Quote for the day:
"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." -- C.S. Lewis
A wake-up call for real cloud ROI
To make cloud spending work for you, the first step is to stop, assess, and
plan. Do not assume the cloud will save money automatically. Establish a
meticulous strategy that matches workloads to the right environments,
considering both current and future needs. Take the time to analyze which
applications genuinely benefit from the public cloud versus alternative options.
This is essential for achieving real savings and optimal performance. ...
Enterprises should rigorously review their existing usage, streamline
environments, and identify optimization opportunities. Invest in cloud
management platforms that can automate the discovery of inefficiencies,
recommend continuous improvements, and forecast future spending patterns
with greater accuracy. Optimization isn’t a one-time exercise—it must be an
ongoing process, with automation and accountability as central themes.
Enterprises are facing mounting pressure to justify their escalating cloud spend
and recapture true business value from their investments. Without decisive
action, waste will continue to erode any promised benefits. ... In the end,
cloud’s potential for delivering economic and business value is real, but only
for organizations willing to put in the planning, discipline, and governance
that cloud demands.
Why IT-OT convergence is a gamechanger for cybersecurity
The combination of IT and OT is a powerful one. It promises real-time
visibility into industrial systems, predictive maintenance that limits
downtime and data-driven decision making that gives everything from supply
chain efficiency to energy usage a boost. When IT systems communicate directly
with OT devices, businesses gain a unified view of operations – leading to
faster problem solving, fewer breakdowns, smarter automation and better
resource planning. This convergence also supports cost reduction through more
accurate forecasting, optimised maintenance and the elimination of redundant
technologies. And with seamless collaboration, IT and OT teams can now
innovate together, breaking down silos that once slowed progress.
Cybersecurity maturity is another major win. OT systems, often built without
security in mind, can benefit from established IT protections like centralised
monitoring, zero-trust architectures and strong access controls. Concurrently,
this integration lays the foundation for Industry 4.0 – where smart factories,
autonomous systems and AI-driven insights thrive on seamless IT-OT
collaboration. ... The convergence of IT and OT isn’t just a tech upgrade –
it’s a transformation of how we operate, secure and grow in our interconnected
world. But this new frontier demands a new playbook that combines industrial
knowhow with cybersecurity discipline.How To Measure AI Efficiency and Productivity Gains
Measuring AI efficiency is a little like a "chicken or the egg" discussion,
says Tim Gaus, smart manufacturing business leader at Deloitte Consulting. "A
prerequisite for AI adoption is access to quality data, but data is also
needed to show the adoption’s success," he advises in an online interview. ...
The challenge in measuring AI efficiency depends on the type of AI and how
it's ultimately used, Gaus says. Manufacturers, for example, have long used AI
for predictive maintenance and quality control. "This can be easier to
measure, since you can simply look at changes in breakdown or product defect
frequencies," he notes. "However, for more complex AI use cases -- including
using GenAI to train workers or serve as a form of knowledge retention -- it
can be harder to nail down impact metrics and how they can be obtained." ...
Measuring any emerging technology's impact on efficiency and productivity
often takes time, but impacts are always among the top priorities for business
leaders when evaluating any new technology, says Dan Spurling, senior vice
president of product management at multi-cloud data platform provider
Teradata. "Businesses should continue to use proven frameworks for measurement
rather than create net-new frameworks," he advises in an online
interview. The discipline we never trained for: Why spiritual quotient is the missing link in leadership
Spiritual Quotient (SQ) is the intelligence that governs how we lead from
within. Unlike IQ or EQ, SQ is not about skill—it is about state. It reflects
a leader’s ability to operate from deep alignment with their values, to stay
centred amid volatility and to make decisions rooted in clarity rather than
compulsion. It shows up in moments when the metrics don’t tell the full story,
when stakeholders pull in conflicting directions. When the team is watching
not just what you decide, but who you are while deciding it. It’s not about
belief systems or spirituality in a religious sense; it’s about coherence
between who you are, what you value, and how you lead. At its core, SQ is
composed of several interwoven capacities: deep self-awareness, alignment with
purpose, the ability to remain still and present amid volatility, moral
discernment when the right path isn’t obvious, and the maturity to lead beyond
ego. ... The workplace in 2025 is not just hybrid—it is holographic.
Layers of culture, technology, generational values and business expectations
now converge in real time. AI challenges what humans should do. Global
disruptions challenge why businesses exist. Employees are no longer looking
for charismatic heroes. They’re looking for leaders who are real, reflective
and rooted.Microsoft Confirms Password Deletion—Now Just 8 Weeks Away
The company’s solution is to first move autofill and then any form of password
management to Edge. “Your saved passwords (but not your generated password
history) and addresses are securely synced to your Microsoft account, and you
can continue to access them and enjoy seamless autofill functionality with
Microsoft Edge.” Microsoft has added an Authenticator splash screen with a
“Turn on Edge” button as its ongoing campaign to switch users to its own
browser continues. It’s not just with passwords, of course, there are the
endless warnings and nags within Windows and even pointers within security
advisories to switch to Edge for safety and security. ... Microsoft wants
users to delete passwords once that’s done, so no legacy vulnerability
remains, albeit Google has not gone quite that far as yet. You do need to
remove SMS 2FA though, and use an app or key-based code at a minimum.
... Notwithstanding these Authenticator changes, Microsoft users should
use this as a prompt to delete passwords and replace them with passkeys, per
the Windows-makers’ advice. This is especially true given increasing reports
of two-factor authentication (2FA) bypasses that are increasingly rendering
basics forms of 2FA redundant.Sustainable cyber risk management emerges as industrial imperative as manufacturers face mounting threats
The ability of a business to adjust, absorb, and continue operating under pressure is becoming a performance metric in and of itself. It is measured not only in uptime or safety statistics. It’s not a technical checkbox; it’s a strategic commitment that is becoming the new baseline for industrial trust and continuity. At the heart of this change lies security by design. Organizations are working to integrate security into OT environments, working their way up from system architecture to vendor procurement and lifecycle management, rather than adding protections along the way and after deployment. ... The path is made more difficult by the acute lack of OT cyber skills, which could be overcome by employing specialists and establishing long-term pipelines through internal reskilling, knowledge transfer procedures, and partnerships with universities. Building sustainable industrial cyber risk management can be made more organized using the ISA/IEC 62443 industrial cybersecurity standards. Cyber defense is now a continuous, sustainable discipline rather than an after-the-fact response thanks to these widely recognized models, which also allow industries to link risk mitigation to real industrial processes, guarantee system interoperability, and measure progress against common benchmarks.Design Sprint vs Design Thinking: When to Use Each Framework for Maximum Impact
The Design Sprint is a structured five-day process created by Jake Knapp
during his time at Google Ventures. It condenses months of work into a single
workweek, allowing teams to rapidly solve challenges, create prototypes, and
test ideas with real users to get clear data and insights before committing to
a full-scale development effort. Unlike the more flexible Design Thinking
approach, a Design Sprint follows a precise schedule with specific activities
allocated to each day ... The Design Sprint operates on the principle of "together alone" – team members work collaboratively during discussions and decision-making, but do individual work during ideation phases to ensure diverse thinking and prevent groupthink. ... Design Thinking is well-suited for broadly exploring problem spaces, particularly when the challenge is complex, ill-defined, or requires extensive user research. It excels at uncovering unmet needs and generating innovative solutions for "wicked problems" that don't have obvious answers. The Design Sprint works best when there's a specific, well-defined challenge that needs rapid resolution. It's particularly effective when a team needs to validate a concept quickly, align stakeholders around a direction, or break through decision paralysis.
Broadcom’s VMware Financial Model Is ‘Ethically Flawed’: European Report
Some of the biggest issues VMware cloud partners and customers in Europe include the company increasing prices after Broadcom axed VMware’s former perpetual licenses and pay-as-you-go monthly pricing models. Another big issue was VMware cutting its product portfolio from thousands of offerings into just a few large bundles that are only available via subscription with a multi-year minimum commitment. “The current VMware licensing model appears to rely on practices that breach EU competition regulations which, in addition to imposing harm on its customers and the European cloud ecosystem, creates a material risk for the company,” said the ECCO in its report. “Their shareholders should investigate and challenge the legality of such model.” Additionally, the ECCO said Broadcom recently made changes to its partnership program that forced partners to choose between either being a cloud service provider or a reseller. “It is common in Europe for CSP to play both [service provider and reseller] roles, thus these new requirements are a further harmful restriction on European cloud service providers’ ability to compete and serve European customers,” the ECCO report said.Protecting Supply Chains from AI-Driven Risks in Manufacturing
Cybercriminals are notorious for exploiting AI and have set their sights on
supply chains. Supply chain attacks are surging, with current analyses
indicating a 70% likelihood of cybersecurity incidents stemming from supplier
vulnerabilities. Additionally, Gartner projects that by the end of 2025,
nearly half of all global organizations will have faced software supply chain
attacks. Attackers manipulate data inputs to mislead algorithms, disrupt
operations or steal proprietary information. Hackers targeting AI-enabled
inventory systems can compromise demand forecasting, causing significant
production disruptions and financial losses. ... Continuous validation of
AI-generated data and forecasts ensures that AI systems remain reliable and
accurate. The “black-box” nature of most AI products, where internal processes
remain hidden, demands innovative auditing approaches to guarantee reliable
outputs. Organizations should implement continuous data validation,
scenario-based testing and expert human review to mitigate the risks of bias
and inaccuracies. While black-box methods like functional testing offer some
evaluation, they are inherently limited compared to audits of transparent
systems, highlighting the importance of open AI development.
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