Has the universe stored up a batch of weirdness and decided to release it all this year? Any other year, the news from a former manager of the Department of Defense Aerospace Threat Program saying, “”UFOs are real,”” would be headline news. Not in 2020. Elvis could come back and no on would notice. Well, maybe the internet would: “”Elvis ain’t dead.””
Work from home news. Just because employees are working from home doesn’t mean they can’t answer the phone. 8×8 announces Voice for Microsoft Teams. Enterprise-class global voice with full PSTN support in 38 countries with toll-free numbers in 120 countries. Not using Teams? 8×8 rolled out an Open Communications Platform that combines voice, team chat, meetings, and contact center tools.
MSPs might take advantage of the new Axcient x360Sync, the file sync and share server tool that now offers native support for Microsoft 365.
Goodbye Rackspace and hello Rackspace Technologies. The new longer name better reflects the four solution areas the company serves: cloud optimization, cloud security, cloud native enablement, and data modernization.
Cradlepoint and Rigado teamed up to build a safe workplace IoT solution on Microsoft Azure. Result is the Rigado Open Edge Framework and its new Safe Workplace IoT tools.
The curtain has dropped on the Cloudera Data Platform Private Cloud (CDP Private Cloud). Seamlessly connect on-premises environments to public clouds with built-in security and governance.
Security news. Remote is the word this spring. Fashionably, WatchGuard released its new Firebox T-Series of tabletop firewall appliances. The T20, T40, and T80 (pictured) aim at small, home, and midsize office environments.
Greetings to CloudGuard Cloud Native Security from Check Point. Protects cloud deployments and workloads and manages security through a single pane.
Netsurion’s Remote Workforce Threat Detection has rolled out. A new built-in feature of the vendor’s EventTracker SIEM, it offers beefed up tools for the work-from-home era.
Sectigo’s Certificate Manager platform now integrates with ServiceNow. Check out the Sectigo Certificate App for ServiceNow for yourself to verify this source is trustworthy.
Personal information gets tougher and tougher to hold onto with all the attacks and phishing. Perhaps F-Secure ID PROTECTION and its continuous monitoring for info online can help.
Look up to see the new Siemplify Cloud, a cloud-native security operations platform. Get value from security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) faster than before, they promise.
Welcome to the Tessian’s new Human Layer Security Intelligence product. We’re all in favor of more human intelligence of any kind. Will help keep your data home when employees go away, for example.
Just unveiled, Versa Secure Access delivers secure SD-WAN service and private connectivity to WFH users.
Vectra AI weaves deep into Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection and Microsoft Azure Sentinel to elevate Vectra’s network threat detection and response alerts to the SOC.
Now a partner in the Microsoft Active Protections Program (MAPP), Menlo Security and its Cloud Global Proxy Platform helps users handle threats without forcing them to download and upgrade software.
Need to help techs and clients brush up on cybersecurity? Of course, you do. The new Cynet Cybersecurity Skills Tests Website is ready to help.
Other product news. Hewlett Packard Enterprise revved up HPE Primera and HPE Nimble Storage. New AI smarts, self-healing, and self-optimization to deliver real-time autonomous operations.
Black tower PCs with sharp corners under the desk attacking your knees are no longer the “”typical”” PC (whatever that means now). The new Intel Core processors with Intel Hybrid Technology (Lakefield) use Intel’s Foveros 3D packaging and a hybrid CPU architecture to support new designs like foldables and dual screens.
Work.com Partner Solutions are now stocked in the Salesforce AppExchange. The suite of resources to help organizations reopen safely after COVID-19 closures is ready and waiting.
Check out Aruba ESP (Edge Services Platform), an AI-powered, cloud native platform that predicts and resolves problems at the network edge “”before they happen.””
The SolarWinds APM Suite got revved. The application performance management suite (AppOptics, Pingdom, and Loggly), makes APM more accessible and less complex.
Backing up files is one thing but finding the ones you need later can be a problem. If so, check out the new Proofpoint Enterprise Archive, a cloud-native modern archiving and e-discovery product.
The Gigamon GigaVUE Cloud Suite for Nutanix helps optimize performance, security, and prevent network outages.
Parents may be surprised, but classrooms still exist. When the kids go back, eight new laser displays for educators from Epson will be ready. Models include the interactive BrightLink 735Fi and 725Wi and non-interactive PowerLite 725W, 720, L200SW, L200SX, L200W, and L200X. Should help those newly distanced pupils see the lessons.
Pick up (literally—it’s ultra-portable) a new LG CineBeam projector PH30N. The 1.1-lbs. unit shines a 1280 x 720 HD image up to 100 diagonal inches.
Poly says its new Poly Studio X30 and Poly Studio X50 video bars and its Poly G7500 video conferencing system are the first to receiver certification as Zoom Room Appliances. Available in most regions worldwide.
Need to print? Always. Try the new RICOH Pro VC40000 monochrome inkjet. The updated model is 50% faster than before with speeds up to 2,500 letter images per minute at 600 x 600 dpi.
Non-product vendor news. Acronis welcomes its new chief marketing officer, Steven McChesney (pictured). First task: Add and enable service providers.
Speaking of partners (we do, like, all the time), the new Centrify Reliance Partner Program could be of interest. Helps more channel pros meet the demand for Identity-Centric Privileged Access Management.
This week’s stats ticker:
Check Point surveyed 271 global respondents for a report tagged, “”Securing the new normal.”” No surprise that over 86% said moving to mass remote work was their biggest security concern during the pandemic. Maintaining secure access and VPN capacity for staff was the top concern for 62% of those. Preventing social engineering attacks (47%) and securing endpoints and home networks (52%) were also listed. 75% say their offices are open again for at least a limited number of workers but staff still work at home 4 out of 5 days. Remote security support will continue for a long time, it seems. 43% plan to implement mobile security solutions, and 39% plant to consolidate their security tools to eliminate “”blind spots”” across their suddenly enlarged network perimeters. Hunker down, because the survey horizon was for the next 12 months.
The IDC report “”AI StrategiesView 2020: Executive Summary“” includes responses from 2,056 IT and LOB decision makers from around the world. AI adoption keeps growing. Over a quarter of all AI initiatives are in production and more than one third are in advanced development stages. AI spending will increase this year. One third of enterprise AI lifecycle time is spent on data integration and preparation versus actual data science efforts. That’s a big inhibitor to scaling AI adoption. Applying deep learning and other machine learning technologies remains a struggle. Around 28% of AI/machine learning initiates have failed. Lack of skilled staff, lack of production-ready data, and lack of integrated development environments lead the list of reasons for failure. Enterprises need to dive deep into MLOps (machine learning operations). Data security, governance, performance, and latency (transfer rate) are the top data integration challenges.
Secure SD-WAN: The Launch Pad into Cloud from Barracuda reveals that 74% of those surveyed have either already deployed SD-WAN or expect to do so in the next 12 months (23% have it, 51% are in the process or planning). The financial services industry leads the way (35% and 41%) with the public sector bringing up the rear (7% implemented). Over half (52%) hope to acquire an SD-WAN solution via a cloud provider. 50% prefer Microsoft Azure over Amazon AWS and Azure is 125% more preferred than Google Cloud Platform. Microsoft Azure is perceived to be more secure and user friendly. Over half who have added security to their public cloud are using SD-WAN.
No pants, no problem. Our friends at Hackster.io are pretty clever. You know the joke about people dressing for business video meetings only from the waist up? Then they forget and stand up for some reason and their mistake goes viral? There’s a hack for that.
The description: Safe Meeting keeps an eye on you during your video conferences, and if it sees your underwear, the video is immediately muted.
Yep. Add the hack, tagged intermediate level by Hackster.io, and if the system gets a shot of your underwear it blocks the video portion of the signal. Nothing in the text says what happens if you forget the underwear.
Source: Nick Bild, via Hackster.io
