Tag: covid-19

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Growing your career: permanent & freelance IT Consultants

The Advantages of Working On-Site in Times of COVID-19

The Advantages of Working On-Site in Times of COVID-19
Discover why you should try to spend at least some time in the office each week. These are the advantages of working on-site.

What are the advantages of working on-site in times of Covid-19? Even with COVID-19 pushing companies to adopt higher levels of telework, as an IT professional you can really benefit from the closer contact that comes with physically joining your team at the company’s premises.

Although it might not be your choice to make depending on your company’s policies, you should try to spend at least some time in the office each week whether it is for meetings or to work on your daily activities. These are the advantages of working on-site.

First of advantages of working at the office: a teamwork booster

Many companies prefer having their employees working from the office rather than remotely. The reasons behind this choice are numerous and tend to vary depending on the type of industry, the country’s regulations and company culture. It also depends on whether or not the company is able to facilitate a COVID-free space for employees to work safely.

The biggest advantage of working on site is that it makes it easier to interact and bond with the rest of the team, promoting integration and speeding up progress on your projects.

You can also take advantage of all the company’s amenities: the printer, the Internet network, the cafeteria, gym, etc. Small advantages which can contribute a great deal to your general well-being and job satisfaction.

A remedy for isolation

Remote workers often complain about the feeling of loneliness and isolation that comes with working only from home. Recent global lockdowns made us all quite aware of this problematic. It can be difficult to be alone in front of your computer all day long. Going to work at the office allows you to share your day with colleagues and set a stable rhythm for both life and work. 

It can be easy for home workers to become demotivated and procrastinate. Having to go into the office at fixed times and being able to leave once the job is finished allows for better time management while guaranteeing a real break between the private and professional worlds.

IT Pros: How to Work On Remote in the Post-Pandemic World

Develop stronger relationships

Working on-site gives you greater access to all the key interlocutors involved in the project and helps you not get stuck in case of doubt or lack of direction. But, most importantly, being physically present lets you develop stronger links with your colleagues and superiors and improves transparency.

Discover our special IT pros guide: IT Job Hunting Done Well: A Step-by-Step Guide

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Cybersecurity Tech Magazine

The State of Cybersecurity in 2020

The State of Cybersecurity in 2020
A surprising number of things can happen in a minute. Especially when it comes to cyber threats and their consequences. Quick overview. The state of cybersecurity in 2020

A surprising number of things can happen in a minute, especially when it comes to cyber threats and their consequences. Quick overview. The state of cybersecurity in 2020

Firstly, every 60 seconds, 375 attacks are unleashed upon the global community, costing the world economy $2.9 million. In other words, every single computer with an internet connection is targeted by malicious agents about 1.5 times per minute. A whooping 16,172 records are compromised.[1] Certainly not a promising picture if you are a business leader or oversee a company’s cybersecurity for a living.

As we celebrate cybersecurity awareness month to promote greater security and cyber hygiene, we would do well to keep in mind that every day should be cybersecurity awareness month. Therefore, we can all benefit from a deeper understanding of today’s most common threats and what we can do to protect our business systems from them.

Cybersecurity in 2020: the impact of the pandemic

The already complex world of enterprise security got further intricate with the advent of COVID-19. Also, the sudden shift to remote work has pushed company networks to the limit, opening a myriad of new potential points of entry for attackers to exploit. Additionally, the ensuing fear and confusion have given more leverage to attackers looking to deceive individual employees as a means to gain company-wide access. As they say: you are as strong as your weakest link. And hackers love that.

Cybsersecurity in 2020: the impact of the pandemic

Social engineering, the act of tricking someone by using their natural tendencies and emotional reactions, has acquired a whole new dimension of sophistication and finesse. Phishing emails disguised as governmental safety announcements, fake HR memos encouraging you to get acquainted with the office’s new cafeteria policy. And that is just the start two per cent of all COVID-related websites created in recent months contain malicious code. A seemingly small number until you realise there are billions of COVID-19 pages out there.[2]

Remote work is here to stay, and so are the advanced techniques that cybercriminals use. In fact, they will only get more refined in the months to come.    

A growing variety of cyber threats – Cybersecurity in 2020

In addition to the rising complexity of attacks, the sheer variety of techniques hackers use is a top concern for companies and cybersec professionals who are struggling to catch up with an ever-growing catalogue of threats. New forms of mobile malware alone, for instance, have grown 12% compared to last year. PowerShell-based malware, which leverages the Microsoft task automation and configuration management framework to carry out attacks without leaving any traces, grew by 1,902% over the same time period.[3]  

Also discover our article & interview: Leadership Failure: The Real Human Element Behind Cyber Attacks

Targeting the cloud

Cloud has become the backbone of the modern enterprise, and hackers are targeting it accordingly. The rise in attacks is being particularly felt in those industries which depend the most on the cloud for productivity. For example, threats aimed at the transportation and logistics sector increased by 1,350% in the first quarter of the year. Education experienced a 1,114% rise in attacks, with governmental organisations, manufacturing and financial services following behind.[4]    

The Top 10 Belgian Cloud Pros to Follow on Twitter

Most attacks are opportunistic in nature and involve the “spraying” of cloud accounts with stolen access credentials. The majority of access attempts came from either China, Iran or Russia. [5] 

Ransomware-as-a-service

While phishing and trojans are still behind most cyber attacks, ransomware continues to surge and is perhaps the most feared malware of them all. Its capacity to cripple an entire company’s operations in a matter of minutes, together with how difficult it can be to prevent these attacks in the first place, surely keeps many security specialists and IT managers awake at night. Also, threat actors are becoming increasingly sophisticated.

What started as attacks by individual hackers or small rogue groups has now evolved into full-fledged criminal organisations that operate under a ransomware-as-a-service approach. Some even have “customer service” helplines to guide victims through the process of paying the ransom.

These hacker groups have greatly benefited from COVID-19, taking advantage of the increase in cloud usage and telework. Half of the world’s organisations were hit by ransomware last year, with most successful ransomware attacks involving public cloud data. Data was successfully encrypted in 73% of attacks.[6]

Additionally, attackers are finding more and more weaknesses to exploit as remote workers and IT engineers increasingly use Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to access internal resources. The higher use of personal devices has also complicated the problem of shadow IT, multiplying the potential points of access and making it more challenging for security professionals to safeguard company networks.

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[1] The 2020 Evil Internet Minute, RiskIQ, Inc. (2020)
[2] 2020 Threat Report, Webroot (2020)
[3] The McAfee Labs COVID-19 Threats Report, McAfee (2020)
[4] McAfee Labs COVID-19 Threats Report, McAfee (2020)
[5] McAfee Labs COVID-19 Threats Report, McAfee (2020)
[6] The State of Ransomware 2020, Sophos (2020)
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About us Captains’s Log

IT Contractors: How to Manage Your Activity in This Unprecedented Period

IT Contractors: How to Manage Your Activity in This Unprecedented Period
The dual health and economic crisis we are going through creates a particularly high level of uncertainty and instability. How to manage your activity?

The dual health and economic crisis we are going through creates a particularly high level of uncertainty and instability. And it will probably last for a while. How to manage your activity?

In this unprecedented context, independent consultants may fear a drop in the number of new assignments and income. Here are a few thoughts to help you better understand the situation and come up with a strategy to maintain and develop his activity.

Also discover our special guide: IT Job Hunting Done Well: A Step-by-Step Guide

The state of the market

In this period of relative normality, many wonder what the next few months will look like in terms of economic activity. And it is true: the outlook is worrying. All predictions point at GDPs falling across the world’s biggest economies.

While not the hardest hit, the IT industry will nonetheless feel the impact of the Covid-19 crisis. Gartner recently published a new report in which it estimates that global CIO spending will fall by 8% in 2020.

Before the crisis; during the Gartner IT Symposium, October 20, 2019; the same analyst predicted an increase of 3.7% in 2020. Entering now a period of resource management and reassessment, CIOs will suddenly be forced to prioritize critical services.

IT Pros: How to Work On Remote in the Post-Pandemic World

As a result, many projects are and will be postponed. This isn’t a complete market shutdown or outright cancellation of projects, but the impact is going to be heavy nonetheless. And there’s no denying the fact that freelancers are often one of the first to be scratched of the budget.

However, and this is the first reason to remain positive, IT freelancers are also the ones who are called on first when projects restart. (We are already seeing this with the confirmation of many migration projects to SAP S/4HANA). Freelancers offer companies a flexibility that is an obvious advantage in a context where business is unstable and where uncertainty remains.

We should also take a closer look at the IT sector, since its different sub-segments are not impacted uniformly. In some areas, the role of the IT department has even been reinforced by the crisis and certain skills are in greater demand.

With the advent of teleworking in particular, IT departments are under heavy pressure to implement dedicated technologies. While overcoming the cybersecurity challenges that go hand in hand with this trend.

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Manage you activity: Tips for adapting in times of crisis

Several best practices can be recommended to manage your activity in times like these. The choice of industry is the first element that deserves the attention of IT freelancers looking for a job. If this choice was already important before the crisis; now it is even more so as all the sectors of activity do not suffer the same impact.

It is, therefore, advisable to sectors that are experiencing a strong peak in activity due to the Covid-19 crisis. Such as mass distribution, health or even online entertainment and education.

The second tip is flexibility. More than ever, the independent consultant needs to adapt to changing situations and be more flexible on certain criteria for choosing an assignment, such as the location or the context of the assignment. It is not about accepting just anything or being underpaid, but simply about punctually and opportunely expanding your usual criteria. For example, it may be wise to position yourself more in the area of TMA (third-party application maintenance) and carry out small assignments rather than embarking on full-fledged projects.

It is also important to pay special attention to your “self-marketing.” As always, you must know how to sell yourself. This can start by taking stock of your skills and aspirations to properly orient the way of presenting yourself before employers. Being active on social and professional online networks is also something that will help you stand out from the crowd and develop new connections.

Finally, you have to continue to train and learn, all while cultivating your softer skills. Keep in mind that the ability to adapt in times of crisis and other interpersonal skills can often make the difference between two similar candidate profiles.

Stay positive

Focus on the positive. We know that we have entered a difficult and complicated period from an economic point of view. However, as we have seen, there are several things that should keep IT freelancers positive. First of all, the IT sector is largely spared compared to other sectors (tourism, catering, hotel industry, etc.).

Secondly, the pandemic has strengthened the role of IT departments (setting up teleworking, cybersecurity, etc.), and the current circumstances can encourage companies to resort to hiring more freelancers.

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Weekly News: A Look at Diversity in Tech

Weekly News: A Look at Diversity in Tech
Regarding diversity in IT, there is much work left to be done. Let's start by tracking these numbers more consistently with our weekly news.

As the Black Lives Matter movement swipes through the globe with renewed strength, it’s time for communities and sectors of activity of all sorts to carry out an honest self-assessment. IT is no exception. Let’s talk about diversity in Tech.

Computerworld looked at census and tech-sector data of a few major Western countries to see how they are doing in terms of ethnic diversity in IT. Spoiler alert: not well at all.

Unfortunately, only a handful of countries track industry-specific ethnic diversity, which complicated the analysis. Of those who do (U.K., U.S. and New Zealand), none comes even close to having an equitable ethnic representation in tech.

The Western IT industry remains disproportionately white, particularly at the managerial level. Workers with Asian ancestry come in second place, but way beyond. 

Much work left to be done. Let’s start by tracking these numbers more consistently.

Diversity in Tech: What’s all that AR buzz about?

Rumours and whispers suggest that Apple will soon introduce its own version of the ill-fated Google Glass. 

The company has spent the last few years making several advancements and acquisitions in augmented reality (AR) and supporting technologies like Lidar. 

Yes, the Google Glass failed strepitously, but Apple has a good track record when it comes to making a new product an indispensable part of everyone’s life — remember the first iPhone? 

With AR seemingly about to become more of a real thing, one might wonder what exactly can be done with it. Especially in business. Here are some examples.

diversity in tech

Closing the data tap

Last week, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled to invalidate the E.U.- U.S. Privacy Shield agreement for data sharing over concerns around privacy and extreme surveillance practices.

The court’s decision threatens to interrupt the free flow of data between the two regions, which serves as the basis for much of today’s digital trade an economic activity. 

A myriad of solutions including Gmail, Zoom calls and CRM systems are all enabled by Privacy Shield. Furthermore, many businesses across Europe trust their data and workloads to U.S. cloud services like AWS and Microsoft Azure. 

But tech giants and the enterprise world are not the only ones that stand to lose much. Thanks to Brexit, U.K. players might see access to E.U. data restricted as well. They can, after all, end up shipping it across the Atlantic anyway.

diversity in tech

The impact of COVID-19 on enterprise IT

A new Forrester report has identified 5 trends that outline the effect that the pandemic will have on technology and business in the short, medium and long term.

The biggest shifts will involve: 

  • Safety and convenience influencing future customer expectations
  • Businesses leveraging digital engagement to create hybrid experiences
  • Firms and governments investing in a new workplace model
  • Companies doubling down on digital transformation
  • Business resiliency becoming a key competitive advantage
diversity in tech

Also discover our article: 20 Amazing Women Leading Europe’s Tech Revolution

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Weekly News: Robots take the streets

Weekly News: Robots take the streets
IT News

Robots take the streets; Contact tracing apps are here; The cloud’s about to burst; News from the frontlines… Discover Weekly Tech & IT News.

Robots take the streets & make their first en-masse appearance

A news article on pizza-delivering robots. Amazon and its flashy drones. That friendly robot shaking your hand at an industry conference. 

Robots had long appeared ready to make the jump to public life. But it took a pandemic to finally start turning the hype into reality. That is, of course, aside from industrial automation. 

As humans fled streets and public buildings seeking refuge from the virus, robots started pitching in and even replacing them. Grocery delivery, temperature screening, sanitation, information — you name it. 

However convenient robots might be, their growing presence has some people worried. One can understand why when learning about Singapore’s park-patrolling, robotic dogs, which kindly remind you of your social distancing obligations whenever you get to close to another person.

Here’s The Guardian’s look at that and other examples of this rise of the machines.

Contact tracing apps are here

After much debate and speculation around the viability and safety of relying on mobile apps to carry out large-scale contact tracing, the use of these apps is spreading. 

Germany launched this week its own version, which is based on the platform created by the Apple-Google partnership. Switzerland, Ireland and Austria are conducting testing, while Japan is expected to announce a Microsoft-powered solution later this week. 

Unfortunately, not everything is going well for all those in these arena. After starting testing in the Isle of Wight, the U.K. has gone quiet about its NHS-developed app. Experts in the matter point at the lack of adoption and Bluetooth problems as the most likely culprits behind the authorities’ silence.  

Meanwhile, Norway has put on hold its centralized app after a privacy watchdog denounced its unnecessary use of users’ GPS.

Contact tracing apps are here

The cloud’s about to burst

We recently discussed the cloud’s key role in a post-COVID business world. New developments and information keep highlighting the surge in cloud adoption. 

A new study by O’Reilly Media published this week revealed that over 88% of businesses are on the cloud, with most of them expecting to grow their usage in the upcoming months. Furthermore, a staggering 25% of respondents said their companies plan to move all their applications to the cloud in the near future. 

Beyond these headline findings, the survey confirms the popularity of the multi-cloud and of microservices. Amazon AWS reigns supreme, followed by Microsoft Azure. 

Just this week, Microsoft provided more details on how the increase in cloud demand is affecting its infrastructure, forcing the company to expand Azure capacity and implement smarter workload distribution.

Discover our article: Data security : Is your cloud data secure?

The cloud's about to burst

News from the frontlines…

A look at what how technology can help in the fight against the virus.  

AI can be used in a number of ways to limit the spread of infections, carry out faster diagnostics and provide better patient treatment. From optimizing the use of human resources at the hospital level to the triage of patients, here’s what AI can do.     

Amazon revealed a new AI-powered monitoring tool to help its warehouse employees maintain social distancing. The system, which gives live feedback via TV screens, has been met with backlash by workers and the public alike.

Discover our article about AI for recruitment: How AI will allow recruiters to focus on people

News from the frontlines...

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Weekly News: Hybrid Cloud Reigns Supreme

A new global study by data virtualisation company Denodo identifies hybrid cloud as the most widespread deployment path.

Hybrid configurations account for 42% of all deployments. Public cloud takes second place with an 18% share – head-to-head with private cloud, which accounts for 17% of enterprise configurations.

Companies pursue the hybrid approach for its versatility, which allows them to mix and match resources and IT skills to obtain the best of both worlds.

Two-thirds of respondents (66%) use the cloud for analytics and business intelligence, while 42% of companies leverage the technology for logical data warehousing. Data science applications are the focus of 41% of respondents.

Choosing the right AI stack

Research firm IDC released two new reports that shed some light on how to choose the best AI infrastructure stacks for your company.

IDC thinks it is a good idea for organisations to invest in full stacks from a single vendor, as it can help speed up deployment and promote the universal adoption of AI.

That is, of course, as long as every element in the package is thoroughly vetted to ensure proper performance and the compatibility of all elements across the board.

The company defines an interoperable framework, called the AI Plane (AIP), to help companies evaluate the myriad of AI offerings out there and choose the right one.

News from the frontlines…

One more week means one less week until things start looking normal again. This is what the tech world is doing to help in the fight against COVID-19…

Researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York are using AI to identify COVID-19 in patients. The research, published recently in Nature Magazine, describes how the scientists are leveraging AI analysis of CT scans and clinical data to quickly detect potential infections.

Wearables like smart wristbands and watches are being used to stem outbreaks of the virus in adult care homes. The system allows staff to track contact among elders within the centre, helping curb the virus spread by isolating those infected.

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DSI challenges IT Decision-makers

Evolving Role of the CIO After COVID-19

Evolving Role of the CIO After COVID-19
Discover the evolving role of the CIO. There was no need to know how everything works, the details, as long as it did work. That’s until COVID-19 showed up.

Discover the evolving role of the CIO after Covid-19. Chief Information Officers (CIOs) have always been aware of the key role they play in their organisation’s success. Others were not so convinced. No matter how commonplace concepts like digital transformation have become, a sizeable portion of today’s business world still regarded IT as a bare necessity, one of the many cogs and wheels that keep the enterprise moving forward. There was no need to know how everything works, the details, as long as it did work. That’s until COVID-19 showed up.

Evolving Role of the CIO

The sudden shift in paradigm has left companies scrambling to come up with solutions to new logistical and business model issues. Adapting normal operations to a fully remote workforce. Devising alternative ways of conducting normal operations while cutting down costs. Identifying new revenue streams. In this climate of uncertainty, a realisation has hit uninterested board members: technology is not just one of the many parts of the behemoth that is the modern enterprise – it’s the engine propelling it into the future.

IT has never been more critical to a company’s prosperity than it is now. And, as the person in charge of designing and bringing to life corporate digital strategy, the figure of the CIO is finally receiving the spotlight it deserves. But CIOs are not only facing the greatest practical challenge of their careers – their role is fundamentally changing, and it will keep on doing so.

From saving the day to ruling it

The pandemic took many organisations by surprise, forcing IT leaders to adapt company infrastructure to support remote work and comply with safety regulations. That was the first of three stages that CIOs will have to navigate to see this crisis through. A mighty task as it is.

Some companies are still ultimating work on this initial step. Together with the C-suite and division managers, CIOs have had to take a deep look at all available resources — not only at the digital transformation strategies and tools already in place, but also at the existing talent within their team.

Covering the holes is not easy in times of dwindling budgets and company-wide cuts. CIOs have had to resort to a mix of ingenuity, agility and adaptability to find creative and efficient ways to save everyone’s day.

When it comes to talent, IT leaders have continued hiring for the most business-critical digital transformation projects: cloud, cybersecurity, digital payments, shipping logistics, etc. In addition to permanent hires, CIOs are enlisting external IT consultants as a great way of upskilling their teams.

Once the fire is out, the second step for CIOs to take is to consolidate the new measures, protocols and ways of working. CIOs are working together with HR to develop online training programs and tools that live on beyond the current crisis. They also have an important part to play in the return to the office, advising the larger organisation on how to best use digital resources to implement a process that is both safe and seamless.

A larger role moving forward

As the world slowly starts going back to normal, the lessons learned from this health emergency will have severe implications on how IT is approached in the future. Rather than supporting business decisions, CIOs will have a bigger say in how companies are run — from helping companies develop a more adaptable work culture, to being a decisive factor in defining new business strategies.

This is the third and last stage in the journey towards a more relevant and recognised CIO. The novel coronavirus has only sped up what was already bound to happen. IT leaders are now in the driver’s seat. Godspeed.

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Weekly News: How brain-like should AI be?

Weekly News: How brain-like should AI be?

How brain-like should AI be? Cloud and clear, Microsoft… News from the frontlines… Discover our Tech & IT weekly news.

How brain-like should AI be?

What constitutes intelligence and how do we replicate it? Computer experts and neuroscientists have long been after a universal theory of intelligence. The idea is simple — the more we understand how the brain works, the better our AI will be.

Well, not exactly. 

Kelly Clancy, a neuroscientist working with Google’s DeepMind, delves deep into the issue in this WIRED article. Her main point? Two different roads often lead to the same place. 

AI developers should keep in mind that what works for our brain might not work in machines, and vice versa.

Not enough AI in your life? Here’s a list of books on artificial intelligence that you can read.

Learn more about Microsoft with our Microsoft Technologies Careers Guide

Cloud and clear, Microsoft

Speaking of AI – during its annual Built conference, Microsoft unveiled a new partnership with OpenAI to develop an Azure-hosted AI supercomputer.

The computer will be among the 5 most advanced supercomputers in the world. It will be deployed to test large-scale models and advance towards general artificial intelligence.

Microsoft also announced its first industry-specific cloud offering for the healthcare sector. The solution, which is now available in public preview, connects products like Microsoft 365 for marketing and customer service and Azure IoT. 

Use cases include the development of a “patient journey” that helps manage patient care and maximises positive outcomes.

News from the frontlines…

One more week means one less week until things start looking normal again. This is what the tech world is doing to help in the fight against COVID-19…

If the pandemic has taught us anything about retail IT is that, unlike larger companies, SMEs don’t always have the means to shift to digital operations when needed. In what is big news for e-commerce, Facebook has launched Shops, a new service that will allow companies to sell products on its platforms.

The debate over the effectiveness of contact tracing technology rages on. Industry competitors and researchers are teaming up against all odds to create apps that respect user privacy, but poor adoption could undermine all these efforts. Nature magazine takes an in-depth look at the issue. 

Plenty going on with tech these days. Even Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, used his keynote speech at this year’s Build to congratulate the tech industry’s response to the global crisis.

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Also discover our Weekly News: How Tech Is Rewiring our Brains

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Businesses are Preparing the Return to Activity

IT News

Almost two months after the start of the global lockdown, some parts of the world are slowly starting to reopen. People walk the streets and are allowed in stores again, albeit under strict social distancing guidelines. 

Business is ready to get back on track, but companies now face the double challenge of ramping up activity and adapting to a new normal. Last week we discussed how investing in IT is crucial to enterprise survival and recovery – this week we saw some positive signs confirming this trend.

Many multinational companies are hiring for their Indian offshore IT centres, while the country’s demand for senior positions related to digital transformation remains strong.  

As yesterday’s Harvard Business Review article reminds us, the key to digital transformation is talent, not technology.

Microsoft is doing more than well

It was not that long ago that Microsoft seemed destined to take a more secondary role in the future of enterprise technology. But the company bounced back.

This week was packed with news from the Redmond, Virginia company — from a 59% quarterly increase in cloud revenue to an upcoming update to its VMware Azure integration.

More about Microsoft’s momentum in our latest industry snapshot. Spoiler alert: you could win up to $200K if you beat the company’s new hacking challenge.

More on contact tracing

This week we got more details on the upcoming contact tracing technology that Apple and Google are developing to help fight the spread of COVID-19. 

Addressing what has been one of the most contentious points of debate, the duo said their app will not permit the use of location tracking. The full system, which is expected to be released mid-May, will rely instead on Bluetooth to safeguard user privacy. 

Meanwhile, the UK’s National Health System, started testing an app that uses a similar approach. 

The solution leverages (the ironically named) Bluetooth Low Energy handshakes to tell whether a person might have been in contact or not with an infected individual.

News from the frontlines

One more week, the tech world keeps up the fight against the pandemic. This week…

Cybercrime has spiked amidst global chaos and the rise of remote work. Regrettably, healthcare institutions are among the hardest hit. 

A group of security companies and professionals calling themselves the Cyber Alliance to Defend our Healthcare have struck deals to protect a series of hospitals and national health organisations across Europe. The U.S. will be their next area of focus.

Meanwhile, Ciaran Martin, chief of the UK’s National Cybersecurity Centre, has pledged to redouble the body’s efforts to protect the country’s hospitals and health system.

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IT as the Key for Resilience and Recovery

IT News

This global crisis has taught us a few things. One of the most transformative outcomes of the pandemic will be the collective realisation of what really matters in life – and in business.

Job stability and meaningful projects, health, human contact. At a time when we’ve come to question everything that was part of our day-to-day, technology has proven to be indispensable. A lifeline connecting us to the rest of the world.

Now more than ever, IT departments hold the key to organisational resilience and recovery. Find out why.

Head in the clouds

The cloud industry’s momentum seems unstoppable. It was only last week that we were discussing how cloud providers are extremely well-positioned to benefit from the current situation.

This week, we got some more good news for the cloud folk. Despite taking a considerable hit in online advertising, Google has increased cloud revenue by 52%.

Additionally, the company’s Anthos platform is now live on AWS. Additionally, Oracle has scored a major win by securing Zoom’s cloud business. Video calls have surged amidst the global lockdown. The American company has emerged as the biggest beneficiary.

News from the frontlines

A look at the week in tech news. Join us on a tour around the globe to see how tech is facing COVID-19 head-on. This week…

Tech giants, from NVIDIA to PayPal, have made a commitment to maintaining all employees throughout the crisis. This move, again, highlights the strategic importance of having a robust IT team. Even if it hurts you in the short term, it will prove more than worthy once the storm is over.

But some are not following this advice, endangering their operations, customers and partners. Some companies are trying to reduce overall IT costs by making their security experts shift to regular IT support tasks — that can prove disastrous for cybersecurity, accentuating the strain on enterprise networks.