Market Watch

Europe's lawmakers have asked for feedback on its proposed new rules on allocating state aid to fund broadband networks.

The Bluetooth functionality of the Flame cyberespionage malware could potentially be used to pinpoint the physical location of infected devices and allow local attackers to extract data if they get in close proximity to the victims, according to security researchers from antivirus vendors Symantec and Kaspersky Lab.

U.S. President Barack Obama ordered the Stuxnet cyberattacks on Iran in an effort to slow the country's development of a nuclear program, according to a report in The New York Times.

Google has asked European Union regulators to investigate alleged collusion between Nokia, Microsoft and so-called patent trolls.

While some online services are stepping up their efforts to protect private user data from government requests, there is plenty room for improvement, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) said on Thursday. It is time for all companies that hold private user data to make public commitments to defend their users against government overreach, the foundation said.

How to retain profitability within the channel is an issue vendors, distributors and resellers have to constantly stay focused on

Selling technology for technology’s sake simply doesn’t cut it anymore. ARN recently brought together a panel of industry representatives to look at why selling business productivity, ROI and innovation are critical to the channel’s success and how these elements will be the force behind cloud computing take-up.

Cloud computing is a transformative phenomenon affecting all manner of channel and end-user organisations. ARN brought together several industry representatives to discuss where cloud computing adoption is today, and ways IT providers can monetise this broad-reaching opportunity.

Bringing more women into ICT leadership roles is an ongoing issue, despite efforts from individuals and organisations to achieve parity. While vendors typically have a better blend of the sexes, at least across HR, marketing and customer-facing roles, numbers appear poor across the reseller and distribution community. ARN recently invited a collection of female leaders from the ICT industry to share their extensive knowledge and opinions on why the trend continues to occur, and what businesses can do about it.

It's been more than three years since HP acquired IT services provider EDS, and the long-term direction of its bigger - if not better - outsourcing business is no more clear than it was on the day the deal closed.

Out went 42 aging black and white copiers with interface boxes that let them serve as printers. In went 42 new networked multi-function printers (MFPs) that could do color printing and copying and scan directly to e-mail, fax or files. And the owner, the Park Hill School District in Kansas City, MO, saves $19,000 yearly.

It's free, easier to use than ever, IT staffers know it and love it, and it has fewer viruses and Trojans than Windows.

First, a scary statistic: Gartner predicts that in less than three years, 35 per cent of enterprise IT expenditures will happen outside of the corporate IT budget. Employees will regularly subscribe to collaboration, analytic and other Cloud services they want, all with the press of a button. Others will simply build their own applications using readily available Cloud-based tools and development platforms.

In a 2009 Gartner survey of Asia-Pacific organisations about their software spending intentions, positive outlook increasingly varied by country, and was not only dominated by emerging countries such as China and India. Mature countries such as Australia and Singapore are not conservative in their software budget plan.

Data#3 has been a real success story over recent years. ARN sat down with managing director, John Grant, to discuss the course he’s taking to chart the company through the troubled waters of the current economy.

NICTA CEO, David Skellern, who has been in his post since 2007 and has 20 years in the ICT sector, was one of several keynote speakers discussing strategies for Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN) at the recent CeBIT show. He sat down with ARN to discuss the viability of the largest ICT infrastructure project in Australia’s history, as well as Internet filtering and why our industry needs more unity. Skellern will be retiring next year to head over to the UK.

Wireless and networking specialist distributor, Lan 1, is celebrating its fifteenth birthday this year. NADIA CAMERON caught up with managing director, Daniel Lee, to discuss the importance of the NBN, potential acquisitions and his plans for the future.

CEO of vividwireless, Unwired and Wireless Broadband Australia, Martin Mercer, talks to ARN about the decision behind launching a 4G network, how wireless will fit in the National Broadband Network (NBN), and ISP filtering.

In just one decade, M2 Telecommunications has grown from a humble communications equipment manufacturing company to a $400 million business. With its purchase of some of Commander’s assets in June, the company has also become a major player in the ICT channel. M2 CEO, Vaughan Bowen, talks to ARN about the NBN, reseller opportunities and why it pays to be niche.

Last year, IT budgets declined by 10 per cent to 20 per cent, depending on who you believe. Jobs were lost. And the pool of vendors is constantly shrinking, given the tsunami of bankruptcies and mergers over the past few years. (Adios, Nortel.)

Google has already achieved the enviable marketing distinction of turning its name into a verb. But its enormous popularity and global reach place an unintended burden on the search giant: When it goes down, the entire Web is shaken.

After more than a year of effort, Commander’s receivers have finally brought the company’s story to its conclusion. McGrathNicol told ARN last week it had sold-off Commander’s final business assets and was now tying up loose ends before signing off.

Nadia Cameron takes a look at the continuing impact of the economic downturn.

The changing face of the channel was a key theme running through the July 8th edition of ARN. Following news of one of the biggest consolidation stories to hit the integration and reseller space this year, ComputerCorp, S Central and Synergy Plus announced plans to rebrand under the Synergy Plus masthead and appoint S Central founder and BRW 2008 Young Rich list notable, Peter Mavridis, at the helm.