eSP - IT Solution Providers in Europe

SolarWinds on-premises operation management products get subscription-based pricing in addition to perpetual licensing, an option the company says offers greater flexibility for customer operational expenses.

The coronavirus (aka Covid-19) pandemic has further amplified the challenges IT pros face to do more with less in terms. In addition, SolarWinds says, companies need to ensure products are not only easy to use, but also easy to buy, and fit the needs of any budget. Enter subscription-based pricing to deliver flexibility and support the principles of easy to try, easy to buy.

As enterprises rapidly adopt digital meeting and workstream collaboration solutions in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Gartner points out three steps for IT leaders to improve current operations for a newly remote workforce.

“The rise in virtual meetings since the Covid-19 pandemic began is putting pressure on enterprise leaders to ensure employees have the right technological capabilities to maintain consistent, high-quality connections with colleagues, customers and partners while working remotely,” the analyst says.

The first step is to ensure reliable and consistent virtual meeting experiences. While many enterprises have acquired and deployed a suitable video meeting and collaboration solution, they need to keep in mind sufficient bandwidth and network reliability are critical to enable productivity and a consistent user experience. High-quality group video calls need at an internet service capable of pushing download and upload speeds of "at least" 1.5Mbps, something some locations lack.

Dell joins the likes of HPE and Cisco with the offer of $9 billion in financing for partners and customers to fund technology needs, together with a Payment Flexibility Program with 0% interest rates and a 108-day payment deferral.

Through the program, customers can get 0% interest rates on purchases of severs, storage and networking hardware, with no up-front payment requirement. In addition, they can defer the first payment on datacentre infrastructure and services for up to 180 days, allowing customers to manage cash flow. Dell also offers short term options for remote work and learning, with 6-12 month terms and refresh options for laptops and desktops.

Service provider Cognizant is the latest victim of Maze, a particularly virulent strain of malware that has interrupted parts of Cognizant business as it affects internal systems and "some" customers.

The company is a giant in the field, and counts big names such as ING, Standard Life and Mitsubishi Motors as clients. So far it has not disclosed the names of clients potentially affected by the attack, but does say it may lead to revenue loss and incremental costs. The group associated with Maze denies involvement with the attack, but security experts do not dismiss Maze from responsibility.

“Cognizant can confirm that a security incident involving our internal systems, and causing service disruptions for some of our clients, is the result of a Maze ransomware attack,” a statement from the company reads. “We are in ongoing communication with our clients and have provided them with indicators of compromise (IOCs) and other technical information of a defensive nature.”