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Hyperconverged Secondary Storage Market Heats Up
Hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) solutions from vendors such as Nutanix, Cisco and HPE are changing the face of the data center. HCI was initially considered niche to simplify the deployment of virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), but it has seen increased adoption for other workloads. One use case for HCI that has flown under the radar is secondary storage. Cohesity is one vendor that has been leading the emerging hyperconverged secondary storage market. HPE is currently reselling a pre-configured, certified version of Cohesity through its channel, and the company is now a member of Cisco’s Solution Partner Program.
Server Vendors Push Flex Pricing to Challenge Cloud Providers
Some vendors are adopting a pay-as-you-go model not unlike that of a cloud provider, where you pay for how much compute time you use and hand back the hardware when you are done rather than buying it outright. Vendors like to call it flexible consumption, which includes hardware, software and services. HPE has Flexible IT Capacity, while Dell EMC’s program is called CloudFlex and Cisco’s program is dubbed Cloud Pay.
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Report: Only 40% of Data Stored in Cloud Secured with Encryption, Key Management
Though virtually all global organizations (95%) have moved to the cloud in some way or another, security risks abound, according to a new report from Gemalto and the Ponemon Institute. On average, only 40% of data stored in the cloud is secured with encryption and key management tools according to the report's survey.
Build an Ultra-Secure Microsoft Exchange Server
This article describes how to build out a secure Exchange Server 2016 deployment in a Hyper-V virtual machine. We're talking locked down, encryption both at rest and in transit, securely accessible from remote locations, and hardened against interlopers.
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What Might 2018 Bring for the ATM Channel?
The ATM channel continues to play a vital role in the retail banking industry as part of wider digital transformation initiatives. This article covers 5 big ATM trends for 2018.
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9 in 10 FIs Now Offer Mobile Banking, Fed Says
A new report from the payment strategies team of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston provides insights into the state of mobile banking at FIs. The survey results confirm that: * 89 percent of FI respondents offer mobile banking services. * 54 percent of institutions that track consumer adoption said that more than 20 percent of their retail customers enrolled in mobile banking. * 44 percent of tracking FIs have more than 20 percent actively using these services.
High Mobile Device Adoption in Workplace Adds to Network Security Woes
The significant rise of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and bring-your-own-application (BYOA) usage among today’s mobile workforce are exposing corporate networks to more complex cybersecurity issues through shadow IT, data leakage and the cloud, warns security company Fortinet. The article recommends that FIs adopt security protocols that incorporate application security, endpoint security, network segmentation and cloud security, in addition to standard network perimeter defenses such as firewalls.
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This article reviews 24 new and trending cybersecurity tools, where they fit into a security architecture, and how they defend against the latest types of threats and attacks.
In Security & Life, Busy Is Not a Badge of Honor
The author contends that many security programs can be characterized as "busy" but not "productive." The difference between those two words is enormous. Many security organizations are geared toward measuring, rewarding, and even priding themselves on busyness rather than productivity. The end result of this approach is that it weakens their overall security posture.
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Marketers Are Not Integrating Their Multichannel Campaigns Effectively
The variety of channels available to marketers has increased exponentially, but ineffective multichannel strategies are jeopardizing the success of campaigns, says a new study from Kantar Millward Brown, who noted that more than half of marketers not integrating their multichannel campaigns effectively. Titled “AdReaction: The Art of Integration”, the new study examines the global state of multichannel advertising campaigns, drawing on quantitative research in 45 countries, multichannel copy testing, and custom analysis of Kantar Millward Brown’s global media effectiveness and copy testing databases.
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Online Banking/E-Commerce/Website Design
Visa Will Make Signatures Optional for North American EMV POS
Visa is joining the other three card brands in making signatures optional or many of its transactions beginning in April. The card brand, which had credit card volume of $499 billion and debit volume of $388 billion in its fourth quarter ended Sept. 30, says the rule change applies to all EMV contact or contactless chip-enabled merchants in North America for credit and debit transactions.
Battle of P2P Services: Venmo or Zelle
While Venmo is quite popular with Millennials, Zelle is able to provide realtime payments, as opposed to the typical 24-hours-or-more time lapse. On the other hand, Venmo has emojis, along with an easy-to-use interface. The app, unlike Zelle, also has a social media component, which seems to be an aspect that a lot of its users enjoy and has helped it achieve scale. Venmo processed $9 billion in 3Q 2017, doubling its previous-year volume.
Fingerprint Card Teams with Visa on Biometric Authentication Card
Fingerprints Card AB has teamed up with Visa on a dual-interface biometric payment trial in the U.S. Along with Mountain America Credit Union, the Swedish biometrics company Fingerprints announced that it would launch a dual-interface (chip- and contactless-enabled) payment card. As for point of sale merchants, there are no infrastructure changes.
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IPv6 has been gaining traction since it was developed in the late 1990s, and organizations that are implementing it now are considered to be among the early majority – meaning widespread adoption is well underway – so if you haven’t already begun, the author strongly recommends that you start planning your IPv6 deployment. He offers some tips in this article.
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10 Things Senior Level Managers Must Know About Contact Centers
In ICMI’s work with organizations across many regions of the world, and in virtually every economic sector, they have found the 10 items covered in this article to be common “must knows.”
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