Rethinking Security for Public Cloud

Enterprises have come a long way with cyber security, embracing robust enterprise security platforms and elevating security roles and best practices. Yet with public cloud adoption on the rise and businesses shifting to agile development processes, new threats and vulnerabilities are testing traditional security paradigms and cultures, mounting pressure on organizations to seek alternative approaches. Raj Patel, Symantec’s vice president, cloud platform engineering, recently shared his perspective on the shortcoming of a traditional security posture along with the kinds of changes and tools organizations need to embrace to mitigate risk in an increasingly cloud-dominant landscape.

Spotlight

Softcat plc

Softcat is a leading IT infrastructure provider, delivering software licensing, hardware, security, managed services, cloud services and related IT services to customers in the UK. We sell and support products and solutions from the world's leading IT companies. We offer a full range of services, including advice, guidance, technical design, product sourcing, implementation, support and project management. We enjoy a trading relationship with thousands of longstanding corporate and public sector customers. We care passionately about outstanding employee satisfaction and world-class customer service. We believe the former drives the latter, and strive to create an exceptional place to work. We are growing rapidly and recruiting extensively for trainee account managers, account managers, and pre- and post-sales specialist technical positions.

OTHER ARTICLES
Application Infrastructure, Application Storage

Leading IaaS Providers - Unlocking the Power of Cloud Computing

Article | July 19, 2023

Simplify server maintenance with managed services! Hybrid and multi-cloud systems work together in harmony, gaining advantage of both storage systems. Explore IaaS providers for your business needs. Contents 1. Introduction 2. Multi-Cloud vs. Hybrid Cloud 2.1. Multi-Cloud Storage Systems 2.2. Hybrid Cloud Storage Systems 2.3. Choosing between Multi-Cloud and Hybrid Cloud 3. Managed and Unmanaged Services 4. 5 top companies providing IaaS platforms 4.1. ScaleMatrix 4.2. Faction 4.3. Expedient 4.4. PhoenixNAP 4.5. Rackspace Technology 5. Conclusion 1. Introduction Several leading companies are providing IaaS platforms, offering managed and unmanaged services, and multi-cloud and hybrid cloud solutions to meet the growing demands of businesses in today's digital landscape. In addition, these companies offer various services to help organizations manage their IT infrastructure, including computing power, virtual machines, storage, and networking, while also providing additional value-added services such as security, disaster recovery, and automation. 2. Multi-Cloudvs. Hybrid Cloud Multi-cloud and hybrid cloud are cloud deployment infrastructure models 2.1. Multi-Cloud Storage Systems: Multicloud refers to an organization utilizing cloud computing services from at least two cloud providers to run their applications. Instead of relying on a single-cloud stack, multi-cloud environments usually consist of two or more public clouds, two or more private clouds, or a mix of both. 2.2. Hybrid Cloud Storage Systems: A hybrid cloud refers to a heterogeneous computing environment where applications are executed using a blend of computing, storage, and services across distinct environments, such as public clouds, private clouds, on-premises data centers, or edge locations. 2.3. Choosing Between Multi-Cloud and Hybrid Cloud 2.3.1. Opting for a Hybrid Cloud: For businesses that require control over certain data or workloads, a hybrid cloud strategy may be necessary. This involves hosting some applications in the public cloud while running critical workloads locally to balance the benefits of cloud technology with the need for local data control. - To avoid vendor lock-in, carefully select the best cloud services for each application or task. - Choose cost-effective services to engage in more effective business planning. - Ensure flexibility and adaptability for the cloud team. - Enable a company to use best-in-class services for each app/task 2.3.2. Selecting a Multi-Cloud: Businesses often rely on multiple cloud providers for different services, such as public clouds for virtual machines and SaaS for business applications. They may also access AI, ML, or language cloud services from other providers. - To test and validate a cloud computing platform before migrating its resources and workloads. - To enable a centralized identity infrastructure across disparate systems. - To ensure a blend of self-service resources (private cloud) and a platform to run test workloads (public cloud), for DevOps based firms However, hybrids and multi-clouds can operate together. For example, a company can establish a private cloud for internal operations and then merge it with a public cloud to form a hybrid cloud. Additional clouds, whether IaaS, PaaS, or SaaS, can be added or integrated to provide specific resources or services to the business. Alternatively, a company can create a hybrid cloud with one public cloud provider and still use resources and services from other public clouds outside the hybrid cloud environment. 3. Managed and Unmanaged Services IaaS comes in two main forms: managed and unmanaged. Managed services can simplify server maintenance by providing support and expertise. With managed dedicated servers, clients can focus on other aspects of their business while the host takes care of day-to-day maintenance, including software upgrades. This option is also safer, as self-managing a server without the necessary expertise can create security vulnerabilities. Unmanaged services are cheaper but don't include extras or support. Standard or custom control panels are used for task management. However, managing servers can only be done with experience. In addition, unmanaged hosting services are limited to providing a default solution configuration, and the applications must be installed on the cloud server by the user. 4. 5 Top Companies Providing IaaS Platforms 4.1. ScaleMatrix ScaleMatrix offers IaaS solutions that empower businesses to manage their IT infrastructure while minimizing expensive capital expenditures (CAPEX) and reducing operational costs (OPEX). With ScaleMatrix's IaaS solutions, companies can have complete control over their infrastructure, utilizing the Ping, Power, Pipe, and server hardware. This allows businesses to tailor their infrastructure to fit their specific needs, with the option to make changes as required. Additionally, businesses can deploy hardware without significant capital investment, avoiding a CAPEX spike. Instead, they can pay for their infrastructure on an OPEX basis, allowing them to manage their expenses more efficiently. 4.2. Faction Faction is a top-tier IaaS provider that offers a wide range of customizable solutions to meet the unique needs of its clients. Their IaaS offerings provide flexibility and agility to grow businesses while controlling costs. Clients can choose from various infrastructure options, including dedicated servers, private clouds, and hybrid cloud solutions. Faction's managed services portfolio differentiates it from other IaaS providers. The company's managed services are designed to provide clients with a more integrated ecosystem of managed services that can handle complex business needs across client on-premises and cloud environments. This includes services like monitoring and management, security and compliance, cloud backup, and disaster recovery, providing clients with a complete end-to-end solution for their IT infrastructure needs. 4.3. Expedient Expedient provides infrastructure as a service solutions, including their flagship Expedient Enterprise Cloud, enabling clients to purchase resource pools and dedicated nodes. This cloud offering allows businesses to quickly scale resources without needing to refractor applications or learn a new platform. The platform offers a single management interface with self-service network provisioning, monitoring, and analytics. Expedient also provides a dedicated private cloud solution for applications like Citrix, reducing the infrastructure maintenance burden while maintaining scalability and flexibility. Expedient's Private Cloud Anywhere service allows businesses to have a cloud node within their own data center, providing a cloud-like experience within the proximity of mission-critical functions like manufacturing lines or retail stores. 4.4. PhoenixNAP PhoenixNAP is a leading provider of bare metal cloud infrastructure solutions that empower businesses to innovate and achieve agility by deploying a flexible, cloud-native-ready infrastructure. Another significant advantage of PhoenixNAP's Bare Metal Cloud is the flexible billing models, which allow for fast scalability and cost optimization. The solutions offer the performance of dedicated hardware with cloud-like flexibility, allowing for automated provisioning of physical servers in minutes. Reserved instances are available for up to three years, providing cost-effective options. As a cloud-native-ready IaaS platform, PhoenixNAP's Bare Metal Cloud delivers high-performance, non-virtualized servers for even the most demanding workloads. 4.5. Rackspace Technology Rackspace Technology is a leading provider of IT-as-a-Service (IaaS) solutions that enable businesses to leverage the latest technologies and gain a competitive advantage. Their IaaS solutions are designed to meet the unique needs of the FinTech industry, which demands highly secure, scalable, and reliable infrastructure to support mission-critical applications. Its IaaS offerings are designed to provide flexible and scalable infrastructure that can be customized to meet the specific needs of businesses. They offer a range of infrastructure services, including public and private clouds, dedicated servers, and managed hosting, as well as hybrid cloud solutions that combine the benefits of both public and private cloud environments. 5. Conclusion The future of the top leading companies providing IaaS platforms looks promising as the demand for cloud computing services continues to grow. With the ever-increasing need for businesses to store, manage, and analyze large amounts of data, the demand for IaaS platforms is expected to increase in the coming years. This includes enhancing their security measures, network capabilities, and data center footprints. Furthermore, as the industry moves towards hybrid cloud and multi-cloud environments, these companies will need to adapt and provide solutions that can seamlessly integrate with various cloud platforms. This will require collaboration with other cloud service providers and investment in interoperability technologies. As businesses increasingly rely on data-driven decision-making, cloud providers will need to offer services that enable customers to process and analyze large amounts of data quickly and efficiently using AI and ML. The future of the top leading companies will require continuous innovation, collaboration, and investment in new technologies to meet the changing needs of their customers. As cloud computing continues to transform the business landscape, these companies will enable businesses to scale and grow in the digital age.

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Hyper-Converged Infrastructure

How to Scale IT Infrastructure

Article | October 3, 2023

IT infrastructure scaling is when the size and power of an IT system are scaled to accommodate changes in storage and workflow demands. Infrastructure scaling can be horizontal or vertical. Vertical scaling, or scaling up, adds more processing power and memory to a system, giving it an immediate boost. Horizontal scaling, or scaling out, adds more servers to the cloud, easing the bottleneck in the long run, but also adding more complexity to the system.

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Hyper-Converged Infrastructure

Accelerating DevOps and Continuous Delivery with IaaS Virtualization

Article | July 13, 2023

Adopting DevOps and CD in IaaS environments is a strategic imperative for organizations seeking to achieve agility, competitiveness, and customer satisfaction in their software delivery processes. Contents 1. Introduction 2. What is IaaS Virtualization? 3. Virtualization Techniques for DevOps and Continuous Delivery 4. Integration of IaaS with CI/CD Pipelines 5. Considerations in IaaS Virtualized Environments 5.1. CPU Swap Wait 5.2. CPU System/Wait Time for VKernel: 5.3. Memory Balloon 5.4.Memory Swap Rate: 5.5. Memory Usage: 5.6. Disk/Network Latency: 6. Industry tips for IaaS Virtualization Implementation 6.1. Infrastructure Testing 6.2. ApplicationTesting 6.3. Security Monitoring 6.4. Performance Monitoring 6.5. Cost Optimization 7. Conclusion 1. Introduction Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) virtualization presents significant advantages for organizations seeking to enhance their agility, flexibility, and speed to market within the DevOps and continuous delivery frameworks. Addressing the associated risks and challenges is crucial and can be achieved by employing the appropriate monitoring and testing techniques, enlisted further, in this blog. IaaS virtualization allows organizations to provision and de-provision resources as needed, eliminating the need for long-term investments in hardware and data centers. Furthermore, IaaS virtualization offers the ability to operate with multiple operating systems, databases, and programming languages, empowering teams to select the tools and technologies that best suit their requirements. However, organizations must implement comprehensive testing and monitoring strategies, ensure proper security and compliance controls, and adopt the best resource optimization and management practices to leverage the full potential of virtualized IaaS. To achieve high availability and fault tolerance along with advanced networking, enabling complex application architectures in IaaS virtualization, the blog mentions five industry tips. 2. What is IaaS Virtualization? IaaS virtualization involves simultaneously running multiple operating systems with different configurations. To run virtual machines on a system, a software layer known as the virtual machine monitor (VMM) or hypervisor is required. Virtualization in IaaS handles website hosting, application development and testing, disaster recovery, and data storage and backup. Startups and small businesses with limited IT resources and budgets can benefit greatly from virtualized IaaS, enabling them to provide the necessary infrastructure resources quickly and without significant capital expenditures. Virtualized IaaS is a potent tool for businesses and organizations of all sizes, enabling greater infrastructure resource flexibility, scalability, and efficiency. 3. Virtualization Techniques for DevOps and Continuous Delivery Virtualization is a vital part of the DevOps software stack. Virtualization in DevOps process allows teams to create, test, and implement code in simulated environments without wasting valuable computing resources. DevOps teams can use the virtual services for thorough testing, preventing bottlenecks that could slow down release time. It heavily relies on virtualization for building intricate cloud, API, and SOA systems. In addition, virtual machines benefit test-driven development (TDD) teams that prefer to begin their troubleshooting at the API level. 4. Integration of IaaS with CI/CD Pipelines Continuous integration is a coding practice that frequently implements small code changes and checks them into a version control repository. This process not only packages software and database components but also automatically executes unit tests and other tests to provide developers with vital feedback on any potential breakages caused by code changes. Continuous testing integrates automated tests into the CI/CD pipeline. For example, unit and functionality tests identify issues during continuous integration, while performance and security tests are executed after a build is delivered in continuous delivery. Continuous delivery is the process of automating the deployment of applications to one or more delivery environments. IaaS provides access to computing resources through a virtual server instance, which replicates the capabilities of an on-premise data center. It also offers various services, including server space, security, load balancing, and additional bandwidth. In modern software development and deployment, it's common to integrate IaaS with CI/CD pipelines. This helps automate the creation and management of infrastructure using infrastructure-as-code (IAC) tools. Templates can be created to provision resources on the IaaS platform, ensuring consistency and meeting software requirements. Additionally, containerization technologies like Docker and Kubernetes can deploy applications on IaaS platforms. 5. Considerations in IaaS Virtualized Environments 5.1. CPU Swap Wait The CPU swap wait is when the virtual system waits while the hypervisor swaps parts of the VM memory back in from the disk. This happens when the hypervisor needs to swap, which can be due to a lack of balloon drivers or a memory shortage. This can affect the application's response time. One can install the balloon driver and/or reduce the number of VMs on the physical machine to resolve this issue. 5.2. CPU System/Wait Time for VKernel Virtualization systems often report CPU or wait time for the virtualization kernel used by each virtual machine to measure CPU resource overhead. While this metric can't be directly linked to response time, it can impact both ready and swap times if it increases significantly. If this occurs, it could indicate that the system is either misconfigured or overloaded, and reducing the number of VMs on the machine may be necessary. 5.3. Memory Balloon Memory ballooning is a memory management technique used in virtualized IaaS environments. It works by injecting a software balloon into the VM's memory space. The balloon is designed to consume memory within the VM, causing it to request more memory from the hypervisor. As a result, if the host system is experiencing low memory, it will take memory from its virtual infrastructures, thus negatively affecting the guest's performance, causing swapping, reduced file-system buffers, and smaller system caches. 5.4. Memory Swap Rate Memory swap rate is a performance metric used in virtualized IaaS environments to measure the amount of memory being swapped to disk. When the swap rate is high, it leads to longer CPU swap times and negatively affects application performance. In addition, when a VM is running, it may require more memory than is physically available on the server. In such cases, the hypervisor may use disk space as a temporary storage area for excess memory. Therefore, to optimize, it is important to ensure that VMs have sufficient memory resources allocated. 5.5. Memory Usage Memory usage refers to the amount of memory being used by a VM at any given time. Memory usage is assessed by analyzing the host level, VM level, and granted memory. When memory usage exceeds the available physical memory on the server, the hypervisor may use disk space as a temporary storage area for excess memory, leading to performance issues. The disparity between used and granted memory indicates the overcommitment rate, which can be adjusted through ballooning. 5.6. Disk/Network Latency Some virtualization providers provide integrated utilities for assessing the latency of disks and network interfaces utilized by a virtual machine. Since latency directly affects response time, increased latency at the hypervisor level will also impact the application. An excessive amount of latency indicates the system is overloaded and requires reconfiguration. These metrics enable us to monitor and detect any negative impact a virtualized system might have on our application. 6. Industry tips for IaaS Virtualization Implementation Testing, compliance management and security arecritical aspects of managing virtualized IaaS environments . By implementing a comprehensive strategy, organizations ensure their infrastructure and applications' reliability, security, and performance. 6.1. Infrastructure Testing This involves testing the infrastructure components of the IaaS environment, such as the virtual machines, networks, and storage, aiming to ensure the infrastructure is functioning correctly and that there are no performance bottlenecks, security vulnerabilities, or configuration issues. Testing the virtualized environment, storage testing (testing data replication and backup and recovery processes), and network testing are some of the techniques to be performed. 6.2. Application Testing Applications running on the IaaS virtual environment should be thoroughly tested to ensure they perform as expected. This includes functional testing to ensure that the application meets its requirements and performance testing to ensure that the application can handle anticipated user loads. 6.3. Security Monitoring Security monitoring is critical in IaaS environments, owing to the increased risks and threats. This involves monitoring the infrastructure and applications for potential security threats, vulnerabilities, or breaches. In addition, regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing help identify and address potential security issues before they become significant problems. 6.4. Performance Monitoring Performance monitoring is essential to ensuring that the underlying infrastructure meets performance expectations and has no performance bottlenecks. This comprises monitoring metrics such as CPU usage, memory usage, network traffic, and disk utilization. This information is used to identify performance issues and optimize resource usage. 6.5. Cost Optimization Cost optimization is a critical aspect of a virtualized IaaS environment with optimized efficiency and resource allocation. Organizations reduce costs and optimize resource usage by identifying and monitoring usage patterns and optimizing elastic and scalable resources. It involves right-sizing resources, utilizing infrastructure automation, reserved instances, spot instances (unused compute capacity purchased at a discount), and optimizing storage usage. 7. Conclusion IaaS virtualization has become a critical component of DevOps and continuous delivery practices. To rapidly develop, test, and deploy applications with greater agility and efficiency by providing on-demand access to scalable infrastructure resources to Devops teams, IaaS virtualization comes into picture. As DevOps teams continue to seek ways to streamline processes and improve efficiency, automation will play an increasingly important role. Automated deployment, testing, and monitoring processes will help reduce manual intervention and increase the speed and accuracy of development cycles. In addition, containers will offer a lightweight and flexible alternative to traditional virtualization, allowing DevOps teams to package applications and their dependencies into portable, self-contained units that can be easily moved between different environments. This can reduce the complexity of managing virtualized infrastructure environments and enable greater flexibility and scalability. By embracing these technologies and integrating them into their workflows, DevOps teams can achieve greater efficiency and accelerate their delivery of high-quality software products.

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Storage Management

Ensuring Compliance in IaaS: Addressing Regulatory Requirements in Cloud

Article | May 3, 2023

Stay ahead of the curve and navigate the complex landscape of regulatory obligations to safeguard data in cloud. Explores the challenges of maintaining compliance and strategies for risk mitigation. Contents 1. Introduction 2. 3 Essential Regulatory Requirements 2.1 Before migration 2.2. During migration 2.3. After migration 3. Challenges in Ensuring Compliance in Infrastructure as a Service in Cloud Computing 3.1. Shared Responsibility Model 3.2. Data Breach 3.3. Access Mismanagement 3.4. Audit and Monitoring Challenges 4. Strategies for Addressing Compliance Challenges in IaaS 4.1. Risk Management and Assessment 4.2. Encryption and Collaboration with Cloud Service Providers 4.3. Contractual Agreements 4.4. Compliance Monitoring and Reporting 5. Conclusion 1. Introduction Ensuring Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) compliance in security is crucial for organizations to meet regulatory requirements and avoid potential legal and financial consequences. However, several challenges must be addressed before and after migration to the cloud. This article provides an overview of the regulatory requirements in cloud computing, explores the challenges faced in ensuring compliance in IaaS, a cloud implementation service and provides strategies for addressing these challenges to ensure a successful cloud migration. 2. 3 Essential Regulatory Requirements When adopting cloud infrastructure as a service, organizations must comply with regulatory requirements before, during, and after migration to the cloud. This ensures avoiding the challenges, firms may face later and suggest solutions if they do so. 2.1 Before migration: Organizations must identify the relevant regulations that apply to their industry and geographic location. This includes: Data Protection Laws, Industry-Specific Regulations, and International Laws. 2.2. During migration: Organizations must ensure that they meet regulatory requirements while transferring data and applications to the cloud. This involves: Ensuring proper access management, data encryption, and data residency requirements. 2.3. After migration: Organizations must continue to meet regulatory requirements through ongoing monitoring and reporting. This includes: Regularly reviewing and updating security measures, ensuring proper data protection, and complying with audit and reporting requirements. 3. Challenges in Ensuring Compliance in Infrastructureas a Service in Cloud Computing 3.1. Shared Responsibility Model The lack of control over the infrastructure in IaaS cloud computing is caused by the shared responsibility model of IaaS, where the cloud service provider is responsible for the IaaS security while the customer is responsible for securing the data and applications they store and run in the cloud. According to a survey, 22.8% of respondents cited the lack of control over infrastructure as a top concern for cloud security. (Source: Cloud Security Alliance) 3.2. Data Breach Data breaches have serious consequences for businesses, including legal and financial penalties, damage to their reputation, and the loss of customer trust. The location of data and the regulations governing its storage and processing create challenges for businesses operating in multiple jurisdictions. The global average total cost of a data breach increased by USD 0.11 million to USD 4.35 million in 2022, the highest it's been in the history of this report. The increase from USD 4.24 million in the 2021 report to USD 4.35 million in the 2022 report represents a 2.6% increase. (Source: IBM) 3.3. Access Mismanagement Insider threats, where authorized users abuse their access privileges, can be a significant challenge for access management in IaaS. This includes the intentional or accidental misuse of credentials or non-protected infrastructure and the theft or loss of devices containing sensitive data. The 2020 data breach investigations report found that over 80% of data breaches were caused by compromised credentials or human error, highlighting the importance of effective access management. (Source: Verizon) 3.4. Audit and Monitoring Challenges Large volumes of alerts overwhelm security teams, leading to fatigue and missed alerts, which result in non-compliance or security incidents going unnoticed. Limited resources may also make it challenging to effectively monitor and audit infrastructure as a service cloud environment, including the implementation and maintenance of monitoring tools. 4. Strategies for Addressing Compliance Challenges in IaaS 4.1. Risk Management and Assessment Risk Assessment and Management includes conducting a risk assessment, including assessing risks related to data security, access controls, and regulatory compliance. It also involves implementing risk mitigation measures to address identified risks, like additional security measures or access controls such as encryption or multi-factor authentication. 4.2. Encryption and Collaboration with Cloud Service Providers Encryption can be implemented at the application, database, or file system level, depending on the specific needs of the business. In addition, businesses should establish clear service level agreements with their cloud service provider related to data protection. This includes requirements for data security, access controls, and backup and recovery processes. 4.3. Contractual Agreements The agreement should also establish audit and compliance requirements, including regular assessments of access management controls and policies. Using contractual agreements, organizations help ensure that they are clearly defined and that the cloud service provider is held accountable for implementing effective access management controls and policies. 4.4. Compliance Monitoring and Reporting Monitoring and Reporting involves setting up automated monitoring and reporting mechanisms that track compliance with relevant regulations and standards and generate reports. They should also leverage technologies such as intrusion detection and prevention systems, security information and event management (SIEM) tools, and log analysis tools to collect, analyze, and report on security events in real time. 5. Conclusion In accordance with the increasing prevalence of data breaches and the growing complexity of regulatory requirements, maintaining a secure and compliant cloud environment will be crucial for businesses to build trust with customers and avoid legal and financial risks. Addressing these requirements, the cloud helps companies maintain data privacy, avoid legal risks, and build customer trust. Organizations create a secure and compliant cloud environment that meets their needs by overcoming challenges and implementing best practices, working closely with cloud service providers. Ultimately, by prioritizing compliance and investing in the necessary resources and expertise, businesses can navigate these challenges and unlock the full potential of the cloud with confidence.

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Spotlight

Softcat plc

Softcat is a leading IT infrastructure provider, delivering software licensing, hardware, security, managed services, cloud services and related IT services to customers in the UK. We sell and support products and solutions from the world's leading IT companies. We offer a full range of services, including advice, guidance, technical design, product sourcing, implementation, support and project management. We enjoy a trading relationship with thousands of longstanding corporate and public sector customers. We care passionately about outstanding employee satisfaction and world-class customer service. We believe the former drives the latter, and strive to create an exceptional place to work. We are growing rapidly and recruiting extensively for trainee account managers, account managers, and pre- and post-sales specialist technical positions.

Related News

Application Infrastructure

dxFeed Launches Market Data IaaS Project for Tradu, Assumes Infrastructure and Data Provision Responsibilities

PR Newswire | January 25, 2024

dxFeed, a global leader in data solutions and index management for the financial industry, announces the launch of an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) project for Tradu, an advanced multi-asset trading platform catering to active traders and investors. In this venture, dxFeed manages the crucial aspects of infrastructure and data provision for Tradu. As an award-winning IaaS provider (the Best Infrastructure Provider by the Sell-Side Technology Awards 2023), dxFeed is poised to address all technical challenges related to market data delivery to hundreds of thousands of end users, allowing Tradu to focus on its core business objectives. Users worldwide can seamlessly connect to Tradu's platform, receiving authorization tokens for access to high-quality market data from the EU, US, Hong Kong, and Australian Exchanges. This approach eliminates the complexities and bottlenecks associated with building, maintaining, and scaling the infrastructure required for such extensive global data access. dxFeed's scalable low latency infrastructure ensures the delivery of consolidated and top-notch market data from diverse sources to the clients located in Asia, Americas and Europe. With the ability to rapidly reconfigure and accommodate the growing performance demands, dxFeed is equipped to serve hundreds of thousands of concurrent clients, with the potential to scale the solution even further in order to meet the constantly growing demand, at the same time providing a seamless and reliable experience. One of the highlights of this collaboration is the introduction of brand-new data feed services exclusively for Tradu's Stocks platform. This proprietary solution enhances Tradu's offerings and demonstrates dxFeed's commitment to delivering tailored and innovative solutions. Tradu also benefits from dxFeed's Stocks Radar—a comprehensive technical and fundamental market analysis solution. This Software as a Service (SaaS) seamlessly integrates with infrastructure, offering added value to traders and investors by simplifying complex analytical tasks. Moreover, Tradu leverages the advantages of dxFeed's composite feed (the winner at The Technical Analyst Awards). This accolade reinforces dxFeed's commitment to delivering excellence in data provision, further solidifying Tradu's position as a global leader in online foreign exchange. "When we were thinking of our new sophisticated multi-asset trading platform for the active trader and investors we met with the necessity of expanding instrument and user numbers. We realized we needed a highly competent, professional team to deploy the infrastructure, taking into account the peculiarities of our processes and services," said Brendan Callan, CEO of Tradu. "On the one hand, it allows our clients to receive quality consolidating data from multiple sources. On the other hand, as a leading global provider of online foreign exchange, we can dispose of dxFeed's geo-scalable infrastructure and perform rapid reconfiguration to meet growing performance demands to provide data to hundreds of thousands of our clients around the globe." "The range of businesses finding the Market Data IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) model appealing continues to expand. This approach is gaining traction among various enterprises, from agile startups seeking rapid development to established, prominent brands acknowledging the strategic benefits of delegating market data infrastructure to specialized firms," said Oleg Solodukhin, CEO of dxFeed. By taking on the responsibilities of infrastructure and data provision, dxFeed empowers Tradu to focus on innovation and client satisfaction, setting the stage for a transformative journey in the dynamic world of financial trading. About dxFeed dxFeed is a leading market data and services provider and calculation agent for the capital markets industry. According to the WatersTechnology 2022 IMD & IRD awards honors, it's the "Most Innovative Market Data Project." dxFeed focuses primarily on delivering financial information and services to buy- and sell-side institutions in global markets, both traditional and crypto. That includes brokerages, prop traders, exchanges, individuals (traders, quants, and portfolio managers), and academia (educational institutions and researchers). Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Contact dxFeed: pr@dxfeed.com About Tradu Tradu is headquartered in London with offices around the world. The global Tradu team speaks more than two dozen languages and prides itself on its responsive and helpful client support. Stratos also operates FXCM, an FX and CFD platform founded in 1999. Stratos will continue to offer FXCM services alongside Tradu's multi-asset platform.

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IT Systems Management

ICANN ANNOUNCES GRANT PROGRAM TO SPUR INNOVATION

PR Newswire | January 16, 2024

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the nonprofit organization that coordinates the Domain Name System (DNS), announced today the ICANN Grant Program, which will make millions of dollars in funding available to develop projects that support the growth of a single, open and globally interoperable Internet. ICANN is opening an application cycle for the first $10 million in grants in March 2024. Internet connectivity continues to increase worldwide, particularly in developing countries. According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), an estimated 5.3 billion of the world's population use the Internet as of 2022, a growth rate of 6.1% over 2021. The Grant Program will support this next phase of global Internet growth by fostering an inclusive and transparent approach to developing stable, secure Internet infrastructure solutions that support the Internet's unique identifier systems. "With the rapid evolution of emerging technologies, businesses and security models, it is critical that the Internet's unique identifier systems continue to evolve," said Sally Costerton, Interim President and CEO, ICANN. "The ICANN Grant Program offers a new avenue to further those efforts by investing in projects that are committed to and support ICANN's vision of a single, open and globally interoperable Internet that fosters inclusion amongst a broad, global community of users." ICANN expects to begin accepting grant applications on 25 March 2024. The application window will remain open until 24 May 2024. A complete list of eligibility criteria can be found at: https://icann.org/grant-program. Once the application window closes, all applications are subject to admissibility and eligibility checks. An Independent Application Assessment Panel will review admissible and eligible applications and the tentative timeline to announce the grantees of the first cycle is in January of 2025. Potential applicants will have several opportunities to learn more about the Call for Proposals and ask ICANN Grant Program staff members questions through question-and-answer webinar sessions in the coming months. For more information on the program, including eligibility and submission requirements, the ICANN Grant Program Applicant Guide is available at https://icann.org/grant-program. About ICANN ICANN's mission is to help ensure a stable, secured and unified global Internet. To reach another person on the Internet, you need to type an address – a name or a number – into your computer or other device. That address must be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN helps coordinate and support these unique identifiers across the world.

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Application Infrastructure

Legrand Acquires Data Center, Branch, and Edge Management Infrastructure Market Leader ZPE Systems, Inc.

Legrand | January 15, 2024

Legrand, a global specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructures, including data center solutions, has announced its acquisition is complete of ZPE Systems, Inc., a Fremont, California-based company that offers critical solutions and services to deliver resilience and security for customers' business critical infrastructure. This includes serial console servers, sensors, and services routers that enable remote access and management of network IT equipment from data centers to the edge. The acquisition brings together ZPE's secure and open management infrastructure and services delivery platform for data center, branch, and edge environments to Legrand's comprehensive data center solutions of overhead busway, custom cabinets, intelligent PDUs, KVM switches, and advanced fiber solutions. ZPE Systems will become a business unit of Legrand's Data, Power, and Control (DPC) Division. Arnaldo Zimmermann will continue to serve as Vice President and General Manager of ZPE Systems, reporting to Brian DiBella, President of Legrand's DPC Division. "ZPE Systems leads the fast growing and profitable data center and edge management infrastructure market. This acquisition allows Legrand to enter a promising new segment whose strong growth is expected to accelerate further with the development of artificial intelligence and associated needs," said John Selldorff, President and CEO, Legrand, North and Central America. "Edge computing, AI and operational technology will require more complex data centers and edge infrastructure with intelligent IT needs to be built in disparate remote geographies. This makes remote management and operation a critical requirement. ZPE Systems is well positioned to address this need through high performance automation infrastructure solutions, which are complementary to our current data center offerings." "By joining forces with Legrand, ZPE Systems is advancing our leadership position in management infrastructure and propelling our technology and solutions to further support existing and new market opportunities," said Zimmermann. About Legrand and Legrand, North and Central America Legrand is the global specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructures. Its comprehensive offering of solutions for commercial, industrial, and residential markets makes it a benchmark for customers worldwide. The Group harnesses technological and societal trends with lasting impacts on buildings with the purpose of improving lives by transforming the spaces where people live, work, and meet with electrical, digital infrastructures and connected solutions that are simple, innovative, and sustainable. Drawing on an approach that involves all teams and stakeholders, Legrand is pursuing its strategy of profitable and responsible growth driven by acquisitions and innovation, with a steady flow of new offerings—including products with enhanced value in use (faster expanding segments: data centers, connected offerings and energy efficiency programs). Legrand reported sales of €8.0 billion in 2022. The company is listed on Euronext Paris and is notably a component stock of the CAC 40 and CAC 40 ESG indexes.

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Application Infrastructure

dxFeed Launches Market Data IaaS Project for Tradu, Assumes Infrastructure and Data Provision Responsibilities

PR Newswire | January 25, 2024

dxFeed, a global leader in data solutions and index management for the financial industry, announces the launch of an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) project for Tradu, an advanced multi-asset trading platform catering to active traders and investors. In this venture, dxFeed manages the crucial aspects of infrastructure and data provision for Tradu. As an award-winning IaaS provider (the Best Infrastructure Provider by the Sell-Side Technology Awards 2023), dxFeed is poised to address all technical challenges related to market data delivery to hundreds of thousands of end users, allowing Tradu to focus on its core business objectives. Users worldwide can seamlessly connect to Tradu's platform, receiving authorization tokens for access to high-quality market data from the EU, US, Hong Kong, and Australian Exchanges. This approach eliminates the complexities and bottlenecks associated with building, maintaining, and scaling the infrastructure required for such extensive global data access. dxFeed's scalable low latency infrastructure ensures the delivery of consolidated and top-notch market data from diverse sources to the clients located in Asia, Americas and Europe. With the ability to rapidly reconfigure and accommodate the growing performance demands, dxFeed is equipped to serve hundreds of thousands of concurrent clients, with the potential to scale the solution even further in order to meet the constantly growing demand, at the same time providing a seamless and reliable experience. One of the highlights of this collaboration is the introduction of brand-new data feed services exclusively for Tradu's Stocks platform. This proprietary solution enhances Tradu's offerings and demonstrates dxFeed's commitment to delivering tailored and innovative solutions. Tradu also benefits from dxFeed's Stocks Radar—a comprehensive technical and fundamental market analysis solution. This Software as a Service (SaaS) seamlessly integrates with infrastructure, offering added value to traders and investors by simplifying complex analytical tasks. Moreover, Tradu leverages the advantages of dxFeed's composite feed (the winner at The Technical Analyst Awards). This accolade reinforces dxFeed's commitment to delivering excellence in data provision, further solidifying Tradu's position as a global leader in online foreign exchange. "When we were thinking of our new sophisticated multi-asset trading platform for the active trader and investors we met with the necessity of expanding instrument and user numbers. We realized we needed a highly competent, professional team to deploy the infrastructure, taking into account the peculiarities of our processes and services," said Brendan Callan, CEO of Tradu. "On the one hand, it allows our clients to receive quality consolidating data from multiple sources. On the other hand, as a leading global provider of online foreign exchange, we can dispose of dxFeed's geo-scalable infrastructure and perform rapid reconfiguration to meet growing performance demands to provide data to hundreds of thousands of our clients around the globe." "The range of businesses finding the Market Data IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) model appealing continues to expand. This approach is gaining traction among various enterprises, from agile startups seeking rapid development to established, prominent brands acknowledging the strategic benefits of delegating market data infrastructure to specialized firms," said Oleg Solodukhin, CEO of dxFeed. By taking on the responsibilities of infrastructure and data provision, dxFeed empowers Tradu to focus on innovation and client satisfaction, setting the stage for a transformative journey in the dynamic world of financial trading. About dxFeed dxFeed is a leading market data and services provider and calculation agent for the capital markets industry. According to the WatersTechnology 2022 IMD & IRD awards honors, it's the "Most Innovative Market Data Project." dxFeed focuses primarily on delivering financial information and services to buy- and sell-side institutions in global markets, both traditional and crypto. That includes brokerages, prop traders, exchanges, individuals (traders, quants, and portfolio managers), and academia (educational institutions and researchers). Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Contact dxFeed: pr@dxfeed.com About Tradu Tradu is headquartered in London with offices around the world. The global Tradu team speaks more than two dozen languages and prides itself on its responsive and helpful client support. Stratos also operates FXCM, an FX and CFD platform founded in 1999. Stratos will continue to offer FXCM services alongside Tradu's multi-asset platform.

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IT Systems Management

ICANN ANNOUNCES GRANT PROGRAM TO SPUR INNOVATION

PR Newswire | January 16, 2024

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the nonprofit organization that coordinates the Domain Name System (DNS), announced today the ICANN Grant Program, which will make millions of dollars in funding available to develop projects that support the growth of a single, open and globally interoperable Internet. ICANN is opening an application cycle for the first $10 million in grants in March 2024. Internet connectivity continues to increase worldwide, particularly in developing countries. According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), an estimated 5.3 billion of the world's population use the Internet as of 2022, a growth rate of 6.1% over 2021. The Grant Program will support this next phase of global Internet growth by fostering an inclusive and transparent approach to developing stable, secure Internet infrastructure solutions that support the Internet's unique identifier systems. "With the rapid evolution of emerging technologies, businesses and security models, it is critical that the Internet's unique identifier systems continue to evolve," said Sally Costerton, Interim President and CEO, ICANN. "The ICANN Grant Program offers a new avenue to further those efforts by investing in projects that are committed to and support ICANN's vision of a single, open and globally interoperable Internet that fosters inclusion amongst a broad, global community of users." ICANN expects to begin accepting grant applications on 25 March 2024. The application window will remain open until 24 May 2024. A complete list of eligibility criteria can be found at: https://icann.org/grant-program. Once the application window closes, all applications are subject to admissibility and eligibility checks. An Independent Application Assessment Panel will review admissible and eligible applications and the tentative timeline to announce the grantees of the first cycle is in January of 2025. Potential applicants will have several opportunities to learn more about the Call for Proposals and ask ICANN Grant Program staff members questions through question-and-answer webinar sessions in the coming months. For more information on the program, including eligibility and submission requirements, the ICANN Grant Program Applicant Guide is available at https://icann.org/grant-program. About ICANN ICANN's mission is to help ensure a stable, secured and unified global Internet. To reach another person on the Internet, you need to type an address – a name or a number – into your computer or other device. That address must be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN helps coordinate and support these unique identifiers across the world.

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Application Infrastructure

Legrand Acquires Data Center, Branch, and Edge Management Infrastructure Market Leader ZPE Systems, Inc.

Legrand | January 15, 2024

Legrand, a global specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructures, including data center solutions, has announced its acquisition is complete of ZPE Systems, Inc., a Fremont, California-based company that offers critical solutions and services to deliver resilience and security for customers' business critical infrastructure. This includes serial console servers, sensors, and services routers that enable remote access and management of network IT equipment from data centers to the edge. The acquisition brings together ZPE's secure and open management infrastructure and services delivery platform for data center, branch, and edge environments to Legrand's comprehensive data center solutions of overhead busway, custom cabinets, intelligent PDUs, KVM switches, and advanced fiber solutions. ZPE Systems will become a business unit of Legrand's Data, Power, and Control (DPC) Division. Arnaldo Zimmermann will continue to serve as Vice President and General Manager of ZPE Systems, reporting to Brian DiBella, President of Legrand's DPC Division. "ZPE Systems leads the fast growing and profitable data center and edge management infrastructure market. This acquisition allows Legrand to enter a promising new segment whose strong growth is expected to accelerate further with the development of artificial intelligence and associated needs," said John Selldorff, President and CEO, Legrand, North and Central America. "Edge computing, AI and operational technology will require more complex data centers and edge infrastructure with intelligent IT needs to be built in disparate remote geographies. This makes remote management and operation a critical requirement. ZPE Systems is well positioned to address this need through high performance automation infrastructure solutions, which are complementary to our current data center offerings." "By joining forces with Legrand, ZPE Systems is advancing our leadership position in management infrastructure and propelling our technology and solutions to further support existing and new market opportunities," said Zimmermann. About Legrand and Legrand, North and Central America Legrand is the global specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructures. Its comprehensive offering of solutions for commercial, industrial, and residential markets makes it a benchmark for customers worldwide. The Group harnesses technological and societal trends with lasting impacts on buildings with the purpose of improving lives by transforming the spaces where people live, work, and meet with electrical, digital infrastructures and connected solutions that are simple, innovative, and sustainable. Drawing on an approach that involves all teams and stakeholders, Legrand is pursuing its strategy of profitable and responsible growth driven by acquisitions and innovation, with a steady flow of new offerings—including products with enhanced value in use (faster expanding segments: data centers, connected offerings and energy efficiency programs). Legrand reported sales of €8.0 billion in 2022. The company is listed on Euronext Paris and is notably a component stock of the CAC 40 and CAC 40 ESG indexes.

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