http://www.cbronline.com/news/enterprise-it/it-network/legacy-systems-continue-slow-digital-strategies/

Automation has long been identified as a fast track to reduced operational expenditure and improvements in business efficiency, but emerging technology has broadened that scope by a considerable margin.

The UK digital skills gap is nothing new - public and private sector organisations have been struggling to find people with the right talents to drive their digital transformation initiatives for the last few years if not longer.

The government’s latest National Cyber Security Strategy (NCSS) proposal makes a big play for the inclusion of academic institutions in the education and training of next generation data security professionals. But for the five year plan to deliver, universities and colleges may have to get their own house in order first by upgrading their existing cyber security network infrastructure.

Interview: Andy Butcher, Sales Manager for Research and Education, Axians

Andy Butcher is the Axians Sales Manager responsible for the UK Research and Education market, and is focused on helping universities deliver carrier-grade network services and business efficiency to their academic stakeholders and students.

Q: How long have you been working in the higher education sector?

I have worked with the education sector since the later 1990s. My first major sale was to University College London where I won a contract selling computers. My background in building, surveying and dealing with specifications and tenders meant I fitted quite well into the market and I have mostly worked in HE since.

Ken O’Kelly has been a key consultant in Juniper Networks; UK and Ireland security business for the past four and a half years. He previously held various roles (latterly as a security architect) during a 14 year stint with Imtech ICT.

Ken tells Axians about Juniper’s latest software defined security network (SDSN) solution and how it will make life easier for  IT departments tasked with controlling network access for thousands of users.

Q: What is Juniper’s software defined security network (SDSN)?

SDSN is all about changing how you build the network. Traditionally organisations have tended to build security into the perimeter and everything outside that perimeter is untrusted and everything inside it is trusted. That is a bit of a challenge these days given that we all take our laptops and smartphones outside of that trusted barrier when we go home, where malware can infect them and vulnerabilities can be compromised. We then bring the device back inside the network perimeter and now it is trusted again and that gives any threat carte blanche to get around the network.

TalkTalk is well known for the voice and data connectivity services it offers to UK consumers, but it has been quietly building a flexible, high capacity IP network which also accommodates increasing numbers of business customers.

Revenue for TalkTalk Business accounted for over 30% of the £1.8bn total in the financial year ending March 2016, up 5% on the previous year and driven largely by growth in demand for data products, next generation voice services and broadband connections delivered by both its direct channel and wholesale partners.

SSO – it’s more than a single log in

 provided By Alex Smith, Principal Solutions Architect, SaaSID