Vendor news
AWS
Amazon Web Services plans to invest 2.26 trillion yen into its existing cloud infrastructure in Tokyo and Osaka by 2027, contributing an estimated 5.57 trillion yen to Japan’s GDP and supporting around 30,500 full-time equivalent jobs annually in local businesses.
Amazon Web Services has launched its second infrastructure region in Canada, AWS Canada West (Calgary) Region, with plans to invest $17.9 billion in Canada by 2037, creating more than 9,300 full-time equivalent jobs annually.
IBM
IBM has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire application modernisation capabilities from Advanced, bringing a combination of talent, tools and knowledge to enhance IBM Consulting’s mainframe application and data modernisation services.
IBM is committed to prioritising and supporting its partners in 2024, with the addition of the new Service track. The introduction of a new Service track in Partner Plus program aims to empower IBM partners to earn and grow their business by providing resources, collaboration, and specialised course offerings.
IBM Consulting Advantage introduced AI services platform to enhance productivity and consistency for consultants, resulting in up to 50% productivity improvements for early adopter teams.
Microsoft
As mentioned, Microsoft announced the general availability of Microsoft 365 Copilot for customers of all sizes, as well as the introduction of Microsoft Copilot Pro.
There was a raft of other Microsoft Copilot announcements including:
- Copilot in Microsoft Fabric's public preview is now available to all customers with Premium/Fabric capacity, enabling faster report creation in Power BI. In addition to report creation, Microsoft’s newly rebranded Narrative with Copilot visual summarises data and insights to accelerate how you communicate insights about the data that matters most.
- A new Copilot key to Windows 11 PCs, marks a significant shift towards a more personalised and intelligent computing future driven by AI innovation. The Copilot key will empower users to seamlessly engage with AI experiences on their Windows PCs, reflecting a transformative moment in the journey with Windows.
- Microsoft Education is introducing AI innovations to enhance productivity and personalised learning, such as expanded Copilot availability and Loop coming to education. Microsoft is also focusing on saving time for educators by introducing AI features in Microsoft Teams for Education and Microsoft Reflect, while also emphasising the importance of building AI literacy for educators and students.
- Microsoft Teams is introducing new solutions to enhance communication, collaboration, and operational efficiency for frontline retail workers, including targeted announcements, auto-generated role and department tagging, and streamlined shift management.
- Microsoft new Teams meetings enhances capabilities with customisable gallery views, simplified meeting join processes, and streamlined audio and video controls to enhance efficiency and user experience.
- Microsoft Mesh offers 3D immersive experiences to enhance virtual connections and engagement in remote and hybrid work settings. Organisations can create custom immersive experiences tailored to their needs, fostering deep connections and engagement within distributed teams.
- Microsoft Industry Clouds' 2024 release wave one introduces new capabilities and enhancements across sectors such as retail, agriculture, financial services, sustainability, healthcare, nonprofit, and sovereignty. The release includes innovative solutions like generative AI-powered copilot templates for personalised shopping, store operations, and sustainable IT systems, as well as new features for data management in agriculture and meeting preparation in financial services.
Oracle
Oracle OPERA Cloud Central all-in-one hospitality solution is now available. The Oracle OPERA Cloud Central platform unites various hotel functions under a common interface, enabling efficient operations and enhanced guest experiences.
Oracle announced the general availability of OCI Generative AI service, offering seamless integration of large language models (LLMs) from Cohere and Meta Llama 2 for a wide range of business use cases.
Oracle Retail Cloud Platform has been recognised for its configurable workflows and scalability, making it a top choice for retailers and CPG firms focused on open-to-buy and merchandise financial planning. The Forrester Wave report highlighted Oracle's leadership in agile merchandising, vision, and innovation, positioning the company as a strong contender in the retail planning platforms space.