Read our analysts’ opinions and perspectives on some of the latest ideas and developments in the IT industry:
Microsoft Copilot: A Year of Learning
If 2023 was the year when generative AI burst onto the scene, 2024 has been[...]
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Opening up mainframe data, one utility at a time
Freeform Dynamics recently caught up with VirtualZ, an often overlooked vendor of connectivity tools that[...]
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AI and analytics? Been there, done that
In a recent article, I covered a discussion I’d previously had with a company called[...]
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Enterprise AR redux: Will Apple succeed where Microsoft floundered?
When Scandit announced its integration with Apple’s Vision Pro mixed reality headset, I experienced a[...]
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Cloud Storage Revisited: What has the last decade taught us?
It is clear that cloud storage has become an important component of modern IT infrastructure.[...]
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Generative AI in analytics: Enhancing the user experience without overreach
As scepticism creeps more and more into the generative AI discussion, I’ve been trying to[...]
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Generative AI tooling: Is the user the weakest link?
One of the challenges I’ve had with generative AI is figuring out where the real[...]
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IT Sustainability: Passive vs Active Gains
In the 20 odd years that I’ve been following developments in ‘Green IT’, the industry[...]
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The convergence of OT and IT
Having worked in both operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) environments for years, I’ve[...]
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Canon comes out of the closet on information management
When I received an invitation to attend another Canon industry analyst event, I was in[...]
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Mainframe skills; time to flip the telescope around?
The more I learn about the world of mainframes, the more I find myself drawn[...]
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Mitigating AI Risks: 5 Essential Steps for Secure Adoption
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are finding their way into industries worldwide as[...]
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Breaking Free From Vendor Lock-in with Managed Services
As organisations become more intertwined with their key IT vendors, they may find themselves in[...]
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S/4HANA Migration: Is Selective Transformation the Answer?
The last big market survey carried out by Freeform Dynamics on SAP migration was completed[...]
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IT transformation fatigue? Time to bust those big bang blues
As an industry analyst, you always want your questions answered openly, confidently and convincingly when[...]
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Observability and Security: Thoughts on the Cisco-Splunk Acquisition
The tech world is now trying to work out exactly what the news of Cisco’s[...]
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The IT Sustainability Paradox
IT leaders today often find themselves grappling with a perplexing situation. On one hand, they[...]
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Mainframes and workload placement: Time for a dose of objectivity?
When Tony Lock and I interviewed Reg Harbeck, Chief Strategist at Mainframe Analytics Ltd, it[...]
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From clipboards to smart data capture; how software-defined scanning is changing the game
When I first heard about ‘smart data capture’, I couldn’t help thinking back to a[...]
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The Untapped Potential of Liquid Cooling in Modern Data Centres
Ever since IBM sold off its x86 business to Lenovo back in 2014, I’ve been[...]
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What are you doing to ensure your IT suppliers work for you?
Navigating the Complex IT Supplier Landscape in 2024 It is a truism that IT evolves[...]
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Taking the next step in mainframe observability
Despite their frequently less visible role, mainframes remain indispensable in supporting the critical operations of[...]
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The mainframe skills crunch; an outsider vs insider perspective
During my career, I’ve worked hands-on with a great many operating systems, programming languages, mainstream[...]
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Taking IT Cost Tracking and FinOps to the next level
A CIO I interviewed recently told me candidly: “It’s always a bit nerve wracking when[...]
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Mainframe Skills: Challenge or Opportunity?
People in mainframe circles have been talking about skills development and succession planning ever since[...]
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Challenging the traditional boundaries between IAM and UEM
It’s always refreshing to engage with vendors who aren’t bound by the rigid category definitions[...]
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IT Governance for Today and Tomorrow: Minimum Viable Principles
Introduction The traditional one-size-fits-all approach to IT governance, particularly in relation to data, is becoming[...]
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Making IT sustainability more objective and actionable
I’ve heard a lot of pitches from technology companies on how they can help customers[...]
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Goodbye Bryan – Rest in Peace
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our friend and colleague,[...]
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It’s Time to Raise the Bar on Observability
Observability has come a long way in the last 30 years
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Can contributing to open source get you a job?
Could voluntary work on open source projects be a stepping stone to employment?
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Tape is back on the main menu
The news that another of the big players in global file systems, Hammerspace, has integrated[...]
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What does “Investment in Generative AI” actually mean?
I’ve found myself in a number of conversations recently where the discussion has turned to[...]
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Why laptops and other edge devices are being AI-enabled
Why do we need dedicated AI engines in laptops, and especially in the ultrathin laptops[...]
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Why Intel has joined the race for the AI-enabled laptop
A new AI battlefield is opening up, not among all the GPU ‘farms’ in data[...]
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Broadcom swings its axe at VMware
What a difference a week can make. The dust had barely settled on Broadcom’s $69bn acquisition of[...]
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Broadcom finally swallows VMware: what now?
The news that Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware has finally gone through, after more than a[...]
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Custom chatbots and model gardens: putting Private AI to work
Part 2: More to think about It’s essential to decide where to run your Private[...]
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Understanding the rise and role of Private AI
Part 1: AI hype vs fear and doubt The leakage of proprietary IP and other[...]
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Can steel fences halt the march of cyber?
Cyber: for some, it’s a prefix that conjures up images of Dr Who’s silvery cyborg[...]
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A straightforward look at SAP master data automation
If you’re knee-deep in the world of SAP and data management, you almost certainly know[...]
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CIO perceptions of vendor AI marketing
With all the recent press coverage, it’s not surprising to see IT vendors clamouring to[...]
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Time to sound the alarm as AI hype catches fire
One of the most worrying things that’s coming out of recent research
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It’s time to look again at IT and Software Asset Management
In the realm of IT administration, it’s all too easy to get stuck in familiar[...]
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An AI crash is coming: don’t let it drag you down
All the signs are there that an AI crash is coming: overinflated claims and dodgy[...]
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Want to become a data-driven organisation? Start thinking differently about change management
Need a strong data strategy? Look for a CDO who’s a change manager and data[...]
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Just because it’s innovative, doesn’t make it good!
One of my hobbyhorses at the moment is how words and adjectives that ought to[...]
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The key to future IT success is a switch to managing services, not systems
For most of the history of commercial IT, system design has focused on meeting the[...]
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Are tech vendors pulling their weight on fixing fragmented IT?
Many organisations have silo’d data and fragmented IT systems, but
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Digital identity: the many images of you
More and more of the topics we deal with at Freeform Dynamics now also relate[...]
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Trust: easy to lose, hard to recover
Here are just a few of the topics that my fellow Freeformers and I have[...]
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Dealing with the growing problem of edge and IoT sprawl
Amidst all the hype regarding the massive growth potential for IoT
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To maximise potential, mainframers must reach out and engage
The team here has always had immense respect for the mainframe community
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Does application modernisation mean what you think it means?
Most people in IT probably think they know what application modernisation is
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Kubernetes and the open-source maintainer question
While much of October's KubeCon-CloudNativeCon North America
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VMware’s breadth and depth impresses, but is it still a safe bet?
At the recent VMware Explore conference in Barcelona
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Digital identity and opening up the smartwallet
When an 80 year-old relative asks you how she can use her phone to both[...]
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What’s up with Google’s plan to supplant SMS and drive mobile e-commerce?
Ask most people what RCS stands for, and you’ll probably get a blank look.
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Like a teenager, Kubernetes looks almost grown-up, yet still a bit awkward and confused
Platform: that’s the key word that sprung to mind after attending Kubecon
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HP Inc’s Poly opportunity: look beyond devices and software to a real collaboration strategy
Could its takeover of workspace collaboration specialist Poly
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‘Traditional’ is not a dirty word
Sometimes ‘new’ and ‘disruptive’ really doesn’t make sense
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Singing the key management blues
We need cryptographic keys, but who is going to manage them?
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Hybrid working isn’t turning out as expected
Last year, as companies recognised both the value of face-to-face interaction
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Citrix and Microsoft: who’s really leading the transformation agenda?
Citrix loves Microsoft and Microsoft loves Citrix
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Striking a balance between risk and innovation: Lessons from an autonomous ship
Back story to a different kind of voyage
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Is the commodity server bandwagon running out of steam?
The term “paradigm shift” gets flung about far too much in IT, but we may[...]
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One SSD to ruler them all
Why the new EDSFF storage format is hot stuff – and what else you need[...]
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Why does ransomware still work?
As someone who first encountered ransomware during the last millennium
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Ransomware teaches the importance of data protection
Several years ago, around the time that ransomware attacks started making the front pages
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Having trouble overcoming the S/4HANA confidence gap?
As John Lennon and Yoko Ono didn't quite sing
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Got a strong story to tell? Don’t settle for a place in the chorus
Have you lost your voice? Or is the market just not hearing you?
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Has Windows 11 strengthened the case for Chromebooks?
Analyst Opinion: I was left with two overriding thoughts
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Forget the ‘free’ software, the real value of open-source is the collaboration
Analyst Opinion: It’s a cliché, but why are we still reinventing wheels?
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Which is worse: noise, or the sound of silence?
Analyst Opinion: If you’re one of the many people who find offices too noisy
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Google Calendar auto-adds shared meeting notes
Analyst Opinion: If, like me, you often find yourself hunting for notes
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Is it a Suite, Package, Bundle or Platform?
People have been selling collections of products and tools for centuries, and with the advent[...]
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Is ‘suite’ becoming a dirty word?
How much attention do you pay to the pros and cons of software and service[...]
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Windows 11: could this ‘feel good’ update actually help IT pros?
Much has been written about Windows 11, and many YouTube videos have been published. If[...]
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Where vendors too often go wrong: SMBs need enterprise-grade IT too
For far too long now, many vendors seem to have assumed that the IT requirements[...]
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Remember when Agile was treated with suspicion?
Throwback Thursday: When we researched the topic of Agile development back in 2008
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Is IT investment handled better now than a decade ago?
Throwback Thursday: People like to think that the way IT works with business has changed
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From virtual desktops to Chromebooks and the work-anywhere web
Throwback Thursday: If there’s one thing our report from eight years ago reminds us
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The allure of the log-in-anywhere desktop
How can organisations simplify desktop management if we all still want our own devices?
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The SMB solution selection challenge
It's all too easy for smaller businesses to get caught out
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How to boost supplier commitment without spending more money
Time to tune into those non-revenue goals
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Even data fragmentation has gone virtual
Throwback Thursday: If there’s one thing our report from eight years ago reminds us
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Data governance in software testing
Throwback Thursday: this week we're going back to 2008
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Private cloud in contexts old and new
Throwback Thursday: What a difference a decade can make
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Mobile moments and the past left far behind
Throwback Thursday We have looked at many reports from years ago that show that, whilst[...]
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Remember when cloud was going to kill the IT channel?
Throwback Thursday: taking a regular stroll in the Freeform Dynamics archives.
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Has the data centre of the future already arrived?
Throwback Thursday: Predicting the future back in 2012
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Effective IT recovery in small/midsize businesses, 10 years on? Maybe tomorrow…
Throwback Thursday: this week we're going back to 2011
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The #WFH ‘New Normal’ is nothing of the sort
Analyst Opinion At least, not yet. The world is still in the very abnormal grip[...]
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Business performance management still chasing the real-time dream
Throwback Thursday: This week we are going back to 2007
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How have attitudes to risk and resilience changed?
Throwback Thursday: Looking back to June 2008
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x86 Server virtualisation check point
Throwback Thursday: This week we are heading back to 2010
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Why I’m uneasy about the Salesforce Slack acquisition
Analyst Opinion: Most coverage on the Salesforce acquisition of Slack has focused on the industry[...]
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Linux on the Desktop
Throwback Thursday: The first thing that struck me when I re-read our ‘Linux on the[...]
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We need to start prioritizing workforce health and wellbeing
Analyst Opinion: “This has been a shot in the arm for those who have long[...]
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The authentication arms race continues
Throwback Thursday: This week we are heading back to 2006
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Social interaction in the digital workplace
Analyst opinion: As workplaces increasingly pivot to virtual presence, how can we stay connected?
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IT Support, now and then
Throwback Thursday: Comparing IT support in 2020 with IT support in 2006
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The #WFH extended talent opportunity
Analyst Opinion: The rise of the virtual “workplace” – implications for inclusivity and Generation Z
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Make the camera work for you, not against you
Analyst Opinion: Hands up anyone who expected not just to spend 2020 at home, but[...]
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The pandemic and productivity: a Covid-19 conundrum
Analyst Opinion “I’ve never been more productive!” With so many people getting their first experience[...]
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Are you ready to pay the ‘mental debts’ of Covid-19?
Analyst Opinion It’s easy to predict many of the pains that are going to hit[...]
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AI without tears: the drive for automation and self-service
Analyst Opinion In the post-pandemic, post-Brexit world, businesses of all sorts face a range of[...]
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How Covid-19 can sicken your AI apps too
Analyst Opinion AI might not be the first thing you think of when you start[...]
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Outsourcing: a clear look at a cloudy subject
Analyst Opinion “Wasn’t cloud just another name for outsourcing back then?” joked another guest in[...]
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Data protection is too complex for RTO and RPO to be singular
Analyst Opinion I think we can all agree that protecting data is important – perhaps[...]
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Consent and GDPR: get the basics right!
Analyst Opinion Why do companies find it so hard to get their heads around even[...]
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For business AI, focus on psychology, not technology
Analyst Opinion There’s no doubt now that AI works, and it can work very well[...]
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DevOps needs more perspective and humility
Analyst Opinion DevOps started as a grass-roots movement led by practitioners. The motives were pure,[...]
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Today’s hybrid clouds look more closed than open
Analyst Opinion We’ve had convergence towards hybrid clouds and ‘universal’ applications, but now we are[...]
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Kubernetes catches up with operational reality
Analyst Opinion With Kubernetes now established in many organisations as the container orchestration platform of the future,[...]
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Mea culpa: Trendy isn’t the same as important
Analyst Opinion I hate it when you realise that your point of reference has been[...]
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New financing models target IT’s acquisition challenges
Analyst opinion The availability of funding – or rather, the lack of it – is[...]
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Threat vs trust: the overlooked power of words
Analyst Opinion Words have power – in particular, your choice of words modifies how your[...]
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Growing fast, OpenStack shakes off old misconceptions
Analyst opinion One of the most interesting things about the recent Open Infrastructure Summit – the new[...]
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Hard drives that do their own data processing
Analyst opinion It’s getting hard these days to find places where container technology doesn’t feature,[...]
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Cybersecurity needs both psychologists and generals
Analyst opinion Many cybersecurity professionals like military analogies. Indeed, some security pros are ex-military. But[...]
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Beware the application complexity monster
Analyst opinion How many new applications, tools, devices, and cloud services have you introduced into[...]
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How Brexit-friendly are your SaaS contracts?
Analyst opinion If you think Brexit will be advantageous for the UK economy and the[...]
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Six months on, GDPR is a qualified success
Analyst opinion Anyone hoping that we would by now have greater clarity on GDPR will[...]
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How long will your New Year stay Happy?
The Freeform Dynamics fortune-telling kit has been dusted off for 2019. Here some of the[...]
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Google Chrome: It’s more than a browser
Chrome has come a long way, but the journey might only just be starting I[...]
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Don’t ignore the complexity of hybrid multi-cloud
Analyst opinion Many vendors will argue that moving to cloud brings consistency and simplicity, thanks[...]
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Open source is growing up – and here’s how
Analyst opinion If you’re among those who still think that open source is just for[...]
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The mainframe returns – as a platform for large-scale Linux
Analyst opinion There are several ways to build large scale Linux server environments, with x86[...]
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Last call for a European public cloud?
Analyst opinion Europe’s self-described No.1 ‘hyper-scale cloud provider’, OVH, held its 6th annual customer conference[...]
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Industrial IoT makes your people more important, not less
Analyst opinion The recent Industry of Things World conference in Berlin offered insights into the[...]
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Google has got serious about Enterprise IT
Analyst opinion Google has made a complete about-face on the enterprise. It took so long[...]
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Cloud Foundry’s growth highlights open source success and the cracks in commercial licensing
Analyst opinion Open source has crested the hill of enterprise acceptance. There’s no longer the[...]
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When modern meetings don’t work
Analyst opinion Once upon a time, pretty much every meeting had a minute-taker – someone[...]
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Is IBM relevant to today’s mainstream?
Analyst opinion When IT vendors talk about the market, they tend to focus on how[...]
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DevOps is wasted unless the business goes Agile too
Analyst opinion When analysts and journalists write about Agile and DevOps, the focus is typically[...]
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What can Chromebooks offer the enterprise desktop market?
Analyst opinion If you’re an IT professional managing a large desktop estate or an end[...]
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A conference room for the future
Analyst opinion In some ways, the recent completion of Plantronics’ $2 billion purchase of Polycom[...]
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Workplace software as an occupational hazard
Analyst opinion The US Department of Labor has updated its Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system.[...]
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Millennial versus Mature – who’s the real IT security risk?
Analyst opinion Passwords have been the mainstay for securing applications, devices and the data they[...]
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Your PC is rooted and jailbroken: deal with it!
Analyst opinion One of the defining characteristics of the modern digital workplace is a PC[...]
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Cloud storage is hot
Analyst opinion But do people know what they mean when they talk about it –[...]
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Xero highlights the role of the modern software ecosystem
Looking beyond the technology I recently caught up with Gary Turner, co-founder and managing of[...]
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Growth mindset lets Microsoft love Linux
Analyst opinion Timed to coincide with the RSA security conference, Microsoft has announced Azure Sphere,[...]
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Routes to AI goodness
Analyst opinion It’s all too easy to conflate the kind of AI being hyped in[...]
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Time to dump the all-flash scepticism
Analyst opinion When we surveyed several hundred IT professionals on the topic of All-Flash Arrays,[...]
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Microsoft’s challenge for 2018: mindshare & market relevance
Analyst opinion Microsoft’s revenues are up, but compared to its biggest competitors — Amazon, Apple,[...]
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