major headlines from A2Z Market Research, Microsoft and Applied Materials.
1. Over the next seven years, the global Master Data Management (MDM) market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 14%, according to research from A2Z Market Research. The top companies expected to drive this rapid growth include IBM, Oracle, and SAP. |
2. Microsoft has defended the performance of Bing's AI technology after it was criticized for producing offensive and inaccurate search results. The company stated that it is constantly learning and adapting and that it is working to address the issues that have been raised. |
3. During its most recent earnings call, Applied Materials projected improvements in order backlogs for its chip manufacturing equipment, partially due to some cancellations; however, the company stated that it remained "highly positive" about its long-term outlook for the semiconductor industry. The company's optimism was also reflected in its forecasted Q2 2023 revenues of $6.4B, which exceeded the consensus view of $6.3B. |
4. Susan Wojcicki is stepping down as CEO of Google's video platform, YouTube, to pursue personal interests but will take on an advisory role across Google and Alphabet. She will be succeeded by Neal Mohan, currently YouTube's chief product officer. |
5. MKS Instruments Inc., a semiconductor process control instrumentation company, was hit by a ransomware attack earlier this month, causing it to delay orders from Applied Materials Inc. Applied noted that the delayed shipments would cost it $250M in sales in Q2 2023, highlighting the cascading effect of such attacks on industry players. |
6. Frebniis, a malware observed by Symantec, was used to target systems in Taiwan, taking advantage of a Windows backdoor created by abusing a Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) feature called Failed Request Event Buffering (FREB). The hackers use the FREB feature to "smuggle and execute malicious code into protected regions of an already compromised network." |
7. Less than one year after leading the sale of Poly--a global provider of videoconferencing and audio peripheral solutions--to HP, Dave Shull, its former CEO, took on the role of president at HP Workforce Services & Solutions. Shull told CRN in an exclusive interview that he took on the role because he wanted to be a part of the company's strategy to shift from transactional to lifelong relationships. |