News, views and reviews from NZ’s tech sector No Images? Click here Dear , Things are hot in the cloud right now, and new kid on the block Azure is hotter than most. True, it’s well behind Amazon’s 31 percent share of the global market, but it's seen a stellar period of growth on the back of its developer ecosystem and strong prospects in the enterprise market. The tech giant, which also holds tight to its on-premise business, nearly doubled its Azure revenue for fiscal 2018. Both Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud are now growing faster than AWS, though the 800-pound gorilla that is AWS is in little danger of being rumbled any time soon. We take a look at what’s driving the cloud market, and why Azure is positioned for growth. In other news:
And in amongst all our pontificating on new technologies and the benefits thereof, many a business is hobbled by a serious crutch. The humble yet hoary, macro-infused, all-things-to-all-people spreadsheet. Cincom have supplied a perspective from their ERP partner Priority on why the spreadsheet needs a closer examination when it comes to eliminating risk in your business 'systems' landscape. Happy reading! Heather Wright Microsoft’s cloud business grows like topsyAzure almost doubles revenue in hot cloud market… Not so long ago, cynics met the concept of cloud computing with scepticism. Running business-critical applications on remote data centres was just a step too far. “Long-standing relationships with corporates could help Microsoft gain ground as companies move to the cloud.” Data Literacy: Finding information in the dataJust as we had to become digitally literate, now the onus is on to become data literate... Big data and analytics aren’t enough. “Business leaders are demanding that their employees leverage data day-to-day to drive actionable insights." Cisco’s backdoors aboundWith five backdoors discovered in Cisco gear since 2013, perhaps Australia might want to apply the same standards used on Huawei with Cisco?... Chinese telco supplier Huawei has been under fire in Aussie with concerns from Australian and US intelligence agencies that Huawei gear could be hacked. “Like the original gift that keeps giving, hidden accounts and backdoors have continued to pop up in Cisco hardware.” Industry 4.0 ‘revolution’ yet to fire up?Is there a disconnect between IT ambitions and industry reality?… Robot ‘employees’ with sensors and cognitive tools, drone-based wireless systems scanning and locating items, ML, AI and automation – it’s the Industry 4.0 dream. “As manufacturing goes through its next revolution, most developed countries are embracing Industry 4.0.” DX stalling? Blame it on your culture and cybersecurityIt’s not about the technology – unless it’s security, that is… DX has been a catch cry for years, with businesses urged to ‘transform or die’ and companies hailing every IT change as part of their digital transformation. “Culture is organisational ‘dark matter’ – you can’t see it, but its effects are obvious.” Spoiler alert: “Your spreadsheets are holding back your business”With so many alternatives available today, businesses still clinging to the all too familiar spreadsheet need to jump ship if they want to dive into (and stay afloat in) the digital age... When the spreadsheet first hit our once miniature computer screen, it single-handedly changed the way we did business, saving us lots of time, lots of money and lots of headaches. “It’s now a super-fast evolving business world and spreadsheets are no longer the right tool for the job.” This week's sponsor: Upcoming events: > IT Architecture Forum | Aug 13-14 | Auckland iStart is proudly supported by these leading Latest Buyer's Guides ERP Buyer's Guide | CRM Buyer's Guide | HR/HCM Buyer's Guide | BI Buyer's Guide Privacy statement: We have sent this weekly eNewsletter to you at your e-mail address: [email address suppressed]. iStart will never share your e-mail address, but you may from time to time receive other event invitations or partner communications from us. You can opt out of these by managing your subscription preferences, where you can also update your e-mail address and other details. Find out more about iStart | Advertise with iStart | Subscribe
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