The ITAM Roundup: 1/14/24
HPE to acquire Juniper Networks to accelerate AI-driven innovation
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has announced its acquisition of Juniper Networks for approximately $14 billion in an all-cash transaction. This acquisition is expected to strengthen HPE's high-margin networking business and accelerate its sustainable profitable growth strategy. It will also double HPE's networking business and position the combined company as a leader in AI-native networking, with a focus on providing secure, unified technology solutions for data connectivity from edge to cloud. The transaction is set to close in late calendar year 2024 or early calendar year 2025, pending regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
IBM Teams Up With SAP to Tap Generative AI for Retail Sector
IBM has partnered with SAP to utilize generative AI technology in the retail industry, aiming to enhance productivity and accelerate business transformation in consumer-packaged goods and retail firms. This collaboration will leverage IBM's technologies, including the IBM Garage methodology, to help businesses embrace generative AI for rapid digital transformation. IBM will also assist clients in complementing SAP solutions with IBM Watsonx, an enterprise-focused AI and data platform, to tailor AI solutions to their specific needs.
Workday Global Survey Reveals AI Trust Gap in the Workplace
Surprise, surprise - we're still not sure what to do with AI. A Workday report highlights a lack of trust in the responsible development and deployment of AI, with only 62% of business leaders and 52% of employees welcoming AI adoption. The report emphasizes the need for organizations to adopt a comprehensive approach to AI responsibility and governance to close this trust gap. It also reveals that both leaders and employees want human involvement in AI processes but are uncertain about the best way to achieve it, with 70% of leaders advocating for human review and intervention in AI development.
Marcus Law
Infosys to acquire InSemi
Infosys has announced its plans to acquire InSemi, a semiconductor design and embedded services company, with the aim of enhancing its engineering R&D capabilities. The acquisition is set to be finalized in the current quarter and is expected to boost Infosys' expertise in technologies such as AI, 5G, quantum technology, IoT, and smart devices, all of which rely heavily on semiconductors.
Sascha Brodsky
SAP doubles down on cloud-first innovation with executive reshuffle
SAP is reshuffling its executive board to focus more on serving its cloud customers. Executive board member Thomas Saueressig, previously responsible for product engineering, will take on a new role as head of customer services and delivery, aimed at maximizing the potential for cloud customers. This shift toward cloud-first innovation may disappoint some long-time customers running SAP's older ERP software on-premises or in hosted environments, as they won't have access to the latest innovations offered to cloud-based subscribers.
Peter Sayer
InfoWorld’s 2023 Technology of the Year Award winners
The InfoWorld Technology of the Year Awards for 2023 recognized innovative products across various technology categories, such as AI and machine learning development, applications, BI and analytics, cloud compliance and governance, cloud cost management, cloud security, containers, data management (governance, integration, pipelines, and streaming). The awards showcase how these technologies are harnessing artificial intelligence to redefine their respective product categories, making them more efficient, powerful, and automated.
Check out the article for the winners in each category:
InfoWorld
How to License Software in a Hybrid World
A view from the other side of the fence... This article discusses the growing prominence of hybrid deployment models, including on-premises software, alongside cloud-based solutions. This trend is relevant to ITAM practitioners because it highlights the need for flexibility in software licensing to support various deployment models and monetization strategies. As organizations navigate this evolving landscape, ITAM professionals must ensure that their back-office systems can adapt to hybrid deployment models and usage-based licensing frameworks.
Chris Cahill
User beware: When a Microsoft product preview remains perpetual
Microsoft's long-lasting product previews can indicate potential discontinuation or lack of commitment to those products and services. When Microsoft keeps a product or service in preview for an extended period, it can be a sign that it may not reach general availability, which can be a concern for enterprise customers who require GA products for deployment.
Mary Jo Foley
Edge Computing: Unlocking Next-level Internet Performance
Edge computing is becoming essential for software developers and security experts in the rapidly transforming digital landscape. With the growth in digital transformation, edge computing addresses key challenges related to performance, security, and efficiency in the existing centralized cloud computing paradigm. It provides lower latency, improved security, and cost reduction by processing data locally or at the network edge, making it ideal for applications like AI, autonomous vehicles, telemedicine, and more. Edge computing also enables scalability, flexibility, and efficiency in application development, making it a crucial component of the evolving internet infrastructure.
AI and Beyond: Insights From NVIDIA Special Address at CES 2024
NVIDIA made several key announcements at CES 2024, including the introduction of three new graphics cards: GeForce RTX 4080 Super, RTX 4070 Ti Super, and RTX 4070 Super, which are gaming-oriented but also marketed as AI chips. These cards offer improved performance with Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) technology. NVIDIA also demonstrated advancements in creating and interacting with non-player characters (NPCs) using generative AI and announced partnerships with automakers and healthcare companies to develop intelligent driving systems and foundational models for drug discovery, respectively.
Sumeet Wadhwani
How to Choose a SaaS Management Platform? (2024 SMP Buying Guide)
When selecting a SaaS Management Platform, it's crucial to begin by evaluating its SaaS discovery capabilities, focusing on factors like the size of its app library, the number of discovery methods, and its ability to identify apps across various platforms. Secondly, consider the SMP's cost optimization features, including the number of direct integrations, app insights for cost savings, and contract and license management capabilities to prevent wasted SaaS spending. Involving multiple departments in the procurement process ensures that the chosen SMP aligns with the organization's requirements.
Sethu Meenakshisundaram
SaaS Spend Management: Win the Battle Against SaaS Overspending
The SaaS Spend Management market is growing, with the global market size projected to reach $2.4 billion by 2029. It is essential because it addresses the challenges of decentralized SaaS procurement, eliminates waste, saves time on audits, streamlines the shift from on-premise to cloud infrastructure, and showcases effective use of enterprise buying. Effective solutions involve avoiding spreadsheets, evaluating user engagement metrics, centralizing subscriptions, managing auto-renewals, and avoiding vendor lock-ins, with the help of dedicated SaaS Spend Management software.
Sethu MeenakshisundaramHow to Report Microsoft 365 Subscriptions and Service Plans
To report Microsoft 365 subscriptions and service plans, you can use the Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK. Start by connecting to the Graph, then retrieve the subscribed products and their details. To make the data more understandable, use a CSV file that maps GUIDs to human-friendly names for products and service plans. Check out the article below for the detailed guide:
Tony Redmond
CISA: Critical Microsoft SharePoint bug now actively exploited
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued a warning that attackers are actively exploiting a critical Microsoft SharePoint privilege escalation vulnerability known as CVE-2023-29357. This flaw allows remote attackers to gain admin privileges on unpatched SharePoint servers by bypassing authentication using spoofed JWT authentication tokens. Attackers can also execute arbitrary code on compromised SharePoint servers by chaining this vulnerability with CVE-2023-24955, a remote code execution vulnerability in SharePoint Server.
Linux devices are under attack by a never-before-seen worm
A previously unknown self-replicating worm, based on Mirai malware, has been targeting Linux devices for the past year. Dubbed NoaBot, this worm installs cryptocurrency mining software on compromised devices and takes unusual steps to conceal its activities. Instead of using the traditional method of targeting telnet passwords, NoaBot targets weak passwords connecting SSH connections and installs a modified version of XMRig for cryptocurrency mining.
Dan Goodin
Actively exploited 0-days in Ivanti VPN are letting hackers backdoor networks
Hackers are actively targeting two critical zero-day vulnerabilities in Ivanti Connect Secure, a widely used virtual private network (VPN) appliance. These vulnerabilities allow attackers to bypass two-factor authentication and execute malicious code inside networks that use the Ivanti VPN. Organizations using Ivanti Connect Secure should take immediate action to follow mitigation guidance, as the zero-days have the potential for significant damage if exploited.
Dan Goodin
