enterprise business. On September 6, 2023, Ericsson gathered North American analysts in Boston, Massachusetts for a deep dive into its enterprise strategy, noting the contributions of its recent acquisitions. The company is combining its core Ericsson 5G solutions with capabilities from Vonage and Cradlepoint to build a broader portfolio.

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The Only Way Is Upp for Virgin Media O2

by Rob Pritchard, posted in Communicate, Network
R. Pritchard

Summary Bullets:

• Virgin Media O2 acquired broadband provider Upp as part of a forced sale on security grounds by LetterOne, a company backed by a Russian oligarch.

• UK broadband consolidation is set to continue as the market evolves to three national players and a set of geographical niche local fiber providers.

Virgin Media O2 has signed an all-cash deal (reported to be in the “high tens of millions of pounds”) to purchase UK fiber company Upp (formerly FibreMe and backed by investment company LetterOne) and integrate it with Virgin Media O2’s existing network. However, the acquisition will ultimately be funded by nexfibre through a back-to-back agreement to buy Upp’s network assets. Nexfibre is a network joint venture owned by Liberty Global, Telefónica, and InfraVia Capital Partners. Nextfibre is investing GBP4.5 billion to pass five million UK homes and businesses with fiber by 2026, with the option of extending to a total of seven million beyond then.

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UX Must be Front and Center in DX Programs

by siowmeng, posted in IT Leader

S. Soh

Summary Bullets:

• Service providers are strengthening their consulting capabilities by adding experience design, to existing business consulting and technology expertise to help enterprises achieve digital transformation goals.

• Competitors leading in this space have added expertise in creative design, developed methodologies, established partnerships, and set up studios or innovation hubs to engage clients.

Consulting services are more important than ever for IT services providers (ITSPs) that are helping enterprise customers transform their business operations, not just migrating workloads to the cloud. Many enterprises are digitizing, and a crucial aspect is in delivering greater customer experience (CX) and employee experience (EX). Digital services provide businesses the ability to remove friction in customer transactions and employee collaboration. The rapid technological development, especially in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), extended reality (XR), and digital twins, can create new experiences and improve interaction. However, businesses need to focus on CX through a human-centered approach. Successful digital-native businesses, including ride-sharing, ecommerce platforms, and streaming media services, have thrived due to their ability to create simplified and delightful experiences centered around customers.

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