Aviation firm Gogo has decided to migrate its infrastructure to Amazon Web Services (AWS), making use of the company’s full suite of cloud services to deliver a better in-flight entertainment experience.

Gogo has already moved the majority of its commercial and business aviation divisions to AWS, but will now start using additional services such as analytics, serverless, database, and storage to engage with more airlines, without needed to upscale its physical infrastructure. It will also provide significant cost savings and improve the efficiency of the company’s current operations compared to using legacy infrastructure.

“The change in velocity that we experienced moving from our on-premises environment to AWS has been phenomenal,” said Ravi Balwada, senior vice president of software development at Gogo.

“By operating and innovating on AWS, we’ve been able to nearly eliminate customer-impacting incidents related to ground-based deployments and increase our deployment cadence sevenfold. And, our database change has made operating at scale much easier and more cost effective.”

As part of the migration, Gogo moved its business-critical databases, including payments, orders, user management, and backend services off legacy databases to Amazon Aurora.

It has also started using AWS Media Elemental Live video processing and delivery to offer on-demand video services to customers and Amazon EMR, Amazon Redshift, and Amazon Athena data analysis stored in a data lake built on AWS S3.

“Organisations are moving away from legacy infrastructure and database solutions to create cloud environments that give builders freedom and control over their own destinies,” said Mike Clayville, vice president of worldwide commercial sales at AWS said.

“By going all-in, Gogo is leveraging the breadth and depth of AWS services, including comprehensive analytics and machine learning services to gain deeper insights and improve passengers’ in-flight experiences.”

Some of the world’s biggest tech companies have announced their commitment to developing open standards in the world of data centre and cloud computing, with the introduction of the Compute Express Link (CXL) standards group.

Alibaba, Cisco, Dell EMC, Facebook, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Huawei, Intel and Microsoft want to make sure high-speed CPU-to-Device and CPU-to-Memory processes and equipment are standardised to enhance data centre performance.

The group will focus on making the CXL Specification 1.0 mainstream among tech businesses, interconnecting CPUs with platforms and workloads. It will build upon the existing PCI Express (PCIe) infrastructure, using the PCIe 5.0 interface to improve the I/O protocol, memory protocol and coherency interface.

“CXL is an important milestone for data-centric computing, and will be a foundational standard for an open, dynamic accelerator ecosystem,” said Jim Pappas, director of technology initiatives at Intel.

“Like USB and PCI Express, which Intel also co-founded, we can look forward to a new wave of industry innovation and customer value delivered through the CXL standard.”

Intel was one of the founding fathers of the CXL protocol, developing the interconnect four years ago. However, the company now wants it to become a standardised technology and so recruited many of its partners to develop it into a set of standards that could be used by the industry to improve data centre infrastructure.

“Microsoft is joining the CXL consortium to drive the development of new industry bus standards to enable future generations of cloud servers,” said Dr Leendert van Doorn, distinguished engineer at Microsoft’s Azure division.

“Microsoft strongly believes in industry collaboration to drive breakthrough innovation. We look forward to combining efforts of the consortium with our own accelerated hardware achievements to advance emerging workloads from deep learning to high performance computing for the benefit of our customers.”

Businesses are putting customer and other confidential company data at risk because they’re not properly securing their Box cloud storage accounts, a report by security firm Adversis has revealed.

The problem lies in the way links are shared between Box users. Employees are able to share public links to files in the Box folders, which could be easily intercepted and hacked, or shared with people outside of the organisation.

The “secret” links can be easily discovered using a script that can scan for Box accounts in use on a network, using lists of company names and wildcard searches. The security firm found more than 90 companies with publicly accessible folders, including tech firms that should know better. In fact, Box itself was one of the companies revealed to have publicly accessible data available.

“Initially, we intended to reach out to all the companies affected but we quickly realized that was impossible at this scale,” Adversis said. “A large percentage of the Box customer accounts we tested had thousands of sensitive documents exposed. We alerted a number of companies that had highly sensitive data exposed, reached out directly to Box, and published this write up.”

Even more worrying, some of these links were discoverable by Google and other search engines, meaning they could, theoretically, be indexed in search results.

Some of the data Adversis found to be available to anyone looking for it included personal details, such as passport information, bank account details and passwords, finance data, including invoices and customer details.

Some of the businesses highlighted as not properly securing their Box accounts were Apple, PR firm Edelman, Schneider Electric and TV network Discovery.

“We take our customers’ security seriously and we provide controls that allow our customers to choose the right level of security based on the sensitivity of the content they are sharing,” Box said in a statement. “In some cases, users may want to share files or folders broadly and will set the permissions for a custom or shared link to public or ‘open’.

“We are taking steps to make these settings more clear, better help users understand how their files or folders can be shared, and reduce the potential for content to be shared unintentionally, including both improving admin policies and introducing additional controls for shared links.”

Okta has announced it will buy Seattle-based automation business Azuqua in a deal worth $52.5 million.

The startup has developed the technology to integrate data stored on different databases into one system; for example, CRM platforms, employee management or other places where data often sits without being used or analysed.

Okta’s CEO, Todd McKinnon hasn’t revealed exactly how Okta will use Azuqua’s Workflow automation tech, only that it’ll “supercharge it”, but it’s likely it will be added to Okta’s workplace software solutions, potentially synching employee details across a business’s HR and payroll applications.

Other potential uses are for customer management, helping Okta move into the consumer data management space – a move enabled by the acquisition of Stormpath two years ago.

Azuqua’s existing customers will become Okta’s, and the company will ensure those already using the tech are fully supported during the transfer. They will then be moved over to Okta’s lifestyle management platform.

“Strategically, we’re pretty excited about where this positions us next to Microsoft and Salesforce,” McKinnon told Fortune.

Azuqua has attracted a lot of investment from venture capitalists and was started up by ex-Microsoft employees, making it a pretty solid company to place bets on. However, one of its founders – chief technology officer, Craig Unger left last year to set up another automation business focusing on workplace compliance.

“With Okta and Azuqua, IT teams will be able to use pre-built connectors and logic to create streamlined identity processes and increase operational speed,” Okta co-founder and COO Frederic Kerrest said.

“And, product teams will be able to embed this technology in their own applications alongside Okta’s core authentication and user management technology to build…integrated customer experiences.”

The Department for Transport (DfT) is embracing digital transformation by migrating its first in-house developed application to Google’s Cloud Platform.

The department has moved its Latest Earnings Networked Nationally Overnight (LENNON) application to Google’s public cloud platform in an attempt to move away from legacy data centres into a more flexible and scalable environment.

LENNON is a huge, 100TB database for the rail sector, tracking data such as ticket sales and franchise earnings, allowing the rail technical and data management team to understand the current state of the UK’s rail network.

Engineers from the DfT’s digital team, its rail technical and data management team, Google and Cloud Technology Solutions teamed up on the project to digitise the platform, making it a faster way to look up data, running queries simultaneously to make a process that claims to be 20 times faster than its on-premise counterpart.

Although the previous iteration of LENNON was used by the DfT, it was limited in functionality given how long it took employees to source and retrieve data from the system.

The department said the cloud-based system has made it much faster to run multiple queries, resulting in better data insights. It’s also much quicker to find data, freeing up other resources within the department and provides a more robust backup and maintenance solution.

“For DfT’s Digital Service, this project has demonstrated some huge benefits of using Google Cloud Platform,” the DfT said. “I hope and expect that this experience will enable us to further improve our efficiency through the transformation of similar applications.”

The next stage of development is to use LENNON’s migration blueprints for other areas of the DfT’s digital transformation strategy.

Microsoft has unveiled its first data centre in Africa, showcasing new facilities in Cape Town and Johannesburg for customers wanting to access the company’s Azure cloud service.

The move will enable local businesses to take advantage of Microsoft’s cloud for building apps and services, while also attracting significant revenues for the global tech firm as it takes advantage of Africa’s rapidly expanding tech scene.

“The combination of Microsoft’s global cloud infrastructure with the new regions in Africa will create greater economic opportunity for organisations in Africa, accelerate new global investment, and improve access to cloud and internet services,” said Yousef Khalidi, corporate vice president of Azure Networking at Microsoft.

The continent has seen a rapid rise in the adoption of cloud in recent years. Fewer than 50% of businesses were using the technology in 2013, a figure which has since more than doubled, according to World Wide Worx. As a result, companies have become increasingly concerned about the reliability and security of cloud services.

Microsoft also revealed it is working alongside the African Development Bank to launch its Coding for Employment initiative, as part of Microsoft’s Imagine Academies work, which it hopes will create 25 million jobs in the area.

“We’re working with partners to accelerate cloud readiness and adoption in Africa, ensuring enterprises can deliver services to market faster, businesses can make more data-driven decisions, and governments can better connect with citizens,” Ibrahim Youssry, general manager, North, West, East, Central Africa, Levant & Pakistan, Microsoft said.

“As we connect more businesses to Azure, we’re seeing heightened innovation in the cloud and start-ups expanding their services to new markets. The combination of Microsoft’s global cloud infrastructure with the new regions in Africa will now connect businesses with even more opportunity and customers across the globe.”

The majority of police forces are still heavily reliant on legacy infrastructure to access and manage their apps and services, according to new data.

Although the government has pushed for all of its divisions to take a cloud-first attitude, the police service has seemingly not taken this advice and 75% are yet to migrate to the cloud.

A freedom of information (FOI) request sent by Citrix to police forces across the country exposed a huge hole in public service digital transformation.

Less than a third of the police forces said they are using the public cloud to access and manage their data, while almost two-thirds said they store less than a quarter of their data in the cloud.

However, moving more services to the cloud is a priority for most of the police forces that responded to the request, with 88% saying they are looking at investing in new infrastructure, software and platforms in the next 12 months, but dwindling budgets have meant the rollout has been slower than hoped.

“With a 19% reduction in funding from central government and council taxes since 2010/11, police forces are on the lookout for innovative, cost-effective technology to improve security and increase operational efficiency,” said Darren Fields, Citrix managing director for UK and Ireland.

“Yet, many police forces across the UK are held back by legacy IT systems – making it a challenging exercise to consolidate and transition data and applications to the cloud.

“However, the cloud will inevitably become integral to service delivery – due to solutions typically being cost-effective, scalable, secure and flexible – and is likely to become an indispensable asset for police forces in the year ahead.”

There have been efforts to modernise policing networks over the past year in a bid to move more data to the cloud, however, these tend to have been isolated to a few forces, most notably the Metropolitan Police. In September, the Met Police said it had secured a deal with Microsoft to replace its legacy infrastructure with its Azure platform, meanwhile Lincolnshire Police announced in November it had secured a ten-year deal with Motorola to modernise its control room.

Lancaster University has launched a chatbot for students to help them navigate their way through the university world, including serving up information about their studies and social life.

Built on AWS, the chatbot allows students to ask questions and receive contextual replies, as if they’re chatting to a human. They can ask questions about their timetable, tutors and grades, or perhaps find out about clubs and societies that may be relevant to their interests.

For example, students may want to find out when their next lecture is, what grade they achieved in their last exam or the deadlines for assignments. They can also find out information about the local area and facilities, such as where they can find a free computer to use or the opening times of pubs and bars.

“With Ask L.U., Lancaster University is at the forefront of voice interfaces for its students,” said Paul Harness, director at Lancaster University’s Information Systems Services (ISS). “Ask L.U. enhances our existing iLancaster mobile app with a range of student-focused voice services and gives us a base on which we can build efficient, voice-driven digital services in the future.”

Ask L.U works on both mobile and using the Amazon Echo smart speaker, authenticating user data using Amazon Cognito and providing a completely personalised experience.

It’s been built using the whole suite of AWS services, including AWS Cloudwatch, AWS Virtual Private Cloud and AWS ElasticSearch, with Amazon Lex and Amazon Alexa providing the natural speech tech.

“Ask L.U. delivers a whole host of information for students, which they can easily and quickly access using their voice,” ISS head of IT Partnering and Innovation Chris Dixon said. “This modern and innovative way of delivering information fits in perfectly with their packed academic and social lives.”

Salesforce has launched myTrailhead, a branded learning experience platform to help businesses offer their employees enhanced skills training.

myTrailhead builds upon Salesforce’s Trailhead, but allows organisations to brand the platform with their own logo, tone of voice and resources in just a few clicks.

Employees can learn the skills they want, when they wish, developing a more engaged and productive workforce. Additionally, managers can track employee progress with Trail Tracker, an app available on the on Salesforce AppExchange, which assigns, tracks and reports on badges earned by their team. This also identifies where they may need to improve upon skills to make sure their organisation is futureproofed.

The myTrailhead platform introduces Trailmixes, a customised learning path for employees. They can be specified during the onboarding process to offer a learning journey built specifically for their particular role, starting from day one at the company. As an employee progresses through their learning, they can achieve badges and other accolades that can be shared with others in the company.

“Business leaders recognize that investing in their people and building a deep culture of learning is a key strategy to moving their company forward,” said Sarah Franklin, EVP of Developer Relations and GM of Trailhead at Salesforce.

myTrailhead integrates with Salesforce applications like Sales Cloud, Service Cloud and Marketing Cloud. If any of the applications identify a staff member needing extra support or training, myTrailhead will send a notification to them suggesting they take part in relevant training.

“As companies modernize their workforce to compete in the digital economy, they want new learning environments that are digital, smart and fun,” said Josh Bersin, principal and founder, BersinTM at Deloitte Consulting LLP.

“Learning platforms like myTrailhead, which are compelling and easy to use, are essential to employee engagement and growth, and represent an enormous new market in the HR tech landscape.”

A report into the global cloud market has revealed that the value of cloud services could grow by an annual rate of 18% between 2019 and 2023 as businesses look to automate more services and deliver better experiences to customers.

Other primary growth drivers are that businesses want to save costs and obtain a higher return on investment for their tech services according to Research and Markets’ Cloud Computing Market by Service Model, Deployment Model, Organization Size, Workload, Vertical, and Region – Global Forecast to 2023 report.

The retail and consumer goods vertical will experience the highest rate of cloud growth of any of those explored by Research and Markets. This is due to the “rising purchasing power of customers” and a drive to improve customer engagement through innovation. Businesses need to attract and retain customers and the cloud is a key facilitator to do this.

Many businesses choose between a public, private or hybrid cloud, but there is a fourth option. Learn more about Virtual Private Cloud and how it could help your business in this special report from IT Pro.

Download now

Retail businesses have traditionally focused on the use of cloud for storage, backup, and security services. But this is set to change in the coming years, when firms will be driven to innovate using the cloud, particularly in the online retail experience.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) will be one of the key areas of growth as it helps companies to scale their business and improve performance compared to legacy architecture. It means companies can focus on their core business while IaaS allows for great collaboration and flexibility.

Although signs are good for growth, there are also some key concerns that may stand in the way of higher growth rates. Cyber attacks and lack of skills could mean that the value of the global cloud market can’t grow as rapidly.