SAP is the world leader in enterprise applications in terms of software and software-related service revenue. Based on market capitalization, we are the world’s third largest independent software manufacturer. Harness the power of your data and accelerate trusted outcome-driven innovation by developing intelligent and live solutions for real-time decisions and actions on a single data copy. Support next-generation transactional and analytical processing with a broad set of advanced analytics – run securely across hybrid and multicloud environments.

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SUSE is a German-based, multinational, open-source software company that develops and sells Linux products to business customers. Founded in 1992, it was the first company to market Linux for the enterprise. Founded in 1992, SUSE is the world’s first provider of an Enterprise Linux distribution. Today, thousands of businesses worldwide rely on SUSE for their mission-critical computing and IT management needs.

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IBM has had another solid cloud quarter – and now the company is extending its collaboration with telecoms provider CenturyLink to beef up enterprise connectivity in new markets.

The move is part of a wider initiative, the IBM Cloud Direct Link Service Provider Program, which enables IBM customers to select their preferred provider for direct connectivity to IBM’s cloud. The initiative is available in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific with 21 partners on board including Digital Realty and Colt, with the CenturyLink rollout being available in European, North and Latin American markets.

The reasoning behind the initiative will be familiar to industry watchers; the increasing complexity of workloads, whether through multi-cloud initiatives or more intensive data crunching through the Internet of Things and machine learning. More clouds being utilised need more connectivity options, with IBM citing an IDC study which found companies with a defined hybrid cloud strategy achieve 2.5x higher gross profits.

There are two options for organisations to consider; Direct Link Connect, which favours multi-cloud with private access to IBM cloud infrastructure through a CenturyLink IP VPN connection, and Direct Link Dedicated, utilising CenturyLink’s dedicated broadband service for fast and reliable data transfer.

“The goal in CenturyLink’s integration with IBM Cloud Direct Link was to bring a network experience that simplifies and enhances the cloud experience,” wrote Paul Hertzfeldt, IBM Cloud Direct Link manager in a blog post. “Both [Direct Link Connect and Dedicated] are offered on a global basis and optimise network architecture for low latency and high performance.

“They’re designed to satisfy even the most demanding enterprise workloads and compliment your hybrid cloud strategy,” Hertzfeldt added.

Last month IBM posted a third consecutive quarter of growth, with cloud revenues going up 20% year on year and representing almost a quarter of the company’s total revenue. Jim Kavanaugh, SVP and chief financial officer, said IBM was “becoming the destination for mission-critical workloads in hybrid environments” – although it’s worth noting that all of the hyperscalers are continuing to grow and increase their market share at the expense of the competition.

CenturyLink at one point held lofty cloud ambitions of its own; indeed, this publication asked in May 2014 ‘can CenturyLink take on cloud’s big three?’ Yet with telco cloud initiatives going sideways as the Amazons, Microsofts et al just kept on growing, while the company continues to offer cloud computing and managed services, helping connectivity with the bigger cloud providers has seemed a more likely route to market.

Serverless computing is a cloud-computing execution model in which the cloud provider dynamically manages the allocation of machine resources. Pricing is based on the actual amount of resources consumed by an application, rather than on pre-purchased units of capacity. It is a form of utility computing. Nate has been working in the enterprise and mobile software industry for 17 years in various capacities between development, architecture and product management. In recent years his technology passions have focused around areas of mobile computer vision leveraging, the rise of the consumerization of IT Operations and how blockchains and distributed ledgers will change the world. Nate is a PMC member of Apache Bigtop, co-creator of the dtk.io open source project and overall open source software, enthusiast.

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​Blockchain, also known as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), can be used for more than just crypto currencies. This presentation discusses how blockchain and the Internet of Things (IOT) can be used for several supply chain management and logistics use cases. Real world examples that utilize the open source project Hyperledger will be discussed.

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All in Mobile is a mobile app agency that helps enterprise companies and next generation startups build the future of digital. We offer mobile development and design for smartphones, tablets and wearables. Our projects cover the latest and most innovative technologies – voice assistants, AI, AR/VR and more. We excel at solutions for sports, fintech and retail industries.

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This session describes how Professional Services organisations can deliver within Technology-as-a-Service (IaaS) constructs, in private and public enterprise cloud scenarios. See how professional services can be packaged and funded by IaaS cash flows, based upon consumption of technology services. Learn how significant, IT infrastructure transformations can be funded through OPEX spending models with multi-year As-a-Services based contracts. Understand how the automation of repeatable services can positively impact the commercial viability of Professional Services within As-a-Service constructs. Hear how innovative IT infrastructure service offerings can elevate the impact of professional services engagements, and accelerate positive business outcomes.

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Ivo Lukas is the Founder/CEO for 24Notion. 24Notion is the first integrated marketing/digital PR & lifestyle agency with special emphasis on giving back to the global communities. With a broad understanding the art of non- traditional marketing, new media, communications and social influence. 24Notion ranked #12 in Corporate Philanthropy nominated by Portland Business Journal Book of List.

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Only Adobe gives everyone – from emerging artists to global brands – everything they need to design and deliver exceptional digital experiences.

Adobe Systems Incorporated develops, markets, and supports computer software products and technologies. The Company’s products allow users to express and use information across all print and electronic media.

The Company’s Digital Media segment provides tools and solutions that enable individuals, small and medium businesses and enterprises to create, publish, promote and monetize their digital content.

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The global infrastructure as a service (IaaS) public cloud services market grew by almost 30% in 2017 to total $23.5 billion (£18bn) according to the latest figures from Gartner – with Amazon Web Services (AWS) securing more than half of the global market.

The figures, which appear in the analyst firm’s latest market share analysis, put Amazon Web Services (AWS) well in clear at the top of the tree with Microsoft a clear second place. No surprises there – yet Alibaba takes third place with 4.6% of global market share, ahead of Google and IBM.

With 51.8% of the total market, AWS remains supremely dominant in the eyes of Gartner, clocking up revenues of $12.2bn in the process in 2017. Microsoft, at 13.3% share and $3.1bn, pales into second. Yet Gartner argues Amazon did lose market share from 2016, where it held 53.7% of the market albeit with merely $9.8bn in revenues. Alibaba broke the billion-dollar revenue barrier in 2017 – therefore representing a reasonable return on investment from 2015 when the parent company invested $1bn to expand the international presence of its cloud computing arm.

Microsoft remains the fastest growing out of all the major players, according to Gartner, with a 98.2% yearly growth. Alibaba (62.7%), Google (56.0%) and IBM (53.9%) all saw strong levels of growth between 2016 and 2017.

This is not quite the way Synergy Research sees the market. As Synergy posits, Alibaba is currently fourth in the market, behind Google and ahead of IBM, with AWS top on all geographies and Microsoft second, aside from APAC where Alibaba takes the silver medal.

Yet either way, the most recent financial reports from the hyperscalers shows a market which continues to side in their favour long after many felt it had become saturated. “The top four providers have strong IaaS offerings and saw healthy growth as IaaS adoption is being fully embraced by mainstream organisations and as cloud availability expands into new regions and countries,” said Sid Nag, research director at Gartner.

“Cloud-directed IT spending now constitutes more than 20% of the total IT budget for organisations using cloud,” added Nag. “Many of these organisations are now using cloud to support production environments and business-critical operations.”