The outsourcing of business processes—save call centers and payroll processing—began in earnest in the mid-1990s. Business process outsourcing (BPO) walked pretty nicely in the footsteps of the IT services industry, garnering attention as a potential growth engine for both pure-play BPO providers and IT providers offering BPO services.But despite early predictions, this service segment did not grow as fast as expected and in recent years has slowed. What happened to this shiny new toy?+ Also on Network World: Top 5 factors driving domestic IT outsourcing growth +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Toshiba's been lagging in the race to raise storage capacity in solid-state drives, but has taken a step forward with its new 7.68TB ZD6000 SSD.
The new drive is the highest-capacity SSD announced by Toshiba to date, up from its prior high of 4TB.
But it's still way behind Samsung, which started shipping a 15.36TB SSD earlier this year.
The ZD6000 is exactly half the size of Samsung's highest capacity drive, but Toshiba could exceed 8TB soon. It's a matter of cramming more chips in a drive, and Toshiba has the manufacturing technology to make that possible.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Kaspersky Lab is using Black Hat’s hacker-rich environment as the launch pad for its first bug-bounty program that seeks talent to hack the company’s anti-malware software.It’s dipping its toe into the program by staking an initial $50,000 kitty for a six-month effort to find flaws in its two most popular products, Kaspersky Internet Security and Kaspersky Endpoint Security.+More on Network World: Hot products at Black Hat 2016 | Follow all the stories from Black Hat +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The Hong Kong-based bitcoin exchange Bitfinex suspended trading on Tuesday after discovering a security breach. A hacker or hackers pulled off a massive heist of nearly 120,000 bitcoins. At the time of the theft, 119,756 bitcoins would have been worth about $72 million. After the breach announcement, the price of bitcoin crashed; current exchange rates place the value at around $65 million.“Some of our users have had their bitcoins stolen,” Zane Tackett, Bitfinex’s director of community and product development, said on Reddit. “The bitcoin was stolen from users’ segregated wallets,” he told Reuters.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
After ignoring a Congressional directive for more than three years, as well as an FCC commissioner’s direct request, the General Services Administration (GSA) finally produced a report on the status of 911 dialing in federal buildings. Despite the long delay, the content and quality of the report were disappointing at best.On Feb. 22, 2012, the Middle-Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 was passed as Public Law 112-96. As with many bills, the law covered a broad array of topics, one of them being the establishment of a national public safety broadband network expanding high-speed wireless broadband and improving communications interoperability among first responders. Within this section, the law also required that the GSA audit and produce a report on the 911 capabilities of multi-line telephone systems (MLTS) used in the almost 10,000 federal buildings and facilities under their control.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Hackers obtained the mobile phone numbers of 15 million Iranian users of the Telegram encrypted messaging app, and hacked the accounts of more than a dozen of them, security researchers say.The accounts were hacked through interception of SMS confirmation codes sent to the associated phone numbers, security researchers Claudio Guarnieri and Collin Anderson told Reuters.The revelations show once again how use of encryption can pit technology companies against governments. Telegram founder Pavel Durov has in the past sided with Apple CEO Tim Cook against the FBI on the question of whether governments should have access to the contents of smartphones.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Putting Chromebooks to workImage by Hiroshi LockheimerThe Google Play Store is coming to a Chromebook near you. But for this to really make a major difference in how we use Chrome OS, it’s going to take the right apps.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Become Your Office's Data Analytics Hero with These 4 Interactive Courses, discounted 85% for a limited time, from $276 down to just $39.
Successful businesspeople make the most out of the numbers available to them. If you're to succeed in the business world, you're going to need how to crunch and effectively analyze data. This course bundle teaches you how to interpret critical data, walks you through exercises, shows you how to present complex data to business and customer stakeholders, gives you access to professional spreadsheet models, and much more. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Apple TV is an amazing product, but it's hard to find the right place for it. Its cables are often not long enough, or look messy when exposed. And routing them through the wall isn't an easy task. This Apple TV mount from TotalMount is unique in that it mounts your Apple TV to the back of your TV, out of site. Once mounted, your Apple TV remote functions normally, simply bouncing its signal off your ceiling. It may sound too good to be true, but the mount averages 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon from over 550 customers (read reviews), who indicate that it's simple to install and works as promised. This mount is compatible with all versions of Apple TV except generation 4 (the newest model). Its typical list price of $19.95 has been reduced 27% to $14.50.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Windows 10 wrapped up its first year powering nearly one-in-four Windows PCs, a record adoption pace fueled by the now-expired free upgrade for consumers and many businesses.According to U.S. analytics vendor Net Applications, Windows 10 was on 21.1% of the planet's personal computers in July, and on 23.5% of those machines running Windows. The difference between its user share of all PCs and only those running Windows stemmed from the fact that Windows powered 90% of all personal computers, not 100%.The July increase of about 2 percentage points was larger than June's gains but fell short of May's; the latter was the largest one-month growth since August 2015, the first full month of availability.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Microsoft's Office 365 subscription service makes the company's most popular apps and business tools available via the cloud, which means the features change often. Office 365 users, including beginners and veteran IT professionals, have a wide range of options for related training tools, depending on their needs and levels of expertise. Many free, basic training classes are available to teach the ins and outs of Office 365, but IT professionals will likely benefit more from intensive, and sometimes costly, seminars that can help prepare for formal tech support certification.Many IT pros, for example, must pass Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) exams to qualify as cloud applications administrators focused on managing Office 365. Microsoft's Office 365 suite constantly changes as the company introduces new versions of apps, and Microsoft updates the MCSA exams accordingly.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
As expected, Microsoft said Tuesday that its Windows 10 Anniversary Update is beginning to roll out. Surprisingly, perhaps, Windows phones aren’t on the approved list.We found the Windows 10 Anniversary Update to be a positive step forward for users, with substantial updates to features you use the most. Since the AU is a standard update, you really don’t have to do anything to receive it: It will be downloaded and installed automatically.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
In the ideal world the infamous Internal Revenue Service call scam should have faded away replaced by some other stupid ploy but alas…The IRS said today that the scammers have ramped up their efforts to grab even more money -- over $26 million -- and rip-off even more people -- -- 5,000 or so since last count.+More on Network World: IRS: Top 10 2015 identity theft busts+To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Demisto Free EditionKey features: The free edition of Demisto’s ChatOps platform automates and streamlines security operations and incident management processes. It includes the ability to create playbooks that can be shared to collaborate among organizations to combat cybercrime and imported to other products. orchestration and automation, advanced investigations, improved collaboration and much more. More info.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The selfie as a political toolImage by ReutersHolding or running for a political office in 2016? You had better be able to take a decent selfie, or at the very least understand your need – responsibility may not be too strong of a word – to abide by the voting public’s thirst for that smartphone snap. It’s like knowing how to properly lift and eat a local delicacy, or name-drop the state university’s football coach. Politics 101. It’s a non-partisan, worldwide requirement, too. Here are recent examples via Reuters:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Hard on the heels of its Demandware acquisition in June, Salesforce confirmed on Monday that it's acquiring cloud collaboration software maker Quip.The purchase price is $582 million, plus the value of Salesforce's previous investments in the company, according to a regulatory filing late last week. According to one estimate, the total value amounts to roughly $750 million.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The FCC and TP-Link have agreed to a creative settlement that slaps the home and SMB Wi-Fi router maker with a $200K fine for violating wireless emission rules, but also requires the vendor to work with the open source community and chipset makers to allow modification of TP-Link devices.“The Commission’s equipment rules strike a careful balance of spurring innovation while protecting against harmful interference,” said Travis LeBlanc, Chief of the Enforcement Bureau, in a statement. “While manufacturers of Wi-Fi routers must ensure reasonable safeguards to protect radio parameters, users are otherwise free to customize their routers and we support TP-Link’s commitment to work with the open-source community and Wi-Fi chipset manufacturers to enable third-party firmware on TP-Link routers.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
For ages, human beings have been using their hands to write - whether on stone tablets, papyrus, parchment or paper. With the invention of computers, writing shifted to electronic screens, whether people use a keyboard to type or an electronic pen to capture thoughts on a modern tablet.But for many, the process of writing on a computer tablet has stalled - sure, digital pens and ink technologies can capture a person’s hand strokes, but those notes, diagrams or other drawings stay locked into whatever software (OneNote, Evernote) is being used. With pen and paper (and word processing applications), things can be edited, searched, stored and shared with others. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
There are plenty of companies vying for a piece of the worldwide cloud infrastructure market, but the top four -- all in the U.S. -- currently dominate by such a wide margin as to effectively leave their competitors in the dust.That's the overriding conclusion of a study released Monday by Synergy Research Group, which provides quarterly market tracking and segmentation data, including vendor revenues by segment and region.Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, and Google collectively control more than half of the worldwide cloud infrastructure service market, Synergy found, with an overwhelming lead by AWS, which held a 31 percent share in the second quarter. Microsoft came next with 11 percent, while IBM weighed in at 8 percent, and Google came in with 5 percent.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
This powerful, fully automated pasta maker from Philips is currently discounted $134, officially making it less expensive to buy new on Amazon than refurbished. Add ingredients, choose a program, and the unit goes to work mixing, kneading and extruding while you sit back and enjoy a beverage. Up to 1600 pounds of force extrudes all types of pasta in as little as 15 minutes. Various shaping discs are attached to make Spaghetti, Penne, Fettuccini, Lasagna and more. Egg, herbs, spinach, carrot juice and many other ingredients can be added for all types of creative flavors, textures and colors. Cleaning aims to be easy and automated as well, with the push of a button. A recipe book comes with the unit and contains 20 recipes to get you started. The Philips pasta maker currently averages 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon from over 225 customers (read reviews). Its typical list price of $349.99 has been reduced dramatically to $215.99.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here