Networking and collaboration vendor Avaya declared bankruptcy on Thursday, calling the move part of its transition from a hardware to a software and services company.
Avaya emerged from Lucent Technologies in 2000 with a focus on phone switches, enterprise networking gear, and call-center systems. But with the shift toward mobile phones and cloud-based tools for communication, and a tight market for enterprise network equipment, the company has been changing its focus.
It plans to keep operating during the bankruptcy thanks to its cash from operations and US$725 million in financing that still needs approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Avaya said its foreign affiliates aren’t included in the filing and won’t be affected.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A little cyber-trickery is a good thing when it comes to battling network adversaries.The Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) tapped into that notion today as it awarded a $750,000 grant to security systems developer Galios to develop a cyber deception system that will “dramatically reduce the capabilities of an attacker that has gained a foothold on a network.”Specifically, Galios will develop its Prattle system for the Air Force. Galios describes Prattle as a system that generates traffic that misleads an attacker that has penetrated a network: making them doubt what they have learned, or to cause them to make mistakes that increase their likelihood of being detected sooner.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The Raspberry Pi 3 is a great product, but it can't be customized. People may desire more storage or a faster processor, but have to settle for features on the board computer.The lack of customization with board computers is driven by their low prices. Buyers get features commensurate with the low price of boards like the US$35 Raspberry Pi and $15 Pine64.No one's complaining about the low prices, but the one-size-fits-all nature may not be for everyone. Taking a page from PC makers, Via Technology is now making it possible to configure board computers to specific needs through its website.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The creators of encrypted email service ProtonMail have set up a server that's only accessible over the Tor anonymity network as a way to fight possible censorship attempts in some countries.ProtonMail was created by computer engineers who met while working at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). The service provides end-to-end encrypted email through a web-based interface and mobile apps, but the encryption is performed on the client side, and the ProtonMail servers never have access to plaintext messages or encryption keys.On Thursday, Proton Technologies, the Geneva-based company that runs ProtonMail, announced that it has set up a Tor hidden service, or onion site, to allow users to access the service directly inside the Tor anonymity network.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
At CES earlier this month, I stepped into an autonomous car for the first time. Sure, there was a driver who was there in case something went wrong (it didn’t), but the most interesting part of the ride (other than when Sven, our driver, took his hands off the wheel and the car kept moving just fine) was learning more about all of the other connected technologies that will be needed or that will work along with the autonomous driving.The “test drive” I took was part of a collaborative effort between companies in this space – Microsoft, NXP Semiconductors, Swiss Re, Esri, IAV and Cubic Telecom (see video, above). Each company provided some of their technology to showcase how human beings will interact with (and benefit from) autonomous, self-driving cars.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
I’m a life-long Trekkie, and one of the many great things about Star Trek is that the characters always face a big, nearly insurmountable challenge—and, of course, the heroes win in the end.If your organization is like many I see, the new year is ushering in a renewed urgency to embrace the possibilities of digital transformation. It probably feels like a big, perhaps insurmountable, challenge. Whether your organization is leading or being pushed into digital business, the cloud and the network are critical components in this business transformation.+ Also on Network World: More proof the cloud is winning big +
As I shared in this blog, while moving applications to the cloud can be a helpful step in evolving IT, that by itself is not digital transformation. These apps running on your private cloud or in a public cloud service are important to running your business; however, most are likely not the source of your competitive advantage. Digital transformation is about accelerating the creation of new value for your customers and, most powerfully, helping your customers and partners create value for one another. But rest assured, the cloud and the network both play an important role.To read Continue reading
Dropping your iPhone in the toilet could soon be something you can laugh instead of cry about if the latest Apple iPhone 8 rumors are to be believed.That new phone line can't come soon enough for Apple, which Wall Street firms say is suffering iPhone 7 and 7 Plus revenue declines due to people holding out for the AMOLED curved-screen next big thing.WATER & DUST
Apple Insider and others picked up on a Korea Herald report that the next big iPhone will be able to withstand being submerged at almost 5 feet for 30 minutes, giving it the highest rating possible for smartphone water resistance. (Not to be overlooked: the iPhone will likely also be more dust resistant.)To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
This week, at its Cloud World conference in New York, Oracle revealed new details of its cloud offering, making its case once again to be among the big kids of the cloud market. Here's Cloud Chronicle's take: It’s a valiant effort; but Oracle still has a ways to go.Oracle executive Thomas Kurian made a solid argument for the company’s cloud. Oralce is not just focusing on one area of this market: It has offerings across the SaaS, IaaS and PaaS markets. Perhaps its SaaS offerings are the most mature. IaaS and PaaS still have some development to work on.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Cloud. Despite all the hype about it being super easy, being self service and having a low on-ramp, the reality is service providers often still need to help organizations with the move to the cloud.You can tell an area is getting widespread attention when the large consulting firms start pricking up there ears. And so it is with cloud computing, where we have seen over the past few years the large consulting firms (both the “big four” accounting firms and the more traditional IT consulting firms) building out cloud computing service offerings—either from within or via strategic acquisitions of service providers.+ Also on Network World: Cloud adoption soars, but integration challenges remain +
A good example of this came in 2015 when Accenture acquired Cloud Sherpas, a Salesforce and Amazon Web Services (AWS) consulting partner that had grown rapidly over the preceding years via a number of acquisitions and mergers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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“We don’t receive enough alerts in our security operations center,” said no security analyst ever. The fact is, most SOC teams are overwhelmed with security alerts and they must prioritize which ones to investigate. Many alerts are simply ignored for lack of resources, yet quite often after a data breach it turns out there was an alert pointing at the breach early on.
In the case of one prominent breach at a major retailer a few years ago, many sources report that a FireEye tool generated an alert confirming that malicious software showed up on a company system. Because so many of those particular alerts were false positives, it was ignored, which subsequently led to one of the largest and most costly retail data breaches in history.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A Maryland-based EchoStar subsidiary best known as a provider of network management services announced today that it will offer a managed SD-WAN product as part of its HughesON lineup.
Hughes Network Systems’ new Hughes Managed SD-WAN is aimed at distributed businesses that mostly use broadband communications, simplifying the management of those connections and ensuring that demanding applications like video run smoothly.
MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: Switches coming out this year will drive open networking forward + Trump turns to H-1B advocates for adviceTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The innovative ASUS VivoStick plugs directly into an HDMI port to turn any HDMI monitor into a productive Windows 10 PC or any TV into an enhanced Smart TV. With 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, VivoRemote mobile app and USB 2.0 & 3.0 ports, VivoStick uniquely combines versatility and portability, and measures only 5.3” x 1.4” x 0.6”. See the discounted VivoStick on Amazon, where its typical list price of $119 has been reduced to $87.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Originally posted on the Puppet blog, and republished here with Puppet's permission.Interested to see how DevOps salary trends are changing? Download Puppet’s DevOps Salary Report, which offers analysis about DevOps salaries from the 4,600-plus people we surveyed for the 2016 State of DevOps Report. By the way, if you haven't read the State of DevOps report yet, it's a compelling dive into how much better DevOps organizations are doing, compared with their peers — and how they achieve such excellent results.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Every second, new updates occur in the world of technology. Information is easier to access, online searches load faster, and mobile and web payments are now simplified and common. Consumers and companies want the ability to do everything online—store documents, make payments, brainstorm ideas for expansion and growth—using remote servers and cloud-storing software.On the flip side, this demand for instant access and connectivity means ample opportunities for hackers to score. In response, technology developers are working at record speeds to keep data secure.+ Also on Network World: 2017 breach predictions: The big one is inevitable +
But it isn’t an easy task. Consumers want the feeling of added security, but they don't want to deal with extra steps to protect themselves. Case in point, you have passwords for apps and logins to bank accounts, credit cards, Starbucks, and more on your phone. Now, with Apple's Touch ID, you can set up access with a single login method—your fingerprint. Is that more or less secure? Or is it simply preferred because of its ease of use? All a hacker needs to do is replicate your fingerprint and they have instant access.To read this article in full or to Continue reading
One of the fundamental tenets of efficient IT and its achievement is inclusion of a variety of stakeholders within IT and the data center. But it also involves engaging and understanding finance, risk and sustainability.Patrick Flynn, director of sustainability at Salesforce, is a known figure at conferences, committees and working groups. His TED Talk, Mankind’s BIGGEST Story, is a compelling reflection on infrastructure and the internet in the larger context of history and purpose. Flynn is also a key proponent of the Future of Internet Power initiative.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
It was only a matter of time until ransomware groups that wiped data from thousands of MongoDB databases and Elasticsearch clusters started targeting other data storage technologies. Researchers are now observing similar destructive attacks hitting openly accessible Hadoop and CouchDB deployments.Security researchers Victor Gevers and Niall Merrigan, who monitored the MongoDB and Elasticsearch attacks so far, have also started keeping track of the new Hadoop and CouchDB victims. The two have put together spreadsheets on Google Docs where they document the different attack signatures and messages left behind after data gets wiped from databases.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
One way to track the growth of cloud computing is to follow the investments in the infrastructure and equipment that make it run. That’s why IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Cloud IT Infrastructure Tracker is so revealing.The cloud is growing faster
According to the IDC report, total spending on IT infrastructure products—including server, enterprise storage and Ethernet switches—for use in cloud environments will grow a healthy 18 percent this year to top $44 billion. Meanwhile, IDC said, investment in old-school non-cloud architecture equipment will actually decline by more than 3 percent in 2017.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
It's easier than ever to take on freelance work thanks to apps and sites dedicated to connecting temp workers with hiring companies. On the employer side, hiring freelancers can help fill gaps in skills and expertise without hiring a full-time employee. However, while finding qualified freelance talent is one step, retaining your best workers and establishing a reliable base of gig-workers takes time and effort.In the case of Darren Kall, managing director of Specific Clairity, a UX design consulting company, his business relies entirely on freelance UX designers, engineers and experts. The company builds and runs customized teams of UX workers for clients and using freelancers lets them cherry-pick specific skills to suit each project.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
In his campaign for president, Donald Trump tapped into the viral anger over H-1B use. The outsourcing of high-skill jobs is a "tremendous threat," he said. Disney workers who trained visa-holding replacements spoke at some of his rallies.But soon after the election, President-elect Trump assembled a 16-member team of CEO-level executives to advise him on job creation, including many from firms that send jobs overseas and have advocated for an H-1B cap increase.[To comment on this story, visit Computerworld's Facebook page.]To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Stratoscale is a small company with a very big ambition: to turn your datacenter into an Amazon Web Services (AWS) region. Forget OpenStack, forget VMware. Stratoscale aims to help IT shops get beyond device-level virtualization and deliver the same app-friendly building blocks AWS provides. In the process, the company promises to cut the cost of operating datacenters by more than 80 percent.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)