Covid-19 acceleration contributes to $1 trillion cloud ecosystem by 2024, says IDC

The Covid-19 pandemic will continue to drive a faster conversion to cloud-based IT - and according to a new analysis from IDC, the market for cloud services and the wider ecosystem around it could top $1 trillion by 2024.

The findings, from the analyst firm's Worldwide Whole Cloud Forecast 2020-2024 report, identifies opportunities beyond public cloud services, including dedicated cloud services, enterprise private cloud infrastructure, cloud service provider build and support,...

20 October 2020 | Adoption

Nokia signs up with Google Cloud to migrate on-prem data centres

Another day, another telecoms win for one of the major cloud providers. Google Cloud and Nokia have announced a five-year strategic collaboration where the network giant will migrate its on-premise infrastructure onto Google's cloud.

Nokia is making the move as part of its 'operational shift to a cloud-first IT strategy', in its own words, as well as 'strengthen and transform its digital operations globally.'

The two companies have been working together for the past few...

15 October 2020 | Data Centres

How DevOps adoption – and its ecosystem – has increased during Covid: The VC perspective

A new report from venture capital and M&A data provider PitchBook has explored how DevOps tools will continue to blossom in developer and enterprise contexts - as well as how Covid-19 has quickened digital transformation.

The company's latest quarterly emerging tech report on cloud tech focused on an overview of technologies related to DevOps as it sees opportunities in 'broader organisational efforts to make complex systems, workflows and other processes more cohesive,...

9 October 2020 | Developers

IBM spins off infrastructure unit to focus on hybrid cloud and AI strategy

Updated Oct 9 IBM has announced it is making the managed infrastructure services part of its global technology business (GTS) an independent company to continue its 'maniacal' focus on open hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence (AI).

The independent company, which will be known initially as 'NewCo', will be created towards the end of 2021.

"Today, hybrid cloud and AI are swiftly becoming the locus of commerce, transactions, and over time, of computing itself," wrote...

8 October 2020 | Applications

Palo Alto Networks warns of ‘critical’ IAM misconfigurations potentially worth millions

Cloud misconfigurations continue to cause major headaches for organisations - and a recent report from Palo Alto Networks has uncovered an identity and access management (IAM) flaw that could have been worth 'millions.'

The finding appears in the security provider's Cloud Threat Report 2H 2020. The disclosure (28 pages, PDF, email required) came about after the Unit 42 cloud threat intelligence team - the research arm of Palo Alto - was contacted by a customer requesting a test of...

8 October 2020 | AWS

Microsoft unveils Greece data centre initiative, continues European expansion

Microsoft has announced it is building new data centres in Greece as part of a new digital transformation initiative - representing the next step in its European expansion.

The 'GR for GRowth' initiative - capitalisation theirs - will help establish a Microsoft cloud region in Greece, as well as a comittment to train up approximately 100,000 people in digital technologies by 2025.

The build will include the usual trinkets of Azure, Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365....

5 October 2020 | Data & Analytics

Forbes Cloud 100 2020: Snowflake pips Stripe to top spot in last hurrah before IPO

Stripe's three-year stay at the top of the Forbes Cloud 100 is over: data warehouse provider Snowflake took the top honours - on the same day the company took part in a public offering which generated serious momentum.

The ranking, put together as ever alongside Salesforce Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners, applies to privately held cloud computing companies. Going public, or being acquired, means you are no longer eligible.

Unlike the previous year's analysis,...

1 October 2020 | Data & Analytics

Google Cloud opens up on its edge strategy – and how clouds, telcos and developers all need to work together

Workloads, data and compute power are all moving closer to the edge. For the largest cloud players, who already hold many of the aces, this represents an important opportunity. Yet to do so fully, as Shailesh Shukla, VP and general manager networking at Google Cloud explained, it requires help from telecom providers and developers alike.

Shukla was speaking at The Edge Event earlier today around the hyperscaler's perspective. Speaking with Roy Illsley, chief analyst IT and...

29 September 2020 | Data Management

Microsoft unveils Azure for Operators in most aggressive cloud telco pursuit to date

Microsoft has announced the launch of Azure for Operators to begin what the company calls 'a new chapter' in its telecoms industry collaboration.

The move, which aims to 'unlock the power of 5G and bring cloud and edge closer than ever', is the most explicit move to date from a hyperscale cloud provider looking to attract telcos.

It can be seen as the culmination of Microsoft's recent acquisitions of Affirmed Networks and Metaswitch, in March and May respectively. For...

28 September 2020 | Infrastructure

Microsoft and AT&T further collaborate on IoT solutions with Azure Sphere

AT&T and Microsoft's cloudy collaboration continues: the two companies have announced the launch of a new integrated IoT offering to enable further global connectivity.

The enterprise-focused solution will integrate with Azure Sphere, an application platform with built-in features for internet-connected devices, alongside AT&T's core network.

Potential use cases include restaurants and cafes, as well as hospitals and manufacturing plants, being able to retrofit...

25 September 2020 | Infrastructure