Features

Top IT News of the Week (08/2022)

#ITnews

IT news #1: Companies can track their emissions with Microsoft 365.

Topic: Microsoft, sustainability

A new emissions impact dashboard is being added to Microsoft 365. In recent months, technology giant Microsoft has been focusing on helping businesses track their emissions, which is quite a worthwhile goal given their extensive set of tools used by almost every organisation. Microsoft already introduced the Emission Impact Dashboard for Azure in October 2021 to help Azure users track emissions from their Cloud usage as part of its Power BI tools. To build on this momentum, Microsoft is taking things to another level by launching the Emissions Impact Dashboard to Microsoft 365, performing similar functions but essentially reaching a much wider audience. It has been acknowledged how the shift towards a Cloud infrastructure during the pandemic came with a high cost for the environment, as data centres are some of the most resource-intensive facilities in operation across the globe. Major companies, including Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple, and Microsoft, announced commitments to shift towards greener operations by 2030.

Relevant TWC Services:

IT news #2: Oracle to support Vodafone’s 5G standalone network.

Topic: Vodafone, unified communications

Vodafone UK has chosen Oracle Communications to lead network policy, due to its ability to make more informed policy decisions and quickly test and deploy new technologies and services to its 5G network. This follows Vodafone’s announcement in 2021 when the company partnered with Ericsson to deploy a new Cloud-native dual-mode core for its 5G network in the UK. In its five-year technology roadmap, Vodafone focuses on a longstanding relationship and, as such, will include packet core and signalling network functions and the deployment of a dual-mode core, known as a single packet core, to enable 5G standalone, 5G non-standalone and 4G technology. The company’s decision to deploy Ericsson’s Cloud-native 5G core was acknowledged as a critical milestone to deliver 5G standalone connectivity services across the UK and it will be a pioneer in making the digital economy and Industry 4.0 a reality.

Relevant TWC Services:

IT news #3: The latest Windows 11 features are here.

Topic: Windows, software update

Microsoft has revealed its latest build to Windows 11 for Windows Insiders, and introduced a new set of features dependant on user feedback. Besides the general refinements and improvements to the Windows experience, the components will include smartphone-like folder groupings in the Start menu, Do Not Disturb and Focus modes for enhanced productivity and Live Captions for multimedia accessibility. The latest version of Windows is an Insider Preview Build, which means the new updates are not without any glitches. These issues are included in the release notes. Developers are advised to consider these before giving feedback. Even though this specific build is not available to users on ARM64 PCs, Microsoft confirmed a new version for ARM64 Insiders is on its way. The company also took user feedback relating to the organisation of the Start menu into consideration and has introduced new customisation for pinned items. Drag and drop capability has also been improved to allow better file transfer between apps along with File Explorer and the launch of the Snap Layouts and Task Manager.

Relevant TWC Services:

IT news #4: AWS launches Local Zones data centres in over 30 new cities.

Topic: Data centre, cloud computing

Amazon Web Services is capitalising on the increased demand for Cloud services by announcing 32 new locations for its AWS Regions extensions, known as ‘Local Zones’. These zones are used to decrease latency by placing compute, storage, database as well as other AWS services at the edge of the Cloud near larger metropolitan areas, allowing customers to use AWS’ core services locally, while staying connected to AWS Regions. These additional Local Zones located in 26 countries are expected to be completed in the next two years. Despite London being home to the AWS Region Zone known as eu-west-2, none of the new locations will be situated in the UK. The list will include Amsterdam, Athens, Auckland, Bangkok, Bengaluru, Berlin, Bogotá, Brisbane, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Chennai, Copenhagen, Delhi, Hanoi, Helsinki, Johannesburg, Kolkata, Lima, Lisbon, Manila, Munich, Nairobi, Oslo, Perth, Prague, Querétaro, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, Toronto, Vancouver, Vienna and Warsaw.

Relevant TWC Services: