A new report by ISACA, the leading global professional association for IT governance and cybersecurity, reveals that cybersecurity teams are under immense pressure due to understaffing and underfunding. The report, based on a survey of European cybersecurity professionals, found that 61% of organizations are facing a shortage of cybersecurity staff and over half (52%) believe their cybersecurity budgets are inadequate. These staffing and funding struggles are taking a toll on the well-being of cybersecurity professionals, with 68% reporting increased stress levels compared to five years ago. The increasingly complex threat landscape is a major contributor to this stress, with two in five respondents (41%) experiencing more cyberattacks in the past year. Over half (58%) expect their organizations to face cyberattacks in the next year, highlighting the urgent need for investment in skilled cybersecurity teams. Chris Dimitriadis, Chief Global Strategy Officer at ISACA, said: “In an increasingly complex threat landscape, it is vital that, as an industry, we overcome these hurdles of underfunding and under-staffed teams. Without strong, skilled teams, the security resilience of whole ecosystems is at risk – leaving critical infrastructure vulnerable.” Despite the need for skilled teams to protect businesses, 19% say that their organisation has unfilled and open…
Amazon Business, the company’s online business-to-business procurement store, today announced a suite of new technology features designed to save time and reduce costs for large business customers. These new features include the Amazon Business App Center, System for Cross-domain Identity Management, Integrated Quoting, and updates to Budget Management and Guided Buying solutions. These tools are aimed at helping businesses simplify and modernize their procurement processes. “Amazon Business is committed to changing the way companies shop for supplies,” said Shelley Salomon, worldwide vice president of Amazon Business. “We are constantly innovating to address the challenges our customers face and provide them with the tools they need to succeed.” Recent research conducted by Amazon Business revealed that U.S. procurement teams struggle with complex systems and multi-step processes, leading to inefficiencies. To address these challenges, Amazon Business has introduced several new tools, including: These tools empower businesses to make informed purchasing decisions, reduce costs, and improve efficiency. Amazon Business has been a strategic partner to businesses in 10 countries, including Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. With its focus on innovation and customer satisfaction, Amazon Business continues to transform the way businesses shop for…
Samsung Electronics, a global leader in advanced memory technology, announced today the mass production of the PM9E1, a PCIe 5.0 SSD with exceptional performance and capacity. Powered by its in-house 5-nanometer (nm)-based controller and eighth-generation V-NAND (V8) technology, the PM9E1 offers unparalleled performance and enhanced power efficiency, making it ideal for on-device AI PCs. “Our PM9E1 integrated with a 5nm controller delivers industry-leading power efficiency and utmost performance validated by our key partners,” said YongCheol Bae, Executive Vice President of Memory Product Planning at Samsung Electronics. “In the rapidly growing on-device AI era, Samsung’s PM9E1 will offer a robust foundation for global customers to effectively plan their AI portfolios.” The PM9E1 boasts impressive sequential read and write speeds of up to 14.5 gigabytes-per-second (GB/s) and 13GB/s, respectively, thanks to its eight-channel PCIe 5.0 interface. This powerful performance enables faster data transfer, even with data-intensive AI applications. Offering storage options ranging from 512GB to 4TB, the PM9E1 caters to various storage needs, including large-sized files, data-heavy programs, and high-resolution videos. The 4TB option is particularly suitable for PC users demanding high-capacity storage for intensive workloads like gaming and AI-generated content. The PM9E1’s significantly improved power efficiency of over 50% ensures longer…
Accenture and NVIDIA today announced a strategic partnership to help businesses rapidly scale their AI adoption. The partnership includes the formation of a new Accenture NVIDIA Business Group and a significant investment in training over 30,000 professionals globally. The new business group will focus on helping clients leverage generative AI to reinvent processes and scale enterprise AI adoption. Accenture’s AI Refinery platform, powered by NVIDIA’s AI stack, will enable companies to jump-start their custom agentic AI journeys. “We are breaking significant new ground with our partnership with NVIDIA and enabling our clients to be at the forefront of using generative AI as a catalyst for reinvention,” said Julie Sweet, Chair and CEO, Accenture. “Accenture AI Refinery will create opportunities for companies to reimagine their processes and operations, discover new ways of working, and scale AI solutions across the enterprise to help drive continuous change and create value.” “AI will supercharge enterprises to scale innovation at greater speed,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO, NVIDIA. “NVIDIA’s platform, Accenture’s AI Refinery and our combined expertise will help businesses and nations accelerate this transformation to drive unprecedented productivity and growth.” The Accenture NVIDIA Business Group will focus on accelerating momentum with generative AI and…
Stem, Inc. (NYSE: STEM), a leader in clean energy software and services, announced a significant shift in its strategic direction. This move prioritizes software and services to drive predictable, recurring revenue and higher profitability. Stem will transition to a software and services-centric model, leveraging its industry-leading offerings to create tangible value for customers. This approach promises several key benefits: Stem will now prioritize consultative energy services as the foundation of customer relationships. This service-based approach allows for better project management and addresses challenges like supply chain delays. Stem will further develop its AI-powered software and edge device capabilities. The focus will be on creating innovative, customer-centric solutions built on platforms like PowerTrack and Athena. This includes combining these platforms into a single, unified solution for managing and optimizing both solar and storage assets. Hardware procurement will become a specialized service within Stem’s broader offerings. Moving forward, hardware sales will be subject to stricter criteria focusing on profitability, zero working capital requirements, and bundled software and edge device components. This new strategy is expected to benefit both existing customers (over 16,000) and open doors to new ones. Stem will continue fulfilling its existing hardware backlog while implementing its new strategy.
In a significant win for consumer rights, Colorado has become the sixth US state to enact a “right to repair” law for consumer electronics. The new legislation requires manufacturers to provide consumers and independent repair shops with the necessary parts, software, and documentation to repair devices like smartphones and laptops. This move aims to make it easier and more affordable for consumers to fix their electronic devices, rather than replacing them entirely. By reducing the number of devices sent to landfills, these laws also help to address the growing issue of electronic waste. With Colorado’s addition, six states now have right-to-repair laws in place, demonstrating a growing trend towards empowering consumers and promoting sustainability. Similar legislation has also been adopted in the European Union, where it is estimated to save consumers $195 billion and prevent the emission of 18.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over 15 years. The passage of these laws is a major victory for consumer advocates who have been fighting for years to give consumers more control over their electronic devices. As more states adopt right-to-repair legislation, the future of electronic repair and disposal is likely to become more consumer-friendly and environmentally sustainable.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced plans to invest £8 billion in the UK over the next five years. This investment will be used to build, operate, and maintain data centers across the country, supporting growth and productivity in various sectors. AWS’s investment is estimated to contribute £14 billion to the UK’s GDP and support an average of 14,000 full-time equivalent jobs annually in local businesses. This investment builds upon AWS’s existing presence in the UK, with over £3 billion invested since 2020. Organizations of all sizes and industries are leveraging AWS to reduce costs, become more agile, and innovate faster. Customers such as AstraZeneca, Cancer Research UK, Deliveroo, easyJet, EDF, and many others are using AWS to enhance their operations and compete in the global market. The UK government has welcomed this investment, recognizing its potential to boost economic growth and create jobs. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, and Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle, have expressed their support for AWS’s commitment to the UK’s digital economy. Tanuja Randery, Vice President and Managing Director of AWS EMEA, emphasized the importance of cloud computing and AI in driving innovation and productivity. She highlighted the potential benefits for UK businesses of all…
Vsim, a simulation startup co-founded by former Nvidia executives, has secured $21.5 million in seed funding led by EQT Ventures. This investment will fuel the company’s growth and development of innovative physics simulation solutions. Vsim’s technology offers a significant advantage over existing solutions by providing high-performance simulations with minimal engineering efforts. The company’s founders, Michelle Lu and Kier Storey, bring over 20 years of experience in physics simulation, having worked on Nvidia’s simulation technology team. Vsim’s solution leverages new algorithms and multi-core hardware architectures to accelerate simulations across various industries, including robotics, visual effects, aerodynamics, gaming, and e-commerce. By addressing the limitations of existing solutions, Vsim enables companies to complete simulations in minutes instead of days without compromising on quality. The company’s flexible framework allows users to easily customize simulations and develop new models to meet their specific requirements. Vsim has also expanded its technology stack to include a reinforcement training framework, offering up to 100x faster training performance compared to other solutions. With this new funding, Vsim plans to expand its offerings and develop tailored software solutions for robotics applications. Michelle Lu, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Vsim, commented:“We are thrilled to announce our seed funding round led…
The United Nations Secretary-General is convening a multi-stakeholder High-level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to address the growing need for global governance in this rapidly evolving field. Recognizing the immense potential and risks associated with AI, the UN aims to foster a collaborative and inclusive approach to harnessing AI for the common good while mitigating its uncertainties. The Body will bring together experts from government, private sector, and civil society to analyze and develop recommendations for international AI governance. Comprised of up to 32 experts from around the world, the Advisory Body will offer diverse perspectives and explore how AI can be governed in alignment with human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals. The Body will engage with existing initiatives and international organizations to bridge perspectives across stakeholder groups and networks. The UN is calling for support from various stakeholders to enable the Body’s operations and the secretariat based in the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology (OSET). By contributing to the Body’s efforts, stakeholders can strengthen cooperation on AI governance and contribute to a better-governed AI landscape globally.
Vodafone has extended its strategic agreement with Microsoft to implement Microsoft 365 Copilot AI software across its organization. This move aims to enhance productivity, innovation, and digital efficiency for Vodafone’s 68,000 employees worldwide. The generative AI (GenAI) tool will be integrated into various areas of Vodafone’s business, from customer service to product development, network management to sales and marketing. This aligns with Vodafone’s strategy to become a leading telecommunications company in Europe and Africa. Microsoft 365 Copilot, embedded into Microsoft’s productivity apps, will empower Vodafone employees to draft emails, analyze data, summarize meetings, generate marketing content, and create imagery. Commenting on the partnership, Scott Petty, Chief Technology Officer, Vodafone, said: “Our AI journey is focusing on three areas: operational efficiency inside the organisation; rewiring the business to provide an enhanced customer experience; and unlocking growth opportunities through new products and services that we can create around generative AI. “Copilot will help drive all three.” A pilot trial of Copilot demonstrated significant benefits for Vodafone employees, including increased productivity, time savings, and improved work-life balance. Nearly all users reported positive experiences and a desire to continue using the tool. Vodafone’s decision to extend Copilot to 68,000 employees reflects its confidence in…
