The ITAM Roundup: 12/17/23
Broadcom ends VMware perpetual license sales, testing customers and partners
Broadcom, which recently acquired VMware, has shifted VMware's business model to be subscription-based, no longer selling perpetual licenses as of December 11. VMware will also no longer sell support and subscription (SnS) for products with perpetual licenses. This change is part of Broadcom's strategy to increase VMware's EBITDA from $4.7 billion to $8.5 billion in three years, primarily through a shift to subscription-based offerings. Customers with existing perpetual licenses can continue to use them, but when their SnS terms end, they won't receive support.
Scharon Harding
Dropbox spooks users with new AI features that send data to OpenAI when used
Dropbox faced criticism after it was discovered that a new setting was enabled by default, allowing Dropbox data to be shared with OpenAI for an experimental AI-powered search feature. However, Dropbox clarified that data is only shared when users actively use the feature and that user data shared with third-party AI partners is not used to train AI models and is deleted within 30 days. Despite assurances, some users were upset about the default setting, prompting Dropbox CEO Drew Houston to apologize for customer confusion and clarify that the setting does not automatically send any customer data to a third-party AI service.
Benj Edwards
AWS re:Invent 2023 takeaways: What you need to know to win the cloud game
Amazon Web Services (AWS) showcased its commitment to meaningful AI innovation at AWS re:Invent 2023, introducing various AI innovations, including Amazon Q chat interface, AWS Graviton4 and Trainium2 chips for improved AI workloads, and Amazon Bedrock for generative AI applications. AWS also emphasized the importance of cloud governance for customers, introducing services like AWS AppFabric and AWS Security Lake to manage security data lakes for third-party SaaS applications. Additionally, AWS promoted proactive FinOps for cost efficiency and introduced the Cloud Optimization and Management Service (COMS) to help customers manage cloud costs effectively and improve operational efficiency.
Nick Pinkman, Darren Fedewa
First CHIPS Act grant nets $35 million for BAE
The Biden administration is granting $35 million to BAE Systems to upgrade its New Hampshire plant, which produces computer chips for military aircraft, as part of the CHIPS and Science Act's initial allocation. This bipartisan effort aims to advance domestic semiconductor development and manufacturing in the US with over $52 billion in funding. The investment reflects the growing importance of semiconductors in national defense, as the US seeks to increase its semiconductor production capacity in response to a decrease in its global market share and China's rising involvement in chip manufacturing.
Sascha Brodsky
The Future of IT Asset Management: 9 ITAM Trends For 2024
The corporate focus on IT optimization, including asset utilization and IT Asset Management operations, is influencing trends for 2024. Key trends include ensuring the basics of ITAM are correctly implemented, understanding how increasing complexity impacts ITAM, emphasizing Cloud Management, incorporating AI-enabled capabilities, improving employee experience, and more:
Sophie Danby
5 Best Practices for Microsoft 365 Offboarding
Secure offboarding of employees from Microsoft 365 is crucial for protecting sensitive data and ensuring efficient use of IT resources. Best practices for Microsoft 365 offboarding include immediately revoking access to all Microsoft 365 applications and resources, resetting passwords or blocking account sign-ins, moving ex-employees' OneDrive data to a safe location, removing deprovisioned employees from all groups and channels, and reassigning or reclaiming unused Microsoft 365 app licenses to optimize costs. Automation tools like Zluri can help streamline these offboarding processes and enhance security measures.
Ritish Reddy
Why Steering Committees Fail to Engage (and 5 Ways to Hold Them Accountable)
Effective transformational leadership involves leveraging the power of steering committees, but many leaders fail to hold these committees accountable. Common reasons for steering committees failing to engage include misaligned motivation, uncertainty, and a lack of outreach from transformation leaders.
To address these issues, leaders can ensure committee members understand the case for change, have mentors or coaches, incorporate accountability metrics, and follow five key practices to hold steering committees accountable. Check out the article to learn more about these best practices.
Ted Rogers
How FinOps and ITAM Teams Can Work Together in Real-Life Scenarios
In the rapidly evolving technology landscape, businesses are increasingly adopting cloud services to streamline operations and reduce costs. Collaboration between ITAM & FinOps is essential for many things: optimizing resource utilization, measuring unit costs, implementing chargeback, enforcing cloud policy and governance, and more:
Hayley Salyer
The Convergence of Shadow IT & Software License Management
Shadow IT refers to the use of unauthorized hardware or software within an organization, driven by factors like enhanced productivity, cost reduction, bypassing bureaucracy, and ease of use. Some strategies for addressing this challenge are enhanced oversight, policy development, regular audits, and provision of more suitable tools. Additionally, user experience is key in countering Shadow IT. Check out the article for additional guidance to help simplify software license management and mitigate shadow IT challenges.
Kenneth P. Ragpala
Why Microsoft is Doubling Down on Copilots & Why EWS Being Deprecated: The Practical 365 Podcast S4 E10
Steve Goodman
IT Operations Management (ITOM) vs. IT Service Management (ITSM): Key Comparisons
IT Operations Management (ITOM) focuses on the technical aspects of managing IT infrastructure and systems, including the planning, provisioning, and management of IT resources, networking, IT infrastructure, and digital services. On the other hand, IT Service Management (ITSM) is more concerned with delivering and supporting IT services to meet the needs of the organization and its end users, including design, delivery, and support of IT services. ITOM deals with the technical management of IT, while ITSM aims to optimize end-to-end IT service delivery, and both have their own processes, benefits, challenges, and can be combined to enhance IT operations and service delivery.
MongoDB says customer data was exposed in a cyberattack
MongoDB has reported a security incident involving unauthorized access to its corporate systems, which exposed customer account metadata and contact information. The company does not believe that customer data stored in MongoDB Atlas was exposed. MongoDB recommends customers enable multi-factor authentication, rotate passwords, and be vigilant against potential targeted phishing and social engineering attacks.
