Comcast Business Forms Enterprise Services Team for Fortune 1000 Accounts

Comcast Business has formed a new Enterprise Services unit that will target Fortune 1000 companies and other large enterprises that have multiple locations nationwide.

The new Comcast Enterprise Services team will offer a portfolio of managed enterprise solutions that includes Broadband, Ethernet, Voice, Router, Security, Business Continuity and Wi-Fi. The team will design, build, implement and manage customized communications networks for large enterprise customers.  The new product portfolio will be branded "Managed Enterprise Solutions."

Comcast also announced the acquisition of Contingent Network Services, a national technology deployment and managed services company that helps enterprise customers outsource their day-to-day network operations. Financial terms were not disclosed. Contingent provides deployment and managed services to a number of well-known national brands. The company will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Comcast Business and will continue to operate under the Contingent brand name.

"We’re committed to expanding and enhancing our offerings for businesses of all sizes, and having the expertise, tools and portfolio in place to deliver customized service packages to nationwide enterprises is a key part of our growth strategy," said Bill Stemper, president of Comcast Business. "Large companies need a provider who can help them manage complex networks, develop business continuity plans and integrate cloud-based applications. Our entry into this segment of the market will introduce new innovation and choice."

http://corporate.comcast.com/news-information/news-feed/comcast-business-announces-new-unit-targeting-fortune-1000-enterprises

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Telstra Launches 600 Mbps-capable Category 11 Device

Telstra announced the world’s first 4G LTE Advanced Category 11 (Cat 11) 600 Mbps capable deployment on a commercial network. The announcement was made in partnership with NETGEAR, Ericsson and Qualcomm.

Specifically,the Telstra Mobile Network will now support a new WiFi 4GX Advanced III Mobile Broadband Hotspot featuring 3 band Carrier Aggregation technology.  The new Telstra Wi-Fi 4GX Advanced III mobile hotspot supports up to 15 WiFi-enabled devices simultaneously.

The early Cat 11 enabled footprint is concentrated on the CBD’s of Eastern Seaboard capital cities; initially Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra, and in selected popular holiday locations. The network reach supporting these Cat 11 speeds will also continue to expand in line with growing mobile data demand.

The announcement comes one month after the launch of the first Cat 9 (450 Mbps) devices on the Telstra Mobile Network.

“When you combine the power of Qualcomm Technologies’ Qualcomm Snapdragon X12 LTE modem with Qualcomm VIVE 11ac, Ericsson’s LTE-Advanced Carrier Aggregation technology on Telstra’s network, and the NETGEAR AirCard® 810S, it really is an unbeatable technology that we are pleased to offer our customers before anyone else in the world.”

http://www.telstra.com

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Microsoft Integrates Office Apps into Salesforce

Microsoft and Salesforce are extending their strategic partnership to connect the Salesforce Customer Success Platform to Microsoft Office productivity apps and services, including Skype for Business, OneNote, Delve and Windows 10.

This builds on two new integrations announced in October 2014: Salesforce App for Outlook, which works with Outlook 2013 and Office 365, and Salesforce1 Mobile App for Microsoft Office.

"Customer success is at the heart of everything we do at Salesforce, including our partnership with Microsoft," said Marc Benioff, Chairman and CEO, Salesforce. "Our collaboration has been so successful, now we're doubling down and delivering even more innovation that will help our mutual customers be more productive and connect with their customers in a whole new way."

http://www.salesforce.com
http://www.microsoft.com

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Mobile Malware Report Finds Plenty of Risks

About 80 percent of malware infections detected on mobile networks have been traced to Windows-based computers and laptops, according to a newly published Motive Security Labs H1 2015 Malware Report from Alcatel-Lucent.

Alcatel-Lucent said hardcore professional cybercriminals have invested heavily in the Windows malware ecosystem, making it the favorite platform for launching attacks on the mobile ecosystem. The Motive report also found that cybercriminals are quickly taking advantage of unique opportunities in the mobile ecosystem to spread spyware. In fact, 10 of the 25 most prolific threats on smartphones are in the mobile spyware category and are often delivered bundled with games and free software.

In examining the top 25 threats to mobile devices, the Motive report concluded that the main threats are currently:

• Spyphone apps that track calls, text messages, location, e-mail and browsing; 
• ‘Scareware’ apps that try to extort money by claiming to have encrypted the phone’s data;
• Identity theft apps that steal personal information from the device;
• Banking ‘Trojans’ that attempt to steal banking credentials and credit card numbers;   
• SMS Trojans that make a living by sending text messages to ‘premium’ numbers;
• Malicious adware that uses personal information, without consent, to deliver annoying targeted ads.
• A proxy app allowing hackers to anonymously browse the web through an infected phone - at the owner’s expense.

https://www.alcatel-lucent.com/

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Dimension Data and EMC Eye Hybrid Cloud Opportunities

Dimension Data and EMC announced a strategic alliance to speed the adoption of hybrid cloud as a platform for the mid-size enterprise. The companies are collaborating on solutions that span private cloud on or off premises, public and hybrid cloud including advanced managed services for storage. The alliance features flexible consumption based pricing models on storage, cloud and managed services. To ensure client success, a dedicated team of sales, technical and marketing specialists from Dimension Data and EMC will align client workloads and applications to the best solutions.

http://www.emc.com

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Rob Lloyd Joins Hyperloop as CEO

Rob Lloyd, the former president of Sales and Development at Cisco, has joined Hyperloop Technologies as CEO.

Hyperloop Tech is a visionary start-up working on a new mode of transportation involving levitating cars traveling at high-speed through air-evacuated tubes. The company, which was inspired by Elon Musk as an alternative to high-speed rail in California, currently has about 50 employees and offices in Los Angeles.

In a blog posting, Lloyd says Hyperloop Tech. plans to embrace a design/build/transfer and operate business model.

http://hyperlooptech.com/

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Agora Raises $20 Million for its WebRTC Platform

Agora, a start-up based in Palo Alto, California, raised $20 million in Series B funding for its communications as a service (CaaS) for enterprises.

Agora enables premium, Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) for any application through a simple SDK. It goes beyond current WebRTC services by providing consistent quality of experience (QoE) on a global scale as an easy-to-use and cost-effective cloud service. Agora uses a globally distributed cloud infrastructure and advanced algorithms to preserve premium communications quality across mobile and other devices and varying network conditions. Agora's 65 global data centers and HD audio codecs minimize latency for real-time communications, managing background noise and up to 70% packet loss, while supporting as many as 2,000 users in a single session.

"We are pleased that our original investors continue to support Agora with a substantial Series B round of venture capital funding," says Tony Zhao, CEO and founder of Agora. "Agora meets the needs of tomorrow's applications to deliver richer communications between people around the world from their mobile devices," Zhao adds.

Agora is backed by venture capital firms Morningside, SIG, GGV Capital, ShunWei, and IDG.

http://www.agora.io

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