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It’s an industry that’s been a little more reluctant than most to shift its infrastructure and computing needs to the cloud, but it’s an inevitable transition that the financial services sector must embrace. After all, the raft of benefits cloud computing platforms afford organizations is undeniable – agility, scalability, on demand compute power, competitive pricing models, the list goes on – yet there was always two closely-associated factors that prevented financial services and baking institutions from jumping on board: security and compliance. However, while naysayers were saying it would never happen and that banks would never entrust their precious data to public cloud providers, many institutions were already experimenting with cloud technologies – even if they weren’t actively announcing it. The turning point, so to speak, where the world was put on notice as to just how pivotal the cloud could be for the financial services industry, came when Capital…

Today, the immense popularity and pervasiveness of smartphones is undeniable. According to Ericsson’s latest annual Mobility Report, there are more than 3.8 Billion smartphones in use around the world today – and that figure is expected to top 6.8 billion by 2020! We’re living in an age where being constantly connected is the norm, so is it any wonder that “smombies” (smartphone zombies) – people who walk along with their eyes glued to their smartphones – are such a common sight on our streets? The trend of talking and texting while walking has even been found to alter our gait, seeing us employ a “cautious and exaggerated stepping strategy,” according to research published recently in the journal PLOS ONE by scientists at Anglia Ruskin University. Then there’s the reality that a single modern smartphone is millions of times more powerful than all of NASA’s combined computing in 1969 – the…

How many times have you had to call your organization’s tech support department because you’ve been having problems with your work issued laptop, desktop or mobile device? No matter how meticulously it has been configured, IT equipment goes wrong from time to time, and that’s when you need to call in the techies. But what about the rest of the time when everything’s working as it should? Do you pay a visit or make a call to your tech support department and tell them to keep up the good work? Probably not, and that’s understandable because everyone’s busy. However, if there was ever a time to show the techies you rely on some appreciation, National Techies Day is it. Careers in Technology Every year, on October 3, National Techies Day is observed. And while it’s a great opportunity to show some appreciation for the techies you know and thank them…

Digital transformation is like a penetrating wind reaching into all areas of commerce, business and government. If there’s any doubt about this, consider what industry analysts IDC recently said: at the end of 2017, the vast majority of the world’s largest businesses will put digital transformation at the centre of corporate strategies. I recently gave a presentation at an Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) conference about the need for and benefits of digital transformation. ICE understands the winds of change have been blowing for some time and recently launched a digital transformation campaign. Digital transformation takes different shapes according to the industry in which it is taking place. Within civil engineering and construction, it is largely digitised engineering and the ability to monitor infrastructure so engineers can use real data to influence construction and maintenance. This is significant and the implications are tremendous. The Three Gorges Dam in China is…

How should a company decide on which web hosting provider to use? Many businesses only look at the price when partnering with a website host provider, but there are other considerations that can better guide companies seeking the best provider match for their business. It is definitely not all about the price. CNET offers a few tips for picking the right one: Know your hosting needs. For example, text-only sites have different needs than video-heavy sites do. Picture what you want to do with your website now—and then form an educated conclusion on what you plan to do with it for following 12 months. Do you expect it to grow significantly? If you do expect your site to grow, find out if the web host provider can work with you to take your site to the next level. Does the provider offer options for more processing power, memory capacity, disk…

From digital acorns do big tech companies grow. This is one great reason why it’s an honour to be chosen as the infrastructure services partner for TechMarketView’s Great British Scaleup Programme. The programme is aimed at supporting privately held, UK tech SMEs to accelerate their growth further with the help of external investment. Cogeco Peer 1 is the first tech partner to be chosen for the programme, and we’re going to be providing insight and support around cloud, hosting, colocation, security and network and connectivity solutions. In practice, this means an initial free infrastructure assessment provided by our solution engineers and network architects. Also, advice on technology mixes that are not only the best for current operations, but also provide a platform for rapid scale up in the future. Tech start-ups are faced with many challenges ranging from finding a suitable flexible contract and office accommodation to finance and transport…