Staying informed is a constant challenge. There’s so much to do, and so little time. But we have you covered. Grab a coffee and take five while you nibble on these tidbits.
Register now: Women in the IT Channel Luncheon is Aug. 24
Join us on Thursday, Aug. 24 at the Aga Khan Museum for the CDN Women in the IT Channel Recognition Luncheon, where we will shine a spotlight on the remarkable achievements of women in Canada’s IT channel. We will be honouring outstanding women with two prestigious awards: the Rising Star, acknowledging a trailblazer whose recent accomplishments promise an even brighter future, and 2023’s Mentor of the Year, a woman who has dedicated herself to guiding others in their personal and professional growth. We will also pay special tribute to Fawn Annan, who led IT World Canada from 2010 until her passing in May of this year.
This year’s keynote speaker is best-selling author and gender equity, inclusion and human rights advocate Samra Zafar.
NetSuite now offered in Oracle Cloud Regions in Canada
Oracle Cloud regions in Montreal and Toronto now host NetSuite services for customers based in Canada, the first time the NetSuite service is running from data centers in this country.
All new NetSuite customers in Canada will be provisioned in the Toronto or Montreal cloud regions beginning immediately, the company said. Existing customers in Canada will be migrated in the coming months with no difference in NetSuite functionality.
“By making NetSuite available in the Oracle Cloud Montreal and Oracle Cloud Toronto Regions, we will be able to help Canada-based customers reduce cross-border data transfers, making it easier to comply with local laws, including the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA),” NetSuite said in a release. “In addition, we can help customers ensure the security and privacy of sensitive data classified by the Canadian government as Protected B information.
“In addition, with two separate data centers in Canada, we are able to provide robust disaster recovery capabilities that help customers comply with regulatory requirements around data residency.”
IBM completes acquisition of Apptio
IBM has announced it has completed its acquisition of Apptio Inc., after receiving all required regulatory approvals. It signed a definitive agreement to purchase the company in June.
IBM said the close brings together the solutions of Apptio’s FinOps offerings, including ApptioOne, Cloudability and Targetprocess, and IBM’s automation portfolio of Turbonomic, AIOps and Instana, to give clients a “virtual command center” for managing, optimizing and automating technology spending decisions. It will also augment its watsonx AI and data platform with Apptio’s US$450 billion in anonymized IT spend data.
Starting immediately, clients can leverage the early integration between Apptio and IBM through their Cloudability and Turbonomic offerings. This is a first step; IBM said it looks to drive synergy across several key growth areas, including automation, Red Hat, IBM Consulting, and IBM’s broader AI portfolio.
“The combination of Apptio products and IBM’s IT automation portfolio will give businesses a 360-degree technology management platform they can use to optimize and automate decisions across their IT landscapes,” said Rob Thomas, senior vice president, software and chief commercial officer, IBM.
Microsoft to retire User Data Search case tool in Purview
Microsoft has announced that it is retiring its Purview User Data Search case tool as of August 30, 2023, according to a report on Petri.com, which publishes The Unofficial Microsoft 365 Changelog, a list of changelog entries usually only available to admins.
The functionality will be merged with eDiscovery Standard, and previous cases created will be available in the eDiscovery Standard solution going forward.
The log entry noted, “Today, Microsoft has the User data search case tool which helps to create a case for investigation of a Data Subject Rights (DSR) request. The user data search tool has built-in search option. However, with the increase in DSRs, users of the User data search might want more detailed search capabilities. With the eDiscovery Standard solution, you can control the search capabilities and add more variables as per the requirements. With the intent to ease the search and manage the capabilities, Microsoft is merging the eDiscovery Standard and User data search.”
ThinkOn acquires a division of Probax
Toronto-based channel-first global cloud solution provider (CSP) ThinkOn has purchased the client base and related assets and services from managed service provider (MSP) Probax. This includes its infrastructure, partner base, and a team of specialists to help accelerate its 24/7 follow-the-sun technical support.
“The deal divests Probax of its backup and disaster recovery-related storage, freeing it to pivot its business to focus on its innovative software offerings,” ThinkOn noted in a release.
Added Tim Smith, chief executive officer at Probax, “This partnership commences a new chapter for Probax, one where our game-changing intellectual property becomes our core focus.”
“Amid this strategic realignment,” Probax said in its announcement, “ThinkOn is set to be the first Veeam Cloud & Service Provider (VCSP) globally to gain access to the power of Probax’s proprietary technologies – Hive and Scout. These revolutionary tools are establishing new industry benchmarks in data protection automation, intelligence and management for users and resellers of Veeam Software.”
Rapid7 to lay off 18 per cent of workforce
As rumours that the company has received a takeover bid from a private equity firm swirl, cybersecurity firm Rapid7 has announced that it is laying off approximately 18 per cent of its workforce, or about 470 employees. In a regulatory filing, the company said this will result in US$24 – US$32 million in restructuring costs, noting that the plan “is designed to improve operational efficiencies, reduce operating costs and better align the Company’s workforce with current business needs, top strategic priorities and key growth opportunities.”
It also plans to close “certain office locations”, at a cost of US$4 million. It currently has ten locations across the U.S..
Chief executive officer Corey Thomas said in an email to employees, reposted as a blog, “At this inflection point, we will be strategically refocusing and realigning our business toward expanding our MDR (managed detection and response) leadership across all of security operations, accelerating our investments to build the most adoptable cloud capabilities, and continuing our focus on aligning our operations to deliver the best engagement and support for our customers.” He also reassured remaining employees that “you will see an immediate focus on our strategic direction to ensure you are not absorbing additional work, renewed processes to drive innovation, and tight collaboration to ensure we don’t repeat past patterns.”
Smart NIC market to grow at a 42 per cent CAGR through 2027: Dell’Oro Group
According to a recently published report from Dell’Oro Group, the smart network interface card (NIC) market will grow at a 42 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) and exceed US$5 billion in 2027, driven by connectivity needs of accelerated servers for AI workloads and next generation hyperscale general-purpose servers, which will transition to 200 Gbps and higher-speed ports over the next several years.
The report also noted that the total ethernet controller and adapter market revenue is forecast to grow 14 per cent by 2027, and that smart NICs are expected to cannibalize standard NICs during the forecast period. Dell’Oro expects that 400 Gbps ethernet adapter port shipments will account for more than 10 per cent of 25 Gbps and higher speed ports by 2027.
“We recently raised our smart NIC revenue forecast because of strong adoption among the hyperscale cloud service providers,” said Baron Fung, research director at Dell’Oro Group. “An increasing share of the hyperscale servers will be deployed with 200 Gbps and higher speed server facing ports for accelerated computing, and for next-generation general-purpose servers. While the hyperscale cloud service providers mainly deploy their internally developed smart NIC solutions, some of the major open vendors such as Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA are making progress. Furthermore, there are opportunities for the non-hyperscale market for off-the-shelf smart NIC solutions, with use cases such as accelerated computing, distributed storage, and network security.”
Time to sign up for the 39th edition of the CCCGC
The Canadian Computer Charity Golf Classic (CCCGC) taking place Sept. 7 is a premier golf tournament that brings the computer industry together to help raise funds for two worthy causes: Easter Seals Ontario and Princess Margaret Hospital.
Celebrating its 39th anniversary this year, the event is a perennial sellout, hosting an estimated 300 golfers who represent more than 100 corporations from the Canadian and the U.S. technology sectors.
It is taking place at Lionhead Golf and Conference Centre, and sponsorships and foursomes are still available. Move quickly to get your place before they sell out. Further information is available at computergolf.ca.
