DCN February 2017 | Page 10

industry news

YOUNG AND OLD AT ODDS OVER SECURITY OF PERSONAL DATA

Similar to the results of the EU referendum , opinions of the young and old also differ over data security . Thirty per cent of adults aged 50 and over are more concerned about the risk of their identity being stolen , while almost the same amount of 18-24 year olds ( 29 per cent ) are more concerned about not knowing what companies will do with their personal data .
As more of our lives shift online , data protection is being moved to the top of the agenda for businesses in preparation for the General Data Protection Regulation ( GDPR ) due to come into effect on 25th May 2018 . Andrew Yule , partner at law firm Winckworth Sherwood , which commissioned the YouGov survey , said , ‘ Statistics like these show that companies are far from gaining the trust of consumers in protecting their personal data . Much work is still to be done in preparing for GDPR compliance , minimising the risk of identity theft and regaining that trust .’
More than a quarter of those surveyed from across Britain agree with the older generation – 26 per cent are most concerned about their identity being stolen once personal data is held online by employers , retailers or on social media . Other worrying factors for consumers include their personal data being sold on to other companies ( 19 per cent ) and that their data might get stolen ( 12 per cent ).
Andrew Yule added , ‘ The generational gap over data concerns is most likely a reflection of greater financial responsibility and the type of information stored online as people get older such as mortgages , loans , credit cards and savings , which all increase by age and provide a full identity profile .
‘ Businesses have a greater responsibility than ever before to ensure that compliance with GDPR is fully in place by spring next year . Even with Brexit top of the political agenda , it is unlikely that GDPR will be affected since all of the regulations are expected to be incorporated into UK law .’

IN BRIEF

Rackspace has announced two new appointments , with the promotion of Jeff Cotton to president and Dee Richartz made director of its Managed Security Services business unit for EMEA . Jeff Cotton ’ s role as president will see him lead the company ’ s global sales team and its international businesses . As director , Richartz will be responsible for driving technical strategy and product management in EMEA for the Rackspace Managed Security offering , helping to protect customer IT environments from Advanced Persistent Threats ( APTs ) and other cyber-attacks .
BigTec UK has added Cloudian to its vendor portfolio . The partnership opens up new opportunities for channel partners , giving them the ability to build scale-out petabyte hybrid cloud solutions , allowing them to tap into new cloud storage revenues . It also addresses important data management compliance requirements facing UK organisations such as EU GDPR .
International Data Corporation ( IDC ) has recognised Romonet as one of only three innovative companies under $ 100m in the data centre facility industry . Romonet was joined by OptiCool and Vigilent in this select list . With new partnership , product and certification program announcements due early in 2017 , the company is expecting another strong year .
Insight Enterprises has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Datalink Corporation . The business combination strengthens Insight ’ s position within the IT solutions industry , with global scale and deep technical talent delivering data centre solutions to clients on premise or in the cloud .
Opengear has announced a new distribution agreement with Hardware Group serving channel partners across Europe and Southern Africa . The agreement extends European and African reach , offering international channel partners better access to a full portfolio of smart out-of-band solutions along with sales support and logistics .
Bright Computing has announced the launch of a tiered partner program for value added reseller partners in Europe , Middle East , Africa , and Asia Pacific . The new tiered program has been designed to build , recognise and reward loyalty amongst the Bright partner community .
Bitglass has announced support for Amazon Web Services ( AWS ) and custom Apps – two major additions that extend the capabilities of Bitglass ’ Cloud Access Security Broker ( CASB ) solution . Bitglass is the first agentless security solution with broad support for any cloud App .
Epsilon has acquired the assets and operations of Metcom Network Services , a provider of connectivity and colocation services across the greater New York metro market . The acquisition accelerates Epsilon ’ s growth in the US and enables it to deliver cloud centric networking in the most mature cloud market in the world .
Databricks has announced international expansion with two new offices opening in Amsterdam and Bangalore . Committed to the development and growth of its commercial cloud product , Databricks ’ just-in-time data platform powered by Apache Spark , the new offices will power innovation and service its global customers ’ demand .
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