Amazon Luna Launches, The Rise of Cloud Gaming — and What That Means for the Future

Amazon announced the launch of Amazon Luna, the company’s new cloud gaming service. With a play anywhere offering, on devices you already own, there’s every reason to expect Amazon Luna’s invitation for early access will be eagerly snapped up. One of my favorite things about this offering is the Twitch integration that’s purportedly coming to Luna, allowing gamers to broadcast while gaming. This integration will also allow Twitch viewers (who subscribe to Luna) to go from watching a game streaming on Twitch to playing on Luna. Microsoft xCloud, NVIDIA GeForce Now, and Google Stadia are all officially on notice that there’s a new player in the cloud gaming space in town.

DX Trends for Big Tech – Strategic Collaborative Partnerships — Futurum Tech Webcast

In this episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast, analysts Shelly Kramer and Sarah Wallace discuss digital transformation trends for Big Tech, and how strategic, collaborative partnerships are not only driving return to work initiatives, but are also the key to success for vendors: Leveraging one another’s strengths and serve customers in more effective, more meaningful ways.

Microsoft Wins Department of Defense JEDI Contract Award Again – For Now Anyway

In a decision handed down Friday, Microsoft was again awarded the Department of Defense JEDI contract. Sort of. Amazon’s AWS has pledged to continue its fight against the fairness of the selection and evaluation process and the claim of undue political influence. What’s ahead? More waiting.

Google Cloud Next ’20: OnAir Digital Event Recap

The opening session of the Google Cloud Next ’20: OnAir Digital event was kicked off by Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian outlining Google Cloud strategy around accelerating digital transformation in the cloud — something pretty much every business is focused on right now. The sessions that followed focused on Productivity & Collaboration, Infrastructure, Security, Data Analytics, Data Management & Databases, Application Modernization, Cloud AI, and wrapping up with Business Application Platform, featuring relatively deep dives on them all. Google Cloud continues to work to make inroads in the cloud arena and this was an impressive look at some of their progress on that front.

HPE Financial Services Donates Laptops for Remote Learning

HPE Financial Services has donated 300 laptops to nonprofit Boys Hope Girls Hope (BHGH). This donation will help provide continuity, facilitate remote learning, and provide new opportunities for the organization and the young people served by BHGH, and nicely personifies HPE’s commitment to the principle of Circular Economy.

Xoogler School — Former Googlers’ Virtual Tech School Offering is the Right Thing at the Right Time

Xoogler School, a virtual tech school offering run by a group ex-Google employees, caught my eye this week. Named after Google shorthand for former employees, Xoogler’s virtual tech offering is an eight-week course that will let students learn from a wide variety of folks who have spent time in the trenches at Google, arguably one of Silicon Valley’s most sought-after tech companies to work for. If you’ve got a college student weighing his or her options as it relates to college this fall, especially if he or she is interested in the technology space, it’s probably worth checking this out. Note that early applications are being accepted now.

Samsung’s AppStack Launch is a Boon to SMBs Seeking to Embrace Digital Transformation

Samsung’s AppStack launch is a boon to SMBs seeking to embrace digital transformation. Solutions range from G Suite’s collaboration platform, to CRMs, time tracking, design, POS offerings, and more. AppStack is billed as a one stop, easy-to-manage, no-risk, lower cost technology solution and is an attractive offering. Now, comes the hard part — getting consumer attention and driving trial.

Informatica Acquires GreenBay Technologies, an AI and Machine Learning Startup

Informatica’s acquisition of GreenBay Technologies is intended to spur the company’s machine learning and AI capabilities.

Mercedes-Benz partners with NVIDIA to Deliver the Next Generation of Automotive Innovation

The Mercedes-Benz partnership with NVIDIA is an example of automotive industry innovation featuring development that begins in the data center and operating systems that are developed with AI from end to end, modernizing everything about the automotive driving, and ownership experience.

How Big Tech is Driving a Return to Work and How the World of Work Will Transform Along the Way — Futurum Tech Webcast

Companies like Cisco, Siemens, Salesforce, and HPE are among the many tech leaders driving a return to work, with safety of workers and the workplace top of mind. We explore some of those innovations in this new episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast, along with key ways the world of work will need to transform moving forward.

Microsoft Inspire: Microsoft Makes New Investments to Drive Organizational Resiliency for Partners

At Microsoft’s Inspire event the company highlighted its Return to Workplace offering, with investments intended to help clients and partners build and enable resilient organizations around the world as we collectively shift to a digital first mindset. Already a significant player in the enterprise workforce, the continued strengthening of its various offerings, all designed to seamlessly work together, serve the myriad needs across the enterprise, as well as in the partner ecosystem, means that organizations don’t have to look outside the Microsoft solution set to do what it is they need to do. I would guess this makes other SaaS providers nervous, and rightfully so.

Google Announces Digital Job Training Program to Help with Economic Recovery

Grow with Google is designed to help jumpstart the economy by helping workers learn skills that will make them more appealing to employers (college degrees not required), and also to help employers fill what is often a gigantic skills gap. As part of this initiative, Google is offering grants, offering apprenticeship positions at Google, expanding its IT Certificate Employer Consortium and more. The future of work continues to be about an always-learning mindset, individually and in the business world, and this is another way Big Tech is stepping up to make that possible.