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St. Cloud hockey games scheduled in honor of player killed in crash – SC Times

Post author By Dr Hoster
Post date December 27, 2022

ST. CLOUD St. Cloud Crush Hockey will be hosting two hockey games in remembrance of Charlie Boike, a 17-year-old Technical High School student who died in a car accident Dec. 10 on his way home from his high school hockey game.

The games will take place on Dec. 30 and "will transform the annual battle between cross-town rivals St. Cloud Crush and St. Cloud Cathedral into a celebration of Charlies impact on both teams, their families, and the community," said the St. Cloud Crush Boys Hockey Booster Club in a press release Thursday.

A junior varsity game will start at 3 p.m. and the varsity game will start at 7 p.m. at the St. Cloud Municipal Athletic Complex.

There is no better way to celebrate Charlies approach to life than his friends and teammates competing in the arena that houses so many fond memories, said St. Cloud Youth Hockey Association President Jared Smith.

More:Tech High School hockey player dies in rollover crash

Community members are asked to wear white clothing to the game in celebration of Boike's life and impact. The first 1,000 attendees will receive a commemorative t-shirt at the door.

You can buy tickets to the games at the door or online at http://www.stcloudmac.com.

A GoFundMe started to support the Boike family surpassed $57,500 as of Thursday morning, exceeding the family's initial $10,000 goal. According to a post on the site, the family is planning to create a Charlie Boike Memorial Fund that will help others play hockey, whether it be with equipment, registration costs, team fees or more.

"They hope to help as many kids experience the sport that meant so much to Charlie and so much to the entire Boike family," wrote organizer Amber Hedin, speaking on behalf of the family. "They want to have Charlie live on (through) so many as they take the ice."

Becca Most is a cities reporter with the St. Cloud Times. Reach her at bmost@stcloudtimes.com. Follow her on Twitter at@becca_most.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to sctimes.com today.

St. Cloud hockey games scheduled in honor of player killed in crash - SC Times

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The Global IT Services Market size is expected to reach $2,013.6 billion by 2028, rising at a market growth of 8.4% CAGR during the forecast period -…

Post author By Dr Hoster
Post date December 27, 2022

ReportLinker

In addition to assisting with other business operations, corporations employ information technology (IT) services to create, manage, and deliver information. Services include hardware deployment, training, consulting, software development, and systems integration.

New York, Dec. 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global IT Services Market Size, Share & Industry Trends Analysis Report By Type, By Enterprise Size, By Industry, By Regional Outlook and Forecast, 2022 - 2028" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06374139/?utm_source=GNW Outsourcing, managed services, security services, data management, and cloud computing are some of the areas that make up the overall market for IT services.

Generally, an industry companys profitability depends on its capacity to develop its technical know-how and improve its services. Both smaller and larger businesses can compete in this sector. While larger businesses tend to offer a wider range of services and have a global presence, smaller businesses typically target specialized markets and cater their products more closely to the demands of their target audiences.

Cloud computing, which stimulates IT-related innovation, is the section of IT services that are developing at the fastest rate. Some IT services, such as hardware installation, support, and maintenance, are frequently outsourced on demand since they frequently involve replacing or repairing out-of-date equipment.

Consumer hardware will be properly disposed of by a qualified provider, who will also format hard drives to remove all potentially sensitive data. Computers, hard drives, printers, modems, and routers that the company needs to run smoothly are typically installed by IT departments. On the other hand, there is a constant need for repairs anywhere there is a ton of hardware equipment. Error troubleshooting is a part of the repair.

COVID-19 Impact Analysis

In recent years, the interconnection of the global economy has increased substantially. Indicators of the negative effects of various containment-related actions such as Disruptions in the global supply chain, a decline in demand for imported products and services, and an increase in the unemployment rate. The financial market has grown more volatile as a result of historically low-interest rates, huge decreases in equity and commodity prices, and heightened risk aversion. Most organizations have stabilized and enhanced their infrastructure to improve operations and facilitate operations during the pandemic.

Market Growth Factors

Demand for cloud-based it services is growing

The majority of businesses and industries have replaced on-premises software with cloud-based software. The cloud-based software enables access to all enterprise applications at a reasonable cost and without requiring a significant initial investment in software or hardware. Similarly, the adoption of cloud computing facilitates the expansion and contraction of commercial operations. Consequently, cloud-based IT services have become a more advantageous and cost-effective option for SMBs in recent years. In addition, cloud computing provides SMBs with new business possibilities and opportunities.

Increased Investment Return With Reduced Infrastructure And Storage Costs

The initial implementation and ongoing costs of hosting data on-premises are a problem for businesses. In addition, labor expenses and downtime difficulties are additional challenges for businesses. Existing rivalry and global economic conditions have hastened the adoption of cost-effective business model restructuring strategies. Increasing enterprise embrace of digital transformation and speeding customer experience are other drivers driving the growth of cloud computing services, which eventually reduce enterprise costs.

Market Restraining Factors

Insufficient Standardization

The effectiveness of IT services in businesses depends on a variety of criteria and varies significantly between firms. Similarly, each organization is unique and, as a result, utilizes specialized technologies to satisfy its distinct business needs. Due to the lack of standardization, it is difficult for businesses to assess the viability of IT services based on the success rate of the same technology in another organization. A typical IT service setup may cost up to $75 to $300 per user. Insufficient IT services may therefore place a significant cost strain on enterprises.

Type Outlook

Based on the Type, the IT Services Market is segmented into Security Outsourcing, IT Support, Managed Security Services, Systems and Network Implementations, and Security Strategy and Planning. The security outsourcing segment witnessed a significant revenue share in the IT services market in 2021. The prevalence of cyberattacks, which is constantly rising, is a major worry for business owners everywhere. In-house IT security is more expensive than security outsourcing. As a result, small and medium-sized organizations typically choose to contract out their security needs.

Industry Outlook

On the basis of Industry, the IT Services market is segmented into BFSI, Telecommunication, Healthcare, Retail, Manufacturing, Government, and Others. The Telecommunication segment recorded a substantial revenue share in the IT services market in 2021. Communication service providers were confronted with pertinent issues associated with the optimization of an existing company and the hunt for new niches to offer innovative services. The market shifts fundamentally owing to alterations in the nature and methods of providing new services.

Organization Size Outlook

By organization size, the IT Service Market is divided into Large Enterprises and Small & Medium Enterprises. The small & medium enterprises segment registered a significant revenue share in the IT services market in 2021. It improves small businesses competitiveness, operational efficiency, and growth. Internationally, company executives are placing a larger focus on the adoption of information technology to develop dynamic capabilities.

Regional Outlook

Region-wise, the IT Services Market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and LAMEA. The Asia pacific segment acquired a promising growth rate in the IT services market in 2021. The increase in IT service spending by businesses in the Asia Pacific region coincides with COVID-19 accelerating digital transformation and the shift to the cloud and a record-high level of demand for IT services globally. The majority of businesses in the Asia Pacific region have expanded their investments in cutting-edge technology to quickly implement and respond to market changes.

The major strategies followed by the market participants are Partnerships. Based on the Analysis presented in the Cardinal matrix; Accenture PLC and IBM Corporation are the forerunners in the IT Services Market. Companies such as Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Infosys Limited and Capgemini SE are some of the key innovators in IT Services Market.

The market research report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the market. Key companies profiled in the report include Microsoft Corporation, Accenture PLC, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation, Wipro Limited, HCL Technologies Ltd. (HCL Enterprises), Capgemini SE, IBM Corporation, Infosys Limited, DXC Technology Company, and NTT Data Corporation.

Recent strategies deployed in IT Services Market

Partnerships, Collaborations & Agreements

Oct-2022: DXC Technology formed a partnership with Dynatrace, which provides a software intelligence platform based on artificial intelligence and automation. Under this partnership, Dynatrace Software Intelligence Platform would become the selected DXC Platform X software for monitoring and artificial intelligence-powered automated management of a consumers IT estate. Moreover, the addition of Dynatrace, with its cooperative and smart view across software products and technologies, helps reinforce predictive AIOps abilities and drive cost optimization.

Oct-2022: Capgemini joined hands with Microsoft Corporation, an American multinational technology corporation. Together, the companies aimed to provide a first-of-its-kind, serverless, cloud-native, Azure-based digital twin platform, known as ReflectIoD. Additionally, ReflectIoD is a safe, highly scalable platform that would utilize best-in-class architecture and technological features from the Azure portfolio to assist transform an organizations procedures and maintenance effectiveness, allowing intelligent industry and operating sustainable business value.

Oct-2022: Accenture partnered with Google Cloud, an American multinational technology company. This partnership aimed to increase their respective talent, increase their joint abilities, create new solutions utilizing data and AI, and deliver improved support to help customers build a strong digital core and reimagine their companies on the cloud. Moreover, Cloud presents boundless opportunities for companies to be more creative and resilient.

May-2022: NTT DATA joined hands with NTT, a completely owned subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation. Through this collaboration, the companies aimed to integrate their system connectivity capabilities with NTT Ltd.s Edge to Cloud service operation abilities. Moreover, the integration would allow the business to combine IT services and Connectivity and react to increasingly complicated and various client needs on a global level by centrally creating a service offering necessary for digital transformation.

May-2022: IBM joined hands with Amazon Web Services, which provides on-demand cloud computing platforms. Through this collaboration, the companies aimed to provide IBM Software-as-a-Service on AWS. However, the presence of the IBM SaaS portfolio on AWS would permit businesses to concentrate on providing clients value without concern about IT infrastructure management, allowing innovation at a faster clip.

Mar-2022: Cognizant joined hands with Microsoft, a technology corporation creating computer software. Through this collaboration, Cognizant aimed to improve its Multiphase Solutions Rollout, helping its expanding healthcare practice and capability to modernize payers and suppliers with digital abilities.

Mar-2022: HCL Technologies signed an agreement with NEORIS, a global digital accelerator that co-creates disruptive solutions. This agreement would bring special abilities to customers in global markets, including the capabilities to improve application utilization time, business management operations, and combined IT services. Additionally, the companies aimed to boost up digital transformation, reduce risks, assign teams based on product development, develop a zero-incident culture and save expenses.

Feb-2022: HCL Technologies partnered with VMware, an American cloud computing and virtualization technology company. This partnership would expand its Cloud Smart portfolio of services powered by VMware technology to include support for VMware Telco Cloud 5G Core and VMware Telco Cloud RAN. Moreover, this collaboration would provide combined solutions for service providers across the world.

Dec-2021: NTT DATA teamed up with AWS, a subsidiary of Amazon. Together the companies aimed to utilize their proven track record and high delivery abilities in Japan to establish a supreme position in digital business, advance their enterprise on a global scale, and contribute to business development for their clients. Moreover, NTT DATA would reinforce a framework to support customers that consider shifting their IT infrastructure to the cloud.

Nov-2021: Wipro Limited came into a partnership with TEOCO, a privately owned telecom software vendor. Through this partnership, the companies aimed to create solutions that help communication service providers (CSPs) enhance network automation, efficiency, flexibility, and dependability. Moreover, TEOCO would help CSPs create a cooperative process to ensure service quality, network performance, and defect management, eventually allowing the rapid adoption of next-generation services.

Dec-2021: Wipro partnered with HERE Technologies, the location data, and the technology platform. This partnership would deliver location-based services, to customers from Telecom, Energy & Utilities, Transport & Logistics, Manufacturing, and Automotive industry verticals.

Nov-2020: Tata Consultancy Services came into a partnership with Zoho, a developer of web-based business tools. This partnership aimed to deliver premium IT Service Management, Customer Relationship Management, and e-Commerce solutions to solve issues for large companies. Additionally, Partnership would deliver end-to-end business solutions to global businesses and mid-market enterprises.

Jun-2020: NTT DATA joined hands with Microsoft, an American multinational technology corporation. Under this collaboration, companies aimed to combine NTT DATAs best-in-class global IT services with Microsofts authorized cloud platform, AI technologies, and offering of productivity tools aimed at supporting business digitally transform, growing efficiencies of business productivity and procedures.

Mergers & Acquisition

Oct-2022: Accenture completed the acquisition of Stellantis, World Class Manufacturing Training & Consulting Business. This acquisition would reinforce Accentures abilities in business process optimization. Additionally, the acquisition permits Accenture to combine the World Class Manufacturing (WCM) process in its solutions that permit clients to convert their manufacturing process and supply chain networks to be more endurable, efficient, and robust.

Sep-2022: Accenture took over The Beacon Group, a growth strategy consulting firm serving Fortune 500 corporations. This acquisition would enhance Accentures abilities that permit C-suite leaders to make fact-based conclusions for segmentation, targeting, and ways to growth powered by market insights and flexible solutions to manage enterprise transformations at scale.

Sep-2022: IBM completed the acquisition of Dialexa, a foremost digital product engineering consulting service. This acquisition would improve IBMs hybrid cloud and AI abilities, and boost growth for customers. However, the acquisition is expected to enhance IBMs product engineering expertise and provide end-to-end digitalization services for consumers.

Apr-2022: NTT DATA completed the acquisition of Business Services and Technologies OOD, one of the foremost SAP service providers. This acquisition aimed to improve flexibility and scalability in international shoring systems in consulting and managed services and highlight the claim of multinational capacities, and local proximity. Under this acquisition, NTT is developing its shoring portfolio in the European Union.

Feb-2022: IBM completed the acquisition of Neudesic, a foremost U.S. cloud services consultancy. This acquisition would significantly expand IBMs offering of hybrid multi-cloud services and further enhance the companys hybrid cloud and AI strategy. Moreover, Neudesic brings deep Azure data engineering, cloud, and data analytics expertise to boost customers hybrid cloud journeys.

Mar-2021: Accenture acquired REPL Group, a U.K.-based technology consultancy. This acquisition aimed to expand Accentures abilities that help customers across retail and adjacent industries transform their supply chains and procedures and provide seamless consumer and employee experiences. Moreover, REPL utilizes its deep retail expertise, along with cutting-edge technology skills, to support global businesses and provide sustainable value.

Mar-2020: Infosys completed the acquisition of Simplus, one of the fastest-growing Salesforce Platinum Partners. Under this acquisition, Infosys further advances its standing as an end-to-end Salesforce enterprise cloud services and solutions provider, delivering clients unparalleled abilities for cloud-first digital transformation.

Product Launches & Product Expansion

Mar-2022: HCL Technologies introduced Quality of Experience (QoE) and Energy Savings applications, new 5G applications to help mobile network operators optimize the customer experience. The applications improve network performance in places with high traffic congestion, such as city centers and large sporting events, HCLs QoE application enables mobile network operators to deliver seamless, fast, and dependable 5G services, by utilizing artificial intelligence (AI). Additionally, HCLs Energy Savings application decreases the operating costs of providing 5G, utilizing AI-based network automation abilities.

Dec-2021: Wipro introduced VisionEDGE Solution, a digital signage and omnichannel ad solution. The Wipro VisionEDGE delivers a centralized platform for innovation and enables brands to control and stream content to heighten consumer attention. Moreover, Wipro VisionEdge would utilize the potential of Wipro FullStride Cloud Services to provide customers the capability to unlock new enterprise value from their brand belongings and develop new income streams.

Apr-2021: IBM introduced revamped model ESS 5000, the IBM Elastic Storage System (ESS) family of high-performance solutions that are highly flexible and developed for easy deployment. The ESS 5000 provides 10% greater storage ability and the new ESS 3200 which delivers dual the read performance of its prototype.

Scope of the Study

Market Segments covered in the Report:

By Type

Managed Security Services

Security Outsourcing

IT Support

Systems & Network Implementations

Security Strategy & Planning

By Enterprise Size

Large Enterprises

Small & Medium Enterprises

By Industry

BFSI

Telecommunication

Healthcare

Retail

Manufacturing

Government

Others

By Geography

North America

o US

o Canada

o Mexico

o Rest of North America

Europe

o Germany

o UK

o France

o Russia

o Spain

o Italy

o Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

o China

o Japan

o India

o South Korea

o Singapore

o Malaysia

o Rest of Asia Pacific

LAMEA

o Brazil

o Argentina

o UAE

o Saudi Arabia

o South Africa

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The Global IT Services Market size is expected to reach $2,013.6 billion by 2028, rising at a market growth of 8.4% CAGR during the forecast period -...

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Looking for a Surefire Winner in the Next Bull Market? Buy Amazon … – The Motley Fool

Post author By Dr Hoster
Post date December 27, 2022

You can easily find numerous predictions online that a new bull market is coming. I personally don't expect we'll see the stock market surge in the near term. Warren Buffett doesn't seem to think a bull market is imminent, either.

However, you can rest assured that there will be a new bull market on the way -- at some point. It's not too soon to begin planning your investment strategy for the eventual and inevitable stock market comeback. If you're looking for a surefire winner in the next bull market, here's a compelling case to buy Amazon (AMZN 1.74%) stock.

You've probably heard the old saying that "history doesn't repeat itself" more times than you can count. While it's true, the adage shouldn't be construed to mean that we can't learn from the past to gain a better understanding of how the future might unfold. I think it's helpful to look at how Amazon stock has performed in previous bull markets.

Amazon conducted its initial public offering (IPO) in the midst of the dot-com boom. The chart below shows how the stock performed as compared to the S&P 500 from its IPO in 1997 through the end of 1999.

AMZN data by YCharts.

To say that Amazon outperformed the S&P during the heady dot-com bull market is an understatement. However, Amazon (like many other tech stocks) began to decline significantly well before the S&P 500 entered into a bear market.

But the e-commerce stock started to rally well in advance of the S&P's next bull market, too.Amazon again trounced the S&P 500 in the bull market that began in late 2002.

AMZN data by YCharts.

When the bear market associated with the Great Recession began, Amazon stock began to fall before the S&P did and plunged much more deeply. As it did in the previous cycle, though, Amazon's shares rebounded sooner than the major index. The stock also delivered a much greater gain during the subsequent 11-year bull market.

AMZN data by YCharts.

There's been a clear pattern for Amazon stock in the past. It falls well before the S&P 500 enters a bear market. It begins to rebound well before the S&P does. And it rises a lot more than the index does in the following bull market.

Maybe Amazon will break this cycle in the next bull market. But is there any reason to expect that it will? I don't think so.

Some might point out that, unlike in the past, the company's growth is slowing. However, the reasons why Amazon's growth is slowing appear to be primarily related to the highest inflation rates in four decades. If you believe that the next bull market will be accompanied by lower inflation (which seems to be a good bet), Amazon's biggest current headwinds shouldn't be so problematic.

The reality is that Amazon still has a huge competitive moat. No other player comes close to beating Amazon in e-commerce. The company's brand and infrastructure are simply unmatched. Amazon also reigns as the leader in the cloud-hosting market, a position that it doesn't appear likely to relinquish anytime soon.

Growth opportunities for Amazon are easy to find. E-commerce only made up 14.1% of total retail sales in the U.S. in the third quarter of 2022. There's more room to run for the cloud-hosting market, especially as artificial intelligence systems advance in capabilities. Amazon's digital advertising business is growing by leaps and bounds. Don't forget new markets, notably including healthcare.

One reason why Amazon stock has beaten the S&P 500 in bull markets is that it gets beaten down a lot more in bear markets. That's exactly what has happened this time around.

But investors should recognize that Amazon stock has never been this cheap -- at least not based on share price-to-projected free cash flow. The last time Amazon's shares were down this much from the previous high was in early 2009. And we know what happened afterward.

No one knows for sure when a new bull market is coming. Make no mistake, though, the stock market will roar again. When it does, Amazon should be a surefire winner.

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Keith Speights has positions in Amazon.com. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon.com. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Looking for a Surefire Winner in the Next Bull Market? Buy Amazon ... - The Motley Fool

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Year end note from Redington’s key business heads – CRN … – CRN.in

Post author By Dr Hoster
Post date December 27, 2022

Digital PrintingRamesh Kalpathy, VP, Digital Printing, Redington Limited

3D printing has become a popular manufacturing technology due to the time andcost savings it offers in design development, prototyping and production. Thefinished products also generate less waste and showcase increased effectiveness.Redington aims to democratize digital manufacturing and 3D printing acrossindustries for effective and precise product design and production.

Redington Limited has partnered with Wipro 3D for the distribution of the newlylaunched polymer 3D printer across the country, which will boost and support theefforts to democratize 3D printing via indigenous products in India. The collaborationwill accelerate the adoption of additive manufacturing technology across industrieswhich will also support Wipro 3Ds foray into indigenous design & development of 3Dprinters, with its dense distribution network across MSMEs, Education Institutes & Industrial firms.

MobilityAthreya K Prasad, Group Head- AMG, Redington Limited

With a presence of about two decades in the mobility business, Redington has been part of theevolution of this category in India from a nascent stage. Its mobility business offers a portfolio of world-class brands and products including Smartphones, Wearables, and accessories. It partnerswith the best of brands and is instrumental in evolving several GTMs in association with its brand partners. It integrates multiple Omni channel touch points to provide end customers a seamlessconsumer experience, with no technology friction, in terms of buying, payments and timed-delivery.

SolarPradeep Srikanthan, Vice President and SBU Head, Redington Limited

Governments around the world are focusing on sustainable development andrenewable energy, which is driving demand for solar solutions. Companies are alsolooking to decarbonize their business processes, which is likely to accelerate thedeployment of clean energy. Indias renewable energy capacity has more thandoubled in the last five years, with solar energy expanding almost five times. As Indiaaims to become a net-zero economy by 2070, the democratization and ease ofadoption of solar products at a domestic scale will be crucial.

CloudRakshit Bhatt, Head Cloud, Business Group, Redington Limited

The adoption of cloud technology is increasingly growing as economies recover fromthe impact of the pandemic. New trends in cloud computing such as hybrid cloud,personal cloud technologies are on the rise, due to the return to office trend. As perindustry forecasts, the global cloud services market is expected to grow at 20.7% in2023, which is higher than the 18.8% growth registered in 2022.

Redington enables cloud implementation across industries for all company sizes. Its partnership with hyper scalers like AWS, Microsoft and Google Cloud, integrated SIpartnership network helps businesses to avail services like Cloud adoption,assessment, modernization, optimization, automation and operations along withhybrid hosting models while ensuring a secure transition. Migration to the cloud is ajourney and will continue in 2023, as businesses will accelerate their inclinationtoward IT modernization initiatives and look to adopt additional cloud services.

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Year end note from Redington's key business heads - CRN ... - CRN.in

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Bank of England mulls future regulatory oversight over Ethereum … – Ledger Insights

Post author By Dr Hoster
Post date December 27, 2022

This week theBank of Englandpublished ablog postsummarizing its analysis of the governance of public blockchains. It asks how one should govern a blockchain that becomes a critical piece of financial infrastructure. The focus was on permissionless blockchains and, for now Ethereum, although it notes that it does not consider the blockchain as critical. Yet.

In the traditional financial system, critical financial infrastructure is regulated to deliver an appropriate level of responsibility, accountability, and control, says the blog post. So, there is a question as to what appropriate regulatory oversight of a blockchain could entail, were it to become a more critical piece of infrastructure in the financial system.

It pointed to the Ethereum Merge, a highly risky move from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake to secure the network. Frankly, its hard to criticize the transition at a technical or process level, and one has to question whether conventional institutions could have handled it better.

However, thats not what the Bank is concerned about. It wants to know what would have happened if something went wrong. Who would have taken responsibility and would be accountable for the financial loss? Wed hazard an answer on the loss: the token holders.

The Bank also mentioned that the UK is looking to extend responsibilities to critical third parties involved in the financial sector, such as cloud hosting companies.

Many in the crypto world are concerned that the move from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake makes the network more susceptible to oversight.

On the flip side, the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision also has concerns about permissionless blockchains. Digital securities are treated (more or less) in the same way as conventional securities for Basel III risk assessments. These lower risk crypto-assets are classified in Group 1 compared to cryptocurrencies that fall under the higher risk Group 2.

Last week the Basel Committee published thefinal version of the crypto-asset rules. It states, The Committee will continue to reflect on whether the risks posed by cryptoassets that use permissionless blockchains can be sufficiently mitigated to allow for their inclusion in Group 1 and, if so, what adjustments to the classification conditions would be needed.

Digressing from the Banks blog post, wed like to point to other networks that have been free from oversight. And how there could also be new permissioned blockchain networks that also become powerful and are not directly regulated.

Take the example of SWIFT. It isnot a payment systemand hence is not covered by conventional payment regulations. You read that correctly. At a technical level, SWIFT simply transmits messages across its network. It doesnt actually make any payments. As a result, until 1998, it had a free pass from regulators. At that point, the central banks concluded that it was too large and important and hence needed to be overseen by central banks as a critical service provider.

And thats how the Bank would view Ethereum if it became critical.

As a side observation, the choice of how a blockchain network is structured is critical to its ability to grow unencumbered by regulation.

Take the example ofFnality, the permissioned payment network backed by 17 financial institutions. Its chosen path is to have an omnibus central bank account, where its shareholder banks deposit money which is then tokenized for on-chain payments. This choice is the result of the goal to create a single liquidity pool that a bank can use for several applications and platforms.

However, as a result,Fnalityhas to get clearance from every central bank in any jurisdiction in which it plans to operate. Thats a slow painful process. It is already designated as a systemic payment provider in the UK, and the Bank of Englanddelayed its planned 2022launch.

In contrast, SingaporesPartior, in which JP Morgan is one of four founding shareholders, does not have a central bank account. Instead, its the network operator in which banks have nodes. So its far more like SWIFT. As a result, Partior is going to be able to expand relatively quickly.

Thats not to say the Partior route is better than the Fnality route. Theyre both targeting interbank payments but with different priorities.And in both cases, if something went wrong, the legal liability would be clearer compared to Ethereum.

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Bank of England mulls future regulatory oversight over Ethereum ... - Ledger Insights

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The UAE’s economic horizons broadened in 2022, and more is in prospect – The National

Post author By Dr Hoster
Post date December 27, 2022

At the 2015 World Government Summit, President Sheikh Mohamed said: We think and plan for the next 50 years, and for the benefit of next generations, by building a diversified, solid and sustainable economy that does not depend only on traditional resources, and opens promising prospects that contribute to strengthen the foundations and capabilities of the nation.

Since those words nearly eight years ago, our national aspirations have been continually refined into focused, actionable plans, resulting in new trade and investment records as we chart a new, accelerated economic development path.

But while huge progress has been made, this is a nation that looks at achievements as milestones on a journey of continuous improvement. We are always looking at what comes next. This month, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, launched the governments new national vision, We The UAE 2031, saying that the country will maintain its position as an economic destination and focus on strengthening the UAEs economic partnerships with the world and consolidating its development model".

The ambition of the words is matched by the scale of the numbers involved. Over the next nine years, we aim to double the gross national product to Dh3 trillion ($810 billion), raise the value of non-oil foreign trade to Dh4 trillion, raise non-oil exports to Dh800 billion and increase the tourism sectors contribution to GDP to Dh450 billion.

We are confident we can get there. The total value of the UAEs non-oil trade between January and September this year reached Dh1.6 trillion, a near-20 per cent rise from the same period in 2021. Exports are climbing as a percentage of total trade, and the third quarter non-oil trade broke previous records, topping Dh580 billion. The UAEs foreign trade agenda is delivering unprecedented results and it encourages us to stretch for more.

Our status as a major trade hub is at the heart of our economic ambition. In 2022, we signed our first Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with India (Cepa), the worlds fastest-growing economy, and soon to be the worlds third largest, which has helped propel bilateral trade to $38.6 billion in the first nine months of 2022 almost exactly double the figure recorded in the same period of 2020.

We have also concluded Cepas with Indonesia, the worlds seventh-largest economy in terms of GDP, and Israel, the start-up nation that is home to a dynamic advanced technology ecosystem.

Advanced negotiations are under way with a number of other fast-growth economies, too, which will significantly affect trade volumes, exports and GDP.

We continue to pursue Cepas with nations in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America and position ourselves as a driver of a newly invigorated Global South, and a fulcrum between East and West. We are a global market and the gateway to the worlds fastest-growing economies.

Importantly, this activity is helping to attract new investments, new businesses, and new talent to the UAE.

Banking’s Future Requires Greater Confidence About The Cloud … – International Banker

Post author By Dr Hoster
Post date December 27, 2022

By Damon Clarke-Sutton, Director, UK Finance,Telehouse

Banks and financial institutions are among the most regulated organisations in the free world and are encouraged to take the question of risk extremely seriously.

This precautionary principle extends to IT architectures where the notion of if it aint broke, dont fix it holds sway. Change equates to risk and risk is something banks need to manage carefully. The penalties are high for breaches of regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley, MIFID II, and Basel III. The burdens of ensuring the highest levels of data security in line with regulatory requirements cause many banks to be reluctant to make any significant infrastructure or technical changes.

Yet in the contemporary climate of digital disruption, excessive conservatism threatens to be the undoing of any incumbent organisation. Irrespective of all the challenger brands entering the market, many of which were born in the cloud, changes in demand mean banks simply cannot afford to stand still. No organisation can.

The pressures for cloud-adoption

Banks own finance departments continue to put pressure on IT to expedite achievement of the cost-benefits from migration to cloud infrastructure. At the same time, banks must adapt their IT to meet another powerful business imperative the need to collaborate effectively with fintech innovators and niche solution-providers from all over the world. Many of these organisations are native to the cloud and provide their solutions as-a-service.

Far-reaching changes in consumer and business behaviour also demand that financial institutions have a robust infrastructure that enables them to adapt quickly and with maximum effectiveness. Covid-19 demonstrated the critical importance of organisational agility, which can be achieved with more flexible IT architectures. Every bank must be capable of change and those not continuously transforming will soon find themselves left on the side-lines.

The After you approach

Despite these obvious requirements and pressures, many banks prefer to sit back and wait and learn from competitors mistakes before embarking on significant digital transformation initiatives. Hesitation about fully embracing cloud is not down to a lack of will. In fact, many have already begun to modernise their outdated Legacy IT environments and switch to the cloud for scalability and reliability. On average, financial organisations now place 39 per cent of their IT infrastructure in the cloud according toTelehouse Research, projected to rise to 44 per cent within the next five years. Progress is patchy, however and many banks are only at the start of their transformation journey.

On-premises environments and poor cyber-security

Their biggest challenge is still security. While banks want to reap the benefits of cloud, no CTO or IT Director is willing to opt for a move that could open the organisation up to more threats and end a promising career. The penalties can indeed be high and regulatory compliance must be the top priority, making many reluctant to implement significant infrastructural or technical changes.

However, many finance professionals still have excessive faith in traditional on-premises infrastructure, failing to grasp how it can actually increase exposure to sophisticated cyber-attacks. Cloud security has advanced in leaps and bounds in recent years, with leading cloud providers investing heavily in a multitude of measures like zero trust verification, data encryption and access controls to ensure secure connections and full visibility of the data stored in each cloud environment.

Hybrid IT for banks the benefits

One of the major misconceptions among non-specialists in the financial world is that cloud migration means shifting all the assets, applications and systems to the cloud. A cloud-only approach, however, is rarely suitable.

Rather than plunging head-first into the cloud, banks need to explore the practicalities and benefits of adopting more hybrid approaches, for example with cloud and colocation. This allows institutions toidentify and take the right level of risk and establish what to outsource, when and how. The major advantage of hosting IT infrastructure in a colocation data centre is that financial institutions can control the migration process, stay on top of regulatory requirements and keep costs under control.

The benefits of running a hybrid IT architecture run much further. Through the deployment of a combination of cloud and colocation environments, banks can create a more resilient and secure foundation for growth, significant improvements in customer experience and the creation and development of new services. This is crucial as the retail and commercial banking markets continue to evolve in many directions and competition increases. Competitor organisations with leaner IT have higher levels of agility and can more easily pivot and adopt new solutions to meet changes in market demand or amplify their attractiveness to customers.

Cloud and colocation for big data analytics and AI

To increase market-share in such a challenging environment where customers demand more connected and personal experiences, incumbent banks need watertight IT infrastructure and faster cloud-adoption, even if it is not a total embrace of the cloud. With the current outdated legacy infrastructure, banks will continue to face the limitations of high costs, lack of flexibility and inability to respond rapidly to technological advances such as machine learning or artificial intelligence.

Shifting to modern hybrid environments, by contrast, will enable financial firms to realise all these benefits and progress faster with digital transformation strategies and innovation initiatives. A combination of colocation and cloud facilitates adoption of the latest technologies so banks can compete more effectively with digitally native players. Colocation can better support the computing requirements, data processing needs and real-time analysis that AI applications require, which in turn, can translate to firms adding new and attractive services more swiftly.

Colocation data centres can also provide access to leading cloud providers like Microsoft Azure and AWS, and enable financial firms to benefit from connected ecosystems of partners while extending network reach and reducing latency (the time it takes for a data packet to make the round trip between designated points). For AI and ML applications, low latency is often a make-or-break requirement.

5G mobile connectivity is often seen as an important piece of infrastructure for retail banking, enabling many new smartphone-based services for consumers. However, as is typically the case with any new wireless communications technology, the volume of data will rise significantly over time, putting more stress on backbone networks. To succeed, organisations must rapidly ingest and process data and this depends on having a connected, secure, scalable, flexible, resilient and low latency IT infrastructure.

Once a bank has the right balance between cloud and colocation, however, it can achieve innumerable fruitful collaborations with service providers (and regulators) to help future-proof processes, operations and business models. In the UK there are obvious advantages to choosing a data centre partner on the edge of the City, for example. Proximity means being able to conduct real-time big data analysis at low latency to improve the speed of transactions and online services, and ultimately, the entire customer experience.

What banks should aim for in cloud and colocation

While recognising no two organisations are alike, it is possible to say banking institutions and financial services providers should be aiming for at least a 50 per cent migration to the cloud to prevent them from being left behind. IT leaders within organisations should be working to ensure they have uninterrupted cloud access and highly reliable power provision so they can offer their boards peace-of-mind that key data, such as personal consumer information can be accessed securely at all times by employees.

The responsiveness that comes from fast access to data and analytics, allied to flexible infrastructure, will open financial institutions to a new level of opportunities in the era of truly digital banking and hyper-personalised microservices. Banks will have frontline access to more advanced analytics, enjoy greater resilience, and new business-critical connections that boost long-term growth. Overcoming cloud-anxiety to mature their infrastructure will improve business performance from top to bottom and create a greater appetite for innovation that will ultimately shape a brighter future for the sector.

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Banking's Future Requires Greater Confidence About The Cloud ... - International Banker

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No, You Havent Won a Yeti Cooler From Dicks Sporting Goods – WIRED

Post author By Dr Hoster
Post date December 27, 2022

Congratulations: Youve been chosen for a Yeti Hopper M20 Cooler. Youve been chosen many, many times. Its right there, in your inbox.

The email is from Dicks Sporting Goods. Never mind that it reads asDicks Sporting Goods, minus the apostrophe, orDicks SportingGoods, orDicks SPORTING Goods. Search for Dicks in your Gmail and youll find it. Search for Dicks on Twitter andwell, something else might come up. But then youll see them, the complaints from people who, like you, have been getting incessant emails from Dicks Sporting Goods about the Yeti Hopper M20. The emails urge the receipts to click the link and claim their prize.

You should not click on any part of this email. The Dicks Sporting Goods/Yeti Hopper Cooler contest isnt legitimate, and it does not originate from the sporting goods brand. Its a phishing scam, something that most of us have encountered at some point in our online lives.

But its an especially pernicious form of spam, one that has circumvented some of Googles robust anti-spam tools for Gmail. Google has acknowledged that this spam campaign is particularly aggressive. A security research firm that has been closely tracking this latest batch of spam told WIRED that the techniques being used are fairly novel, and point to a future in which more email spam could slip past even the most sophisticated anti-fraud systems.

We train [machine learning] models to look at all of the different elements of an email and decompose it, and for a brief period of time, that actually worked well in stopping spam, says Ryan Kalember, executive vice president of cybersecurity strategy at Proofpoint, a US-based security firm. But unfortunately, there are some effective ways to get around that. Whats happening now is, all the fancy machine-learning models just dont see where the bad stuff is in the emails, because of some clever redirection.

People who liberally use the Report Spam & Unsubscribe tool in Gmail might think that would put an end to the Yeti cooler emails; mark an email as spam enough times, and eventually it will go away. That hasnt worked in this case. Justin Watkins, a popular YouTuber,tweeted in frustration about this back in September, begging Google to fine-tune its filters and send the Yeti Hopper emails to spam after receiving the emails for several consecutive months. Its a cat-and-mouse thing, Watkins tells me. Ill mark it as spam and itll, like, disappear for a week, and then Ill get two or three a day again.

What the email spammers are doing now, according to Kalember, is creating a scheme where machine-learning models dont actually get to the point where they see the bad stuff in the email. Theyre using what he calls an HTML anchor technique, which is relatively rare. This differs from the old-school, well-worn ways for scammers to slip past spam filters, which might include rotating which cloud hosting service theyre using, or creating a URL redirect, where the person opening the email clicks on the link and is redirected to several other places on the web before they land on the malicious site. The new spam campaign relies on something more interesting, says Kalember. (Assuming you find email spam interesting and not infuriating.)

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No, You Havent Won a Yeti Cooler From Dicks Sporting Goods - WIRED

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Building security resilience in a hybrid workplace – The Tech Panda

Post author By Dr Hoster
Post date December 27, 2022

It started as a necessity during the pandemic and has now become a permanent fixture in most organizations. We are talking about the concept of remote working, which was a blessing for companies struggling to maintain a semblance of business continuity during the Covid-induced lockdowns in India and worldwide.

Though the pandemic is now in the rearview of most enterprises, remote or hybrid working continues to remain popular with companies and employees. And this does not always include their home but expands to resorts, coffee shops, airports, etc.

Recent global C-level research by LinkedIn found that 82 per cent of business leaders believe that hybrid working is here to stay for the longer term.

Another PwC survey May 2022 highlighted that almost a fifth (19 per cent) of the surveyed employees intend henceforth to work entirely remotely, whereas 37 per cent prefer a hybrid pattern, while just 22 per cent want to return to an office full-time.

Two divisions in every organization try their best to stay ahead of these trends and ensure that work goes, as usual, irrespective of where the employee works; the human resource and IT departments.

The challenge for the IT team is that irrespective of where the team works fromin the office, remotely or a hybrid mix of the twothey need to be aware of all hidden security risks that can potentially interrupt normal business operations.

While a hybrid workplace brings some security risks, many organizations embrace it because it also gives them operational benefits. Incidentally, the shift towards remote or hybrid workplace dynamics is when many companies realized the benefits of having a seamless endpoint security system in place. Simply put, endpoint security safeguards every end-user device, including desktops, laptops or mobile phones, from cyberattacks.

Pre-pandemic, most employees worked on devices connected to the companys network and were behind security layers on a secured VPN connection. Now, they are using their own devices, like mobile phones, connected to any available network, making them susceptible to attacks by malicious actors.

Working remotely outside an organizations secure perimeter could also result in poor working habits that exacerbate security risks. This includes using unsanctioned personal devices, which could cause data loss, unauthorized data sharing and even opening the gateway for cyberattacks.

Needless to say, it is more challenging to take care of remote employee security than to manage any on-site endpoints. Tech teams are kept on their toes, devising additional security measures to stay one step ahead of their nemesis, the cyber attackers. So, whether it is changing security policies, preventing the leakage of sensitive company information through personal employee devices or implementing systems that can monitor these endpoints without impacting performance, they are constantly on the go.

There are many facets of a hybrid workplace, and it is not limited to the physical presence of the employee or their device for work purposes. One can also consider how companies transitioned to the cloud, even in the pre-pandemic era, to ensure seamless and efficient business activity.

It all started with the advent of the public cloud and the foray of giants like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform. However, Covid-19 accelerated this shift to the cloud, be it a standalone or a hybrid multi-cloud infrastructure.

McKinsey states that by 2024, most enterprises expect $8 out of every $10 they spend on IT hosting to be in a public or private cloud environment. Research company Adapt also predicted that the share of IT storage and processing in the public cloud will rise to 47 per cent by 2023, an increase of 10 per cent over current levels.

However, some stumbling blocks continue to dot many organizations migration to the cloud network. Right on top of the list is economics, as they have to pick and choose which workloads they want to migrate based on its priority and need for instant accessibility.

In addition to evaluating the cost and time needed for migration, they need to look for options that allow them to adhere to certain regulatory compliance norms. This process is most evident in certain industries like the BFSI and Energy and Power sector, where specific data cannot leave the country due to data sovereignty and localization policies. This can be a massive challenge for cloud migration since these servers are often based outside of India.

Similarly, a company could have some tightly integrated legacy systems that are very difficult to move to the cloud without disrupting the existing workflow.

This is where organizations have realized one thing when it comes to the cloudthey cannot adopt a one-size-fits-all approach because it might not deliver the benefits they seek, especially in a hybrid environment. They need a solution that maps and matches their specific requirementand is scalable for future growth.

Most CISOs and CIOs are now seeking a complete protection solution that protects workloads and endpoints. They need it to work in real-time with precision in threat detection and an ability to be cloud-agnostic.

With the expansion of the threat landscape, they seek access to greater cross-surface visibility and an enterprise-grade prevention, detection, response, and hunting solution that is equipped to take real-time action across endpoint, cloud and identity management.

Fortunately, they can bank on brands like SentinelOne, an autonomous technology company, and its Singularity Platform. This system can instantly defend against cyberattacksperforming at a faster speed, greater scale, and higher accuracy than possible from any single human.

Already reputed brands like Aston Martin, Samsung, Havas, TGI Fridays, the State of Montana, Norwegian Airlines and Energy NOV have put their faith in the company to eliminate internal and external threats in an evolving world. Based on its Storyline technology, SentinelOnes Singularity XDR helps enterprises monitor, track, and contextualize all data across all enterprise endpoints, clouds, and identities.

In a world where economic uncertainty is now a reality, organizations demand higher ROI from their technology investments, particularly operational staples such as cybersecurity. They want these solutions to deliver unparalleled operational value, time-to-value and ROI and SentinelOne is all set to extend that.

Choosing a brand that will tick all these boxes will ensure peace of mind and also give better yield on their investment, all while securing the network.

Guest contributor Diwakar Dayal is the Managing Director & Country Manager for SentinelOne, India & SAARC, an autonomous cybersecurity platform company. Any opinions expressed in this article are strictly that of the author.

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Jennifer Gates Is On ‘Cloud 9’ About Baby Shower Hosted By Mom … – The Blast

Post author By Dr Hoster
Post date December 27, 2022

Soon-to-be mom, Jennifer Gates, expressed appreciation as she got everything she desired when she attended her baby shower.

The elite equestrian is the eldest daughter of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his ex-wife, Melinda Gates. However, Jennifer attended Stanford University, where she maintained her horseback riding career regardless and got to meet her husband, Nayel Nassar, who has a passion for equestrianism too. They tied the knot back in October of the previous year, and they are expecting their first child together.

After the couple confirmed the news of their pregnancy in November, fans figured out a baby shower for Jennifer was around the corner. Eventually, she gave her hundreds of followers insight into what that day looked like for her.

The 25-year-old seized the opportunity to share pictures on her Instagram that captured the efforts her mother and professionals put into the event. The first snap showed Jennifer in a peach-decorated room, standing in a burgundy gown while she held her baby bump as she looked down. Also, a little part of the Christmas tree lit up brightly was in view with lots of wrapped boxes at its foot.

The following image was pleasing to the eyesight; it featured a long hallway with multiple stunning chandeliers and elevated nude curtains from the ceilings that were parted to show the full size of the well-decorated tree at a small distance from the camera.

Somewhere else in those pictures dedicated to her baby shower was a precious moment when Jennifer was seated, looking away from the camera and smiling with her hand on her lap that displayed her wedding ring. She expressed her overwhelming emotion in her caption writing:

Still on cloud 9 after this baby shower Thank you to all the people who have given me and baby girl so much love from near and far and @melindafrenchgates for hosting this incredible evening. Our hearts are all so full.

The billionaire daughter shouted out the event planner in the concluding parts of her caption. She wrote, Also thank you to all creatives and wonderful people who put together this very special event-your talents continue to amaze me!

The host, Melinda, commented to build on her daughters feelings; it read, It was a perfect evening. Love you!. Likewise, the famous designer that was a significant part of the Gates eldest daughters wedding ceremony shared a comment saying, What an amazing love story that continues..XXv

Undoubtedly this excitement about the baby shower was anticipated as even the father and mother of the 25-year-old swelled with love when their daughter made her pregnancy public. In November, The Blast reported how Bill and Melinda reacted to Jenifers pregnancy announcement.

The mum of the 25-year-old raved in the comment section of her daughters post with the words, I couldnt be more excited to meet this little one and watch you two become parents. Still over the moon with the information, she reposted the delightful picture to her Instagram story.

On the other hand, the techie Billionaire father showed tremendous excitement as he reposted the announcement on his Instagram stories with the remarks PROUD .

As mentioned earlier, Jenifer and Nassar got married last year. The extraordinary ceremony occurred at the Gates family farm in Westchester, New York. The Blast shared details on the fairytale wedding ceremony.

The said event began on October 15 with just immediate families in attendance for the Islamic marriage. The main wedding event occurred the following Saturday in an open-air themed ceremony where the corona vaccine advocate walked his daughter down the aisle.

The belle of the ball dripped up in a long-sleeve off-white gown designed by Vera Wang. The groom looked good-looking in a well-tailored Armani tuxedo with a simple flower worn on the lapel of his jacket that matched his wifes bouquet.

Harry Hudson performed the song Yellow Lights, which the lovely couple danced to as their guests enjoyed a savory dinner. The satisfied bride shared on her Instagram a snapshot from the instant she and Nassar walked down the aisle with the words, My Universe.

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Jennifer Gates Is On 'Cloud 9' About Baby Shower Hosted By Mom ... - The Blast

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