Category Archives: Industry News

Industry News, Networks, Tech Thought Leadership

Chris Martin: How A10 Networks is positioning the channel for growth, finding ways to incentivise partners

Written by Chris Martin, Channel leader for EMEA & SAARC, A10 Networks 

The rise in a globally dispersed workforce and new work-from-home requirements are placing extraordinary pressure on organisations’ networks. At the same time, COVID-19 has accelerated digital transformation across many industries, with a shift towards hybrid and multi-cloud to service both customers and employees in this new environment.

These changes further underline the importance of operational efficiency, management, visibility and security for organisations. This is where A10 Networks and its channel partners can ensure customers’ datacentre applications and networks remain available, resilient and secure in the months ahead.

With a hundred percent of our business transacted through channel partners in EMEA, partners are central to

A10 Networks’ plans.  The channel is incredibly important to us and the pandemic has not affected our commitment nor our investment in the channel.  In fact, we have championed the channel in 2020, having made huge investments in our partner ecosystem and our Affinity Partner Programme over the last 12 months. As such we have focused on three key areas: education, engagement and deal registration and we currently have underway five key channel initiatives which include developing our distribution relationships, deal registration, partner ecosystem, organic leads and channel enablement.

Having said this, we are much more focused on certain key vertical sectors and as such we are looking to work with partners who have specialist vertical market capabilities.  In effect, we are looking to identify the right partners, addressing the right gap in the right vertical market.

 

Training and certification

Training is key to this enablement and A10 Networks is passionate about helping our partners obtain the technical certifications needed to help their customers navigate this new environment. We know it isn’t easy for a partner to focus on their own business, while ensuring their customers’ operations remain up and running. We therefore want to ensure that our partners are up to date on their certifications, to continue to be a trusted advisor to their customers.

We launched new sales and technical training certifications this year, free of charge and aligned with our new branding and latest products and solutions. For example, we now have Sales Associate Training and Technical Associate for Service Providers Training.

However, when it comes to partnering, we know one-size-doesn’t-fit-all. As mentioned earlier, we work with partners to understand their vertical expertise, their technical abilities and their strengths. We then formulate a joint business plan and establish KPIs so together we can best address customers’ needs.

 

Distribution is key to growth

Distribution is a part of this strategy – which is why we are working more closely with our distributor partners than we ever have before. We have doubled our distributor presence across our territories because we believe that partners need a choice. We have onboarded 11 new distributors in the last 18 months in EMEA and SAARC.

Whether the distributor is a dedicated, niche player or one with huge scale and resources, they all deliver their own value. We have established KPIs for distribution around recruiting partners, net new revenue, certification and lead generation. We are also working together with distribution on recruiting those quality partners I spoke about.

Another increased area of focus is deal registration. We are actively encouraging our partners to register leads in line with our business growth and the increasingly competitive business landscape.

 

Recognising partners and individuals who go above and beyond

We have also created a new channel awards programme, known as Elevate.   This is because we recognise that certain individuals and companies within our channel community go above and beyond to drive business with A10, and we wanted to reward their hard efforts. Starting from 2021, we will recognise both partners and individuals and categories for 2020 nominations include aspects such as the best financial performance, the best marketing campaign, the partners that provides the best technical support as well as individual nominations such as the best performing sales, technical and marketing person. Any member of the A10 channel community is eligible within EMEA and SAARC.

Likewise, we recognise that technical teams don’t always get rewarded for their contributions so we have created our ‘Tech Packs’ which provide a whole range of goodies that we are giving away to those techies who successfully complete certain certification levels.

 

Path to Platinum

Finally, we have created an initiative called Path to Platinum. This new programme is designed to accelerate our partners’ growth, and enable Bronze and Gold partners to achieve the highest accreditation in the A10 Networks Affinity Partner Programme

Importantly, we want to focus on certification, specialisation and commitment rather than solely judging a partner based on traditional run-rate revenue targets. If there is a partner that we are interested in developing a relationship with, we will talk about the level of discount we can offer, the support and how to build that relationship. With buy-in from both sides, we will create a bespoke plan to go out and win business together.

With the channel front and centre, we are expanding rapidly and winning new customers. These are businesses that have apps at the heart of their business, like Uber. Another is food delivery service takeaway.com, which needed to continue to service customers, despite the huge demand placed on their networks during COVID-19 enforced lockdown.

It has been a year of unprecedented momentum for our partners. Despite being faced with much uncertainty as we approach 2021, we know one thing for sure: A10 Networks will continue to expand and drive new business by putting the right incentives in place that deliver profitable and predictable business to our channel partners.

Industry News, News, Proptech News, Tech

Labtech Targets Intelligent Automation With Help From Roby.AI

LabTech, the leading provider of co-working space, serviced apartments, and omnichannel shopping experiences, has teamed up with Roby.ai to develop and implement intelligent process automation within its property business. The partnership will enable LabTech to explore innovative applications for Roby’s advanced AI personal assistant, which will target enhanced service delivery, while dramatically reducing administration and business costs.

“Our strategy is to drive added value that reaches far beyond bricks and mortar management across our London property portfolio, so technology sits at the heart of everything we do,” explains Itay Segal, Chief Technology Officer at LabTech London Limited. “Our aim is to build urban communities where people live, work, shop and play in a single ecosystem interconnected by technology, so we are working closely with IT and AI specialists such as Roby to make this vision a reality.”

Following a successful trial, the Roby software will initially be used at Camden Market to manage short-term licences for over 200 stalls that are typically rented on a daily or weekly basis. This time-intensive procedure has previously been handled manually using a paper-based system, which resulted in a lack of central transparency and a significant administrative burden for the on-site team. Roby will automate and streamline a range of tasks from reservations and approvals through to document management, payments and banking reconciliation, helping to gain complete visibility over the entire process.

Moving forward, LabTech intends to expand the use of Roby system to manage contracts, renewals and billing for 600 retail units at Camden Market, while also assisting with any ad hoc tasks. For example, following the easing of COVID19 restrictions, LabTech was able to use Roby to communicate changes to terms and conditions to around 800 merchants as well as coordinate the signing of updated paperwork.

“Because Roby is dynamic in nature, we can quickly adapt the software to handle new requirements, whether this is a one-off or recurring task. In fact, the speed that additional workflows can be designed, configured and implemented, factoring in all operational variables, is a huge advantage for us as we rapidly expand our business. This means we can also look at other applications for the software in other areas of the business,” continues Segal.

Tom Reiss, Chief Executive Office of Roby.ai commented: “Innovative and forward-thinking property businesses are recognising the need for greater technology adoption within the marketplace that achieve effective collaboration between technology and people. We are working closely with LabTech and other valued partners to help them take advantage of the huge opportunity that exists around AI-enabled intelligent business processes.”

Roby is an advanced PropTech solution that streamlines business processes. The all-purpose and bespoke automation software removes the complexities of day-to-day roles by performing many of the time-consuming, manual tasks that humans are unable to perform at the speed and scale required for efficient and effective consumer interactions. Built brick by brick by experts, Roby is truly autonomous solution that requires little human manipulation and can execute seamlessly across all the different tasks involved in property management. Because Roby is continuously learning, it constantly reviews and analyses process to identify unknown issues and free-up valuable management time.

Acquisitions & Partnerships, HR News, HR Tech, Industry News

Advanced announces HR acquisition after signing deal with workforce management company Mitrefinch

Advanced announced today that it has acquired Mitrefinch, a global provider of workforce management solutions. It is Advanced’s second acquisition of 2020 following the acquisition of Tikit a global legal, accounting and professional services software business in March and the third since it received an investment from funds advised by BC Partners and Vista Equity Partners to accelerate growth in August 2019. The deal marks an exit for leading mid-market private equity investor LDC, which first backed Mitrefinch in 2016.

This latest deal boosts Advanced’s market share in HCM, and further strengthens its offering with Cloud HR at its core, by offering a complete digital HR lifecycle from recruitment to retirement and full management of the employee journey, whilst further supporting the company’s ambition to become the number one provider of business software solutions in the UK and broadening its global reach.

Established in 1979, Mitrefinch provides user-friendly, cutting edge products across integrated time and attendance, payroll, HR and access control with sophisticated analytic capability. They help some 4,400 customers in over 80 countries to increase productivity, profitability and manage their workforce effectively, solving the complexities of managing time. With businesses losing an estimated £80bn a year in wasted time, Mitrefinch helps organisations spend their time on what matters most, with customers across all industries, including some of the UK’s largest manufacturing, transport, retail and construction organisations.

Gordon Wilson, CEO of Advanced comments: “The innovative workforce management solutions developed by Mitrefinch are an exceptional fit with our existing best of breed Cloud HR solution. We’ve seen the impact of Covid-19 change the future of workforce management and shifting workforce expectations, leaving companies facing uncertainties with regards to resourcing and staffing. Digital technology provides accuracy of data to enable rapid decision-making in shifting market conditions which is a vital tool for companies managing shift patterns and measuring critical output.”

Matt Jenkins, CEO of Mitrefinch adds: “Mitrefinch has a strong reputation for developing transformative products that help companies solve the complexities of managing time. Our solutions will integrate with Advanced’s Financial Management Systems (FMS) as well as their full suite of HCM solutions, enabling businesses to accelerate technology adoption. Covid-19 has accelerated digital disruption in the HCM sector and we’re excited to be part of Advanced’s journey in disrupting the market further.”

The acquisition of Mitrefinch underpins Advanced’s commitment to its Cloud-first strategy and extends its Cloud HR offering to its enlarged customer base. Cloud HR provides a centralised engine for HR departments and offers automation for manual processes and now integrated time and attendance, payroll, HR and access control – solutions.

AI, Appointments, Industry News, News

We Build Bots appoints expert technologist to drive strategic growth

AI chatbot specialists, We Build Bots, has set its sights on global growth with the announcement that international technology evangelist, Patrick Hosch, has been appointed as chief commercial officer.

A seasoned automation specialist, Patrick joins the Cardiff and Westminster-based firm as it prepares to build on a series of successful investment rounds that will fuel the company’s transition to become a dedicated Software as a Service company (SaaS).

This year has also seen We Build Bots secure over £1.5 million of investment to support its expansion plans as it moves to become a more globally focused automation provider.

As chief commercial officer, Hosch will take the lead to create a global partner network that will allow We Build Bots to expand into new markets and allow its leading AI platform deployed internationally.

An Austrian national now based in London, Patrick’s career has seen him deployed in roles across Europe and as far as Melbourne, while working with global industry leaders, including Nintex and Microsoft. Most recently, as Director of Partner Success at Automation Anywhere, Hosch led the development and execution strategies to deliver training, achieve certification goals and build capability for its partners across the EMEA region.

Commenting on his appointment and plans as part of the We Build Bots team, Patrick Hosch, said: “Over the past ten years I have had the opportunity to develop partner networks for the world’s leading SaaS companies. The application of automation offers enormous potential for limitless organisations around the world. It was immediately clear to me that the team at We Build Bots have developed platforms that can be deployed the world over.”

Through its IntelAgent platform, We Build Bots helps public sector organisations free up valuable human time by developing multilingual AI chatbots that automate the millions of low value, repetitive calls and emails that public sector organisations across the UK spend huge amounts of resources to deal with each year. By freeing up people to deal with more complex citizen enquiries, public sector organisations can deliver services more effectively.

Over the past six months, as council teams across the UK have faced increased pressure to support their communities during the Covid-19 pandemic, We Build Bots has been able to tailor and deploy solutions that allow residents to access vital services and support. As a result, over five percent of UK local authorities now utilise the company’s chatbot platforms to streamline their operations and allow their existing teams to focus on the most pressing enquires.

Patrick Hosch, continued: “My goal now is to work with this talented team of developers to take the company to the next level. The platform they have created is already having a massive impact on the way UK local authorities, and organisations operating in a range of sectors, approach customer interactions and deliver their services. It’s a solution that is in demand globally and the partner networks we are creating will allow We Build Bots to deliver levels of automation that can revolutionise legacy systems and deliver efficiencies in service the world over.”

While the company believes that Patrick will be key for moving beyond UK markets, work is already underway to develop the company’s offering for international customers. Recently, the developers secured the global gold standard data security accreditation ISO27001, a step that requires the highest industry practises. October will also see We Build Bots accepted onto a nationally recognised AI focussed accelerator.

Founder and CEO of We Build Bots, Paul Shepherd said: “The ability to attract a CCO with Patrick’s level of experience and standing within our industry is something few businesses could hope for. We’re proud of the platform our team has developed and the successes we’ve helped our existing customers to achieve, but we know that far larger markets exist for us. Our investors recognise this and with Patrick on board, we know that customers across Europe and globally are now open to us.

“Today, organisations around the world are searching for solutions that can help them engage with their customers more effectively. Across the UK, we are already helping local authorities to support their communities when they face unprecedented challenges. We know that with the right partner networks in place, we can help many more. With Patrick joining our team, we are ready to take our work to the next level, reaching new customers as we continue to develop our platform that already challenges what the biggest players in our sector have to offer.”

Cybersecurity, Industry News

Aqua Security Research Report Shows Increase in Organised Attacks on Cloud Native Infrastructure and Software Supply Chain

Aqua Security, the pure-play cloud native security leader, have released a new threat report by Team Nautilus, Aqua’s cybersecurity research team, that reveals a growing, organised and increasingly sophisticated pattern of attacks on cloud native infrastructure. While most attacks were aimed at abusing public cloud compute resources for cryptocurrency mining, the methods used open the door for higher-value targets that leverage security gaps in container software supply chains and runtime environments.

The full 70-page report provides a detailed account of attacks observed in the wild during a full year of detailed observation and tracing. This is the first such report to outline the precise, systematic methods used to attack container infrastructure, and to highlight supply chain attacks as an emerging threat.

The report provides trends and observed categories of attacks, but also explains in great detail the specific progression of several attack vectors, from the originating malicious images to the specific evasion techniques, malicious payloads, and propagation attempts. The detailed analysis of the attacks was made possible using Aqua’s Dynamic Threat Analysis (DTA) tool, which was announced by Aqua earlier this year. Aqua DTA runs suspicious images as sandboxed containers to safely observe and trace their behaviour, and is integrated into Aqua’s full-lifecycle solution to prevent such images from ever making it into production environments.

Highlights of the observed attacks include:

  • Container images in public registries being poisoned with Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUAs) that cannot be detected using static scanning. They spring into action only when the container is running.
  • Sophisticated evasion techniques are being used to hide attacks and make them more persistent. This includes the use of “vanilla” images that seem innocuous, disabling other malware, delaying before downloading payloads into the running container, using 64-bit encoding to obfuscate malware, and more.
  • Since the beginning of 2020, the volume of attacks has dramatically increased, suggesting that there is organised infrastructure and systematic targeting behind these attacks. More than 16,000 individual attacks were tracked back to multiple locations across the globe.
  • The main motivation of the malicious actors has been to hijack cloud compute resources to mine for cryptocurrency, but Team Nautilus has seen evidence that other objectives, such as establishing DDoS infrastructure, were also attempted.

“The attacks we observed are a significant step up in attacks targeting cloud native infrastructure. We expect a further increase in sophistication, the use of evasion techniques and diversity of the attack vectors and objectives, since the widespread the use of cloud native technologies makes them a more lucrative target for bad actors,” notes Idan Revivo, Head of Team Nautilus at Aqua. “Security teams are advised to take the appropriate measures both in their pipelines as well as runtime environments, to detect and intercept such attempts.”

In addition to the full report, a concise CISO executive brief document is available that provides an overview of the attacks and methods used, as well as actionable advice to security executives on how to protect against this new and growing breed of attacks.

To get the full report and CISO brief:

Industry News, News, Supply Chain

Vizibl Launches Vizibl Sustainability at its Inaugural COLLABORATE 2020 Summit

Vizibl, the leading SaaS platform for Supplier Collaboration, will be announcing Vizibl Sustainability, at its new virtual summit, COLLABORATE 2020. This new solution helps organisations align, engage and deliver on their sustainability programmes by collaborating more effectively with key suppliers throughout their global supply chain.

This solution helps organisations – and vendors in their supply chains – accelerate sustainability initiatives through the implementation a tangible framework, enabling all parties to achieve the desired Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) objectives.

Reiterating Vizibl’s focus on achieving true sustainability for its customers, it’s also partnering with EcoVadis. Based on a rigorous methodology covering 21 criteria across four themes, EcoVadis’ rating and scorecards will enable organisations to benchmark and track supplier performance on environment, labour and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement. This innovation and resilience, fostered by sustainability, are how organisations and their supply chains will meet their future goals.

Both the launch of Vizibl Sustainability and Vizibl’s partnership with EcoVadis ensure organisations can go beyond simply monitoring supplier compliance, to actively collaborating with suppliers on initiatives to improve environmental, social and economic objectives.

If you would be interested in seeing the release under embargo please do contact me via ellen@c8consulting.co.uk, or for more information on Vizibl Sustainability, please click here

AI, Industry News, News, North of England, Tech

£6m project aims to give Manchester businesses a boost using artificial intelligence

Expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) is to be shared with Greater Manchester businesses in a bid to help them develop new products and services, as part of a new £6m project.

University researchers with specialist knowledge in AI will work with a minimum of 170 small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in the area, helping them to advance their business through the application of AI.

The project hopes to help local businesses build back better following the disruption caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In total, four North West universities: Manchester Metropolitan University, the University of Manchester, the University of Salford and Lancaster University, have teamed up to deliver the European Regional Development Funded (ERDF) scheme named the Greater Manchester AI Foundry.

The new project builds on the success of the Greater Manchester Cyber Foundry, which was launched by the four institutions in May 2019.

The Greater Manchester Cyber Foundry has already successfully supported more than 60 SMEs in adopting cyber security innovation within their business.

Knowledge and research from the four universities will now be used to help selected companies embed new AI innovation into their business, helping them to thrive in a new digital age.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham said: “In Greater Manchester it is our ambition to be recognised as a world-leading digital city region, the launch of the Greater Manchester AI Foundry is a significant step towards these ambitions, helping our city-region’s start-ups and SMEs advance their businesses at a time when they need it most.

“Following the success of the Greater Manchester Cyber Foundry it is great to see our world-leading universities working together again to share their specialist knowledge to support our SMEs to thrive. In the current climate, the AI Foundry will be integral in helping our SMEs build back better through the application of AI.”

Keith Miller, Principal Investigator for AI Foundry from Manchester Metropolitan, who are leading the project, said: “AI has an incredible power to innovate.

“From disease detection using deep learning, to autonomous vehicle technology using machine learning and computer vision – AI has the capability of creating new products and services which will greatly benefit society and help businesses advance, remain competitive and in turn boost the local economy.

“With that in mind, it has been incredibly exciting to work on this collaboration between the four universities, which aims to translate world-leading AI research into novel products and services.

“We believe the Greater Manchester AI Foundry will help place the region’s SMEs at the forefront of AI application, nationally and internationally.”

The need for world leading AI capability nationally is already well recognised, with the UK Government Industrial Strategy outlining AI as an existing national strength – and which they estimate will contribute £232bn to the UK economy by 2030.

Locally, Greater Manchester has already been identified as a leading digital region within Europe – with the digital sector accounting for 700,000 jobs and £3.4bn in Gross Value Added (GVA), in 2018.

With that in mind, increasing application of AI, big-data, data science and data analytics into business in the region is predicted to have a huge impact on every sector within Greater Manchester’s economy.

However, implementing AI also presents challenges, including ensuring that the local business base is capable of adopting the new technology, delivering ethically appropriate products and that employees have the skills and capabilities to use this tech – which this new project also aims to address.

Now launched, the AI Foundry will work with SMEs on four themes, which have been identified in the region’s Local Industrial Strategy. These are: advanced materials and manufacturing, clean growth, digital and creative media, and health innovation.

The first phase of the project will focus on business development, with SMEs who have high potential for business growth through the application of AI being selected to join the scheme.

The second phase will focus on the development of prototypes for at least 30 SMEs – under the supervision of AI researchers from the four university partners.

Professor Andy Gibson, Pro-Vice Chancellor of the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Manchester Metropolitan, said: “It is clear from the recent months of lockdown the value of technology and the part it has played in supporting the local community and economy.

“The Greater Manchester AI Foundry will make a major contribution to both regional and national priorities, supporting the promotion and adoption of AI and helping Greater Manchester to build back better.

“As a University, we can bring significant expertise of AI, big data and much more to this project due to our extensive research in this area – which is why I am delighted that we are leading this new and innovative scheme.”

The project will receive £3m from the European Regional Development Fund via the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, with partners delivering a further £3m in matched funding.

Industry News, London News, News, Tech

Here East realises decade-long ambition of creating a tech corridor in East London

Delancey’s award-winning Here East, London’s fastest-growing innovation campus and launchpad for the capital’s most impactful businesses, technologies and sectors, has today launched its 2020 Impact Report showcasing its economic and social impact on the capital and within the local community.

Eight years after London hosted the Olympics and coinciding with the original date of the delayed 2020 Games in Tokyo, the Impact Report demonstrates the instrumental role of the campus in continued job creation, innovation, and investment, as a result of a post 2012 Olympics vision. The report showcases the impact that Here East, the result of the redevelopment of the former Press and Broadcast Centre for the 2012 Games, has had both on the local East London community and across the wider capital.

The campus is now home to a community of 4,500 people working and studying on the campus, and attracted 95,678 visitors over the last 12 months, 47,650 of whom attended high-profile events.  

With 75 per cent of the campus let to companies spanning startups, academic institutions and global corporates, Here East, and the onsite innovation centre Plexal, has become London’s fastest-growing cluster for esports, micro-mobility and the creative industries. 

The Here East Impact Report demonstrates the economic and social impact the campus has brought to the local area, born from the vision of London’s Olympic legacy strategy in 2012.

Engagement with young people through employment and educational support is a key part of this. Here East’s Insights Programme has provided more than 100 local young people with  opportunities to engage with businesses in the last 12 months while the London Legacy Development Cooporation’s (LLDC) free EAST Education Summer School welcomed over 400 local 12-17 year olds for to access space and insights into businesses across the campus. The four universities onsite – Staffordshire University London, Loughborough University London, UCL and the soon to open Liverpool Media Academy – engage daily with tenant businesses onsite to offer students opportunities to develop career experience. 

With concerns growing about the final cost of the Tokyo Olympics and the impact of the global economic crisis on future host cities Paris, Milan and Los Angeles, Here East’s Impact Report is a timely reminder about the positive social and economic results of private-sector investment into Olympic sites.  

Gavin Poole, CEO of Here East, comments, “The vision for Here East was to create a space that housed ground-breaking technology-driven and creative businesses, to deliver jobs and education for east London and the whole of the UK as part of the Olympic legacy. Eight years later, that legacy has created a community of entrepreneurs, academics and corporates at the forefront of the country’s economic recovery. This Impact Report sends a clear message to the rest of the UK and future host cities around the world – the Olympics can be a springboard for entrepreneurial success and a launchpad for innovation with long-term economic and social benefits.” 

Deputy Mayor for Business, Rajesh Agrawal, said: “Here East has set a new standard for regeneration as part of the legacy of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games, which benefits local communities and drives economic growth. The Mayor and I have seen first-hand how the community is supporting disadvantaged Londoners as well as pioneering world-class innovation and research which could have an impact on Londoners for years to come.” 

Paul Goswell, Managing Director of Delancey, comments, “Here East and its community of occupiers is a powerful reminder that the positive socio-economic legacy of London’s 2012 Olympics is still, 8 years later, going strong. The innovation and initiatives which have emerged on campus are testament to the potential such a versatile property and hands on management can open up for a local community, from job creation and career pathways for young people to support for local artists, entrepreneurs and nascent businesses. What Here East has achieved in this short space of time demonstrates the monumental impact that a well-run public private partnership can have in making a real positive impact for the local community.” 

Lyn Garner, Chief Executive of London Legacy Development Corporation, comments, “The transformation of the former Press and Broadcast Centres into a hub of innovation and collaboration at Here East is a huge legacy success story. East London is reaping the social and economic benefits and will do for generations to come.” 

Russ Shaw, founder of Tech London Advocates and Global Tech Advocates, comments, “Here East is the tangible manifestation of what an innovation district or an innovation zone should look like. Around the world, many of these districts are government-led, and while it is important that the public sector backs innovation, what Here East has done is create a model that really shows how successful the private sector can be in creating and fostering technology hubs.”  

Vicki Austin, CEO at Global Disability Innovation Hub, comments, “Here East was born out of the legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and we are proud for it to be the home of the GDI Hub. Together we can push the boundaries of disability innovation, design, technology on the campus because of the community working there, enabling us to forge partnerships and collaborate with inclusion, diversity and access at their heart.” 

Here East, which is owned by clients of Delancey, a specialist real estate investment advisory company, is designed to foster collaboration, allowing its community to scale and grow at pace. Tenants include BT Sport, Plexal, Fiit.tv, Sports Interactive, Ford Smart Mobility, Matchesfashion and The Trampery, who provide 21 studios for local artists, businesses and designers on the Gantry. 

Data, Industry News, News, Tech

Cohesity Unveils Comprehensive Data Management Optimised for All-Flash Solutions from Cisco and Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Cohesity today announced major software advancements to Cohesity DataPlatform that bring modern data management capabilities to powerful all-flash solutions from key alliance partners Cisco and HPE. Cohesity DataPlatform now includes new I/O Boost technology that drives even greater data consolidation, lowers total cost of ownership (TCO), and delivers incredibly fast performance for backing up, accessing, and deriving insights from data in all-flash environments.

Today, many organisations are moving towards a diskless data center and embracing all-flash technology, thanks to its superior performance and decreasing price. IDC forecasts that the all-flash array market will grow at a 17.6% CAGR to $14.9 billion from 2017 to 2022, much faster than hybrid-flash and HDD-only segments[1]. However, as customers embrace all-flash architecture, the problem of how to eliminate data silos and protect, manage, and derive insights from data still remains.

Cohesity solves these challenges and empowers customers who are looking to extend all-flash to backup and recovery, file and object services, dev/test and analytics with a comprehensive data management solution optimised for all-flash. Powered by the new I/O Boost technology in Cohesity DataPlatform, the solution provides benefits that are unique in the industry.

 

  • Unmatched efficiency: Higher throughput and bandwidth capabilities of flash media combined with Cohesity’s superior and proprietary space savings technologies mean even fewer licenced nodes required to meet performance and usable capacity needs, making all-flash more cost-effective than ever before.
  • Exceptional performance: Realize 2x to 8x[2] faster performance for backing up and accessing data compared to disk-based alternatives.
  • Accelerated workloads: Meet demanding service level agreements (SLAs) with flash-optimised performance that speeds data management tasks, particularly for faster metadata-intensive operations such as deduplication and replication, backing up of both small and very large (multi-terabyte) files alike.
  • Faster time-to-value: Achieve competitive advantages with faster data reuse, such as cloning backup or file and object data for dev/test or analytics without metadata bottlenecks. The solution also boosts performance for Cohesity Marketplace apps, particularly those with random I/O profiles, speeding up vulnerability scans using backup, anti-virus on files, information search, and content analysis on sensitive data.
  • Greater choice: Customers have the flexibility of choosing certified all-flash enterprise servers that suit their business needs, specifically Cisco UCS C220 M5, HPE ProLiant DL360 G10, Dell PowerEdge R640, and Intel Server System R1208WF.

 

“The Cohesity DataPlatform with I/O Boost makes flash even more affordable, while meeting increasingly demanding SLAs for backup, recovery, file and object services, and data insights,” said Matt Waxman, vice president of product management, Cohesity. “There isn’t any other solution in the industry that provides complete, flash-optimised data management and is incredibly agile and efficient.”

Modern Data Management for the Diskless Data Center

Through partnerships with Cisco and HPE, Cohesity brings enterprise-class all-flash data management to a wide-range of organisations in a cost-effective manner with flexible configuration options.

“The combination of Cohesity’s flash-optimised data management software and Cisco UCS opens up a new world of possibilities for customers looking to reap the benefits of all-flash for high-performance backup, recovery, scale-out NAS, and data insights,” said DD Dasgupta,  vice president of product management, cloud and compute, Cisco. “Together, Cisco and Cohesity can now further manage customers’ data requirements, with unified management and automation across Cisco HyperFlex and UCS.”

“Numerous organisations around the world have successfully leveraged HPE expertise to transition their primary storage to all-flash,” said Chris Powers, VP and GM, collaborative platform development, HPE Storage. “HPE ProLiant DL360 Server for Cohesity DataPlatform now allows organisations to also transition other data and applications to all-flash, and do so with the world’s most secure industry-standard server as the foundation. HPE and Cohesity together are enabling organisations to optimise their data protection approach, increase dev/test agility, and enhance compliance with NVMe all-flash and I/O Boost.”

Unleashing New Data Management Capabilities for the Modern Enterprise

Customers are excited about the benefits of the Cohesity DataPlatform with I/O Boost technology.

“Cohesity’s all-flash data management comes at the perfect time. It will enable us to meet the most stringent recovery SLAs, especially critical for quickly restoring from an outage or cyberthreats,” said Simon Mason, Head of Design and Platforms at Suffolk County Council. “Cohesity already provides industry-leading space efficiency and consolidation across backup and NAS use cases, and we look forward to experiencing even faster performance and improved ROI from the combination of all-flash media and Cohesity I/O boost.”

For More Information:

[1] Market Analysis Perspective: Worldwide Enterprise Storage Systems, 2019: Infrastructure Systems, Platforms and Technologies Group, September 2019

[2] Actual gain is subject to the type of workload and certified server.

App News, Industry News, News, Tech, Tech Thought Leadership

Why Apps Must WOW Users

Written by Gerry Tombs, CEO, Clearvision

Mobile apps are an essential part of our daily lives – be it for news, weather, health, fitness, travel, directions – you name it from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to bed, apps form part of our everyday routine and we rely heavily on them. But this really highlights the challenge that businesses face in developing compelling and engaging apps that users want to interact with. Fundamentally, for an app to succeed, it must act as an extension of the user, augmenting their lives, solving their problems in new ways, and delivering such a seamlessly brilliant experience that they turn to it repeatedly until it becomes valued as an essential part of their lives.

This kind of user engagement is commercial gold and is what companies are seeking as they compete to gain customer loyalty and streamline business processes. So why is experience so critical in today’s market and how can businesses deliver enterprise grade apps that have the experience users are looking for?

Millennials and Generation Z

By 2025, millennials will make up 75 percent of the active working population, with Gen Z hot on their heels[1]. These true digital natives have matured in an always-on, instant access mobile culture. Not for them queuing at the post office or the bank, or indeed, queuing anywhere. Whether in a role as consumers, or as employees, they demand that apps live up to their high expectations before they become long-term members of their digital application ecosystems.

They build that ecosystem based on companies that offer the service that fits in with their omnichannel lives, enabling them to multitask life-changing decisions such as getting a mortgage with the mundanity of grocery shopping. And if one brand can handle both, even better!

Customers and employees are looking for brilliant experiences and loyalty is quickly transferred to the app that can deliver “wow” moments. This makes creating slick, smart, and creative apps mission-critical to businesses that want to compete for digital mindshare and break into the trusted application ecosystem of the user.

An app that fails to meet the user’s expectations is just that: a failure. Organisations risk wasting valuable investment and development time if they can’t get into the experience mindset that creates apps that truly are an extension of the user.

Getting into the mindset of your users

So, how do you get into that mindset?

A really good example is something that Zurich UK did, using the technology of our low-code partner, Mendix. Zurich wanted to investigate new ways to promote life insurance adoption across the UK market, and recognised that people were put off from buying life cover because they thought it was unaffordable and perhaps a luxury. To challenge that view, Zurich developed a selfie app. They came up with the novel idea of FaceQuote, a frictionless, first-to-market application that provides prospective life insurance customers by soliciting a selfie, estimating the user’s age, and calculating a monthly premium based on this estimated age.

The FaceQuote App consists of only two pages, providing a simple, nearly instantaneous idea of what life insurance would cost a typical customer. The user’s selfie is sent by FaceQuote to an image processing intelligence that provides an educated guess of the user’s age with just one click. The estimated age then drives an estimate of a life insurance premium for the user.

I give this example because it is the very definition of a brilliant digital experience, in this case made possible by low-code – it’s an app that works perfectly for the end user and helps the organisation meet an important business goal.

Apps that work anytime, anywhere, any environment

Although we develop apps in solid network environments with full connectivity, the real world just isn’t like that. An app that is truly appreciated by a user will get spun up in any situation, and it needs to deliver value no matter how bad the connection or even when there’s no connection at all. Here at Clearvision we understand that if we can’t provide users with a fully functional app at any time or at least a clever and fun way to interact with the app while offline or when experiencing network limitations, we aren’t delivering well. And that’s why I think that more than ever, user experience experts and mobile developers must be aware of how important offline synchronisation and network management are in achieving the best technical solution without compromising a great user experience.

Put simply, the experience needs to deliver, even when the network doesn’t. That’s why testing in all kinds of less-than-ideal scenarios and prioritising mobile design and functionality at every stage are key. It’s the only way the app will win its way into the user ecosystem.

Where thinkers become makers

When we’re talking about app development, the usual tale is of speed: rushing headlong to get apps out the door under pressure from business units or competitors. However, when trying to deliver a brilliant experience, it is well worth regularly taking the time to step back and check that you’re still heading in the right direction. That’s the beauty of low code – it actually frees up time to make sure that the app is delivering on criteria such as usability, creativity, and those “wow” moments. Because technical debt is lower with low code, there’s no fear of change; on the contrary, continuous change is positive and prolongs the lifespan of that app. We keep adding value to the app instead of retiring it, so those previous investments are never lost.

In today’s world, user experience is a key battlefield for businesses trying to win hearts and minds. Earning a place in the user’s app ecosystem is the ultimate prize, so the pressure is on to deliver experiences so brilliant that they unquestionably enhance the user’s life. Understanding user stories and how they can be changed, delivering a seamless mobile experience and taking time to create an intuitive, innovative product are all cornerstones of delivering brilliant digital experiences that permit the app to become “part of us.”.

[1] https://www.accenture.com/nl-en/blogs/insights/the-secret-to-boosting-employee-engagement-for-millennials-and-gen-z