Tech Forecast 2017: 5 key technologies to double down on now

With digital transformation dominating the business agenda, IT pros are under pressure to create a modern-day tech foundation sturdy enough to drive that change as they head into 2017. What milestones are they aiming for in the year ahead? Where should they direct their limited resources?According to Computerworld's Forecast 2017 survey, IT professionals will prioritize security, analytics, XaaS or "as a service" technology, virtualization and mobile apps in the coming year. If you're thinking of adding those technologies to your own 2017 to-do list, read on for findings from our survey, along with real-world advice from other IT leaders.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Top 15 security predictions for 2017

Looking into the crystal ballImage by ThinkstockIt is once again, as the song doesn’t quite say, “the most predictive time of the year.” Not that anybody knows for sure what will be happening even a month from now, never mind six months to a year.But that does not, and should not, stop organizations from trying. The way to get ahead and stay ahead, especially in online security, is to look ahead.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Top 15 security predictions for 2017

Looking into the crystal ballImage by ThinkstockIt is once again, as the song doesn’t quite say, “the most predictive time of the year.” Not that anybody knows for sure what will be happening even a month from now, never mind six months to a year.But that does not, and should not, stop organizations from trying. The way to get ahead and stay ahead, especially in online security, is to look ahead.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Businesses looking to hire candidates willing to collaborate

For most businesses, IT has traditionally operated separately from the rest of the business -- employees knew to submit a ticket when something wasn't working, but for the most part, IT worked behind the scenes.Now, technology is in the hands of every employee, which means IT can no longer control all the hardware, software and apps coming through the door. With more departments relying on technology, it will require more collaboration with IT to help find the best products and to educate workers on security risks.But this demand for collaboration has also caused a shift in the skills employers value in IT workers. Businesses are looking to hire candidates with soft skills, who are "versatile and willing to collaborate with each other to solve problems as a team, rather than as individual experts," says Patric Palm, CEO and co-founder of Favro, a company that offers project management and collaboration tools.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Microsoft’s collaboration strategy seems messy

The enterprise collaboration market is increasingly crowded with apps and services that target distinct needs for messaging and communication. With its growing suite of apps that target the market from many different angles, Microsoft represents the challenge of modern collaboration.Collaborative work-related activities increased significantly during the last five years, and apps such as Microsoft's Yammer, Skype for Business and the recently launched Teams are quickly becoming a bigger part of the way people work, according to Bryan Goode, Microsoft's general manager of Office 365. As the average age of today's worker trends younger and more employees work remotely, businesses flock to cloud-based collaboration tools, Goode says. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How to tweak your benefits package to find and retain talent

In today's competitive war for talent, employers are using substantial benefits packages to give them an edge when recruiting and retaining talent, according a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) survey report.The report, which surveyed 738 randomly selected HR professionals, showed that 95 percent rated healthcare as one of the three most important benefits to employees; 71 percent say retirement savings and planning are top-rated employee benefits and 50 percent say leave is an important benefit.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: CrateDB: The IoT and machine data-focused database

There’s been a whole bunch of conversation in the database world in recent years around what the best type of database is for modern applications. Over the past couple of years this has mainly centered around the SQL verses NoSQL wars.On the one hand are the traditional SQL-based databases, which all follow a traditional row and column format. These are the databases that have existed since pretty much year dot and have proved themselves to be good all-around tools.+ Also on Network World: IT wants (but struggles) to operationalize big data + With the advent of social media and the need for database approaches that worked well within the unstructured data landscape that these properties work within has led to the rise of the NoSQL databases. These databases don’t follow, or at least don’t only follow, the standard tabular approach towards data. Hence storage and retrieval of data doesn’t follow the rigid row and column, tabular approach.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: How Swift drives innovation on the cloud

One year ago, Swift became available as open source, and the community immediately set out to make the language usable for everything from systems programming to mobile apps to cloud services.Building on that momentum and creativity, the enterprise is now poised to deploy Swift for front-end and back-end development.The cloud is rapidly becoming the platform for innovation, with enterprises building applications that leverage cognitive, the Internet of Things (IoT) and other emerging technologies. But enterprises need a simpler way to develop apps and innovate quickly on the cloud. When we saw the speed, performance and creativity our development team experienced using Swift to build more than 100 MobileFirst for iOS apps, we focused our efforts on fully enabling Swift for server development so enterprises could also take advantage of these benefits.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Microsoft adds Skype translation to landline calls

One would think the addition of a feature like this would have Microsoft screaming from the rooftops, but very quietly Microsoft added a new feature to Skype that supports its real-time translation technology in calls to landlines and mobile phones. The new feature was added to its preview build of the Skype Windows Store app late last week. The new version of Skype Preview can now perform real-time spoken-word translations via Skype Translator when calling landlines and mobile phones, and the person on the other end does not need Skype on their phone to receive translations or be translated.Of course, it's not for everyone. To use this new version of Skype Preview, you need to be run the latest build of Windows 10 Insider preview from the fast ring. That tends to be reserved for dedicated testers and developers, since fast ring releases aren't as stable as normal builds and are geared for debugging. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Get on the same page for network asset management

It’s an all-too familiar scene: The start of a new financial quarter signals yet another opportunity for CFOs and CIOs to debate the fate of proposed network equipment purchases, upgrades and support. If these two stakeholders are to come together to maximize the return on every IT dollar spent, it’s crucial they have a clear understanding of the shared IT value equation. For many, this is capex and opex through the lens of deferring or lowering capital expenditures without increasing operational costs.  This approach typically includes a “sweat the assets” strategy for extending the useful life of stable network routers and switches. But first, you need to know exactly what’s deployed and supported under current maintenance contracts. Relying solely on OEMs to provide a full accounting of your network assets is akin to flying blind. Don’t get me wrong: While there’s great value in tools such as Cisco’s Smart Collector for discovering and gathering device-related data from all the Cisco gear in your network, it’s a place to start—not stop. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Get on the same page for network asset management

It’s an all-too familiar scene: The start of a new financial quarter signals yet another opportunity for CFOs and CIOs to debate the fate of proposed network equipment purchases, upgrades and support. If these two stakeholders are to come together to maximize the return on every IT dollar spent, it’s crucial they have a clear understanding of the shared IT value equation. For many, this is capex and opex through the lens of deferring or lowering capital expenditures without increasing operational costs.  This approach typically includes a “sweat the assets” strategy for extending the useful life of stable network routers and switches. But first, you need to know exactly what’s deployed and supported under current maintenance contracts. Relying solely on OEMs to provide a full accounting of your network assets is akin to flying blind. Don’t get me wrong: While there’s great value in tools such as Cisco’s Smart Collector for discovering and gathering device-related data from all the Cisco gear in your network, it’s a place to start—not stop. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Riverbed stabs at Cisco’s heart with next-gen routing

Riverbed, with its highly successful WAN optimization technology, has long competed with Cisco – but in a niche fashion, acknowledges CEO and co-founder Jerry Kennelly. Now, the company is taking its fight to the core of Cisco’s business with new SD-WAN routing technology that could make existing routers obsolete in the world of hybrid clouds and virtual networks.  I want to talk more specifically about how SteelConnect makes hybrid cloud easier?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Riverbed stabs at Cisco’s heart with next-gen routing

Riverbed, with its highly successful WAN optimization technology, has long competed with Cisco – but in a niche fashion, acknowledges CEO and co-founder Jerry Kennelly. Now, the company is taking its fight to the core of Cisco’s business with new SD-WAN routing technology that could make existing routers obsolete in the world of hybrid clouds and virtual networks.  I want to talk more specifically about how SteelConnect makes hybrid cloud easier?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

53% off Apple USB-C to USB Adapter – Deal Alert

This USB 2.0 cable connects your iPhone, iPad, or iPod with Lightning connector to your computer's USB port for syncing and charging, or to the Apple USB Power Adapter for convenient charging from a wall outlet. It's currently discounted 53% on Amazon from Apple, taking its typical list price down to just $9. See the discounted adapter on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

John McAfee asks court to block Intel’s security spin-out

Intel’s plan to spin out its security business under the McAfee name could run into rough weather with security expert John McAfee asking a court in New York to order an injunction on the deal until a dispute over the use of his personal name for another company is resolved.In a court filing on Tuesday, John McAfee and MGT Capital Investments claimed that there is a high likelihood that Intel intends to sell the rights to the use of his full name to the new venture. “Should the sale go forward any judgment awarded to Plaintiffs will be ineffectual,” it added.John McAfee and MGT informed the court that they will be seeking a preliminary injunction that would prevent Intel from “selling, trading, assigning, leasing or otherwise transferring any alleged rights, in whole or in part, relating to any marks, names, trade names, or entities containing the word ‘McAfee’” until the resolution of the dispute.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

John McAfee asks court to block Intel’s security spin-out

Intel’s plan to spin out its security business under the McAfee name could run into rough weather with security expert John McAfee asking a court in New York to order an injunction on the deal until a dispute over the use of his personal name for another company is resolved.In a court filing on Tuesday, John McAfee and MGT Capital Investments claimed that there is a high likelihood that Intel intends to sell the rights to the use of his full name to the new venture. “Should the sale go forward any judgment awarded to Plaintiffs will be ineffectual,” it added.John McAfee and MGT informed the court that they will be seeking a preliminary injunction that would prevent Intel from “selling, trading, assigning, leasing or otherwise transferring any alleged rights, in whole or in part, relating to any marks, names, trade names, or entities containing the word ‘McAfee’” until the resolution of the dispute.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Q&A: Vendor OpenFlow Limitations

I rarely get OpenFlow questions these days; here’s one I got not so long ago:

I've just spent the last 2 days of my life consuming the ONF 1.3.3 white paper in addition to the $vendor SDN guide to try and reconcile what features it does or does not support and have come away disappointed...

You’re not the only one ;)

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