Tech News
Northern Data Group launches AI Accelerator to Power the World’s Most Innovative Ideas
Northern Data Group announces the launch of its inaugural AI Accelerator, designed to fast-track AI innovation and bring the world’s best ideas to life. Selected startups will be able to rapidly establish or scale a proof of concept for their AI concepts.
Selected startups will receive complimentary access to ultra-fast NVIDIA HGX H100 GPU servers connected with NVIDIA Quantum-2 InfiniBand networking. This will allow them to harness state-of-the-art AI solutions to incorporate cutting-edge fine-tuning, quantization and retrieval-augmented generation techniques; powered by 100% carbon-free energy and supported by expert engineers from Northern Data Group.
The AI Accelerator will also offer access to mentoring sessions from Northern Data Group’s leadership and representatives from industry leaders and partners including HPE and Supermicro. Additionally, those selected will have dedicated access to NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Institute program, sessions focusing on ESG in AI from Deloitte, and workshops on how to navigate the investor landscape from a top investment bank.
Northern Data Group operates Europe’s largest and cleanest GenAI Cloud Service Provider (CSP), Taiga Cloud, and was among the first in Europe to deploy NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPUs. With the launch of its AI Accelerator, Northern Data Group is opening up its HPC solutions, ensuring innovation is not limited to those with large purchasing power and dominance in the Technology sector. Democratizing access to AI-capable HPC solutions is key to unlocking innovation.
Northern Data Group encourages applications from innovative AI and ML-focused companies looking to accelerate their AI proof of concept or scale up a product. Applications are welcome from all sectors, with the review panel looking to progress concepts that have the potential to scale quickly and make the most impact on the future of the AI sector. Applications will be reviewed by a panel of industry leaders.
Aroosh Thillainathan, Founder and CEO, Northern Data Group, commented, “We’re excited to be launching our AI Accelerator, which supports startups at the forefront of AI-driven innovation globally. Innovation Bravery is a core value for Northern Data Group, and I am proud to be supporting other entrepreneurs and innovators who are pushing the boundaries of what AI can deliver. Democratizing access to AI technology is hugely important to ensure that organizations of all sizes have the opportunity to propel forward innovative ideas into practical proof of concepts and applications. These advancements can, in turn, significantly impact the future of our industry and beyond.”
Suresh Babu, SVP & GM, HPC & AI GTM, HPE, commented, “HPE is proud to deepen our partnership with Northern Data Group, which includes delivering HPE Cray XD solutions to bolster AI innovation, to support the launch of its inaugural AI Accelerator. We look forward to mentoring future AI leaders to fast-track their innovation and experience what’s possible with access to HPC power.”
Dr. Kunbin Hong, General Manager of Solutions EMEA at Supermicro, commented, “Northern Data Group’s AI Accelerator brings together a hugely impactful collection of businesses from across the AI ecosystem, and our team at Supermicro is delighted to be a part of it. We’ll be joining the panel of respected industry leaders to review applications and offer mentoring sessions for those selected. Unlocking opportunities for startups to explore the full potential of AI is critical for the future of our industry, and the AI Accelerator is a reflection of this in action.”
Tech News
ASBIS Middle East and Fanvil Announce Partnership to Boost Communication Solutions
ASBIS Middle East is excited to announce a strategic partnership with Fanvil. The partnership was formalized during a signing ceremony, marking a significant milestone for both companies.
The signing ceremony was attended by key executives from ASBIS Middle East and Fanvil. Hesham Tantawi, the Vice President of ASBIS Middle East, and Louis Chen, the Vice President of Fanvil expressed that partnering is a significant step forward for both companies.
The collaboration between ASBIS Middle East and Fanvil highlights a strategic partnership that expands the availability of Fanvil’s extensive range of communication products. These include enterprise IP phones, hotel phones, intercoms, broadcast & intercom system, healthcare devices, and cloud-based solutions, etc. Among Fanvil’s diverse offerings, the V Pro Series stands out as a high-end yet budget-friendly option, integrating advanced features such as Bluetooth wireless handset functionality. This makes it an excellent choice for businesses seeking both affordability and high performance in their communication solutions.
The partnership not only aims to increase market presence in Middle East area but also to drive innovation, especially in sectors such as hospitality, healthcare, and enterprise communication. As the demand for advanced, cost-effective communication solutions grows, ASBIS Middle East and Fanvil are committed to delivering customized products that meet the evolving needs of their customers.
Looking to the future, ASBIS Middle East and Fanvil are committed to exploring joint initiatives that will facilitate development and strengthen competitive positions.
Tech News
Why Your Cloud Security Strategy May Be Obsolete by 2025 (And What to Do About It)
By John Engates, Field CTO, Cloudflare
The uncomfortable truth facing security leaders today is stark: within 18 months, most enterprise cloud security strategies will be obsolete. This prediction isn’t hyperbole or fear-mongering – it’s the inevitable consequence of an unprecedented collision between AI-accelerated development and traditional security models
Consider this reality: Google now generates 25% of its code through AI, and companies worldwide will follow suit. Some smaller companies are developing 100% of their code with the help of AI. Meanwhile, most security teams remain tethered to human-scale tools and processes.
The math is simple but alarming. While AI accelerates software development by orders of magnitude, security teams largely operate at human speed. Traditional security approaches, designed for human-paced development and human attackers, are rapidly becoming liabilities in an AI-driven world. This growing disparity between development velocity and security capability isn’t just unsustainable – it’s becoming actively dangerous.
The Catalysts of Change
Three seismic shifts are converging to make current cloud security strategies untenable: the industrialization of AI-powered development, the democratization of sophisticated attacks, and the dissolution of traditional security boundaries. Let’s examine how each of these forces is reshaping the security landscape.
First, AI isn’t just augmenting development—it’s industrializing it. Beyond AI-generated code, developers are experimenting with agentic, fully autonomous systems that iteratively create and modify cloud-based applications with minimal human oversight. This model means software development at machine speed and an attack surface that expands faster than traditional security tools can measure, let alone protect.
The threat landscape is evolving just as dramatically. AI is democratizing sophisticated attack capabilities once limited to nation-state actors. Autonomous malware now adapts in real time, learning from defenses and evolving to bypass them. These aren’t just faster attacks—they now operate beyond human response capabilities, making decisions at machine speed.
Critical Gaps in Current Strategies
Two glaring vulnerabilities in current security strategies are becoming impossible to ignore as AI accelerates cloud computing: an identity crisis and a data dilemma.
The Identity Crisis
Traditional identity and access management is crumbling under the weight of machine-scale operations. While we’ve mastered human identity management, we’re unprepared for a world where machine identities—from AI agents to ephemeral containers—outnumber human identities by orders of magnitude. Current identity and access management approaches, designed for stable human workforces, simply cannot handle the volume and velocity of machine-to-machine interactions in AI-driven environments.
The Data Dilemma
Our approach to data protection remains stubbornly rooted in static, location-based controls while AI drives us toward dynamic, distributed processing. Traditional data security assumed we could identify sensitive data, classify it, and control its movement. But AI-driven systems consume and transform data at unprecedented rates, creating derivative datasets that blur the lines between sensitive and non-sensitive information.
Building Future-Ready Security
The path forward requires more than incremental improvements to existing security models. We need a fundamental reimagining of security architecture that operates at machine speed and scale. This transformation rests on three essential pillars.
First: AI-Native Security Operations
Security teams must shift from being AI-assisted to AI-native. Teams must move quickly beyond using AI tools for threat detection to building security operations that are inherently powered by AI. The goal isn’t just faster response—it’s establishing a security posture that evolves as rapidly as the threats it faces.
Second: Edge-Enforced Zero Trust
Traditional perimeter security pushed traffic through centralized choke points. This model isn’t just obsolete—it’s becoming actively harmful, creating performance bottlenecks and blind spots. The future demands a distributed security model where protection moves to the edge, as close as possible to both users and workloads.
Third: Unified Security Intelligence
The final pillar addresses the fragmentation that plagues current security strategies. Organizations can no longer afford the cognitive overhead of managing dozens of disconnected security tools. We need unified platforms that provide coherent security intelligence across the entire technology stack. When security tools operate in silos, each tool becomes a potential bottleneck. A unified platform enables real-time correlation and response, allowing security to move at the speed of AI-driven threats.
The Security Transformation Imperative
The coming 18 months will lay bare a clear divide between organizations that transform their security for the AI-driven future and those that become increasingly vulnerable. The evidence is compelling. Autonomous systems are now deploying applications with minimal human oversight. Attacks are becoming more sophisticated, adapting and evolving in real-time. Traditional security approaches—designed for predictable threats and human response times—aren’t just becoming outdated. They’re becoming dangerous liabilities.
The future of security isn’t about building better walls—it’s about creating security systems that evolve as rapidly as the threats they face. The time to act is now. The future isn’t coming—it’s already here.
Tech News
Samsung Galaxy S25 Series Available for Pre-Order at Jacky’s Retail in the UAE
Jacky’s Brandshop, the retailer of Samsung products in the UAE, is now offering Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone series, the Galaxy S25, S25+, and S25 Ultra, for pre-order in the UAE till 6 February 2025. Customers can secure their devices ahead of the official release by placing orders online or visiting any of Jacky’s Brandshop outlets for Samsung in Mall of the Emirates, BurJuman Centre, City Centre Deira, City Centre Al Zahia (Sharjah), and Khalidiyah Mall (Abu Dhabi).
Key Features
The Galaxy S25 series introduces advanced AI-driven features, a next-generation processor, and enhanced camera capabilities, setting a new benchmark for smartphone performance. The Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor powers the devices, offering improved efficiency, speed, and graphics. Samsung’s AI Pro Visual Engine refines photography and video quality, ensuring enhanced image processing and real-time editing tools. The camera system has also been upgraded, with the Galaxy S25 Ultra featuring a 200MP main sensor and 100x digital zoom, while the S25+ and S25 offer a 50MP wide-angle lens along with telephoto and ultra-wide enhancements.
Exclusive Pre-Order Offers
Customers who pre-order through Jacky’s Brandshop will receive additional benefits, including a memory upgrade at no extra cost — paying for 256GB and receiving a 512GB device, or paying for 512GB and receiving a 1TB device. There is also a special discount of AED 250 for Emirates NBD cardholders, applicable both online and in-store. Those looking to complement their new devices can enjoy up to 50% off on Galaxy S25 accessories and wearables during the pre-order period.
In addition, Jacky’s Brandshop is offering EZPAY flexible payment plans that allow customers to buy now and pay at their pace, making it easier to own the latest technology. Customers can also use Level Up, a trade-in program enabling customers to exchange their old devices for the latest Galaxy S25 series model.
With Samsung continuing to push boundaries in smartphone technology, the Galaxy S25 series is expected to be one of the most anticipated releases of the year. Customers can place their pre-orders now at Jacky’s Brandshop or contact any of its retail locations across the UAE.
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