I love visiting my father-in-law at his office: it’s like visiting with the great Dicky Fox from the movie Jerry Maguire. He’s been a small businessman all of his life, ever the consummate salesman, and today—even in his 70s—he still has a bunch of new ventures that he’s knocking out. On his back credenza, running off an antiquated PC, is his customer relationship management (CRM) system. It’s not particularly innovative, except perhaps to my son, who thinks it’s neat that it’s all one color—green text on a black screen. So yes, it’s…

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IT departments are using Server 2003 expiry as opportunity to virtualise, says Spiceworks. Security fears are prompting IT departments to migrate away from Windows Server 2003 ahead of end of life this summer, according to a report. Around 85 per cent of IT professionals cited security concerns as the main factor behind upgrading their server operating systems, followed by 72 per cent worried about software incompatibility. End of life for Server 2003 will strike on July 14, and means Microsoft will issue no new software upgrades or bug patches for…

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While Microsoft has dropped hints that the Internet Explorer brand is going away, the software maker has now confirmed that it will use a new name for its upcoming browser successor, codenamed Project Spartan. Speaking at Microsoft Convergence yesterday, Microsoft’s marketing chief Chris Capossela revealed that the company is currently working on a new name and brand. “We’re now researching what the new brand, or the new name, for our browser should be in Windows 10,” said Capossela. “We’ll continue to have Internet Explorer, but we’ll also have a new browser…

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HP CEO Meg Whitman shares her thoughts on the technology trends impacting the telecommunications industry. This week, I’m traveling to Barcelona for Mobile World Congress, where I’ll join customers and colleagues to discuss the monumental changes being driven by new and creative applications of mobile technology. Since the advent of the telephone nearly 140 years ago, we’ve seen technology—and the telecommunication industry’s application of it—progress by leaps and bounds. Today, we’re moving at warp speed to connect our devices, our homes, our businesses, and even ourselves. The future of telecommunications…

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Like many global companies, EMC depends heavily on a CRM to manage sales and purchasing data about its vast global installed base. Over time, we realized that without big data analytics, this customer data was trapped inside our systems and providing limited value. EMC decided that offering analytical capabilities through a data lake architecture would substantially increase the value of this data. To get there, EMC hired Todd Forsythe, EMC Vice President, Corporate Marketing, to create the Marketing Science Lab. I spoke to Todd about why he is so excited…

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RESEARCHERS WORKING with the Central Intelligence Agency have conducted a multi-year, sustained effort to break the security of Apple’s iPhones and iPads, according to top-secret documents obtained by The Intercept. The security researchers presented their latest tactics and achievements at a secret annual gathering, called the “Jamboree,” where attendees discussed strategies for exploiting security flaws in household and commercial electronics. The conferences have spanned nearly a decade, with the first CIA-sponsored meeting taking place a year before the first iPhone was released. By targeting essential security keys used to encrypt…

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The hybrid cloud offers the best of both worlds. It combines the benefits of public cloud – agility and low costs – with the control, performance and security of the private cloud. This has huge potential to help businesses, however many still struggle to understand what a true hybrid cloud really is. With 2015 heralded as the year of the hybrid cloud and with uptake on the rise, businesses need to get on board, or else be left behind. To help, I’ve debunked the top five myths surrounding hybrid cloud below.…

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The communications industry is undergoing a massive transformation. It is so fundamental; it will affect every person and every business on the face of the planet in the next 10 to 15 years. You can look at it as the third wave, comparable with the way railroads, automobiles and planes transformed life in the 20th century. Every application of BSS/OSS will move from legacy to one global, virtual, seamless IP world, based on IP and wireless. The internet that emerged as a mass medium in the 1990s wasn’t designed for…

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