Opening the lid on hardware advances by Launched

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Opening the lid on hardware advances.

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P R E PA R I N G F O R TA K E O F F

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Contents

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Digital transformation

New technology from Apple Data storage

High-performance computing

Atomtronics Top 10 tips

Why is edge computing needed

The smartphone Workspaces

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Amazing products

Hardware Sustainable phones

Leaks

Tech to watch Factoring in sustainability

Reduce, reuse & recycle

5G across the UK & Scotland Fixed vs Flexible

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Meet the team

JOE ALLEN

Joe has vast experience and knowledge accumulated and honed as a New Business Development Manager and Relationship Manager. Presently the Director at Belu Media. Responsible for generating new business opportunities, looking after the growth of the company and strategy, sourcing new ventures and managing the company. Favorite marketing strategy when building a marketing campaign is ‘inbound marketing’ as it delivers on set goals when implemented correctly.

LUKE CONRAD

Luke is Digital Editor at TBTech and has history working closely with the worlds biggest tech brands to deliver campaigns. Luke is an advocate of tech across business and commercial applications.

PAUL WHITTALL

Paul stops at nothing to innovate and create value for our customers. His mission is help those we work with to win in their markets. He is passionate about delivering customer success and have had the pleasure of supporting many of the world’s leading technology brands for over 15 years. Pauls’ role is all about designing and developing the right strategy to achieve the best outcomes, and to ensure we are consistently delivering the highest standards of value across the business for all our customers.

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Meet the team

JESSIE PETHRUS

Jessica is our Marketing Coordinator at TBTech. Driven by storytelling, her writerdesigner duo allows her to combine the power of synergy across different mediums and making sure content is optimised for ranking in search engines. She believes a strong marketing strategy begins with understanding the brands mission and audience, together with the market, in order to position yourself as a leading brand, speaking directly to your clients and customers desires.

WILLIAM MOORE

William’s passion starts and ends with design, timeless aesthetic and creative solutions. Having worked on numerous creative campagins ranging from German car manifacturers, leading tech companies, property investors as well as local artisans, William’s goal is to create the ultimate brand experience between the client and the consumer.

MATT ROBERTS

Matt is Operations Manager at TBTech, he has spent the last 15 years working with multinational IT companies building campaigns, GTM strategies, leading both Sales and Marketing teams to achieve organisational goals. With a love of computer science, history, and psychology he is an advocate for change, operational efficiency and automation. Value across the business for all our customers.

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The Foundation for Your Innovation

Pioneering the technologies to accelerate digital transformation across industries and advance mission-critical intelligent systems with the highest standards for safety, security, performance, and reliability. Discover more > windriver.com

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The era of software-defined everything is pushing the pace of innovation and transforming market segments ranging from aerospace to industrial, defense to medical, and networking to automotive.

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Digital

“Can’t Fail”, how one company is changing digital transformation forever We’ve had the opportunity to meet Paul Miller, the Chief Technology Officer at Wind River. In a world increasingly driven by software innovation, Wind River is a company pioneering the technologies to accelerate digital transformation across the most important modern infrastructure and is advancing mission-critical intelligent systems at the edge with the highest standards for safety, security, performance, and reliability.

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Digital

With nearly three decades of telecommunications and advanced technology leadership at both large companies and successful startups, Paul is dedicated to creating and implementing technology strategies that drive business success for customers. Here’s a glimpse into our engaging conversation with this inspirational leader who shares insights on digital transformation, the new intelligent machine economy, and the software-defined era. HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR COMPANY DIFFERENTIATING ITSELF FROM THE COMPETITION? WHAT MAKES IT STAND OUT?

Wind River is a leading provider of software for mission-critical intelligent systems at the edge, and our technology has been helping the world’s leading technology companies power billions of the safest, most secure devices in the world. In fact, our company mission is to enable our customers to solve the world’s most complex technology challenges and realize the digital future of the planet with software-defined missioncritical intelligent systems where security, safety, and reliability are paramount. Wind River works with customers across a wide range of industries, such as aerospace and defense, automotive, medical, industrial,

and telecommunications, to accelerate their digital transformation journey. For more than 40 years, the company has been an industry innovator, playing key roles on the NASA Mars rovers, the world’s first successful 5G data session with Verizon, and working with Vodafone in building one of the largest Open RAN networks in the world. Unique to the industry, we have introduced our Wind River Studio offering, which is a cloud-native platform for the development, deployment, operations, and servicing of mission-critical intelligent systems from edge to cloud. It enables dramatic improvements in productivity, agility, and time-to-market, with seamless technology integration that includes far edge cloud computing, data analytics, security, 5G, and AI/ML. With Studio, we’re enabling the new intelligent machine economy together with our customers. Now that we have some perspective on the pandemic, what do you see as the major and potentially long-lasting impacts on the Computer Software industry? The pandemic has had an impact on the way companies work in terms of increasing the number of remote workers and how to successfully support software development in frequently globally dispersed teams.

Fortunately, modern tools are helping to bridge some of the gaps in this type of work. However, not being able to physically work together to solve particularly complex problems or architecture work still has an impact. At the same time, across sectors, there is an increased cost due to the pandemic. Industries are looking at the effect on customers and whether they are willing to buy and deploy goods and software at a time when the process has become more difficult. When looking at the global supply chain, we also need to consider the impact of things like the availability of silicon chips, which ultimately support our software. If customers have problems getting hardware systems, it can affect the adoption of software products. There is a complicated interplay of many factors: the changing nature of work, software development in a pandemic environment, and the global supply chain. On top of that, we have to look at the customer and see if they are willing or able to adopt new software and deploy it in the face of the pandemic. With all these elements, the current environment is complex. This environment is also driving the need for the machine economy, where smart, connected, autonomous, and economically independent systems/machines

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Changing digital transformation forever

or devices carry out the necessary activities of production, distribution, and operations with little or no human intervention. In this growing machine economy, humans and machines are on a path to a future where data will exponentially increase the volume, type, and quality of work that is possible, across all industries. Recognizing the evolving nature of work and the changing technological landscape towards a smarter future, The Wind River Studio offers addresses these challenges. creating a highly automated, cloud-based environment in which teams can develop software.

HOW DO YOU ACCELERATE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION WITH DEEP TECHNICAL SKILLS FROM DESIGN TO PRODUCTION FOR CUSTOMERS?

The ability to more easily collaborate across geographically dispersed teams and members by working in the cloud will remain a key feature during and long after the pandemic.

Wind River Studio provides a flexible, collaborative platform that addresses the dynamic automation needs surrounding the intelligent systems of the future, delivering a complete lifecycle experience tailored to a cloud-native environment.

Wind River has brought something unique to the industry with Wind River Studio. As mentioned, Studio is a cloud-native platform for developing, deploying, operating, and servicing mission-critical intelligent systems – essentially, the entire lifecycle of an intelligent system. The growth of 5G and sophisticated AI applications, as well as the emergence of smarter systems and autonomous systems, are helping to realize the promise of IoT.

It enables significant improvements in productivity, agility, and time-to-market, with seamless technology integration that includes advanced cloud computing, data analytics, security, 5G, and AI/ML. As an established technology leader, what advice would you give to entrepreneurs looking to venture into the computer software sector? The software-defined world is pushing the pace of innovation and transforming market segments, so there has never been a more exciting time to venture into the computer software sector. To be successful in the industry, you have to be willing to embrace innovation and to do so through a rigorous and objective process. From a CTO’s perspective, this process starts with analyzing the market and understanding the customer’s real challenges and desired business outcomes. It is important to always keep those items in mind, then build a vision and a solution that solves for them.

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Products

New technology from Apple

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Products

Apple unveiled their first product release event of 2022, we look into the technology that could help businesses improve their hardware and capabilities. The Apple 2022 unveiling included presentations of the new product releases shown using highly advanced impressive digital presentation. The experts walked us through the array of new devices which included the new iPhone SE with 5G connectivity, the iPad Air’s latest evolution, and most impressively the Mac Studio release. The entire performance centered on the subject of performance, highlighting Apple silicon, including the A15 Bionic Chip being part of the new iPhone SC and the M1 chip included in the new version of the iPad Air. The two announcements that stood out most were the M1 Ultra Chip creation and the new Mac studio desktop and display. M1 ULTRA Part of the showcase during this event was the new M1 Ultra chip, this was presented as the next giant leap for Apple silicon and the Mac. This is explained to be a fusion of two M1 Max chips to create a new architectural system on a chip (SoC) with unprecedented levels of performance and capabilities. It was stated that this M1 Ultra can be configured with up to 128GB of high-bandwidth, low-latency unified memory that can be accessed by the 20-core

CPU, 64-core GPU, and 32-core Neural Engine. Aimed at increasing computer performance and render ability for developers compiling code, artists working in 3D environments, and video professionals. Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Technologies stated “With its powerful CPU, massive GPU, incredible Neural Engine, ProRes hardware acceleration, and a huge amount of unified memory, M1 Ultra completes the M1 family as the world’s most powerful and capable chip for a personal computer.” MAC STUDIO The biggest announcement for businesses was the release of the new Mac Studio. Aimed at developers and software engineers, the new model brags to be 3.4 times faster than previous iMac models and 90% faster CPU performance than the mac pro. This computer uses the power from the M1 Ultra chip to ensure users are able to work without processing speeds slowing them down. Apple presents this as the first computer to deliver this level of performance, whilst also having an impressive amount of connectivity, and completely new capabilities when compared with previous models. The new compact design looks slightly unappealing designwise but would succeed in reducing Continue on next page >

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New technology from Apple space taken on a desk by a larger computer that would perform at the same or lesser levels of this one’s capabilities.

Mac Studio is promoted by Apple as being able to render massive 3D environments and play back 18 streams of ProRes video. According to their in-house testing which was conducted in February 2022 using preproduction Mac Studio systems including the Apple M1 Ultra, 20core CPU and 64-core GPU, and 128GB of RAM, and configured with 8TB SSD. The accompanying Studio Display was designed to complement the Mac Studio system though could be paired with any Mac, Apple did seem to push that for the system to truly show its power you would need both of these items together. The display features an expansive 27-inch 5K Retina display, a 12MP Ultra-Wide camera with Centre Stage, and a high-fidelity sixspeaker sound system with spatial audio. This was obviously meant

for those with a more creativebased workload to enhance a business studio’s capabilities. This comes as no surprise as Apple has always lined itself up with creative designers and artists to promote the use of its products. Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing commented that “Mac Studio ushers in a new era for the desktop with unbelievable performance powered by M1 Max and M1 Ultra, an array of connectivity, and a compact design that puts everything users need within easy reach. And Studio Display — with its stunning 5K Retina screen, along with the best combination of camera and audio ever in a desktop display — is in a class of its own.”

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This line-up of products was promoted as being available to customers to purchase from the March 18th.

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Save upto 75% with Cisco Refresh Who is CHULO We buy, sell and recycle new and second user hardware. Our aim is to deliver a wide variety of ery good quality network hardware equipment at the lowest possible prices – and with over 30 years of IT industry experience, we understand technology and take every opportunity to get the best deals for our customers. This knowledge coupled with the capabilities of the Ampita Group and agreements with strategic partnerships, enables Chulo to offer global logistic capabilities and fast delivery timescale.

Powered by Cisco Cisco Refresh maximises your budget, whilst maintaining the same Cisco quality, certified protection, and support as you would see on a new product. Plus, the minimal environmental impact will significantly shrink your carbon footprint as reduce the need for new raw materials and irresponsible landfill disposal.

Part of Ampito The Ampito Group is a leading provider of technology solutions, cloud services, digital media and marketing. Founded in 2006, the Group has seen rapid growth, with presence in North America, Europe and the UK. The Group provides infrastructure, security and cloud ready, data centre networking, wireless and mobility solutions through its dedicated business units.

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Innovation

Data storage industry: is there any scope left for real innovation?

Federica Monsone, founder and principal, A3 Communications, takes a look at the state of data storage today, examines if there is any room for truly ground-breaking innovation, and explores how current and future breakthroughs with storage technologies will affect the industry and its organizations.

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Innovation

Over the past nine decades, the storage industry has brought to market numerous ground-breaking technologies and architectures, many of which are still in use today, years after they first appeared on the market. Every day, vendors announce new products that seemingly offer something different from the myriad of available competing solutions; but are these simple updates to existing technologies, with a few tweaks and additions? Or are they truly original? At a time when so much has already been developed, can data storage vendors still be innovative? To find out, let’s go back to the very start of the storage industry as we know it today. It was nearly a century ago, in 1928, that Austrian scientist Fritz Pfleumer patented the first magnetic tape. Since then, tape has played a significant role in the storage of data. NAKIVO’s director of product management, Veniamin Simonov, agrees: “There have been numerous breakthroughs in the data storage industry since the times of magnetic tape which, over the years, has helped to revolutionize how data is stored. Since then, we’ve seen the move to disk storage, which has included floppy disks, hard disk drives, optical disk drives, and so on.” But how has storage technology evolved over time? Since the inception of data storage, the

industry has developed different media, from tape to disk and from SSDs to flash, strived to increase areal densities, introduced architectures that aim to maximize data location and retrieval speeds. A lot more is on the horizon, according to Andrew Buss, research director, European enterprise, infrastructure and European edge strategies at IDC: “We’ve seen the move from tape to disk, and now the migration to flash is underway. We’re in the early stages of new approaches such as Intel Optane persistent memory, which allows high performance and highly durable storage media, as well as to add another level of caching for memory when added to the memory bus as DIMMs. In addition, new materials and lining technologies like graphene may well bring the humble spinning disk back to prime relevance once again for situations where real-time performance is not so critical. In the future there are likely to be many advances such as holographic storage or even DNAbased storage.” Innovation begets innovation, tells us Antonio Barbalace, senior lecturer at the School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh: “With the introduction of flash-based storage devices, new hardware interfaces have been introduced, including the bespoke NVMe. NVMe is under continuous evolution, and several diverse variations to the interface/protocol

have been introduced, such as OpenChannel, Zoned Namespaces and computational storage.” Curtis Anderson, software architect at Panasas, takes this idea and develops it further: “If you describe tape, disk, flash, NVDIMMs, etc, as ‘base technologies’, then as each new type of base technology is added to the mix, the combination allows for a much wider range of possibilities. Where innovation truly happens, however, is in how the various base technologies are assembled into functional systems.” Kam Eshghi, Chief Strategy Officer at Lightbits Labs agrees with this view: “We will continue on an iterative path until we make a leap – like from paper tape to magnetic tape, to disk drives, to solid state media and the next jump will be to some kind of technology like phase change or memristor – and finally to quantum storage. In between, there will be lots of iterative improvements in speed, density and lower cost.” Has it therefore become harder and harder for vendors to come up with truly innovative products? Yes and no, according to Randy Kerns, senior strategist at Evaluator Group: “On the surface, it seems that way, but new innovations aren’t necessarily just a new technology but really the application of new technologies.” David Trachy, senior director of emerging markets at Spectra Logic, believes that the current battle against attacks on data will have an impact on where vendors will focus Continue on next page >

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Data storage industry: is there any scope left for real innovation?

their R&D efforts: “We are likely to see the greatest innovations in software, specifically around data protection, because of the increase in security attacks, such as ransomware.” Billions of dollars are still spent on R&D, justifying the thought that something brand new is around the corner. William Toll, head of product marketing at Acronis, says: “There is always a continuous string of new innovations in storage, much of it stemming from the pace of innovation in the “nano” technologies that reduce the size of physical storage medium. IBM, Microsoft, and others continue to discover and publish research in future technologies that are very different from what we have in the market today.

For example, Microsoft’s project silica,” the first storage technology for the cloud conceived and constructed from scratch. Reliant on ultrafast laser optics to store data in quartz glass, this technology is billed to potentially lead to a complete re-think of traditional storage system design. “There have been some real significant storage product

innovations in recent years,” according to Paul Speciale, chief product officer at Scality: “Some examples are new solutions for data backup with deduplication to eliminate backing up the same data redundantly many times. New hyperconverged solutions have simplified deployment and efficiency, and object storage has enabled massive scalability for billions of files. All of these were driven by changing customer needs, such as increased data growth rates, access by more users via the cloud, and the need to be more efficient,” he added. End user requirements are indeed a significant driver behind data storage innovation. Industry veteran Alex McDonald, chair of a number of technical groups at SNIA EMEA and USA, agrees: “Necessity is the mother of invention. Users are very needy, and the storage industry has been hugely inventive. Since everyone wants to store their stuff faster, cheaper, and bigger, I think the industry has delivered on those criteria. External demands have driven innovation over the years, finding applications for Pfleumer’s tapes to

spinning disks of iron oxide all the way to persistent memories made of glass”. Software-defined storage (SDS), where hardware and software are uncoupled, is one stand-out innovation that has helped the industry enormously, for example by allowing greater administrator productivity thanks to its ability to leverage automation to adapt to changing requirements, and by giving end users the flexibility to select controller software and hardware from different vendors. Adoption rates of cloud storage enabled the industry overall to grow by bringing costly technologies within reach of budget-conscious organizations. Interestingly, ESG’s senior analyst Scott Sinclair disagrees with the notion that traditional features of technology were recently revolutionized: “You don’t see a tonne of innovation in traditional features, such as snapshots, for example. But storage vendors are providing plenty of innovation in other areas such as combining artificial intelligence (whether integrated into the array or part of an external management

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platform) that collects telemetry data from the storage array to provide actionable insights or even automation to administrators. For example, leveraging this data and integrated intelligence the system can more efficiently scale workloads, to recommend actions to diagnose or remediate issues, or automatically optimize the storage resources when application requirements change. Vendors are also providing innovations to help their storage systems better support the needs of cloud-native or containerbased workloads. Another area of innovation is offering a consumption-based model to procure storage resources, rather than just a CAPEX-based model. These are just some examples. The key takeaway is that there is a tonne of innovation going on, but not all of it might show up on a traditional data sheet.” We are likely to see R&D around both new and current technologies in the future: “I think we’ll see both the development of existing technologies and ground-breaking innovations,” adds Steve Ashurst,

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Data storage industry: is there any scope left for real innovation?

European managing director at FalconStor. The degree of innovation varies depending on where within the storage industry we look. When it comes to storage features for example, we have witnessed developments ranging from enhanced support of cloud-native or container-based application environments, to streamlining hybrid or multi-cloud storage management, incorporating intelligence into the storage system to simplify, or even automate IT operations. Competition is another driver behind innovation. The storage market is full of different solutions to end users’ storage issues, with vendors competing to market the same cure to their storage woes. But, as with every industry, competition is healthy, and can lead vendors to push harder with product development to make it as marketable and user-friendly as it can be. FalconStor’s Ashurst explains: “We see existing vendors competing with emerging players to create something completely new or make improvements in order to capitalize on the new underlying trend.” New trends, new challenges, are another clear driver behind

data storage innovation. Scality’s Speciale agrees: “New problems require new, innovative solutions. We see this happening now as the technology landscape is changing again during this shift to cloudnative. This will once again spark a broad range of innovations.

We see this happening again now as the technology landscape is changing again during this shift to cloud-native. This will once again spark a broad range of innovations.” Despite an array (pun intended) of products launched on the market on a regular basis, most end users tend to be cautious when it comes to the adoption of new technologies and solutions, as Tim Klein, president and CEO of ATTO, points out: “Datacentres are generally more conservative in nature than early adopters in new storage technology and connectivity. As reliability is core to their mission, there certainly is a tendency to stick with the known technology and keep updating it to incrementally improve.” The lifecycle of IT products is also a factor in the adoption curve, as Speciale explains: “Most customers are not diligent about discovering what data is stored and on what

system, and therefore tend to be lax and concerned about deleting data to reclaim space. This leads to bounded 3-5 year life spans for most solutions, especially on the hardware platform side. This, in turn, means that you will find a prevalence of solutions newer than 5 years within the data centre.” To truly succeed, a new technology or architecture must also be cost-effective, as adding a new technology to hundreds or thousands of servers can be a costly exercise. “Fundamentally, especially at scale, it is not affordable to only use the latest and greatest technology,” tells us Lightbits Labs’ Eshghi. “Most of the capacity in datacentres and the cloud is still based on spinning disk drives. Spend is different though – because (for example) flash drives are far more expensive than spinning drives, there is more spent on flash drives than spinning even though the capacity of flash sold is less than spinning drives.” What about vendors who do not innovate quickly enough? Well, they run the risk of becoming irrelevant, and therefore customers will look elsewhere. Lack of innovation may also damage vendor brands

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as these will unlikely be seen as market leaders. The result is the company going out of business or getting acquired. “I think that the majority of technology is dead after ten years, as are the manufacturers aligned to it unless they manage to evolve,” says FalconStor’s Ashurst. Innovation is a necessity for most vendors looking to maintain a strong position in the market, but the degree to which the vendor can innovate is crucial. Being able to disrupt the market with a new product or service allows a company to cut through the noise and become an industry leader, instead of following the same technology lines as everyone else. Data storage may have been around for many years, but there still is room for vendors to innovate and surprise end users with ground-breaking products. This may be because they leveraged existing technologies or architectures, or possibly because they developed a brand-new solution. Either way, it seems that there will always be something new and shiny on the data storage horizon for the industry to explore.

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HPC

The future is all about High-Performance Computing (HPC) Jack Bedell-Pearce, CEO and co-founder of 4D Data Centres, looks how High-Performance Computing (HPC) might be the future of computing, and the challenges and opportunities it presents.

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HPC

High-Performance Computing (HPC) is now having a tremendous impact on a number of industries, helping to solve complex issues in science, engineering and business. Once only available to university institutions and major corporations, it has now opened up into mainstream use – in part thanks to colocation data centres, which can offer the infrastructure needed to host HPC as a service to companies that wouldn’t be able to. The shift in focus towards a digital need – as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic – has now got many companies thinking about how to safely store their on-premise servers, which are consuming more processing power and data storage than ever before. For science in particular, the impact of COVID-19 has shown the world how important HPC can be in the fight against the virus. Significantly more powerful than regular computers, HPC can process extremely large amounts

of data quickly, which can lead to faster insights, quicker diagnosis and the ability to conduct research into potential vaccines. While millions of people across the world have already been vaccinated against COVID-19, extensive research needs to be conducted to develop future strategies and contain any further threats of COVID-19 in future. And work has already begun to do just that. At the height of the global pandemic in March 2020, the US federal Government launched the COVID-19 High Performance Computing Consortium – with support from companies such as Google, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Microsoft and NASA. This brought together industry and academic leaders from across the world and provided access to the most powerful high-performance computing resources in support of COVID-19 research. Made up of 43 members, there are currently 100 projects utilising 50,000 GPUs, 165,000 nodes and 6.8 million

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The future is all about High-Performance Computing (HPC) CPU cores. They can perform around 330 trillion floating-point operations per second – equivalent to 330 petaflops. The powerful algorithms which supercomputers possess can hopefully be instrumental in reducing the time it takes to bring life-saving medicines to market. According to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, clinical trials take six to seven years to complete, on average, raising the cost of R&D to $2.6 billion. While HPC offers significant advantages to the medical science industry, there are other sectors where it has been used well. They include media and entertainment – to edit feature films, render special effects and stream live events across the world. Additionally, in artificial intelligence and machine learning, HPC has helped to detect

credit card fraud, teach self-driving vehicles and improve cancer screening techniques. The future of HPC is fast New supercomputers are being launched across the world, and it is a welcome sight as we look at finding new ways to handle intensive data processing activities. In July 2021, the UK introduced the country’s most powerful supercomputer, Cambridge-1. Developed by NVIDIA, Cambridge-1 delivers more than 400 petaflops of AI performance and eight petaflops of Linpack performance, which will be used to help scientists and healthcare experts use the powerful combination of AI and simulation to bolster the country’s world-leading life sciences industry. Cambridge-1 is the first supercomputer which NVIDIA has dedicated to advancing industryspecific research in the UK.

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Networks

The company also intends to build an AI Centre for Excellence in Cambridge featuring a new Armbased supercomputer, which will support more industries across the country. In the USA, Hewlett Packard and AMD are planning to install what they expect to be the world’s fastest supercomputer, El Capitan, in 2023. It is expected to perform quicker than today’s 200 fastest supercomputers combined, with both companies promising it will perform at two exaflops, or two quintillion calculations per second. To put this into context, if the world’s human population could perform one such calculation per second, it would take everybody eight years to match one second’s worth of El Capitan computing. Understanding the potential of HPC is key .These two examples of new supercomputers are proof there is an abundance of

technology waiting to be deployed to tackle tomorrow’s challenges. So it’s no surprise to hear more companies are looking at ways to tap into the potential of the lucrative HPC market, which is estimated to be worth $49.4 billion by 2025. In a world where technology continues to make rapid progress, the need and demand for HPC has become more urgent. It does come with its challenges though. While the ability to quickly and accurately process large amounts of data is appealing to any company, the cost of setting up an HPC system and then maintaining it is high. There is huge capital expenditure (CAPEX) involved in the supporting infrastructure (cooling, backup power, fire suppression etc.) and this factor alone can restrict startups and SMEs from adopting HPCs, especially as the energy

requirements needed are huge and HPCs also require specialist water cooling systems. As most companies don’t possess the infrastructure needed to host their own HPC system, the idea of working together with a data centre allows them to take advantage of the benefits without it costing the earth. As HPC requirements differ from case to case though, choosing the right solution will be one of the most important investment decisions a business can make. Especially when looking at the bigger picture so it doesn’t affect the company’s growth plans. The impact of HPC has already been felt across the world, but taking time to understand its benefits will allow companies to take advantage of its endless opportunities.

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Modern tech

Atomtronics: researchers shine a light on post electronics Most modern technologies owe their success to advances in electronics. Now researchers are starting to explore atomtronics: ways to harness the flow of waves of whole atoms, called matter waves, to enable new kinds of sensors, computers, and scientific research. Prof. Luigi Amico, Executive Director of Quantum Physics at the TII Technology Innovation Institute in the United Arab Emirates, explains why we are on the brink of entering a “second quantum revolution.”

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Modern tech

Most technology advancements over the last century arose from the understanding that elementary particles like electrons, protons and photons obey the rules of quantum physics. Electronic devices such as TVs, computers, cellphones, and the internet, are all offshoots of this first quantum revolution developed at the turn of the century. Today, we are in the wave of a second quantum revolution arising from a deeper understanding of the collection of elementary quantum particles. For such composite systems, a phenomenon known as entanglement can take place. A characteristic trait of such a revolution, called Quantum Technology, is that basic and applied research work are shortcut which means that physics principles and technological applications are tightly intertwined. The bulk of existing quantum computer research rests on classical hardware that manipulates currents of electrons. Therefore, it is only natural and beneficial to switch to true quantum hardware that can take advantage of more types of elementary particles. Atomtronics is the quantum technology of atomic matter-wave circuits. The physics principles exploited in atomtronic circuits are very different compared to the ones which govern electronics. Therefore, devices with

radically new functionalities and performances are expected tobe accessed. One goal is to work out new quantum devices and a new concept of circuitry. At the same time, atomtronics can define current-based quantum simulators exploiting matter-wave motion to advance fundamental science. This field is still young but mastering this new realm could unlock vast improvements in sensing, computation, and communication. It took several decades to develop quantum theory into practical devices like televisions, lasers, and semiconductor chips. We want to shorten this gap for the next quantum revolution and control whole quantum aggregates in which entanglement can occur. Atomtronics harnesses the core principles of quantum technology. In comparison to other systems, atomtronic circuits stand out by their enhanced and dynamical flexibility and their superb control of operating conditions. The goal of atomtronic is to fabricate circuits of atoms. In a very crude representation, a traditional circuit is made by electrons moving in copper wires. In atomtronics, electrons are replaced by atoms and the copper wires are substituted by a suitable combination of laser and magnetic fields which guide the atoms. In the implementations achieved so far, the fluids of moving atoms are kept at very low temperatures (in the Continue on next page >

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Atomtronics

range of hundreds of Nanokelvins). In these conditions, besides their mass, atoms have very different properties from electrons. The atomic spin becomes a key quantity. The laser light ‘copper wires’ for atomtronic circuits provide very smooth guides for the atoms, and circuits of virtually any shape can be realized. This allows researchers to consider new ways of harnessing matter waves into circuits with different characteristics than existing electronic circuits.

Another important difference between standard electronic and atomtronic circuits tracks back to the electrical charge of the carriers. Electrons are electrically charged, which makes them easy to manipulate using electrical and magnetic fields. For the very same reason, however, electrical currents can be distracted in many ways since electrons are easily affected by circuit imperfections and/or spurious effects (leading to an essential unwanted phenomenon for quantum technology known as decoherence, which destroys useful entanglement). In contrast, atoms flowing in atomtronic circuits are electrically neutral. This feature means that more sophisticated methods are required to manipulate them. It also means they are easier to isolate and less prone to decoherence.

Potential applications Improved sensors could be one of the most promising applications in the short run. For example, today, photon-based gyros allow us to measure rotations accurately. These devices can lead to high-end inertial sensors which can be used for autonomous vehicles which navigate without using GPS signals. Atomtronic gyros are expected to maintain accuracy over more extended functioning periods and promise a substantial increase of sensitivities compared to photonics gyros. Atomtronic rotation sensors could unlock new research opportunities. For example, geophysicists have discovered that, in the classifications of earthquakes, minute rotational changes can provide even more insight than simply measuring spatial displacement as the standard seismographs currently do. These movements can be in the range of 10-7 – 10-11 radians per second. Imagine you are rotating at 10-11 radians per second. It would take you longer than 30 thousand years to complete one full revolution. The corresponding sensitivity for detecting such a small rotation is hard, if not impossible, to be achieved with existing quantum sensors, but we believe it will be possible to construct sensors to detect this level of rotation with atomtronics.

Atomtronics could also help define scalable integrated 3-dimensional complex matter-wave circuits. Traditional semiconductor circuits are composed of a 2D substrate laid out on a plane. Engineers paint lines into this circuit to create transistors, gates, and more complex logical circuits. With atomtronics, people are working on 3D circuits that can be dynamically reconfigured. A significant challenge to face in the years to come is integrating the atomtronic circuits with other existing technologies such as photonic integrated circuits. Such hybrid networks may provide a valuable route for the fabrication of integrated 3D matterwave circuits. The most popular quantum computer designs today are built using superconducting electronic circuits. In the long term, atomtronics can be a good platform for quantum computers based on atomic motion. We are making progress in reconfigurable atomtronic circuits. The wires in an electronic circuit are permanently fixed. You can use switches to route currents down different routes, but the actual wires remain. New atomtronic designs mean circuits can be re-shaped while the circuit operates. Because of such features, atomtronic circuits can

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be manipulated by new ‘analogic’ methods such as machine learning algorithms. This way, circuital elements with exotic ‘currentvoltage’ characteristics can be defined. This route can lead to new circuit elements that cannot be accessed with standard electronics. For example, atomtronics could contribute to the mesoscopic quantum technology realm between the microscopic domain of atoms and the macroscopic field of falling apples.

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Atomtronics is an extremely collegiate and open global world community in which any progress in the field is shared intensely. This feature is a characteristic trait of the physicist community, and we are optimistic and excited about the advancing the next revolution with colleagues worldwide.

It would allow researchers to extend mesoscopic research beyond studying static electronic circuits to also consider other dynamic circuits that include other types of particle flows. The bulk of knowledge acquired so far indicates that the current is a very effective probe to explore the microscopic behavior of the phases of matter at low temperature. We are exploring ways to exploit atomtronic circuits as simulators to address important partially open questions in high energy physics, such as quantum gravity, meson scattering, and quarkgluon plasmas.

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MARCH 2022

With AI, there is nity to expand t experimentatio ery.

EXPAND THE REACH OF EXPERIMENTATION

dell.com

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s the opportuthe reach of on and discov-

AI-AUGMENTED HPC FROM DELL DRIVES CUSTOMER SUCCESSES

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Top tips

10 tips for moving to a centralized desktop service

Toby Skerritt, Technology Director at Foundation IT, discusses the top 10 ways to improve the speed and lifespan of your hardware by switching to cloud-based centralized desktops such as Azure Virtual Desktop.

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APRIL 2022

Top tips

The laptop and desktop replacement cycle has been a burden on IT budgets for many years. Most organizations will refresh these devices on a three to five-year cycle in line with vendor warranties and perceived improvements in technology. However, older devices may be perfectly capable of providing an excellent user experience for many more years if connected to a cloudbased desktop service. There are also many alternative approaches available, such as moving to thin client access devices that offer greater longevity, reduced costs and improve security. 10 tips to moving to a centralized desktop service Cloud desktops, such as Microsoft’s cloud PC, are consumption-based services. As you only pay for what you use, piloting these services does not require the capital expenditure associated with traditional remote desktop services. Pilot projects should be delivered from operational budgets where possible, helping to fast-track testing and potential adoption. Adopt an agile mindset, pilot the service quickly on a small scale and use this pilot to tailor the service to your requirements. This process will also help to define the actual cost of the service to your business in the way you require. Ensure you review and understand the licensing model and how it applies to your environment. For

example, accessing cloud desktops from non-Windows devices can bring additional costs. Licencing for Windows can be complex so be fully aware of the associated licensing costs before moving beyond the pilot stage. The re-use of older devices to connect to a cloud desktop service can reduce the device’s security risk. As the cloud desktop simply provides a window into the corporate environment, the device no longer needs any corporate data to be held on or directly accessed by it, reducing the management and oversite of the device. A cloud desktop service no longer relies on local processing power so older devices, including many nonWindows devices, can provide a great user experience. Rather than replace a device when due, look to spin up a cloud PC instead. For a more secure, manageable service, devices can be converted to thin clients via products such as IGEL’s UD Pocket, which fully repurposes devices for cloud desktop access. Another benefit of this approach is that older devices with incompatible operating systems can still be used. Moving to a ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD) model for home workers can reduce both capital expenditure and operational costs. Many organizations choose to provide a subsidy for employeeowned devices. These can be lightly managed by services such Continue on next page >

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10 tips for moving to a centralized desktop service

as Microsoft Endpoint Manager if required. However, by providing a cloud desktop, and layering all required corporate security over this service, we remove much of the need to manage and secure the physical device.

Alternativity, the provision of thin client devices such as the IGEL UD products to both home and office workers reduces power consumption and provides secure access to cloud desktop services. Thin clients are designed for longevity and will generally outlast laptop or desktop hardware by many years. There are a variety of cloud desktop services available. Choose one which meshes with your corporate cloud strategy. If you are an Office365-based organisation, it makes sense to investigate Microsoft offerings first as these may offer combined benefits. Bandwidth is key. The single most important factor which impacts the user experience is the connection between the user and the desktop, or the desktop and the services

it accesses. As best practice, desktops and the Line-of-business applications they run should be kept as close together as possible. Ideally, the desktop and the applications should reside in the same cloud region as each other. Additionally, home-user internet connections can have a dramatic impact on the user’s experience of the platform. The services may all be running optimally, but the user may be having problems due to bandwidth exhaustion on their network. Monitoring tools are critical here to identify where the problems may lie. Finally, ensure to future proof. At face value, the costs associated with a cloud PC may look more expensive over a three to fiveyear Total Cost of Ownership but often the alternative excludes the upheaval involved in updating operating systems or the challenges that occur when an application is upgraded. You can be agile with cloud PCs, updating images are far simpler, and increasing resources for better performance is done in a matter

of minutes. Some of the cost and pain associated with interim and enforced change is removed, which should be a feature of the justification and business case. As cloud desktops tend towards a ‘pay as you go’ model, you should look to adopt complimentary services from vendors such as Nerdio which help to reduce the overall spend. There is no benefit in running – and paying for – a cloud desktop service 24 hours a day if your users will only be accessing it from 9 to 5. So, when considering your next major client refresh, major operating system upgrade, remote working policies or your approach to addressing end user device performance issues, factor in the potential of cloud-hosted desktops even if that is for a sub-set of the workforce. It might just solve a multitude of issues in one hit.

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Computing

APRIL 2022

Why is edge computing needed?

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APRIL 2022

Computing

Edge computing is not necessarily a revolution in cloud computing but an evolution of what came before: so why do we need the edge when we have the cloud? It’s perhaps no surprise that the cloud’s history is hazy. However, the Mix Network, devised in 1979 by David Chaum, is perhaps where the origin of cloud computing comes from. The Mix Network conceptualised an email network in which the authentication of messages was decentralised. It was from this philosophy that Chaum patented the first decentralised payment system the following year. Further to this, Chaum’s network used the precursor to Onion Routing, most famously associated with the dark web. It took a while longer before cloud computing as we knew it became ubiquitous. The exact moment is up for debate but in 2019, the cloud is all around us, literally and figuratively. So where does edge computing come in, exactly? The past couple of decades have seen a significant shift to cloud computing. With edge computing rising in popularity, it makes sense to question its place in the technology world. The gargantuan rise of IoT is calling into question whether the cloud is still the most efficient method.

WHERE DID EDGE COMPUTING COME FROM?

Edge computing is not a revolution following the cloud. It’s an evolution of the technology. Let’s go back to basics: data needs to be stored somewhere. Onpremise computing meant that data had to be stored centrally; cloud computing liberated data meaning that it could be stored on remote servers far away. Edge computing is the natural progression of this: it brings data closer to where it’s needed. This could be through sensors that collect data, like RFID tags, or onsite data centres that companies invest in. Edge computing can still connect to the cloud if necessary. The institutions of computers were replaced with the cloud, which in turn became institutions themselves. However, whether cloud computing truly is decentralised is still a sticking point. Theoretically, cloud computing is very much decentralised but from a scale point of view, this isn’t the case: big cloud services have cornered the market, connecting services and meaning that data is stored and processed from big data centres. It’s understandable; the institutions of computers were replaced with the cloud, which in turn became institutions themselves. This is how the edge has risen. Where cloud computing took the power from centralised servers, edge Continue on next page >

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Computing

Continued ...

Why is edge computing needed?

computing is taking the power from the cloud. It’s a necessary next step for us as tech users. The cloud satisfied our needs as computer users and the edge is doing the same thing for IoT devices.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN ADVANTAGES OF THE EDGE? Just as the cloud provided a raft of opportunities when it came to prominence in the mid-2000s, edge computing has significant advantages, too.

The edge is considerably quicker than the cloud. That’s perhaps the biggest benefit of a data centre being located quite so close and it’s one that is used already for a host of reasons. Autonomous vehicles can receive information a lot quicker from the edge than they ever could from the cloud; smart cities too could process maintenance data as and when it occurs. Smart traffic lights, for example, could receive signals from nearby.

The Amazon Echo is considered an Edge device. / Credit: PC Mag If devices can interact with the edge a lot easier than the cloud, it can also pose questions about how we store data. Data that is stored at the edge does not necessarily need to go to the cloud, which could, in time, change the way that we think of privacy and security issues that dominate discourse regarding the cloud. One of the other big benefits of the edge is outage reduction. By using the cloud, your business could be open to server downtime: this is an issue that becomes more serious the more you congest a cloud server. Some mission-critical operations such as chemical plants have never used the cloud for this reason. The edge relies on a connection between individual sensors and a local data centre, which reduces the opportunity for outages.

Should different devices connect to different edge servers too, there’s no need for an entire business to drop just because the whole server has gone down. HOW LONG BEFORE EDGE COMPUTING TAKES OVER?

As IoT’s relevance grows, so does the edge’s. Even individual devices in your home, such as an Amazon Echo, can be classified as an edge device. The edge is growing slowly. It took years for the cloud to become as universal as it is, so whilst there isn’t a specific date in which the edge will become more important, edge computing will no doubt surpass the cloud in no time at all.

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APRIL 2022

Smartphone

The smartphone built to empower every moment Author: Jiatong Li

OPPO has introduced its cutting-edge new flagship Find X5 Series, raising the bar on smartphone imaging and premium design.

The new series is packed with industry-leading features to empower consumers to be their true selves and express their individuality on their terms.

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APRIL 2022

Smartphone

The Find X5 Series boasts a futuristic aesthetic that achieves clean, modern sophistication and world-first imaging experiences, including a dedicated imaging Neural Processing Unit developed by OPPO, MariSilicon X, which overcomes smartphone video capture’s greatest challenge – night-time recording. Complimented with an incomparable dual flagship IMX766 camera system, unrivalled performance, ultra-fast 5G connectivity, and incredible SUPERVOOC TM Flash Charging technology. THE OPPO FIND X5 SERIES – THE SMARTPHONE BUILT TO EMPOWER EVERY MOMENT. (PRNEWSFOTO/OPPO)

“Find X5 Series elevates the Find X series to a whole new level of beauty – both aesthetic and in terms of capabilities, redrawing the boundaries of the mobile experience across design, imaging, battery technology and performance. It builds on the core DNA that made the Find X3 Series a hit with consumers and critics alike,” said William Liu, President of Global Marketing at OPPO. 4K ULTRA NIGHT VIDEO AND CAPTIVATING PHOTOGRAPHY

Night video presents a major challenge for smartphones, so OPPO has designed a dedicated imaging NPU, MariSilicon X, to bring the night to life, without

sacrificing colour. Based on a 6-nanometer process crafted for top-tier imaging performance, the MariSilicon X packs the most powerful AI computing power available today. The result is a four times improvement in perceived night video resolution, less grain and superior colour reproduction, making 4K Ultra Night Video possible for the first time on an Android smartphone, with each frame as clean as a still photo. OPPO’s MariSilicon X is just one key element of Find X5 Pro’s advanced imaging system. The wide and ultra-wide angle cameras both feature Sony’s advanced 50MP IMX766 flagship sensors, with a sensor size of 1/1.56”, 2um large pixel size after binning. The wide-angle camera also features a first-of-its-kind Five-axis OIS system, which improves with every use to counter handshake, reduce noise and sharpen scenes. With superior 4K Ultra Night Video capturing across wide and ultrawide cameras, the Find X5 Series boasts the best wide and ultrawide imaging quality across both stills and videos in the industry. What’s more, Find X5 Pro comes with an upgraded front camera, which is an intelligent 32MP shooter that captures details in brilliant clarity also thanks to the MariSilicon X Imaging NPU. This allows boosted dynamic range and true-to-life textures that will

make selfies pop. In addition, it is enabling AON – Always ON so your screen knows when to stay lit and you can use air gestures to navigate apps. To help further realise OPPO’s vision of professional camera experiences, Find X5 series is the first OPPO smartphone series to incorporate the best of Hasselblad software – Hasselblad Camera for Mobile – to enhance and finetune the beautiful and natural colours of your photography. FUTURISTIC DESIGN WITH PREMIUM LOOK AND FEEL

Building on the design innovations of the Find X series, the expertly curated Find X5 Pro features a spacecraft-inspired curved body using only the most high-end materials. The ultra-hard, true ceramic back of Find X5 Pro is available in Ceramic White and Glaze Black to reflect its clean, modern sophistication at its finest. This seamless ceramic back panel blends beauty and durability, taking over 168 hours to create and is of course splash, water and dust resistant with a IP68 rating. Find X5 Pro’s display is just as impressive, featuring a 6.7-inch ultra-clear curved AMOLED screen. With a WQHD+ resolution, and 100% P3 colour gamut coverage, Find X5 Pro’s 10-bit screen displays more than 1 billion colours, creating smooth tonal and colour gradations, displaying the full Continue on next page >

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Smartphone

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Built to empower every moment

depth and range of even the most subtle shifts in colour.

Find X5 Pro also boosts display performance with the first multibrightness colour calibration of its kind, creating colours that are consistent, whether you’re looking at the screen under dim artificial light or under a bright summer sky. MOST POWERFUL OPPO FLAGSHIP TO DATE

Powered by the latest-generation, multicore Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, Find X5 Pro is supercharged to handle even the most demanding games and applications. OPPO has doubled down on efforts to boost battery life on Find X5 Pro and level-up power management. The large, 5000mAh dual-cell battery reflects a capacity increase of more than 11 per cent over Find X3 Pro, so you can relax knowing your phone will be ready to go when you need it. With the support of enhanced 80W SUPERVOOC TM Flash-charging technology, Find X5 Pro can be charged from close to empty to 50 per cent in just 12 minutes, and with 50W AIRVOOC TM, it powers up to 100 per cent wirelessly in just 47 minutes.

COLOROS 12.1: INTELLIGENT AND SECURE

OPPO’s human-centric interface, ColorOS 12.1 is its most beautiful, intuitive and personal experience ever. Combining with Google’s Android 12 operating system, it delivers incredible experiences and class-leading privacy features, while maintaining full access to the Google Play Store and its 3 million+ apps. INTRODUCING OPPO FIND X5 AND FIND X5 LITE

OPPO Find X5 and Find X5 Lite also joined the Find X5 series today, bringing powerful performance and stunning design to a wide range of audience. The Find X5 has an understated, yet ultra-premium finish, with frosted, matte glass and fingerprint-resistant chassis. Available in Black or White, the fine grain of this 90% frosted texture creates a beautiful, almost silky lustre that plays with light and feels incredible in the hand. Find X5 also includes the outstanding dual IMX766 camera system, powered by MariSilicon X imaging NPU, a 6.5” 120Hz billioncolour display, support for 80W SUPERVOOC TM charging, 30W

AIRVOOC TM WIRELESS CHARGING AND MORE.

With the Find X5 Lite, users can express their authentic selves through professional portraits thanks to its outstanding camera configuration and AI-enhanced imaging features. The Find X5 Lite is the portrait expert capable of capturing DSLR-like portraits through features like Portrait Mode, Bokeh Flare Portrait Video, and more. OPPO is a leading global smart device brand. Since the launch of its first mobile phone Smiley Face in 2008, OPPO has been in relentless pursuit of the perfect synergy of aesthetic satisfaction and innovative technology. Today, OPPO provides a wide range of smart devices spearheaded by the Find X and Reno series. Beyond devices, OPPO provides its users with the ColorOS and internet services including OPPO Cloud and OPPO+. OPPO has footprints in more than 50 countries and regions with more than 40,000 employees dedicated to creating a better life for customers around the world.

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Smartphone

APRIL 2022

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APRIL 2022

Workspaces

Needs for remote and hybrid workspaces

A survey of UK employers and employees gives insight into the lack of provision for remote and hybrid office workers to carry out their roles.

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APRIL 2022

Workspaces

While only just over half (56%) of employers admit they regularly check in with all employees to enquire about their health and well-being, and 55% provide laptops, 73% of employees are ready to choose their next employer based on physical, health and well-being support and flexible technology provision.

ambition to make a success of remote working, appreciating the importance of an agile working environment. 73% think it’s important for workers to switch between sitting and standing to support their physical needs while at work (87% of businesses with 250-500 employees), and over half (52%) of workers consider it important.

The Future of Work survey by Ergotron, a global company designing and manufacturing ergonomic solutions to improve workspaces and interaction with technology, revealed that despite 88% of employers seeing the importance of bringing IT devices when working in different rooms, almost a quarter (23%) of employers disagreed that the provision of the right ergonomic work conditions and support in employees’ health and overall well-being would be a strong asset in talent acquisition.

Due to the need to collaborate with remote teams and work from home, the office or other locations, the flexibility of technology and portability of devices have become critical. 77% of employees and 88% of employers agreed on the importance of being able to bring their IT devices with them when working in different rooms.

This rose to 43% in organisations with 250-500 employees and 64% of HR industry respondents. However, the finance and tech sectors most appreciate the significance of these factors, with 80% of those in IT/telecoms and 75% of those in finance agreeing with the importance. However, employers appear to have the

Yet only 55% of employers claim they are supplying a laptop to workers for home, office or third space. The survey results showed a clear disparity in terms of equipment employees deem essential and what employers provide. Despite 89% of workers and 89% of employers citing a laptop as important, only 65% of all employees claim to have been provided one and 55% of employers admit to providing one. 75% of workers and 81% of employers concurred on the

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Workspaces

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Remote and hybrid workspaces

importance of an ergonomic chair. Yet again, only 19% of workers claimed employers had supplied them with one. With an increasing amount of technology applications required for typical work roles, 65% of employers said it’s important to have a large screen monitor (between 30 - 49 inches), but less than a third (28%) of employees have been supplied one, and 30% of employers admitted they had provided one. 15% of workers claimed employers had not provided any equipment including a laptop, ergonomic chair, large monitor, or a subsidy for equipment. While 30% of employers claim to offer a subsidy to workers to buy their own equipment, only 17% of employees claim they have been offered this. Richard Guy, Country Sales Manager UK & Ireland at Ergotron, said: “We’re now in the third year of a new workstyle for most organisations, and business leaders should by now have assessed their workspaces and at least be in planning to deliver for workers’ needs - their organisation’s biggest asset. The importance of the need for adaptable workstyles has grown hugely to build safe, healthy, productive, and collaborative working environments – and

workers’ needs sit well above what their employers are currently providing. Most alarming is the lack of attention to workers’ comfort and well-being while at work. In addressing this and other dedicated resources for a remote or hybrid workstyle, employers will provide supportive working environments which attract and retain staff, which is the making of a business.

Given the business need for digital agility, deferring remote working provision will hold organisations back regardless of size or sector.” Ends - Key findings: UK employers understand the importance of remote working requirements… 73% of employers consider it important to be able to switch between sitting and standing while working (87% of businesses with 250-500 employees) 71% of employers say it’s important for workers to be able to easily switch rooms / space to work in while taking their IT equipment with them 89% cited a laptop as important and 65% a large screen monitor 81% of employers agreed that an ergonomic chair is important …but fail to provide them Only 56% of employers admit they regularly check in with all employees to enquire about their health and well-being Only 55% of

employers admit they are providing a laptop and 30% provide a large screen monitor 30% of employers claim to offer a subsidy to workers to buy their own equipment (only 17% of employees say they have this offer) Only 19% of employees have been provided an ergonomic chair About the survey: Employer survey The survey was conducted of 150 respondents aged 18+ in the UK. These are senior decision-makers /employers with office workers who, before the Covid-19 outbreak, worked in their employer’s office but worked from home during a COVID-19 lockdown and will either be working between home and office or permanently from home after COVID-19 lockdowns cease. Employee survey The survey was conducted on 150 respondents aged 18+ in the UK. Respondents were office workers who, before Covid-19, were in their employer’s office but worked from home during Covid lockdowns and will work from home and office or permanently from home since the lockdowns. Responses were sub-categorised by age across five age categories: 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54 and 55+.

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Workspaces

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Products

APRIL 2022

Amazing products

DELL XPS 13 The Dell XPS 13 Laptop is suitable for work and entertainment. With the 11th generation Core™ i7 processor you’ll smoothly navigate through demanding office software with several browser tabs open at the same time whilst keeping the loading times down, thanks to the SSD. Indulge in hours of your favorite Apple TV or Netflix movies in high resolution even when on the go, with high quality, detailed and beautiful colors. Experience exceptional performance with the Intel® Evo™ platform that brings together premium technologies. Since 2020, working from home or hybrid working has become more and more in demand, this makes the Dell XPS 13 9305 13.3” Laptop perfect as it provides improved fast connectivity, and responsiveness, with Intel® WiFi 6 making it a great presentation Laptop.

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Products

APRIL 2022

DELL Precision 7560 The Dell Precision 15 7560 Mobile Workstation, is Dell’s most powerful mobile workstation with AI, featuring the latest Intel® Core® or Xeon® processors, NVIDIA® professional graphics and Dell Optimiser for Precision, it is more powerful and responsive than ever. This laptop is sure to improve your workflows, with high-speed memory, up to 128GB at 2933MHz, including optional ECC memory. The go-to laptop for those who need serious horsepower and are ready for plenty of complex computing tasks and will satisfy all sots of laptop users from developers, IT, creatives and even gamers to an extent.

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Products

APRIL 2022

Amazing products

Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio The Microsoft surface laptop studio is Microsoft’s newest premium hybrid laptop. Although it is similar to their Service Book and Surface Laptop, the Surface Laptop Studio without a doubt stands out on its own. The laptop brings ideas to life with incredible graphics, and video editing - suitable for building apps and designing. Powered by an 11th Gen Intel® Core™ H series processor it is sure to support your most complex workloads. This is a must for businesses, especially in the design sector, where top speed is created with NVIDIA’s 2nd gen RTX architecture enables ray-traced graphics as well as cutting-edge AI features from the NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3050 Ti. Play the latest games with graphics that rival reality and rendering animations. Making this the perfect all-in-one laptop, for work and entertainment and adapts to the new work-from-home or hybrid economy.

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APRIL 2022

Microsoft Surface Studio 2 Get performance, style, lightweight, and HD built-in camera in one laptop, with Microsoft Surface Studio 2 at an exceptional value. The lightweight, 13 hours of battery life, makes this laptop an excellent choice for those working remotely, or constantly on the go - who need to rely on their laptop to last, even in non-charging locations. Microsofts lightest Surface Laptop offers its signature 3:2 aspect ratio, helping you see more, on a 12.4” PixelSense™ touchscreen and delivers crisp, high-quality presentations and beautiful images when watching your favorite shows. The laptop for everyday productivity and streaming.

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APRIL 2022

Hardware

Revolutionizing hardware product development through digital transformation By Alejandro Turell, CEO & Founder of LastBasic

Alejandro Turell founded LastBasic with the goal of democratizing the traditional engineering consultancy industry. After studying mechanical and industrial engineering, then working as an industrial engineer in a consultancy himself, Alejandro realized that many of the processes within traditional engineering consultancies were old-fashioned and there was little opportunity for employees to develop their skills and work on a variety of projects. He created LastBasic as a sharing economy platform, bringing together experts and inventors so that everyone has a chance to contribute to innovation.

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APRIL 2022

Hardware

Developing a hardware product is generally more complicated than creating a software product. There are more stakeholders involved, longer timescales, and fewer opportunities for market validation prior to official launch. At the same time, hardware products often provide the solution to some of the world’s greatest challenges or push an industry forward towards greater innovation. Product development is a necessary, and even noble endeavor. But it could certainly be easier.

The cracks are beginning to show in traditional routes to hardware product development. Inventors can experience slow timelines that result in losing the opportunity to be first to market, some are priced out of taking their ideas any further, and others end up with a product that doesn’t do what they had foreseen. What this ultimately means is that good ideas aren’t being executed as required and inventors and markets alike are missing out on opportunities. A remedy to this has been needed for some time.

CHALLENGES WITH TRADITIONAL HARDWARE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT MODELS

Technology has helped create a new model – one that is already disrupting the more traditional options. This new digital approach places automation at its heart to accelerate product development while enabling inventors to retain control and executive decisionmaking power.

Over time, those with ideas for new hardware products have come to understand that the traditional engineering consultancy route to product development presents numerous barriers and limitations. Collaborating with a consultancy is expensive, especially for the independent inventor. High costs do not always mean high quality, which can be difficult to navigate without the negotiating power available to large companies. Furthermore, inventors must content with a loss of control. Consultancies can make executive decisions and drive hardware

Working with an engineering consultancy is one of the most common routes to creating a new hardware product, especially for those who have little experience. It’s easy to assume that consultancies have access to the relevant expertise to fill the gaps in an inventor’s experience and ability – they’re the experts who have been working in the field for decades, right?

products down paths that the inventor may not have chosen had they had more input. Products can therefore end up looking very different to the original concept. All the while, potentially urgent market opportunities are being missed, and the product is no closer to completion. From missed opportunities to burning through a budget, there is clearly a need for a remedy from the traditional consultancy approach. And with automation and technology at our disposal now more than ever, there has never been a better time for a new model.

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Hardware

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Hardware product development

THE GAME CHANGER

This new digital approach leverages the best in automation to accelerate each phase of product development, all the while enabling inventors to retain control and executive decision-making power over their project. Digital platforms that enable inventors to collaborate with experts to make their hardware product ideas a reality are becoming increasingly popular. Such platforms invite inventors to share their ideas confidentially with a diverse range of professionals worldwide, who then compete to win the project by showing how they would complete the task/ activity that they are competing for. This means the priority is placed on making the best possible prototype, instead of inventors comparing quotes which inevitably don’t include the hidden costs traditional methods add on at later stages. Inventors can manage their projects in real time from anywhere in the world, thanks to the new digital hardware product development model. This means that they always have

access to the best talent, without any geographical constraints. Proposals are not restrained by internal rules or politics within traditional consultancies but are of the highest quality due to the competitive bidding process involved with experts pitching for projects. Inventors can also review experts’ work at every step of the way, which encourages postproject knowledge sharing and constant development. ADAPTING TO FUTURE NEEDS

The digital-first approach to hardware product development embraces technology to eliminate many of the barriers that exist in the traditional models. It therefore responds to the needs of today’s inventor and provides a strong foundation for future development. Hardware product development has long been stifled by traditional practices, partly because of its roots in engineering and manufacturing, which is a sector known to be lagging behind in digital transformation. But what this new digital model shows is that there is a bigger opportunity for innovation to take place, because

barriers like high costs, the need for knowledge and experience and potential for loss of control are all eliminated completely. The speed of innovation is certainly not showing signs of slowing, and this paradigm shift in prototyping has the potential to accelerate innovation even more, giving inventors all over the world the recognition they deserve. The digital model is being heralded as the democratization of prototyping, leveraging the best in digital transformation and automation to deliver results for inventors. Digital models are making it easier, quicker, and cheaper for inventors to turn their ideas into tangible and workable solutions for today’s issues. This is an exciting development in the hardware sector and gives anyone the opportunity to dare to invent, innovate and develop new economical products in an easy and accessible digital environment.

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Hardware

APRIL 2022

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APRIL 2022

Analyst research

Sustainable phones

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APRIL 2022

Analyst research

According to analyst research, the sustainability of mobile phones is set to be one of the most significant issues guiding consumer choice in the sector. Growing consumer awareness of the environmental consequences of their purchasing decisions has influenced many sectors in recent years but, until recently, has been slow to impact mobile phones. Industry expert Ben Wood believes that is now changing. “Sustainability is a hot issue and phone makers’ green credentials are becoming an increasingly important part of consumers’ purchasing decisions”, said CCS Insight analyst Wood [*1]. Wood points out: “There’s a growing and very encouraging trend in the mobile phone industry, and consumer electronics more broadly, as companies start to pay more and more attention to sustainability.” [*2] Durability (47%) and recyclability (29%) are already among the top five factors guiding the choice of phone brand according to recent research [*3]. Cat phones (made by UK-based company Bullitt Group) are explicitly designed to be rugged,

with devices built to last and have a longer lifespan. Industry Analyst firm Canalys notes that the current average lifecycle of smartphones in the mass market is approximately 37 months for iPhones and 33 months for Android devices. According to Bullitt, Cat phones have a much longer lifespan of 42-48 months – up to 45.5% longer than many mainstream brands - due to their rigid, rugged construction. These revelations are timely for Cat phones, who celebrate a decade of innovation in the rugged sector this year. To mark this tenth anniversary, Bullitt Group is lifting the lid of its Rugged-To-The-Core engineering and philosophy, which has made it a market leader in the sector. Pete Cunningham, VP of Product, Bullitt Group, said: “Our customers want phones that last for longer, and we build our products to do just that. Other manufacturers have a much more straightforward approach to ruggedisation, which sets us apart. “There are no shortcuts to building a truly rugged phone. Drawing on 10 years of research and experience in robust design and materials science, all Cat

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phones are engineered to be tough from the inside out. “Our phones are packed full of high-grade, waterproof components that are protected by impact-resistant casing and dirt-proof seals. Waterproof, dustproof and drop-proof our phones are rugged to the core.” Another recent independent study exploring the rugged smartphone sector backs Bullitt’s claims. It shows that their products are built to be much more demanding than many of their cheaper, poorer quality competitors’ products - meaning the lifespan of their phones will be significantly longer than sector competitors and rooted phones. To further extend the life cycle of its products, Bullitt has also introduced a range of new Care services.

Nathan Vautier, CEO of Bullitt Group, said: “Our customers, and consumers more generally, are putting a more excellent value on sustainability and want their phones to last longer and be repairable - and rightly so, given what’s happening with the environment. “With rugged devices built to survive drops, falls, spills, and water submersion, device lifecycles are inherently longer as our products do not break so easily. Offering repair and service options if something happens helps keep them going for longer. It’s not a complete solution, but it’s a move in the right direction. “We took some big steps in 2021 to address sustainability and have ambitious plans to go further this year and beyond.”

The new Bullitt Service Programme extends the portfolio’s rugged reliability, reinforced through service. It delivers a range of additional packages to cover all eventualities for complete peace of mind and a quick response to unforeseen accidents or emergencies, reducing the risk of downtime affecting the business or personal life.

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Hardware leaks

APRIL 2022

Leaks

INTEL’S NEW GRAPHIC CARD GETS LEAKED

FOUR DIMENSIONS: APPLE’S IPHONE 14 LEAK

During an in-house presentation of their own “Intel Arc Control” graphics card software, eyes saw mysterious information in the program’s user interface. This allowed a conclusion to be made in regards to the performance of the new Intel graphics. To date, Nvidia and AMD have dominated the graphics card market, however, they have been wanting to join the hardware area again. For several months, rumours have been leaked about new upcoming graphics cards, that should achieve the performance of the current RTX 3070 Ti. PC gamers will be happy to know that, the Intel Arc graphics card’s complete power consumption, compared to Nvidia, seems to be fairly low - only over 200 watts, with the displayed power consumption only referring to the graphics chip. However, the Inter Arc graphics card could still offer a better power performance/consumption ratio than the RTX 3070 Ti. Nevertheless, the rumours still stand, and whether the leaked data comes from the new Intel Arc graphics card or not, is yet to be confirmed. However, as it is very unlikely that Intel would use their data for their presentation from a competing product - we can be sure that it is indeed performance data of an Intel Arc model. We can expect the release of the desktop graphics cards from Intel to be on the market in the summer of 2022.

New Apple rumours have been leaked, where we can be expected to be four different iPhone 14 models, launching in September 2022. Analyst Jeff Pu obtained outlined his expectation for the device releases which may include a 6.1-inch iPhone 14 /Pro/Max and Pro Max. Pu believes, after research notes with Haiting International Securities, obtained by MacRumors, that two of the upcoming Pro models will have triple-lens rear camera systems and may have an upgraded 48-megapixel Wide lens (possibly capable of supporting 8K video recording), 12-megapixel Ulta Wide lens and a Telephoto. Moreover, the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro models are said to be equipped with 8GB of RAM, featuring a 6GB RAM and a 64GD storage limit, compared to the iPhone 13 Pro models and 128GB storage. Additionally, as a premium feature, Apple is likely to maintain a high refresh rate for the upcoming iPhone 14 pro, with one iPhone 14 having an LTPS 60Hz display. Regardless, Pu has a mixed record in regards to the accuracy of Apple rumours. Whilst the rumours sound plausible, the specs forecasted seem likely to become a reality. However, we should only take these leaks with a grain of salt and wait for Apple’s official announcement before any assumptions are made.

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Leaks

APRIL 2022

SAMSUNG GALAXY FOLD 4 RUMOURS ABOUT S PEN

META’S AR GLASSES ROADMAP SHOWS TWO YEARS OFF

Three years ago, Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 3 with S pen support - without a slot to pocket the S pen. However, rumours say that the Samsung foldable will drop an S pen support, although other sources by @ UniverseIce tweeted that the lack of S pen support will most likely make the phone smaller and thinner and thus suggests that the Galaxy Z Fold 4 will not have a built-in S pen. Looking at the Galaxy Z Fold 3, which is a bulky device when folded up and resembling almost two smartphones together, adding an S pen would have made it bulkier and may have even compromised battery capacity. It’s also been said that the Galaxy Z Fold 4 will feature a similar design to its processor and focus on durability by including other significant upgrades, such as tougher glass, lighter phone and improved water and dust resistance. Apart from the Galaxy Z Fold 4 keeping the same telephoto camera as the Galaxy S22 series, the rumours are sketchy. Regardless, the leaks suggest that Samsung expects that Pen to prove a popular accessory and can expect a book-style with a triple rear camera housing, as well as sticking to a physical fingerprint sensor on the side, very similar to the Z Fold 3.

The AR glasses project, called Nazare inside Meta, is a key aspect of Zuckerberg’s plan to reorient the tech giant from social networking to Metaverse. Furthermore, as project Axios previously reported, the Meta plan is to bundle the glasses with the nerve-reading wristbands and aims to release four different versions to be launched within the next six years. Zuckerberg calls the AR glasses a “holy grail” device that will “redefine our relationship with technology” and aim to be wireless and work independently from a smartphone, offloading various parts of the computer required for the glasses to function. Additionally, a feature will enable users to communicate and interact with holograms of other people. Meta’s goal is to deliver firstgeneration models of AR glasses to at early adopters and developers by 2024. In addition, they also aim to release a pair of cheaper smart glasses that will enable pairing with smartphones and allow incoming messages and other notifications in a heads-up display. Meta’s AR roadmap aims to deliver a more advanced and lighter version of the Nazare glasses set to arrive in 2026, as well as the third version in 2028. If the AR glasses cease to succeed, Zuckerberg believes they may cast Meta into a new light, making the company innovative once again.

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Hardware leaks

APRIL 2022

Leaks

XBOX SERIES LEAKS NEW CHANGE TO CONSOLE

SURFACE LAPTOP GO SUCCESSOR LEAKS

Leaks were reportedly made on the first Xbox Series X revision, although the changes are not significantly different. The reduction of cost is the main focus console manufacturers focus on. Like many of Microsoft’s competitors, they don’t make a lot of money from their hardware, rather it is made from the software. For every game sold on the Xbox Series X, Microsoft gets a cut. However, this does not mean that making money is done, once the hardware is shipped - consoles are always revisions in order to save money. Brad Sams, an Xbox insider and journalist, stated that the Microsoft console’s chip is currently in revision, but that the revision will only reduce the cost of production, rather than improve performance. However, noted that Microsoft always looks for ways in which they can produce cooler and more efficient chips, as this reduces the cost of production in itself. Rumours do not show any additional changes, and this revision is not something Microsoft would announce and would only be revealed by people dissecting hardware and discovering the change themselves. Nevertheless, when the next revision will happen, we have yet to know. Although rumours say that the next console is not far away, we also cannot be certain if it will be the Xbox Series X or something else aimed at the streaming market, even an entirely new console.

The Redmond giant is struggling to keep the lid on securely, despite Microsoft wanting to keep their project developments a secret. Rumours were leaked on windows Central, that there might be a potential new Surface laptop go, where the plans regarding the laptop are to create a successor. The information leaked, looks very believable, as it is coming from an insider source that has a high track record of rumours being true. This was seen when the rumours about Windows 10 UI revamp, later ended up as being Windows 11. Microsoft has decided to give the codename to the Surface Laptop Go as “Zuma”, although the Laptop on release will most likely be called Surface Laptop Go 2. Moreover, as Microsoft in the past has used springtime to ship minor releases, leaks suggest that the shipping of the new laptop may happen sometime in the first half of the year. This will most likely be around June if things go as planned. The rumours suggest that the laptop will come in a variety of specifications without any major changes to the formula made to the Surface Laptop Go. It is also to be suitable for the new work-fromhome economy, after seeing profits from its services, hardware and software. This shows attractive signs for the company to thus invest in ensuring they keep this spot.

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Leaks

APRIL 2022

DJI MINI 3 PRO IS NOT WALLET-FRIENDLY

APPLE’S PLAN OF NINE NEW MACS POWERED BY M2 CHIPS

Rumours have been made regarding the DJI Mini 3 and Mini 3 Pro drones, where leaks have shown the Mini 2’s specification and successors of the framework in full videos, as well as their packaging. Sadly, for anyone on a budget, this drone, however, does not look wallet-friendly with prices being on the high-end and seems to be looking at being announced in April and hoping for deliveries by May. By comparison, the DJI Mini 3 Pro es expected at £960 and the DJI Mini 3 at £730, compared to the DJI Mini 2 which is at £419. Having said that, rumours suggest that there will also be decent upgrades such as the camera aperture to be up to f/1.7 from the previous f/2.8, which will result in better low light performance, whilst they continue to stick with the 24mm focal length. However, rumours suggest that the obstacle avoidance on the prominent sensors (front and bottom of the drone) is the biggest upgrade expected will be the Mini 3. Additionally, there is to be a redesign of a three-axis gimbal and a ten per cent higher capacity on the Mini 3 Pro of 2453 mAh pack, compared to the Mini 2. Nonetheless, nothing is official, we can speculate, but if the rumours are true, the wait is not long.

According to developer logs, from a new report, Apple is developing nine new Macs, all of which will be featuring the M2 processors. Aside from the iMacs and new Mac Studio, most of the Apple Mac models will get an upgrade. Evidence suggests that an entry-level M2 MacBook Pro will have the same spaces as an M2-powered MacBook Air, which will have a 10-core GPU. In addition, the Mac Pro, Mac Mini and 14-inch/16-inch MacBook Pros will receive next-generation Apple silicon. The M2 Max and M2 Pro will most likely have variants of the M2 chip, where the M2 may be an option for the Mac Mini and the Max will have 38 graphics cores and 12 CPU cores. As a result, the entry-level Pro, MacBook Air, two models of the 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro, two models of the Mini and the desktop Mac Pro will all upgrade with M2 processors. Yet, the iMac model is not mentioned. Because it was reported that two Macs could be launching, around summertime, one can assume Bloomberg had other sources available. hopefully, we may hear about it at WWDC 2022.

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APRIL 2022

Video

Tech to watch

DISCOVER INTEL 3D ATHLETE TRACKING Intel

RAY BAN STORIES REVIEW Smart Sunglasses

SAMSUNG’S UNUSUAL NEW GADGET Projector

2022 HARDWARE NVIDIA, INTEL, AMD & APPLE

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APRIL 2022

Video

APPLE’S NEW HARDWARE Apple’s Upcoming Hardware Subscription Programme

DELL 34” curved, ultra-wide monitor

SAMSUNG Working from home with SmartThings

APPLE Introducing the new iPad Air

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MARCH 2022

DELIVERING EV CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE TO MEET 2030 NEEDS.

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MARCH 2022

Those responsible for the deployment of EV infrastructure need to understand their user’s needs, which should inform long-term roll-outs, and design procurement processes that incentivise charging point providers to deliver quality long-term deployments.

let’s connect connectedkerb.com

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APRIL 2022

Sustainability

Factoring in sustainability to your IT decisions In this article, Tom Newbald of refurbished mobile phone provider Swycha, says that IT decision-makers (ITDMs) don’t tend to prioritize or value sustainability when making IT purchasing decisions. He argues why you should care more, and how you can improve your IT department’s contribution to your company’s overall sustainability goals.

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APRIL 2022

Sustainability

SUSTAINABILITY MATTERS FOR MANAGERS (TRUST ME!)

If you are a budget holder, you have likely attended senior management meetings that discussed your company’s core objectives, visions, and values. In 2022, more often than not, these will now include your company working towards being more eco-friendly. Many companies even tend to have a business sustainability strategy built into the heart of their operations. But I know what many of you are thinking. Sustainability and ESG (your environmental, social and governance decisions) are just the latest corporate lingo passed down from your management. But in reality, they are much more. An increasing number of your employees, customers, directors, and shareholders really do care that you’re not being wasteful! In fact, being a sustainable business doesn’t just strengthen your company’s airy-fairy ‘corporate reputation’. Today, it tangibly influences your consumer’s purchasing decisions, drives customer loyalty, and it puts a real focus on being a more resourceefficient company (all of which improve your company’s bottom line).

Here are some important insights to consider: • 32% of UK consumers are committed to buying from more sustainable businesses • 62% of CEOs consider sustainability necessary to being competitive today • 65% of people want to work for a company with strong environmental policies Even if your senior management has not briefed you yet on being a more sustainable manager in your remit (or just being more resourceefficient to cut costs) – perhaps above all, it’s key to take your personal responsibility as a ITDM seriously. WHERE DO IT DECISIONS COME IN?

We tend to consider corporate sustainability to just be a few key areas: our manufacturing processes, packaging, supply chain, delivery methods, and waste management. These focus on minimizing the production of harmful toxins, opting to use biodegradable and renewable materials, or mitigating the company’s carbon footprint with transportation. But the IT department, or specifically our IT equipment, is often overlooked. They shouldn’t be - not at all. It is a crucial factor

for corporate sustainability. If you are an ITDM, factoring sustainability into your decisions, particularly your tech purchasing habits, should really be encouraged. WHAT DO I MEAN?

Well, when you decide that pieces of your IT equipment are outdated and are no longer of use to staff – you create harmful waste (assuming that the device is not totally smashed to bits!). HOW?

• Every year, 2 million tonnes of e-waste (‘no longer useful’ electronic devices) is discarded into landfills by UK companies • Unwanted devices in landfills leak toxic substances such as lead and mercury into the soil and water (also discarding non-renewable resources like aluminum) that also lead to health issues • By deciding that a piece of tech is no longer fit for the purpose you create the need (and cost) to purchase brand new equipment ITDMs tend to be the ones in the company that decide when certain equipment is no longer needed after assessing staff needs (i.e., when they complain “I can’t work with this device.”) But it’s not just about you being more conscious of e-waste. When you decide that staff need a

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Factoring in sustainability to your IT decisions

brand-new set of devices (laptops, monitors, mobile phones etc) – you also create costs. You also create a harmful precedent, expectation, and demand for constant new tech within your business. HOW?

• You will never make the cost savings you need or stay within budget (a key managerial competency) if you’re constantly ordering brand new equipment • You are adding constant demand to the global manufacturing of laptops, desktops, and mobile phones which is extremely harmful to the environment (large use of fossil fuels, harmful chemicals, pollution, extraction of natural resources, and often conflict minerals) • By setting an expectation that areas of the business can just have brand new equipment if they shout loudly enough, you’ll never be able to break the cycle Whether you want to take sustainability in IT seriously, make cost savings, or impress your senior management – here’s how I recommend you factor

sustainability into your IT decisions. Create a culture where IT in your business prioritizes sustainability Yes, ITDMs (particularly IT Directors and IT Managers) are responsible for ensuring your organization and stakeholders have the technical capabilities and kit they need to thrive (with as little trouble as possible). But ITDMs must also balance this with their organizational sustainability objectives. Work with your senior leadership (speak to the CEO even) to create a culture in the business where IT decisions also prioritize sustainability. Break the cycle where the first option is to just simply buy new equipment when there appears to be a staff need. Create a culture where the staff knows that IT sustainability is a crucial component of the business. Rather than ordering new equipment, can staff who are happy with an older piece of kit swap with new recruits? Explain to them why this is important to the business and the associated environmental benefits. Similarly, are some staff happy to only have

one screen and can do without two, to spread screens around the business, for example? All of this will also go a long way to being resource-efficient and saving on your IT budget. REFURBISHED MOBILE PHONES FOR STAFF

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift to hybrid and remote working. As such, it is more commonplace for businesses to provide a business mobile phone as equipment for employees. One way to factor in sustainability in the IT department is to purchase refurbished handsets for your staff rather than buying brand new devices. Refurbished mobile phones are phones that are second-hand, but have been repaired, restored, and re-used by a professional company. By purchasing refurbished handsets rather than new ones, you will not only help the planet by lowering your carbon footprint, but you will also help save valuable minerals from being mined, which not only harms the environment but also contributes

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APRIL 2022

Sustainability

to massive CO2 emissions. You can contribute to the reduction of e-waste and ensure that devices are used to their full lifespan (supporting circular economy principles). This is an excellent and simple environmental practice to consider for ITDMs. Refurbished servers reduce IT costs but also support sustainability. Similar to the point above, if you only purchase brand new IT hardware, you’re just perpetuating an unhealthy demand for new equipment that affects the environment. Again, refurbished IT equipment is a sustainable option. Many companies opt to buy refurbished servers, including high-quality refurbed hardware from global brands such as Dell and HP. Purchasing refurbished servers from reliable sources is a key way to factor in sustainable IT purchasing decisions whilst also saving a significant amount of money. Do be careful to ensure you are doing adequate research

in this area of IT procurement, however. Complete e-waste audits and considers options for circularity Quantify your business’s e-waste stream. What devices and equipment are you discarding of, or making defunct? What is the associated environmental cost? To fully understand the impact of your company’s e-waste, pinpoint what e-waste you are generating, why, and in what quantity. Then understand how you are processing end-of-life. Can you focus on repairs over replacement? Are you handling equipment repair processes thoroughly? Then figure out whether you are actually discarding your devices in an environmental fashion if they do in need to be discarded. Many secondary markets extract components from electronics for reuse and recycling. Can you send your unwanted equipment to a company that specializes in this area? Can you donate equipment to charity or smaller companies? Make sure you are recycling and handling e-waste properly without

creating additional environmental issues for the planet. Rounding up this point – quantify what you are making defunct or figure out why staff is not using it anymore, conduct lifecycle assessments for your tech products, and explore e-waste recycling practices. Perhaps the top and bottom of this are always trying to consider your IT decisions from an operational, economical, and environmental perspective before you make them. Do we really need to buy this brand new? Can we buy alternative refurbs? Can we still use this? Are we working towards sustainability. Oh, and also consider smart energysaving printers – they will save a lot in energy consumption! Tom Newbald is the CEO of Swycha, a refurbished mobile phone website. Swycha independently test and fully refurbish used handsets for everyday users and business clients. They are an environmentally focused company based in the UK.

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APRIL 2022

Recycle

Reduce, reuse & recycle

Top Business Tech looks at the impact of e-waste and how organizations can become a more sustainable by joining remanufacturing schemes to mitigate against the global depletion of resources.

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APRIL 2022

Recycle

The US Energy Information Administration projects that the US alone will see a 5% increase in carbon emissions by 2050, bringing its total to a staggering 4,807 million metric tonnes. A significant contributor to the rise in carbon emissions is the manufacturing process of various goods. With advancements in technology over the recent years, a notable portion of this manufacturing produces electronic items, which eventually become e-waste.

WHAT IS E-WASTE?

E-waste is any waste material with a power source, be it cable or battery, including items such as laptops, fridges, or less publicly commercial products such as databases, network switches, and firewalls. In 2019, 53.6 million tonnes of e-waste were produced, seeing an increase of almost 2 million tonnes from the previous year. Unfortunately, only 17% was recycled sustainably, with the remaining 83% discarded in landfills, where they can cause significant harm to the local environment. It’s easy to overlook the longterm effects of waste when we discard items, especially electrical ones. Still, the reality is that the chemicals present in most e-waste can cause serious longterm damage to both people and animals through inhalation, ingestion, and skin exposure.

Accelerating global depletion The damage is not only limited to environmental impact. Each year, an estimated 50 tonnes of mercury and over £44.8mn in gold, silver, copper, and iron are improperly discarded when they could be repurposed. Moreover, the global depletion of resources has been steadily occurring since the 1970s. The consumption of natural materials is vastly outrunning the rate at which the Earth can reproduce them, with experts predicting total resource exhaustion within the next 60 years. Taking responsibility for e-waste With the amount of e-waste predicted to exceed 74 million tonnes by 2030, it’s imperative that businesses globally look for sustainable methods of producing and maintaining electronic items, not only reduce the impact on the planet but to ensure business longevity well into the future.

Electronics recycling isn’t a new concept; since the introduction of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations in 2007, many waste disposal companies can successfully recycle a significant portion of electronic waste. However, given the rate at which we impact the environment and deplete resources, responsibility can no longer fall on disposal companies alone. Remanufacturing Schemes Finding opportunities to engage in sustainable business practices can appear daunting at first, but as technologies expand, so do how we can recycle and repurpose them. Businesses can now participate in various remanufacturing schemes to aid in the plight for a more sustainable future. Leading this drive is networking hardware provider Cisco, who has created the Cisco Refresh program. In turn, organizations can find retailers connected to remanufacturing schemes, such as Chulo, part of the Ampito Group’ which champions the Cisco Refresh program and sells remanufactured technology from phones to network switches.

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Reduce, reuse & recycle

Remanufacturing sits somewhere between reusing and recycling. Recycling requires the product to be entirely broken down and repurposed as raw materials. Remanufacturing involves the product being disassembled and updated, or having its components repurposed elsewhere on the factory line. This reduces the need to harvest new resources from the planet’s dwindling supplies and reducing the CO2 emissions that manufacturing and mining new resources create.

By nature, remanufacturing involves returning a product to its original performance levels with an equivalent or better warranty than the original. Thorough testing is implemented at every stage of the remanufacturing process to ensure that its functionalities are at the same standard a customer would expect from a new product.

BENEFITS OF REMANUFACTURING

Remanufacturing gives new life to products that were otherwise at end-of-life. Items no longer on the market are once more available. It addresses the over-mining of resources. It reduces the damage caused by incorrectly disposed electronics. Businesses can vastly decrease the amount of waste associated with the changing of old technology. By remanufacturing old technology, businesses can save a significant amount of money in the process, with remanufactured goods costing up to 70% less than their newly manufactured counterparts.

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APRIL 2022

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APRIL 2022

How 5G can become a reality across the UK and Scotland We spoke to Lara Moloney, Head of S5GConnect at The Scotland 5G Centre, about the use and implementation of 5G.

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APRIL 2022

Lara Moloney has had an extensive career in the smart city sector and was previously a Director and Chief Operating Officer for an independent publishing company -meaning she has experienced all areas of rapid business expansion and implementation.

S5G CONNECT

S5GConnect is Scotland’s gateway for advanced connectivity. Their role is to “lock in a network of partners that will consider how 5G and advanced connectivity can deliver innovation to Scotland’s key sectors.” Explains Moloney. S5GConnect is focused on supporting the Scottish Government, local authorities, and the business community in understanding the transformational power that 5G can enable and providing the technical knowledge and expertise to support that specific development. Through her role here, Lara can assist local businesses to realize their 5G potential. Much of the methods used for this can be mirrored in other regions to help improve connectivity worldwide. Funded by the Scottish Government, its work brings together industry partners, entrepreneurs, and a network of SMEs. The organization has begun placing innovation hubs across both urban and rural Scotland. The first went live in Dumfries, Scotland, on October 29th last year. More hubs are due to launch this year which will help businesses

see the benefits of 5G networks, and these could help provide an environment in which they can prototype, test, and develop.

by 5G.” According to Lara, the next five to eight years will be exciting as the 5G capability rolls out for businesses.

HOW LONG BEFORE WE HAVE COMPLETE COVERAGE?

MAIN BENEFITS OF WORKING WITH 5G

There is a crucial difference between the public coverage 5G and business coverage; discussing the business 5G coverage, Lara comments that 5G “holds the power to truly transform business operations.” With a proven impact on remote health care and energy manufacturing, agriculture, transport, logistics, and many other businesses. 5G has evolved so much and will help revolutionize the business industry, Lara gave the example of the initial introduction of the App Store on mobiles in 2008 and how that has changed our lives, saying, “look how different, the way we engage with entire industries, You know, you can get on a train, book a taxi or a hotel, do banking… look at social media and how it’s impacted everything. Now, that’s just in the last 12 years. So, I anticipate with the further advanced connectivity and the capability, the opportunity for transformation will be enabled

Many benefits have already been mentioned, like connectivity and speed, but Lara points out that this is just one part; there are also business simulations she says, “Imagine you work in a dangerous or hazardous environment, and you wish to train new staff without putting them at risk” – a few examples of this she gives are firefighters needing to deal with oil and gas. With 5G connectivity, these environments can be simulated and individuals can use this to receive extensive training off-site. Through this, they learn and develop the skills that they need safely.

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How 5G can become a reality

This training could also be extended over into the education sector, especially in more rural locations, or training could evolve drastically worldwide. Lara states, “the simple answer about 5G private networks is that they offer increased security, increased control, and flexibility.” She continues by saying, “It’s much more scalable, and it will offer paralleled performance with predictable, low levels of latency. So that means it’s more reliable connectivity and therefore more reliable performance.”

5G TRIALS AND TESTS IN THE LAST FEW YEARS SHOWCASE HOW 5G CAN TRANSFORM INDUSTRIES AND HOW CHALLENGES ARE MET

There has been a wide range of very positive work done around 5G, especially in the UK; it can support industries from manufacturing to healthcare. Lara states, “I think identifying routes to support the health and wellbeing of people is key and remote healthcare is a focus for our Dumfries hub. It is also one of the most challenging because of procurement processes, connectivity in hospital environments, and regulation around new technologies in a care setting.”

In Norway, the Nokia Robot activity at Oulu University training hospital shows how connectivity can underpin boring and repetitive activities, freeing up time for care and direct patient engagement. These test robots could collect and deliver medicines around the hospital, enabled by 5G connectivity, saving hours for the staff. This was coupled with asset trackers being deployed with high accuracy indoor positioning capability so beds and other critical items could easily be located in real-time. Moving forward, there are hundreds of examples where this network deployment and use of robots could enable time and cost savings. In manufacturing, construction, logistics – all of these environments can utilize remote tracking and automation technologies. Small productivity gains in a manufacturing setting can very positively impact the profit levels and provide a competitive edge to businesses. Nokia has been doing some great work with 5G, and their Oulu factory was actually named the 5G factory of the future.

BEYOND 5G, THE 6G FUTURE

There are constant upgrades in this area, and eventually, we will move from 5G to 6G. As Lara states, “5G is revolutionizing digital services and enabling communities to embrace digital connectivity, and so too will 6G. 6G communications networks are expected to be commercially available by around 2030, and they will deliver transformative benefits beyond the already remarkable capabilities of 5G.” To learn more about 5G – listen to the full podcast interview here, or on Spotify.

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APRIL 2022

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APRIL 2022

Products

Fixed vs Flexible Intralogistics Automation By Pieter Feenstra, CEO of Addverb Technologies’ EMEA region.

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APRIL 2022

Products

With supply chain disruptions not entirely mitigated and with a shortage of labor, the demand for reliable warehouse automation is higher than ever Different challenges require different types of automation, both fixed and flexible, but many automation companies only offer one style of robotic automation which may not be enough. Pieter Feenstra is the CEO of Addverb Technologies’ EMEA region. Addverb’s expertise includes IoT, robotics, and warehousing consulting. Addverb has provided warehouse automation solutions to companies such as Unilever, Amazon, Flipkart, PepsiCo, CocaCola, ITC, and more. Consumers around the globe have experienced the effects of production slow-down in recent months. Although many industries are seeing the light at the end of the post-COVID tunnel, the high demand for retail and fastmoving consumer goods (FMCG) products have caused a new wave of complications in the labor market. Many companies in FMCG, retail, and e-commerce have been forced to reckon with the growing demand for both in-store and online products. Simultaneously, the labor market has reached a status of almost zero unemployment proving it very difficult to keep up with the demand.

A 2020 study by the Workforce Institute, a workforce, and human resources management company, found that even before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were projections of a 6 million-worker shortage in manufacturing by 2030. On top of that, the move to reshoring due to the pandemic adds another element to the labor shortage issues. That same study found that 62% of hiring managers had difficulty recruiting skilled talent and 44% of hiring managers experienced higher-than-average voluntary turnover in the year leading up to COVID-19. If there are not enough workers to do the required order-picking and handling in warehouses, a dilemma presents itself: Companies must decide whether they’d like to further automate their logistics processes or perhaps will face the problem of no longer being able to deliver the products on time. Automating logistics with robotics not only means lowering costs – it also means keeping up with today’s high demand. Finding the right hardware automation for different types of orders is a challenge, especially if both types of orders are handled from one logistics center. For example, automation requirements are often very different for store deliveries (which tend to be more stable and predictable) than for online orders. There are a couple of different options that companies can choose Continue on next page >

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APRIL 2022

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Fixed vs flexible intralogistics automation

to suit their specific needs best. The first is fixed automation. Fixed automation has been a tried and tested option for decades and is used mostly for deliveries from FMCG to retail or from retail to store. With fixed automation one should consider solutions with stacker cranes or shuttle systems (think fixed racking, rails, etc) and it requires roller conveyors around it to bring pallets or boxes to and from a warehouse. One of the highlights that fixed automation yields is that it can handle high storage density that can use the full height of buildings.

Fixed automation robots are carefully calculated for a predictable flow and can then give a very good return. For a long-term stable flow, fixed automation is one of the best solutions. Where fixed automation’s atrophy shows are in less-predictable scenarios. E-commerce, for example, can have high peaks and massive changes from year-to-year or even season to season. Fixed automation would not be able to necessarily keep up with the changing times. E-commerce companies might benefit from more of a flexible

automation approach. As the name suggests, flexible automation allows manufacturers or logistics companies to quickly alter production capacities or warehouse capacities as needed. Where adaptability and scalability are required, this kind of automation tends to be the number one choice. Many e-commerce companies need automation due to their demand but do not yet know what their future demand will look like. Flexible automation allows these companies to start with a certain set of robots and then scale up or down or combine with other robots when required. This is where the rise of certain companies such as Geek+, Hai Robotics, Exotec, and our company Addverb have come into play. Oftentimes, flexible automation solutions also need a shorter time to implement as it makes use of standard robots. This grants companies the option to lease, rent, or go for robots as a service (RaaS). More often than not, companies have a part of their business relatively stable and predictable, although some aspects of their business remain

uncertain. For example, retail chains often supply stores but sell more through their e-commerce business. This especially grew exponentially during COVID and now remains a large aspect of many businesses. This is why a combination of fixed and flexible automation must be at the ready for companies’ distribution logistics. The intralogistics and warehouse distribution industry is growing every day and this comes with new challenges. Automation robots as hardware powered by software can ensure a smooth end-to-end supply chain distribution process. At the same time, the question should not be whether companies should choose fixed or flexible automation, but how to determine the right combination of fixed and flexible for their specific needs. With these blends, there is an optimum of automation addressing the labor scarcity for the different channels to markets of the customers.

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Companies and manufacturers that find themselves stuck in the fixed vs flexible automation systems dilemma might benefit from asking themselves the following questions concerning expectations of their warehouse operations: • What part of my business can I reasonably predict for the coming years? • What part of my business is less certain and can still see a lot of changes in the short to medium term? • Can I still fulfill the requirements of my customers? • How long can my current buildings support my warehouse operations with my current way of working and are there different solutions that can extend this period? • Do I have the most cost-efficient solution to run my warehouse? The answers to those questions may point companies to the right solutions for specific challenges

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MARCH 2022

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Opening the lid on hardware advances

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Opening the lid on hardware advances