AWS and IBM are joining forces to combine their cloud tools for oil companies to use to help them manage their data while allowing them to overcome barriers like data residency requirements.

The two companies will combine the IBM Open Data for Industries for IBM Cloud Pak for Data and the AWS Cloud to serve energy customers. This is built on Red Hat OpenShift and will run on the AWS Cloud in order to make it easier for customers to run workloads on the platform and on-premises.

The collaboration, which aims to reduce data barriers in the energy industry, will allow customers to run OSDU Data Platform applications, an open source data platform for the energy industry, while addressing data residency requirements.

The companies claim that their energy customers are facing pressure to reduce greenhouse gases as demand for affordable energy continues to rise. To do this, companies need new products to help them drive efficiencies to free up capital, time, and resources to invest in new sustainable energy sources for the future.

IBM and AWS said that data and digital technologies can help navigate this transition, although an IBM survey from last year found that less than half of oil and gas executive respondents are using data to drive this innovation. The two companies underlined that this is partly because most of the digitisation efforts have been in proprietary closed systems, hindering the ability to combine and maximise the value of data.

“Much of the data needed to solve the complex energy challenges, such as superior subsurface decisions, already exists, yet is untapped. This is because one of the greatest values of that data is derived when it can be effectively combined, but usually this data is locked by data residency requirements, legacy applications or proprietary data formats,” said Bill Vass, vice president of engineering at AWS.

“By collaborating with IBM and leveraging Red Hat OpenShift, we will be able to offer customers a global, seamless offering with the flexibility to run on virtually any IT infrastructure and drive longer-term digital innovation.”

In October, Amazon also announced it invested in three companies developing sustainable technologies through its $2 billion Climate Pledge Fund programme. The fund was announced in 2020 to support sustainable investments, and these latest funding agreements brought its portfolio of companies to 11.

Kyndryl has signed a cloud migration partnership with Microsoft, considered to be the first major deal for the company since its official split from IBM.

The two companies will develop new products built on the Microsoft Cloud to drive digital transformation for customers, and Microsoft has become Kyndryl’s only Premier Global Alliance Partner.

The companies are set to accelerate hybrid cloud adoption, introduce AI innovations, and help transfer more mission critical workloads to the cloud. They will also jointly work on a co-innovation lab where they will build products on the Microsoft Cloud, with Kyndryl making them available on Microsoft’s AppSource and on the Azure Marketplace.

In return, Microsoft will make products developed by the two companies available for its global enterprise sales force as well as creating a training programme for Kyndryl’s nearly 90,000 employees, dubbed Kyndryl University for Microsoft, which has been designed to teach workers how to best use Microsoft’s cloud tools.

“As an independent company, we’re investing in our partner ecosystem to support the success of our customers, and we’re focused on expanding our market opportunity across cloud, data, security, and intelligent automation,” said Martin Schroeter, chairman and CEO of Kyndryl. “In this landmark relationship with Microsoft, Kyndryl is matching our deep expertise in mission-critical IT systems with the benefits of Microsoft Cloud to be at the heart of progress for our global customers.”

Kyndryl completed its previously-announced spin-off from IBM last week, which it hoped would give the business more freedom to pursue new opportunities. The company now claims to be the world’s largest IT infrastructure provider with around 90,000 professionals worldwide, and is looking to deliver advisory, implementation, and managed services to over 4,000 global customers. The company also hinted it was looking to form new partnerships in new areas, like application 5G networks.

IBM temporarily retained 19.9% equity ownership of the new company, with shareholders receiving one Kyndryl share for every five IBM shares owned. The giant would also continue on as Kyndryl’s largest customer, and Kyndryl would be IBM’s largest customer in return, as revealed by Sam Maatallah, general manager of Kyndryl strategic markets.

Maatallah said there is still a strong relationship between the two companies and they were going to continue to team up and create products together. However, he also underlined the new freedom Kyndryl has to team with other players in the market.

“Unleashed from IBM, we have the freedom to invest for growth, while expanding our ecosystem of strategic partners and services capabilities,” said Maatallah. “As an independent Kyndryl, we’ll work with a much bigger ecosystem unlocking more opportunities to participate across platforms.”

IBM’s decision to split its business in half by spinning off its infrastructure services unit into a separate company was revealed a year ago, which saw it end a strategy that saw it try to shift towards cloud growth while keeping its legacy business. Following the split, IBM said that it would then focus entirely on its AI capabilities and the hybrid cloud, which it described as a $1 trillion opportunity.

​Apple has unveiled a new package of support services designed to help small business IT teams manage their employee devices.

Providing businesses use Apple hardware, IT teams will now be able to manage all their employees’ technology needs using the new suite of tools aimed at assisting the onboarding of new team members and providing oversight on the workforce’s IT.

Dubbed Apple Business Essentials, the package includes is 24/7 phone support for IT managers and end-users, business iCloud storage, device management capabilities, and on-site repairs for businesses of 500 employees or fewer.

IT administrators are also able to bundle certain rules and required apps to different types of employees. For example, if the design team needs a specific suite of apps, they can be bundled into a ‘Collection’ and sent automatically to the team members’ devices.

Specific VPN and Wi-Fi access configurations can also be pre-determined and added to a collection to easily apply those settings to the employees who need them.

Smart user groups also allow IT teams to group employees based on factors like location, department, and job role, which can make applying these collections much easier.

For users being imported from Microsoft Azure Active Directory, they will also receive their apps and settings once added to a smart user group.

Business customers will also eventually receive priority AppleCare support to resolve any issues quickly, although they will need to specifically purchase a plan featuring AppleCare+ for Business Essentials in order to be eligible. Details for these plans will not be unveiled until spring 2022.

Apple is also touting onsite same-day repairs available to businesses in as little as 4 hours to minimise downtime. The caveat is that onsite repairs are only available on certain iPhone models, which haven’t been specified, and will be supported only in specific cities. Apple said each plan will only have two repairs available and these refresh annually.

The service is now available in beta before the full launch in spring 2022. Currently only available to US-based SMBs, plans start at $2.99 (£2.23) per month for a single device, $6.99 (£5.22) per month for a multi device plan, and $12.99 (£9.70) per month for a multi device plan with extra storage.

IT Pro contacted Apple for more information on when the UK can expect to see the service but it declined to offer any further information at this time.

“As your business grows, you may find yourself managing an increasing number of devices for your expanding team,” said Susan Prescott, vice president of enterprise and education marketing at Apple. “We understand that the IT needs of your employees, on top of everything else you’re already doing, is a lot to take on.

“To help you with that, we’re introducing a new service which brings together device management, storage, and support into one simple subscription for small businesses with up to 500 employees.”

​Microsoft and Meta have announced a partnership that will see features from both companies’ collaboration platforms integrate into one another to allow for cross-platform capabilities.

Formerly known as Facebook Workplace, Workplace by Meta will soon integrate features from Microsoft Teams into its own platform, such as livestreaming Teams video directly into Workplace groups.

The integration goes both ways and it will see certain Workplace content also becoming available to users on Teams.

Workplace will be integrated into Microsoft’s software using an app within Teams which can be pinned to its navigation bar, if a user wishes. Once selected, a Workplace ‘pane’ will become visible to the side of the UI, which can easily be hidden or re-opened.

The move is a significant step for the two platforms the collaboration software market as a whole. With the launch of Workplace by Facebook in late 2016 being closely followed by Microsoft Teams in March 2017, the two platforms were considered rivals in a contested market that had, up until then, been dominated by the likes of Slack.

Although Workplace is pitched as a much more rounded tool for creating company forums, and Teams is better suited for instant collaboration between smaller teams, the two platforms effectively target the same enterprise audience.

“One thing I learned from the pandemic is that companies don’t just rely on one tool to get their work done, so it is our responsibility as leaders in the space to make sure the tools they use integrate and interoperate with each other,” said Jeff Teper, CVP product and engineering at Microsoft Teams.

Users on both platforms will also be able to interact with meetings hosted on the other, such as commenting and offering emoji-driven reactions, without having to swap apps.

Workplace by Meta said Vodafone, Flight Centre Travel Group, and Lockton – three of its customers – have already been trialling the integration. Flight Centre Travel Group said they use Workplace to foster a cross-company community and use Teams for cross-company collaboration, adding that the integration allows staff to access the information they need quicker.

Ujjwal Singh, head of Workplace at Meta, also said the integration had specifically been requested by Workplace customers Vodafone and Accenture, according to CNBC.

“The way our customers end up using it is customers use the complementary features, not the competing features,” he told the broadcaster. “There are customers that are just Workplace shops, and then there are customers that are just Teams shops. This is really for those customers that use both.”

The announcement deepens the partnership between the two companies as they vie for market share in the collaboration space. Workplace already supports integration into Microsoft SharePoint, OneDrive, and the Office 365 suite.

Workplace can also be integrated into Microsoft Azure AD and was named in the top 15 apps used on the platform in 2020. Additionally, Microsoft Teams will become available on Meta Portal starting in December.

The integration comes as a free update which is available to download now, though customers will have to wait until later in 2022 before they can stream meetings and broadcasts from Teams into Workplace.

​Red squirrels are close to becoming extinct in the UK. Over the last 13 years, the species has lost roughly 60% of its habitat in England and Wales, and it’s estimated that fewer than 290,000 red squirrels remain. 

Over the last 100 years, or so, red squirrel populations have been declining largely due to the introduction of grey squirrels from North America, Dr Stephanie Wray, chair of the Mammal Society, tells IT Pro. Not only are their trans-Atlantic cousins much larger, but they also carry a disease called the parapox virus, which is harmless to them, but fatal to red squirrels.

Monitoring these animals has been a critical part of conservation efforts, as it enables scientists to better understand the habitats they live in, their behaviours and how they relate with other species. Monitoring, however, has traditionally been very labour intensive, and involves sending people into the wild to look for drays – the characteristic nests that red squirrels make – which can often be made in difficult-to-find places, such as high up on trees.

To that end, the Mammal Society has teamed up with the University of Bristol, the Rainforest Connection (RFCx), and networking giant Huawei, to preserve red squirrels. This landmark project combines bioacoustics with cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) to help conservationists assess and monitor squirrel populations, with a view to preventing their extinction and restoring their numbers.

Listening in

The project uses custom-built Guardian and Audiomoth monitoring devices in combination with Huawei software to analyse the natural noise of the environment; it’s the first time this equipment has been used this way in the UK.

“What this technology does is it allows us to put up recording devices that are picking up the whole soundscape in real-time,” Wray explains. “Then, by using the AI to recognise the cause of the different species of squirrels, we can just sort of filter out the bits that were interested in.”

A Guardian is essentially a minicomputer with solar panels, an antenna, and a microphone. It continuously records audio and connects through a mobile network to upload these sound files to a cloud repository. These devices use edge computer processing to perform AI-based processes themselves, then send out alerts through satellite or mobile signals. An Audiomoth, meanwhile, is an offline low-cost, open-source acoustic monitoring device used for monitoring wildlife. 

Chrissy Durkin, RFCx director of international expansions, says the University of Bristol, in collaboration with the Mammal Society, is deploying these offline devices to collect some valuable initial data on red squirrels.

Guardian devices will be installed once initial data from Audiomoth devices are analysed

“The first step is we really need to have a lot of examples of the calls red squirrels make to start to understand, in detail, where they’re present, and to be able to recognise them and understand their distribution,” she says.

By understanding the calls of the red squirrel, the project can produce an initial distribution map of where red squirrels are really based. This helps to determine where the long-term Guardian monitoring devices can be positioned. These devices can then give the project year-round data as well as an understanding of which species are present at any given time. 

The data is then fed into RFCx’s platform, Arbimon, a biodiversity monitoring system that, according to Durkin, is useful for understanding and analysing the species present. It eliminates traditional sound analysis, which has involved office-based workers listening to audio files one by one, trying to interpret the species they’re interested in by ear. Arbimon, instead, serves as a central hub for sound data funnelled into it from various recording devices. It can also perform several types of analysis, such as pattern matching, soundscape analysis, and random forest model analysis – a machine learning technique that’s used to solve regression and classification problems (it doesn’t have anything to do with actual forests). 

No time to die

Perhaps the most important tool is pattern matching, which drastically reduces the time taken for scientists to label species calls, from up to two years to just a few hours. The system works by running red squirrels’ calls from an audio file, for example, as a template against all the data that’s been collected. “It’s essentially visual analysis within the spectrogram,” Durkin explains.

It then finds all the matches within a certain threshold for the species call. “Using that tool, alone, you can figure out where the red squirrel has been present across all of your data insights,” she adds. A scientist can then examine all matches and cross-reference, by ear, which calls correctly match with a red squirrel’s, and which don’t. 

Engineers installing bioacoustic devices in the wild

One possible expansion of this technology is to label a dataset in order to build out an AI model for the red squirrel. In the meantime, the data collected can easily produce distribution maps to reveal where red squirrels live. With these maps, scientists can create conservation plans to preserve, and bolster, the population of red squirrels and make sure their species is sustainable. 

The red squirrel conservation project is still in its early stages, so the plans haven’t been finalised. Durkin says that in other projects she’s been involved with, however, data gathered has allowed conservationists to run a breeding programme, such as in the campaign to preserve Puerto Rican parrots. In this project, conservationists used distribution maps to find the best places to release birds bred in captivity back into the wild for the best chances of survival.

The initial analysis of audio recordings, in addition to the generation of population distribution maps, will help determine where the University of Bristol and the Mammal Society will position their permanent monitoring stations. Once this is accomplished, RFCx will physically travel to these locations to install the more advanced Guardian devices.

Looking ahead, Huawei’s technology could also be used in a host of further conservation projects. Although the initial layout has been made in the interests of protecting red squirrel populations, Wray suggests these same systems can be used to recognise the sounds of any species in order to help conservationists understand the extent of biodiversity in the UK, and the threats that British wildlife faces.

HP has announced new Z by HP, Teradici and Nvidia Omniverse subscription offers, designed to help support remote collaboration across multiple systems and applications, at the edge or in the cloud. 

The move means creators can now take advantage of a combined subscription for Teradici Cloud Access Software and HP ZCentral, as well as collaborate across apps with Nvidia Omniverse. 

Additionally, HP is also releasing its data science software stack for Linux in collaboration with Microsoft on the Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL 2).

“Today’s designers, creators, and power users need to access their high-performance compute and workflows from wherever they get work done; location is no longer a limit,” commented Jim Nottingham, general manager and global head of Advanced Compute and Solutions at HP.

“Digital services such as workflow-as-a-service and compute-on-demand will shape the way commercial and SMB customers utilise high-performance computing in the future. At HP, we strive to offer the world’s most comprehensive solutions for remote compute and collaboration with ZCentral and Teradici.”

The combination of ZCentral Software and Teradici CAS is designed to offer a comprehensive remote solution that enables anywhere access to software that can handle graphics or compute-intensive projects. Teradici CAS provides secure access to the cloud and virtual machines, while ZCentral Remote Boost allows access to localised workstation performance, the firm said. 

A combined one-year subscription will include Teradici and ZCentral software for $240 per concurrent user and is expected to be available from the end of 2021.

HP is also collaborating with Nvidia to combine Teradici CAS and  Omniverse Enterprise, which it says will offer a platform for co-creation, real-time simultaneous collaboration, and true-to-reality simulation for design teams – ultimately removing location as a barrier for 3D collaboration.

HP is offering users a three-month free trial of Nvidia Omniverse Enterprise and Teradici CAS with qualifying Z by HP workstations. 

“Our customers can now run the most demanding visualisation workflows to exceed today’s design, creative, and scientific challenges, from anywhere —with Nvidia GPUs accelerating the performance of the already powerful Z workstations, Teradici opening up access to those who are remote, and NVIDIA Omniverse Enterprise providing a real-time collaboration platform,” said Bob Pette, vice president of Professional Visualization at Nvidia.  

Additionally, HP is also releasing its data science software stack for Linux in collaboration with Microsoft on the Windows Subsystem for Linux 2. Pre-installed on select Z by HP workstations, WSL 2 enables users to launch an Ubuntu environment without rebooting or running a virtual machine, enabling the smooth running of CLI tools, utilities and applications.

The UK’s booming technology sector is “under threat”, according to a new report that suggests the country’s skills shortage has reached an all-time high. 

Around 80% of digital leaders have stated that post-pandemic priorities among their employees have made retention even more difficult, according to the Harvey Nash Group’s Digital Leadership report.  

The report, developed in partnership with CIONET and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology CISR, revealed that the number of UK digital leaders planning to boost their technology investment and headcount reached record levels, rising by over a third (36% and 37%, respectively) since 2020.

It reveals that 40% of UK digital leaders admit they can’t keep key employees as long as they would like as they’re being lured away by the offer of more money. Only a third (38%) of organisations say they redesigned their employee offer to make it attractive to staff in the new hybrid working world.

Additionally, the UK is facing a major shortage of talent in cyber security, big data analytics and technical architects. According to a recent DCMS report, the recruitment pool for cyber security professionals has a shortfall of 10,000 people a year, despite being the most sought after tech skill in the UK. The shortage of developers, which has been identified amongst the three jobs with the worst skills shortages in the UK behind HGV drivers and nurses, saw the biggest increase compared with previous years. 

The shortages are set to impact business growth, according to Harvey Nash, with two-thirds (66%) of digital leaders in the UK now unable to keep pace with change because of the “dearth” of talent they need. 

“With businesses planning record levels of digital investment, we could be standing on the verge of a ‘second renaissance’ for technology,” said Bev White, CEO of Harvey Nash Group. “Organisations are looking to push their digital transformations further and faster than ever before, putting technology at the very heart of how they operate. 

“But these ambitions are coming under threat from the acute skills shortages that are now worse than ever before. In fact, businesses face a triple whammy. They lack the supply of skilled resources they need; they have not yet evolved a new and effective employee proposition for the hybrid working world; and the skills they need are themselves changing as technology develops at pace.

“Digital leaders need to rapidly assess their needs and find solutions if their plans are not to be derailed by this potent cocktail of challenges.”

A third (32%) of UK workers are now being monitored at work using technology like tracking software and remotely controlled webcams.

The issue has worsened over the past six months, when workers being monitored stood at a quarter (24%) of those polled by Prospect.

The sharp increase comes amid a huge jump in webcam monitoring, with 13% of homeworkers currently being surveilled by their employer through their work-issued device. The figures have more than doubled in the past six months as just 5% of workers were monitored via video in April 2021.

The vast majority of those questioned thought the use of webcam monitoring by employers should either be banned (52%) or regulated (28%). Just 8% of employees reported feeling that employers should be able to monitor their webcam’s image at will.

Younger workers are thought to be particularly at risk of higher rates of monitoring by employers. Defined by an 18-34 age bracket, 48% of younger workers are believed to be monitored at home by employers, including 20% of those being monitored using a camera.

Microsoft is ending support for the OneDrive desktop application for users of older Windows versions starting in 2022.

Updates for the personal version of the application will cease on 1 January 2022 for anyone still using Windows 7, 8, and 8.1.

Microsoft suggests upgrading to a newer version of its operating system (OS) to keep the same secure experience, according to a blog post making the announcement.

OneDrive for business users will receive support for the desktop application aligned with the respective support lifecycles of the OS their devices run. 

Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users will see extended support until 10 January 2023, while Windows 8 reached the end of support on 12 January 2016.

All personal OneDrive applications will stop syncing to the cloud on 1 March 2022 as Microsoft appears to be making the next step towards shifting its users to newer versions of Windows. 

All files stored locally on the OneDrive desktop app will remain accessible in the app however, users will either have to upgrade to a newer OS or upload their files via OneDrive for web in order to sync files to the cloud.

Mainstream support ended for Windows 8 in 2016, Windows 8.1 two years later in 2018, and Windows 7 in 2020 – the more popular of the three versions.

Microsoft announced earlier this year, ahead of the Windows 11 launch announcement, that Windows 10 will also be going ‘end of life’ in 2025.

Currently, the most popular OS used worldwide, Windows 10 has just a few years of security updates left before the 14 October 2025 end date.

Windows 11 launched on 5 October 2022 with a new look and strong UI improvements, such as better window management. Experts said at the time there was a strong likelihood that businesses will be slow to adopt the new OS – perhaps taking a year or longer – due to concerns over availability and app compatibility. 

​Welcome to issue 22 of IT Pro 20/20, a digital magazine from our sister site that distils the most important themes of the previous month into a simple, easy-to-read package.

For this month’s issue, we take a look at some of the technologies causing a stir across both the technology industry and the wider public. Whether it’s tried and tested technology like the internet, or emerging disruptors like blockchain, conversions are still being had about how best to utilise these building blocks.

Our lead feature looks at UK net neutrality, and whether an upcoming Ofcom review may lead to a fundamental change in how internet traffic is managed.

Elsewhere, we ask whether a company can truly embrace blockchain without sacrificing its green credentials, and whether a recent surge in productivity has put businesses on the road to digital transformation burnout.

The next IT Pro 20/20 will be available on 29 October – previous issues can be found here. If you would like to receive each issue in your inbox as they release, you can subscribe to our mailing list here.