The ITAM Roundup: 11/26/23
In the Cloudscape: AWS re:Invent 2023 in Focus
AWS re:Invent 2023, the 12th edition of Amazon Web Services' premier cloud conference, is set to offer a wealth of technical sessions, bootcamps, certification training, hands-on learning, innovation talks, and keynote announcements. The event will feature keynotes by AWS and Amazon.com executives, addressing topics such as AI, machine learning, generative AI applications, strategic partnerships, and resilient and cost-aware architectures. Attendees can also participate in various interactive sessions covering a wide range of topics related to cloud technology.
The conference will take place from November 27 to December 1, 2023, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
6 action items before you move to Windows 11
This article highlights the importance of examining your current hardware fleet to ensure it supports Windows 11, and preparing a budget that takes into account the impact on hardware maintenance and acquisition. The article also emphasizes the need to check your software licensing to ensure it's current and efficient. Additionally, it advises organizations to consider their collaboration platform, especially the integration of Microsoft Teams in Windows 11, and explore virtual desktop infrastructure as a way to extend hardware life.
SHI Staff
How to Choose a SAM Tool: Insights from Gartner
Many organizations struggle to choose the right Software Asset Management tool or combination of specialized solutions to handle these complexities effectively. The article also provides key findings, including the importance of understanding SAM as a combination of tooling, skilled resources, and processes, and recommendations such as collaborating with stakeholders, validating SAM tool vendors through proofs of concept, and forming strategic relationships with FinOps teams.
Hayley Salyer
Combining PowerApps and Azure Functions to Build User Self-Service Capabilities
The author demonstrates the process of creating a canvas app in PowerApps, setting up a flow to trigger the Azure Function, and adding code to interact with the Azure Function. The PowerApp allows users to retrieve mailbox permissions for specified email addresses and display them in a gallery. Additionally, it handles errors gracefully. The integration of PowerApps and Azure Functions provides a user-friendly interface for managing mailbox permissions without the need for PowerShell scripts.
Ingo Gegenwarth
The Synergies between FinOps and SAM
The article discusses the alignment between Software Asset Management (SAM) and Financial Operations (FinOps) principles in organizations, particularly those heavily reliant on engineering and specialty software. It highlights the commonalities between SAM and FinOps in terms of centralization, cost management, accountability, reporting, collaboration, and decision-making. The article emphasizes the importance of precise reporting and education to optimize cloud costs and suggests that organizations can achieve a mature alignment between SAM and FinOps by following a gradual three-step maturity model: "Crawl, Walk, Run."
Open iT, Inc.
The Clock Is Ticking: Getting the Most From Your S/4HANA Conversion
SAP has been encouraging customers to transition from on-prem to HANA cloud, but there is debate about how many have already done so. The article mentions that despite SAP's efforts, many customers are still using SAP ERP ECC, and the company has introduced changes to reduce credits for S/4HANA conversions over time. SAP's primary product for the future is "RISE with SAP," with an emphasis on cloud options, and on-premises solutions are not seen as the future.
Hayley Salyer
Why SIEMs Struggle to Monitor the Cloud
SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) systems struggle to effectively monitor the cloud due to challenges in collecting and normalizing data from various cloud providers, fragmented deployments, transfer costs, and data sovereignty regulations. These operational issues can hinder security operations' visibility and efficiency. To address these challenges, cloud-native SIEMs with federated search capabilities are recommended, enabling unified visibility and searching without imposing additional burdens on network and security teams in hybrid network environments.
Thousands of routers and cameras vulnerable to new 0-day attacks by hostile botnet
Researchers from networking firm Akamai have discovered two new zero-day vulnerabilities in routers and video recorders being exploited to create a hostile botnet for distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. These previously unknown vulnerabilities allow for remote execution of malicious code when the affected devices use default administrative credentials. The attackers have been using these zero-days to compromise devices and infect them with the Mirai botnet, capable of launching large-scale DDoS attacks.
Dan Goodin
