Friday Tech News

Hey there, happy Friday!

This was a quieter week, especially on the #AI front. Thank you so much for making this a part of your Friday morning coffee time. I'm Phil Moroni, and I'm an Account Executive in the Information Technology Services Industry here with another edition of Friday Tech News!

What is this? This is a newsletter that provides updates and insights on the latest trends and developments in the technology industry. I am a professional who specializes in supporting IT leaders in evaluating, investing, and managing people, processes, and technology tools that support their businesses.

Each week, I summarize relevant industry updates from popular Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM's), software publishers, and managed providers. The goal of my research and newsletter is to keep you informed about current trends and events that may impact your business from a trusted and reputable source. It's just information I'm sharing, and, I follow and work with hundreds of partners in the industry, keeping track of their growth, changes, and evolution so that you don't have to.

Bottom Line: As you focus on improving your business through digital initiatives, my commitment is to keep you informed of the fast-paced changes and trends taking place so that you can plan ahead and stay ahead of the game.

Key areas of focus for me are:

1. Cloud Computing, Security, Trends

2. Developer & Security Tools

3. Networking & Infrastructure Tools

4. End User Tools & Workspace Tech

5. Emerging Technologies and Future Concepts

If you have any questions, would like information about any specific vendors I follow, or would like to have a conversation about any topic that is challenging you, I invite you to engage with me! I value feedback immensely and would love to know what you find valuable about this newsletter so feel free to reach out!

Thank you for reading, and stay digitally and physically safe!

Phil

OEM News & Updates 📰

Lambdatest | Lambdatest, Inc.: LambdaTest launches AI-powered command logs analytics in its test intelligence platform

• New feature to analyze command logs using AI to provide insight into test run failures.

Valence | Valence Security brings AI to SaaS risk analysis and remediation

• Valence is now using AI to scan SaaS apps to automate the process of scanning for risks and providing recommendations to fix them. Pretty cool stuff from this startup.

Comet | Comet teams up with Snowflake to simplify AI development for enterprises

• If you’re using Comet you can now run it directly on top of Snowflake.

Alteryx | Alteryx (AYX) and Databricks Launch New Cloud Capabilities

• New integration allows you to access and process data stored in Databricks’ lakehouse platform using Alteryx tools.

Acquia | Acquia Enhances Digital Experience Platform to Power Omnichannel Customer Journeys

Sumo Logic | Sumo Logic lays off 79 employees, month after Francisco Partners' takeover

Microsoft | Microsoft confirms Azure, Outlook outages caused by DDoS attacks

• The cloud is vulnerable too. No evidence of customer data being exfiltrated.

Okta | New Okta tool focuses on hybrid workforce security

• Good announcement from Okta. I see it a lot in the wild. This tool leverages the core Okta platform in order to provide risk based authentication, adaptive access policies, and user behavior analytics to security teams.

Equinix | Equinix Announces Faster Virtual Connections to the Cloud; Partners with Google Cloud to Support Workloads Including Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Theom | Theom Announces Partnership with Databricks & General Availability of Its Data Access & Sharing Governance Solution

• More data announcements this week. This tool allows for you to define, enforce, and audit data policies in an automated and centralized way.

Cyware | Cyware Announces Technology Partnership with Mimecast to Extend Cyber Fusion with Advanced Email Security

• Mimecast will now be part of the Fusion platform for even further protection.

AWS | AWS Launches Amazon S3 Dual-Layer Server-Side Encryption with Keys Stored in AWS KMS

• For the more sensitive customers out there (DoD, other three letter agencies etc.) this is a dual server side encryption product in S3.

Zscaler | Zscaler extends its Zero Trust ExchangeTM Platform with breakthrough cybersecurity innovations

• Zenith was last week and with it came some new announcements including Zscaler Cloud Protection, Browser Isolation, and Private Service Edge.

Netskope | Netskope enables secure enterprise use of ChatGPT and Generative AI applications

• With ChatGPT being controversial in the enterprise, I expect more companies that focus on network security to come out with support for using the tool in the workplace. Look for more announcements like this one from NetSkope.

Cymulate | Cymulate Announces Security Analytics for Continuous Threat Exposure Management

• I’m a big fan of what Cymulate is doing. This is a new feature, continuous threat exposure management (CTEM) is useful because it provides actionable insights and recommendations based on simulation results.

Rubrik | Rubrik Security Cloud Achieves FedRAMP Status

Cloudflare | Cloudflare launches Observatory, a tool to beef up web monitoring

• This will allow customers to monitor their websites and measure and optimize for speed, reliability, and security.

Noogata | Noogata Launches Human-Like AI Growth Assistant

• Interesting tech from Noogata. They’re claiming it can help bolster revenue and convert new clients and leads.

Cyera | Cyera Takes Top Honors in Globee and Cloud Security Awards Programs

Ironscales | AI meets email security: Ironscales launches 'Themis Co-pilot' beta

• This is a beta version of the AI Copilot from Ironscales. It can provide users with feedback around potential email related threats.

Cisco | Cisco launches new AI networking chips to compete with Broadcom, Marvell

Twilio | Twilio and Google Cloud Expand Partnerships for AI-Driven Customer Engagement

• Twilio will now use Google Generative AI inside the Twilio platform to enhance customer experience across a variety of services and platforms.

Airbyte | Airbyte Launches Terraform Provider to Streamline Airbyte Cloud Workflows

Oak9 | oak9 Expands Cloud Native Security Capabilities

• Big fan of Oak9 and what they’re doing. This announcement comes with new things like policy as code, vulnerability scanning, and compliance mapping.

MOVEit | MOVEit Reveals Another SQL Injection Bug; New Victims Emerge

• Problems continue for MOVEit.

Baffle | Baffle launches new user interface to simplify application data security

• I’ve followed Baffle for years and like their product and technology. Take a look at what they’re doing.

Wiz | Wiz becomes the first CNAPP to provide end-to-end cloud forensics experience

• Wiz claims that the end-to-end cloud forensics feature can reduce time and cost of cloud investigations by up to 90%. That’s impressive if so. Couple that with their WIN platform from last week and Wiz has come to win in the end of Q2.

Lacework | AWS taps Lacework to detect cloud anomalies

Brinqa | Brinqa Announces Strategic Partnership with Checkmarx Delivering the Industry’s Most Complete Application Security Solution

• Powerhouse partnership. Those using Brinqa and CX will be excited.

Cloudflare | Cloudflare Partners with Databricks to slash the cost and complexity of sharing data across clouds

Kandji | Kandji and Okta join forces to enhance Apple device security

• Those looking for alternatives to JAMF should check out what Kandji is doing. Definitely a great announcement for further device security.

Exabeam | Exabeam launches Outcomes Navigator to help organizations detect security threats

AppOmni | AppOmni Launches Identity Fabric for Secure SaaS Data Access

Alation | Alation Joins Databricks Partner Connect to Deliver Data

• Databricks came to win this week with several large announcements.

Harness | Harness Empowers Developers with Generative AI Assistant for the Software Development Life Cycle: Announces the Launch of AIDA™

Orca Security | Orca Security expands partnership with Google Cloud to secure enterprise cloud estates

Commvault | Commvault and VAST team up for faster restores

Privacera | Privacera Launches AI Governance Solution

Articles I Liked This Week 💡

CIO Dive | Out-of-date apps block enterprise plans for AI adoption

CIO Influence | How to Maximize Efficiency in Cloud Migration

CSO | Security budget hikes are missing the mark, CISOs say

DevOps | Developers' Role in Protecting Privacy

InfoWorld | 3 downsides of generative AI for cloud operations

SC Magazine | Hacktivist group Anonymous Sudan a ‘bear in wolf’s clothing’

Tech Funding & M&A 💸

Render | Startup Battlefield winner Render raises $50M series B led by Bessemer Venture Partners

• Render is a California based cloud application hosting platform that allows developers to build and deploy mobile applications and websites.

Accedian | Cisco is buying network monitoring, analysis firm Accedian Networks

• Accedian Networks is a Canada based SaaS platform that offers solutions such as cloud migration monitoring and network evolution for enterprises.

DAG | Data observability platform Bigeye announces acquisition of Data Advantage Group

• Data Advantage Group (DAG) is a California based SaaS platform that provides solutions such as metadata management and data governance for enterprises.

Meme of the week 🤣

Recommendations 👉🏻

This is a section that I intend to build out more! Know fantastic newsletter resources for information? Please let me know so I can start linking appropriate reads here!