Avaya names Maan Al-Shakarchi as head of networking in EMEA and Asia-Pacific, where he will be responsible for sales of Avaya networking solutions, with a focus on Fabric Connect Technology.

He reports directly to EMEA and Asia-Pacific president Nidal Abou-Ltaif.

Nvidia appears to be beating the PC slump hitting the likes of Intel and AMD-- fiscal Q4 2016 (ending 31 January 2015) sees the company make record revenues reaching $1.4 billion, a 12% Y-o-Y increase.

Also breaking company records are fiscal 2016 revenues growing by 7% to $5.01bn.

"We had another record quarter, capping a record year," the company says. "Our strategy is to create specialised accelerated computing platforms for large growth markets that demand the 10x boost in performance we offer. Each platform leverages our focused investment in building the world's most advanced GPU technology."

Cisco EMEA revenues remain essentially flat with just 1% Y-o-Y growth during fiscal Q2 2016, while overall revenues for the company total $11.8 billion, a 2% Y-o-Y increase.

Net income totals $2.9bn, an 8% Y-o-Y increase. Leading product revenue growth is the security segment with an 11% Y-o-Y increase, followed by NGN routing and collaboration (5% and 3% respectively). Wireless revenue remain flat while switching and datacentre are down by -4% and -3% respectively.

"We delivered a strong Q2, and are managing the business extremely well in a challenging macro environment," CEO Chuck Robbins says. "We're managing the company on two fronts. We're focused on continued strong execution in the near term while investing in the innovation to lead our customers into the future."

Control4 buys into networking as it shells out approximately $32.7 million in cash for HomeAV and ProAV network switch and routing maker Pakedge Device & Software.

But why would Control4 buy Pakedge? First off, Pakedge provides an important networking foundation, not to mention a product portfolion including the Connect+-- a next generation networking platform integrating both wired and wireless products through the cloud using properietary algorithms to detect, diagnose, self-repair and resolve network problems.

Cisco buys cloud-based Internet of Things (IoT) platform developer Jasper Technologies for $1.4 billion in cash and equities--- the networking giant's biggest purchase since 2013.

The Jasper product offering allows companies devices ranging from implanted pacemakers to cars and jet engines to the cloud via cellular networks. In addition the platform automates IoT services management across devices, simplifying the shift to new business models making use of connected services.

The company counts 3500 enterprises as customers, and works with 27 service providers across the world. Post-acquisition Jasper will be turned into a Cisco IoT Software Business Unit run by Jasper CEO Jahangir Mohammed under Cisco senior VP Rowan Trollope.

Citrix names veteran Microsoft exec Kirill Tatarinov president and CEO, with interim CEO Robert Calderoni continuing his role as chairman of the Citrix board of directors.

“Citrix is an iconic company with a world-class brand, innovative products, and a large installed base, including 99% of the Global 500," Tatarinov says. "Across every industry and region, the secure delivery of apps and data is a strategic imperative for organizations of all sizes. I look forward to working alongside Citrix’s leaders, talented employees, and dedicated partners around the world to push the boundaries of innovation and create greater value together.”