Microsoft slammed over changes to cloud licensing


Bobby Hellard

9 Aug, 2019

Senior executives from AWS and Google Cloud have hit out at Microsoft for changing how it charges customers using its software on other public clouds.

Some are even accusing Microsoft of trying to lock customers into a single vendor with a complex pricing structure.

From 1 October, Microsoft customers will have to pay additional fees if they want to run its software on AWS, Google or Alibaba cloud environments due to a change to its on-prem licences.

AWS CTO Werner Vogels took to Twitter to slam the change, saying: “Yet another bait+switch by $MSFT, eliminating license benefits to force MS use. 1st, MS took away BYOL SQL Server on RDS, now no Windows upgrades w/BYOL on#AWS. Hard to trust a co. who raises prices, eliminates benefits, + restricts freedom of choice.”

Google Cloud’s president, Robert Enslin, posted a tweet that suggested Microsoft was harking back to its old ways.

“Shelf-ware. Complex pricing. And now vendor lock-in. Microsoft is taking its greatest hits from the ’90s to the cloud,” he wrote.

AWS VP Sandy Carter said in a post that Microsoft was ‘awkwardly’ trying to force customers into Azure with the license change.

Carter said that Microsoft seemed to be taking from the “old guard software vendor playbook”. Firstly, by trying to put an end to Bring Your Own License (BYOL) for Windows Server purchased after October 1, 2019. She said that it would restrict customers ability to bring their own purchased licenses to their preferred cloud when using licenses purchased after the change comes into force.

She also accused Microsoft of trying to limit choice around SQL Server.

“If you are running SQL Server on the AWS cloud with Dedicated Host without software Assurance (SA) (which is allowed today) and want to upgrade to a newer version after October 1, you would be required to purchase a new SQL Server license with SA,” she explained.

Until now, Microsoft customers were allowed to use the same licence if they wanted to move a workload from an on-premise environment to a single-tenanted public cloud server.

“The emergence of dedicated hosted cloud services has blurred the line between traditional outsourcing and cloud services and has led to the use of on-premise licences on cloud services,” it said in a blog.

“As a result, we’re updating the outsourcing terms for Microsoft on-premise licences to clarify the distinction between on-premise/traditional outsourcing and cloud services and create more consistent licensing terms across multi-tenant and dedicated hosted cloud services.”

Customers now wanting to run Microsoft software on single-tenant cloud servers of AWS, Alibaba, Microsoft and Google will have to pay additional fees on top of the standard licensing.

Alastair Pooley, CIO at Snow Software, argues that the changes will almost certainly bring added complexity for customers.

“Microsoft’s recent change to licensing rules impacts the ability to “bring your own license” to dedicated cloud environments. If you are using the more common shared compute instances this will not affect you. Higher security or performance needs have led some companies to choose to be the only tenant on a physical machine and for those customers this will likely increase their costs and add complexity to their Microsoft licensing.

IT Pro has contacted Microsoft for comment

Why it’s time to make continuous cloud security part of your developer journey

Cloud computing hasn’t always been synonymous with great security. However, despite early fears that it was less secure than data centres, the cloud is now considered a useful – and secure – solution for most critical business functions. While some of its earliest adopters could afford to be somewhat blasé about security, that’s no longer the case. The latest generation of cloud entrants mainly operate in finance and government sectors, meaning that security and compliance are at the very top of their agendas.

This emphasis on cloud security has also been sped up by the series of significant data breaches which have affected consumers in recent years. Security has been thrown into the legal spotlight more than ever before too, particularly after GDPR was introduced in Europe, giving strict regulation for businesses to either comply with or face direct consequences.

But while the development and operations departments of businesses have largely embraced the dynamic world of the cloud, for the security team it presents a whole new set of challenges. They no longer work with controlled environments that they can carefully assess and manage as they did before. Instead, with cloud platforms and application code so tightly integrated, development teams must now incorporate security requirements into their code itself to enforce in the platform.  

As cloud platforms often change daily, the potential risk of a misconfiguration is significant. According to Gartner analysis, by 2020, 80 percent of cloud breaches will be due to customer misconfiguration, mismanaged credentials, or insider theft – not cloud provider vulnerabilities. 

Solutions do now exist that can help the security team with these challenges. These solutions allow them to define their policies (PCI-DSS, CIS, NIST, HIPAA) against the cloud environments and, then, to present them to the development team in a concise way.

Reducing the unnecessary overheads incurred in maintaining security policies can aid an organisation enormously. It lowers the risk of misinterpretation, narrows the margin for human error, and allows the development team to work safely within the guardrails established by the security team. This means that they do not constantly need to be aware of the latest changes on the cloud platform and how they correspond to the written security policies. Free from their security role, they can code without wading through pages of policy.

At my organisation, we faced this exact challenge. We found that the existing tools for multi-cloud environments were poor and that any remediations were lacking. In order to address these gaps, we created a solution named Cloud Security Guardian (CSG) and, now, our workflow follows a clearly-defined pattern:

  • Deployment: Stand up a new Azure subscription or AWS account 
  • Permission: Create the IAM controls and give them to security teams to allow them to configure CSG in order to inspect the new environment
  • Definition: The security team can create or apply the compliance policies that they require the cloud solutions to meet. This can be easily changed as the environment expands or as the compliance requirements evolve
  • Building: The development team can now start making their cloud deployments into the environments. For these initial ones, the developers can focus on function as this will be evaluated in real time. 
  • Consumption: Query CSG via the API and find out exactly where that new deployment fails to match the security policy. If the deployment matches it perfectly, then you now have the report to prove it.
  • Remediation: If there is at least one thing to remediate, the violations can be fixed with another quick call. The corrected template can then be pulled back into the repo or the API can provide the JSON to integrate independently. (Those who like GUIs can review the alerts and remediate from the GUI instead)
  • Report: As the project progresses, the reports can be shared with stakeholders. These can prove invaluable when performing risk analysis and will assist with sprint planning because they show which areas should be focused on

For developers, this process provides information throughout the entire integration cycle. It can point out the risks in smoke, make quick remediations in UAT, or provide validation in staging. Once in production, this could then be handed over to the operations team to monitor for manual changes or for configuration drift.

Of course, the security team can use this tool too. It allows them to have an immediate overview of the security of all cloud environments and to keep an eye on short-lived environments in order to assess the risk they may have presented as well. Once the security team can view the system’s entire infrastructure, they can easily see how its components interconnect and identify its weak points. 

When it comes to carrying out company-wide reviews of security practice, it allows the security team to quickly make a report on compliance status at any given point in time. It also provides them with a full audit trail. Every change made to the system can be monitored in real time and alerts can be sent to Slack, Sumo Logic, or email whenever something falls out of compliance. 

Making continuous security part of the cloud lifecycle can benefit a company’s security and development teams in equal proportion. It allows them to operate the cloud environments and to manage their compliance requirements as one joined entity using the methods that best suit each team.  

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How AWS certifications are increasing tech salaries by up to $12k per year

  • AWS and Google certifications are among the most lucrative in North America, paying average salaries of $129,868 and $147,357 respectively
  • Cross-certifying on AWS is providing a $12K salary bump to IT professionals who already have Citrix and Red Hat/Linux certifications today
  • Globally, four of the five top-paying certifications are in cloud computing

These and many other insights of which certifications provide the highest salaries by region of the world are from the recently published Global Knowledge 2019 IT Skills and Salary ReportThe report is downloadable here (27 pp., PDF, free, opt-in). The methodology is based on 12,271 interviews across non-management IT staffs (29% of interviews), mid-level professionals including managers and team leads (43%), and senior-level and executive roles (28%) across four global regions. For additional details regarding the study’s methodology, please see page 24 of the report.

Key insights from the report include the following:

Cross-certifying on AWS is providing a $12K salary bump to IT professionals who already have Citrix and Red Hat/Linux certifications

Citrix certifications pay an average salary of $109,546 and those earning an AWS certification see a $12,339 salary bump on average. Red Hat/Linux certification-based jobs pay an average of $113,165 and are seeing an average salary bump of $12,553.  Cisco-certified IT professionals who gain AWS certification increase their salaries on average from $101,533 to $111,869, gaining a 10.2% increase. The following chart compares the salary bump AWS certifications are providing to IT professionals with seven of the more popular certifications (please click on the graphic to expand for easier reading).

AWS and Google certifications are among the most lucrative in North America, paying average salaries of $129,868 and $147,357 while the most popular are cybersecurity, governance, compliance, and policy

27% of all respondents to Global Knowledge’s survey have at least one certification in this category. Nearly 18% are ITIL certified. In North American, the most popular certification categories beyond cybersecurity are CompTIA, Microsoft, and Cisco. The following table from the report provides an overview of salary by certification category (please click on the graphic to expand for easier reading).

AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate is the most popular AWS certification today, with 72% of respondents having achieved its requirements

Certified Solutions Architect – Associate leads the top five most commonly held AWS certifications today according to the survey. AWS Certified Developer – Associate (33%), AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate (24%), AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional (16%) and AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner round out the top five most common AWS certifications across the 12,271 global respondents to the Global Knowledge survey.

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Microsoft contractors listen to Skype Translator recordings


Bobby Hellard

8 Aug, 2019

Contractors working for Microsoft are reportedly listening to personal Skype calls made using the app’s translation function. 

The video calling platform’s website does say that the company may analyse audio of translated phone calls in order to improve the service but it doesn’t state that this will be done by humans. However, through obtaining some Skype audio recordings and accounts of the human listening situation from unnamed Microsoft workers, Motherboard reported that the contractors are allegedly listening to personal conversations made through Skype. 

It is also reported that these contractors are reviewing recordings of voice commands made to Microsoft’s Cortana, which is currently a controversial trend with tech companies. Both Amazon and Google came under fire recently for reports that revealed workers were reviewing Alexa and Google Assistant recordings – Amazon later introduced a setting for users to disable human reviews.

The issue with it, however, isn’t that humans are listening to the device, but that it isn’t made clear in the terms and conditions. Skype Translator Ts&Cs state: “When you use Skype’s translation features, Skype collects and uses your conversation to help improve Microsoft products and services. To help the translation and speech recognition technology learn and grow, sentences and automatic transcripts are analysed and any corrections are entered into our system, to build more performant services.”

While it does state that it collects recordings to improve the service, it doesn’t explicitly say that these recordings are reviewed by humans contractors. Likewise, Microsoft’s own privacy statement also fails to make this crystal clear.

In July, after an unnamed Google worker leaked details to a Belgian public broadcaster about how the company reviews recordings made on its smart speaker, the tech giant responded in a blog post defending the practice.

As GDPR expert lawyer Frank Jennings told IT Pro at the time, speech recognition has progressed so far that we don’t expect humans to be involved at all, but there is still an obligation to be clear on the matter.

“While asking humans to assist with language recognition and booking fulfilment is a ‘legitimate purpose’ under GDPR, the real question is whether Google is doing so in a ‘transparent manner’ and for ‘specified and explicit purposes’,” said Jennings. 

While home speakers like Alexa and Google Assistant raise questions over privacy in the home, the reports of Skype Translator recordings present a potential worry for businesses.

“We strive to be transparent about our collection and use of voice data to ensure customers can make informed choices about when and how their voice data is used,” a Microsoft spokesperson said to IT Pro in an email. “Microsoft gets customers permission before collecting and using their voice data. We also put in place several procedures designed to prioritise users privacy before sharing this data with our vendors, including de-identifying data, requiring non-disclosure agreements with vendors and their employees, and requiring that vendors meet the high privacy standards set out in European law. We continue to review the way we handle voice data to ensure we make options as clear as possible to customers and provide strong privacy protections.” 

Which, again, still doesn’t explicitly say ‘humans’ are involved in this process.

Salesforce buys field services firm ClickSoftware for $1.35bn


Dale Walker

8 Aug, 2019

Salesforce has said it’s acquiring field service software firm ClickSoftware for around $1.35 billion as it seeks to maintain growth in its Service Cloud division.

The company reported in June that its Service Cloud unit, which includes its Field Service Lightning product, managed to pass $1 billion in revenue, something it hopes to improve upon over the coming year.

The acquisition comes just days after the signing of a $15.7 billion deal to purchase data visualisation firm Tableau, by far the largest deal in Salesforce’s history.

“Delivering exceptional field service is an increasingly important priority for companies across industries with more than 70 percent of customer service leaders making significant investments to transform their mobile workforce,” said Bill Patterson, EVP and GM at Salesforce Service Cloud.

“Our acquisition of ClickSoftware will not only accelerate the growth of Service Cloud, but drive further innovation with Field Service Lightning to better meet the needs of our customers. We are thrilled to welcome the ClickSoftware team to Salesforce.”

Field Service Lightning was first introduced in 2016 and since then Salesforce has partnered with ClickSoftware to help develop its division. With its current product, if mobile employees find themselves stuck in traffic, a dispatcher is able to use the platform to quickly direct another technician to the job. This data is then updated across the entirety of the Salesforce suite, so that customers, sales, and the service departments have visibility.

The acquisition of ClickSoftware will “create strategic synergies, technological unity and new innovation opportunities for Salesforce to better meet the needs of existing and new customers around the world”, according to a company statement.

The deal is said to be a mix of cash and Salesforce common stock, and is expected to close during Salesforce’s fiscal quarter ending in October.

How the energy industry is embracing cloud computing: Three key areas of success

Cloud technology is helping companies in every industry do more with less. In specific industry verticals, the cloud can play a key role in pushing the industry into successful digital integration. The energy sector, which is my company's expertise, is an example of how the cloud can transform an industry's operating procedures. Adoption isn't yet widespread yet, but the industry's shift to the cloud is picking up speed as we catapult into the next decade.

In energy, legacy systems that rely on human involvement are now being replaced by automated systems that interact seamlessly with cloud platforms. The companies driving this shift report typical improvements (greater efficiencies, lower costs), as well as some benefits that aren't as applicable to other industries.

Things happen quickly in the cloud, and speed is priceless in this industry. A recent report from Accenture found that energy executives view reduced costs as merely a secondary benefit — they mostly want to harness the cloud to speed up operations. In oil and gas, timely data transmission is critical to operators. Cloud technologies allow for the transfer of data at unprecedented speed and scale, whether it comes from field measurement instruments/flow, land titles/contracts, or regulatory documentation.

Cloud technology is also a boon to energy-based accounting departments and CFOs. Energy is one of the most regulated sectors of the economy, which means accounting can get complicated in a hurry. The cloud meets the complex accounting needs of most oil and gas enterprises at a reasonable cost and with a high level of reliability.

When companies can back up data and recover it in the cloud, SOX compliance becomes far more manageable. Even better? Automated cloud-based systems reduce human errors that even the most sophisticated legacy software can’t prevent.

Integrating the cloud with energy companies

Spending on public cloud services is expected to total $277 billion in 2021, according to the International Data Corporation. That charge primarily will be led by professional services, telecommunications, and banking enterprises. Energy companies will also contribute to that number, though not all of them are ready for cloud adoption.

In several cases, we have witnessed organisations rush to join the cloud movement without first developing an adequate plan for adoption that accounts for such a unique environment. This can be a costly mistake — these companies often expend resources attempting to transition to services they don’t need or can’t use. Focus on the following three steps when planning your own cloud migration, and you’re much more likely to appreciate the outcome.

Tap into internal expertise

Clients often think they want cloud solutions when they actually need more agility and mobility in their present ERP systems. Some organisations rush to ditch their existing on-premise systems before they have comprehensive digital strategies in place. They quickly realise that cloud solutions aren’t a panacea — and can become the opposite when companies aren't ready for the transition. A botched or painful migration is avoidable if energy leaders take the time beforehand to understand what the technology can and cannot do.

At Enertia Software, we urge operators to get input from experts within their organisations before seriously considering cloud adoption. Talk with internal stakeholders who have a clear understanding of the value of cloud technology and the core business objectives of your organisation.

Don’t overlook integration

Companies don’t do business in a vacuum. Your business probably has processes and systems in place for working with outside partners, and you’ll need to thoroughly evaluate these internal operations as you develop your plan. For example, oil and gas processes in the energy sector are field-intensive and not directly comparable to the outputs of other industries. Cloud integration for an energy company will be a different process than for companies in other industries.

Your organisation’s digital transformation will affect everyone you work with, including vendors, contractors, and other partners. Unless you want to lose them, you’ll need to help them understand how existing workflows will change and how your company will navigate that change.

Ultimately, having a fully integrated single database cloud solution will not only improve efficiencies but also provide meaningful outsourced-IT services, alternative accessibility options, and cost-saving solutions. To capture those benefits without completely overhauling your existing business model, you’ll have to ensure that your partners and their products will be seamlessly integrated into your post-adoption workflows.

Seek out flexibility

When evaluating specific cloud services, don't forget about the client's need for flexibility. In our industry, upstream energy companies consistently need flexible implementation solutions that support business expansion, agility, and operational efficiency. This needs goes beyond the energy sector — all innovative, solutions-oriented companies need flexibility in their cloud infrastructures. Just as public cloud spending will continue to increase, the global market for true private cloud services will also expand — reaching roughly $262.4 billion by 2027, according to Wikibon — and there is no shortage of firms that would love to help your organisation with its transformation.

The best partners have more than just technical expertise, of course. They’ll be able to help you turn cloud technology into a competitive advantage and empower you to think more strategically and proactively about how it can be deployed. In the not-too-distant future, nearly every organisation will rely on the cloud in some form or another. The ones that win won’t just evolve their technology — they’ll evolve with it.

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85% of companies now operating in a multi-cloud environment


Esther Kezia Thorpe

7 Aug, 2019

The rapid expansion of cloud-based services and a wealth of choice around the cloud has resulted in more competition than ever before. Increasingly, organisations are now choosing to mix and match cloud solutions, rather than choose between multiple technologies and vendors.

Using more than one cloud service this way is known as multi-cloud; not to be confused with hybrid cloud, which is using both public and private clouds in a business. 

The use of multiple clouds for businesses is growing in popularity and according to a survey from IBM, 85% of organisations are now using multiple clouds in their business.

To complicate things, the majority of these environments are made up of multiple hybrid clouds. 76% of the organisations surveyed reported that they were already using from two to 15 hybrid clouds.

It is also important to note that this only includes the clouds that IT executives are aware of. Shadow IT and cloud services used without official authorisation are a growing issue and mean the actual number of clouds used in businesses may be higher than the IT department reports.

Over the next three years, IBM forecasts that the number of companies using multiple clouds will grow to 98%. At present, however just 41% of these businesses have an active multi-cloud strategy, meaning many are managing multiple clouds on the fly as services are added on. This can put departments at risk of cloud sprawl, where fast and unchecked cloud adoption can cause issues with security and compliance.


Explore the challenges and benefits of a multi-cloud environment, and how to forge a clear path to successful multi-cloud management in ‘A field guide to multi-cloud management’.

Download now


Of the organisations operating in a multi-cloud environment, IBM’s survey found that just under half were establishing a formal multi-cloud architecture in order to enable a more unified management of cloud services. 

Use of formal procedures and tools to operate a multi-cloud environment is also low, but growing. Configuration management tools and multi-cloud management platforms are growing in popularity among enterprises in particular as a way to choreograph workloads and fully embrace the benefits of multiple clouds.

But multi-cloud isn’t just something enterprises can make use of. Many consumers use multiple cloud services in everyday life, and many businesses do so without necessarily realising it. 

Although formal multi-cloud management may be lagging behind adoption, the unlimited choice and flexibility that organisations get with their cloud deployments are proving particularly beneficial to digital transformation efforts.

Slack unveils new admin security controls


Bobby Hellard

7 Aug, 2019

Slack has introduced a slew of security features to give IT admins more control over which employees use can use the service and how.

These new features will help to implement limits on users and devices, including blocking both from accessing their company’s Slack account if they’re deemed to be suspicious or unsecured. 

The changes follow on from the company’s Enterprise Grid service, which was launched last year and promised more user efficiency and tighter security.

“Without proper controls in place, mobile applications can open your employees up to new security risks,” Slack wrote in a blog post. “To alleviate that, we’re rolling out new functionality to ensure that only the right people and approved devices can access your company’s information in Slack.”

To start, Slack is introducing new secondary authentication controls, allowing admins to implement additional layers of security in the form of Face ID, Touch ID, or generated passcodes. This also comes with a time limit function, after which users have to re-authenticate. There are also session management tools to remotely wipe a user’s mobile or desktop session in the event their device is lost or stolen.

Alongside these, Slack also unveiled data sharing protections. New domain whitelisting tools will be available for admins to control which workspaces can be accessed by its employees. Slack said this not only shores up sensitive company information, but it will also help teams focus on their immediate workloads. Another related feature  blocks users from downloading company information to an unmanaged device.

This is just the beginning, according to Slack. Session management controls will soon be added to the admin dashboards, which will allow them to define the maximum number of devices a single employee can be logged into at one time. What’s more, the company is working on a feature where admins can detect if a device has been jailbroken and then block its access to the app.

Slack said these new features are designed for IT professionals “who want to modernise and improve how their organisations work while maintaining compliance with their industry”.

For Jake Moore, cyber security specialist at ESET, it shows that security is slowly becoming important to the normal user, delivering what the people want rather than what the industry thinks the consumer needs.

“With Slack making great steps forward, adding more prominent security functions, it will hopefully make people more aware of the importance of authentication and other protection techniques,” he said. “It might even push other manufacturers into rolling out similar features as default.”

The state of the MSP in 2019: Why flexibility and further moves to the cloud are key

Managed service providers (MSPs) are in a fascinating place right now. They more often than not have plenty of longevity, while the vast majority believe today is as good as ever to be in the industry.

Yet the two points can be conflated. With longevity comes a need to change course, to avoid falling behind competitors. But as organisations continue to move to the cloud, and as their cloudy workloads become increasingly complex, the role of the MSP becomes increasingly vital. It is just about where exactly you play.

Datto, a provider of business continuity, networking and business management software, recently released its 2019 State of the MSP Report. The study polled more than 1600 MSPs around the world focusing on what they were doing right now in the channel and, crucially, where they thought the puck was heading.

Areas where providers felt their business was positively impacted included cloud storage and management, business continuity and disaster recovery, as well as cybersecurity. Kevin Damghani, chief partner experience engineer at IT Partners, told the report that as more clients shift to cloud-based productivity software, a ‘major opportunity’ presented itself for SaaS backup, with SaaS protection being the company’s fastest growing offering.

Rob Rae, VP business development at Datto, emphasised this positive approach. “MSPs have endless opportunities to expand their offerings, reach more industries, and grow their bottom line,” he told CloudTech. “The industry landscape for MSPs is constantly changing as technology advances – and nowadays, those advances are happening more rapidly than ever.”

Rae cited managed networking as a good example of this expansion where providers were showing plenty of interest. “It’s an easy concept for the businesses an MSP serves to grasp, because every business needs a Wi-Fi network. An MSP might manage their clients’ data backups, but what happens if the network goes down?” said Rae. “How would a client access that data? Businesses will invest to keep their networks, both wired and wireless, running efficiently.”

MSPs have endless opportunities to expand their offerings, reach more industries, and grow their bottom line. The industry landscape is constantly changing as technology advances

As good as it is for a business to have so many strings on one’s bow, it matters little when others aren’t aware of it. This was seen as one of the primary concerns of the report’s respondents; marketing and sales, cited by 44% of those polled, was the most frequent grumble.

Rae notes it has been this way for a few years – and is indirectly related to how long the companies have been in business. “Most MSPs don’t have in-house marketing teams and come from technical backgrounds,” he explained. “Maintaining healthy revenue growth and profitability is a common pain point as well as competition increases as more MSPs enter the space.

“Many MSPs began as break-fix shops or VARs [value added resellers],” Rae added. “As the concept of an MSP who operates on a recurring revenue model continues to grow in popularity across the IT channel, we can expect more MSPs to keep entering the space.”

Security was another concern, cited alongside ransomware by 30% of respondents. Regular readers of this publication will have seen the increasing sophistication of attacks, whether it is from greater attack surfaces or emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). The report notes that for many customers, the ‘it won’t happen to me’ mindset remains prevalent.

Datto has previously explored how ransomware remains a ‘massive’ threat to SMBs and how the channel is coping with it. Rae noted this heightened worry. “Concerns have increased because the risks have been more widely reported globally along with monetary and data losses – however, the threat never increased,” he said. “Bad actors merely were able to exploit at a wider scale more anonymously than ever before with the advent of ransomware and cryptocurrencies.”

Ultimately, MSPs have plenty of experience in terms of IT lifecycles, as well as an array of options in how to charm their customers and prospects. While the pain points aren’t going away, the 2019 State of the MSP Report notes an overall mood of optimism: in the next 12 months more than half of MSPs polled are expecting to add up to 10 new clients.

Editor’s note: This article is in association with Datto.

Salesforce appoints new UK leader to cement focus on local growth


Maggie Holland

6 Aug, 2019

Salesforce has appointed a new leader to help achieve its objectives of increased focus and growth in the UK market.

Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia, former chief executive of Virgin Money and chairman of the London Stock Exchange, will join the cloud giant in the role of UK and Ireland CEO from October, reporting into Miguel Milano, Salesforce’s international president. Paul Smith, general manager of Salesforce in the UK and Ireland will report into Dame Gadhia.

“I’ve admired Salesforce from afar for a long time. This is a different kind of business, with deeply held values and a true focus on transforming the experience of every customer through cutting edge technology,” she said.

“I’m looking forward to working with the team as we continue to invest and support Salesforce’s growing customer base in UKI.”

Dame Gadhia – who received her damehood at the end of 2018 for her services to the finance industry and more specifically women in the sector – will be responsible for driving the next stage of growth for Salesforce’s UK  and Ireland business.

The appointment follows on from the cloud firm’s pledge at last year’s London Tech Week to invest some $2.5 billion in the region over the next five years. That investment will take many forms, including a recruitment drive, expanded office space and building out its data centre capacity.

“Salesforce is working closely with the government to ensure innovation and technology are at the heart of the UK economy. Our $2.5 billion investment will help British companies drive innovation, boost productivity and build deeper connections with their customers, all key drivers of economic success,” Andrew Lawson – Salesforce’s former executive vice president and general manager for the UK – said at the time.

“We know that financial investment alone won’t do that, and that’s why we’re also focused on driving equality and diversity within the industry. Truly innovative businesses need people from multiple disciplines and different backgrounds to solve problems in the most creative and successful ways.”

Around 900 new employees are expected to be hired and on-boarded as part of the recruitment drive and a second data centre is planned for this year – a site that will run on 100% renewable energy, according to Salesforce. 

“Jayne-Anne is one of the most respected CEOs in the UK and we are thrilled to welcome her to Salesforce,” said Marc Benioff and Keith Block – chairman and co-CEO and co-CEO of Salesforce respectively.

“The UKI is our largest market outside the US and with Jayne-Anne’s leadership we are well-positioned to move into the next stage of growth and success for Salesforce, our customers, partners and communities.”