E-Business
Cisco Leads Security Appliance Market 2013 With 16.6% Share
Cisco continues to lead the overall security appliance market with a 16.6% share in factory revenue for the first quarter as disclosed by International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Security Appliance Tracker.
Also, IDC found that security appliance market revenue rose in the first quarter of 2013 (1Q13) compared to Q1 2012, while unit shipments declined over the same period.
Worldwide factory revenue was up 3.4% year over year to $2.0 billion, as shipments decreased -6.8% to 472,306 units.
The shipment decline was due in large part to Cisco, which has transitioned to new appliances with higher price point causing revenue to remain more consistent compared to declining units. The year-over-year growth rate for factory revenue was the lowest since Q1 2010.
Geographically, Canada saw the highest year-over-year growth in the quarter (16.4%), followed by Japan (8.6%). Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) continued to see steady growth (7.1%) and accounted for more than 16% of worldwide factory revenue.
Western Europe also built on a strong fourth quarter and saw factory revenue rise 3.9% versus 1Q12. Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) was the only region to see a year-over-year increase in unit shipments in the quarter (2.8%). The United States recorded a -0.2% decline in factory revenue and a unit decrease of -10.2% compared to 1Q12.
“The government sector seemed to impact the results somewhat in the United States,” said John Grady, Research Manager, Security Products at IDC.
“However, all organizations continue to prioritize security within their overall IT budget. With advanced, targeted threats a growing concern, IDC expects continued high single-digit growth in the overall security appliance segment over the course of 2013.”
However, the report ranked Cisco as leading the overall security appliance market with a 16.6% share in factory revenue for the first quarter, but this was down from 17.8% in the prior year period.
Check Point held the number 2 spot with a 12.5% share for the quarter as revenue increased 5.7% compared to the first quarter of 2012.
Fortinet saw the largest revenue growth among the top five vendors at 16.6%. The combined shares of the top 5 global vendors represented 49% of the market in Q1 2013.
Blue Coat, Palo Alto Networks, and Sophos were some of the vendors outside the top 5 seeing strong growth in the quarter.
Functional Market Results show that at the functional market level, the Unified Threat Management (UTM) segment saw the largest year-over-year revenue growth at 36.4% and accounted for 37.1% of security appliance revenue in 1Q13, as multi-function appliances continued to drive growth in the overall market.
The Firewall/VPN market declined 21.2% year over year, but still represented 20.9% of security appliance revenue in the quarter.
The Content Security segment rose by 6.8% compared to the prior year and accounted for 20.3% of the market. IDP saw modest growth of 0.3% compared to the prior year period.
“While businesses continue to explore the opportunities for migrating to a private cloud network as a new technology paradigm, unified security prospects will continue to expand rapidly into other small and medium-size businesses where demand is greater than ever,” said Ebenezer Obeng-Nyarkoh, senior research analyst.
E-Business
OpenAI CEO Rejects $97.4Bn Takeover Bid from Elon Musk
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Sam Altman, chief executive of ChatGPT-owner OpenAI, has firmly declared the company “not for sale” following a $97.4bn (£78.4bn) takeover bid from a consortium led by Elon Musk.
![OpenAI CEO Rejects $97.4Bn Takeover Bid from Elon Musk](https://i0.wp.com/www.nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Elon-Musk.jpg?resize=563%2C229&ssl=1)
Elon Musk
Speaking at the AI Action Summit in Paris, Altman emphasised OpenAI’s mission to develop AGI (artificial general intelligence) for the benefit of humanity.
Marc Toberoff, attorney for Elon Musk, confirmed the bid submission on Monday.
In response, Altman humorously offered to buy Twitter for $9.74 billion on Musk’s platform.
Unlike many tech giants, OpenAI is not publicly traded but operates through a complex partnership between non-profit and for-profit entities.
Musk aims to return OpenAI to its non-profit roots, despite owning a rival firm, xAI.
Christie Pitts, a tech investor, expressed scepticism about Musk’s intentions, noting his competitive interests.
Altman echoed this sentiment, suggesting Musk’s move disregards OpenAI’s mission.
Altman, who holds no stock in OpenAI, advocates transforming the organisation into a fully for-profit company to raise more funds for AI research.
Although the board has the final say, the $97.4bn offer falls short of OpenAI’s previous $157bn valuation and rumoured $300bn in future funding talks.
Toberoff stated the consortium might increase their bid. Meanwhile, OpenAI is collaborating with Oracle, a Japanese investment firm, and an Emirati sovereign wealth fund on “The Stargate Project,” a $500 billion AI infrastructure initiative announced by President Donald Trump.
E-Business
Adobe Launches AI Video Tool to Compete with OpenAI
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Adobe yesterday released the first public version of an artificial intelligence tool that can generate video clips and revealed how much it will charge, but said it will not set pricing for major users such as studios until later this year.
The Firefly Video Model, as Adobe is calling the service, will compete against Sora, a model developed by ChatGPT creator OpenAI, and startup Runway, both of which currently offer video-generation services. Facebook owner Meta Platforms has also developed a video-generation AI model but has not given a timeline for when it will be released.
Adobe’s model differs from its rivals because it is geared toward generating clips that will fit into how film and television studios use Premiere Pro, its flagship video editing software.
To that end, many of the features that Adobe is emphasizing revolve around feeding existing shots into the video model and asking it to generate clips that fix or expand on shots that were taken on a real production set but that did not come out quite right.
Adobe said the service will generate five-second clips at 1080p resolution. While that is shorter than the clips of up to 20 seconds generated by OpenAI’s service, Adobe executives said the majority of individual clips in most productions are only three seconds.
Adobe said a user can generate 20 clips per month for $9.99 and 70 clips for $29.99. That compares with 50 videos for $20 per month with OpenAI’s plan at lower resolution and a $200 OpenAI plan that can handle longer, higher resolution videos.
Adobe is also working on a “Premium” pricing plan for studios and other high-volume video users and will release those pricing details later this year. Alexandru Costin, Adobe’s vice president of generative AI, said the company is working to generate 4K video and will remain focused on quality rather than longer clips.
“We actually think that great motion, great structure, great definition scheme, making the actual clip look like it was film, is more important than making a longer clip that’s unusable,” Costin told Reuters.
E-Business
GSMA Launches Innovation Fund to Boost AI Solutions in Emerging Markets
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GSMA Innovation Fund for Impactful AI has been unveiled, marking a significant initiative aimed at empowering small and growing enterprises in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) across Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific.
This fund is designed to foster AI-driven innovations that tackle critical socio-economic and climate challenges, helping underserved regions unlock the transformative potential of artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence has proven its ability to address pressing global issues, from precision agriculture and renewable energy to remote healthcare and financial inclusion.
Yet, LMICs remain underserved in funding and resources, with only a small percentage of global grants directed toward locally-developed AI solutions.
Despite the growth of AI-driven technologies, these advancements are often not tailored to the unique needs of local populations in LMICs.
The GSMA Innovation Fund seeks to close this gap by identifying, testing, and scaling impactful AI solutions that are contextually relevant and capable of delivering measurable socio-economic and climate benefits.
In partnership with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), the GSMA Innovation Fund provides a comprehensive support package to selected enterprises. Key benefits include:
Grant Funding: Ranging from £100,000 to £250,000 for projects lasting 15–18 months.
Tailored Venture Support: Guidance to strengthen business models and improve scalability.
Partnership Opportunities: Facilitation of collaborations with mobile operators, public sector organizations, and other stakeholders.
Peer Learning: Platforms for exchanging knowledge and best practices with other innovators.
Visibility and Exposure: Access to GSMA’s global events, publications, and online platforms to connect with potential investors and partners.
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