CYBERSECURITY
Widely considered to be the largest IT outage in history, 19 July 2024 saw millions of Windows systems failing and showing the infamous blue screen of death (BSOD). Crowdstrike – the company at the epicentre of the outage – is an endpoint security vendor whose primary technology is the Falcon platform, which helps protect systems against potential threats. The outage was not a Microsoft Windows flaw directly but, rather, in Crowdstrike Falcon during a routine update which triggered the issue. Microsoft estimated that approximately 8.5 million Windows devices were directly affected by said flaw. That’s less than 1% of Microsoft’s global Windows install base. The outage grounded thousands of flights worldwide, leading to significant delays and cancellations of more than 10,000 flights. In the United States specifically, affected airlines included Delta, United and American Airlines. These airlines were forced to cancel hundreds of flights until systems were restored. Public transport in multiple cities was affected and hospitals and healthcare clinics around the world faced significant disruptions in appointment systems. Online banking systems and financial institutions across the globe were also affected. Multiple payment platforms were directly affected and individuals did not receive their pay when expected. Media and broadcast did not escape the effects of the outage either, with it impacting multiple media and broadcast outlets. This included British broadcaster Sky News, which was taken off the air by the outage. It is estimated that it could potentially take months for some organisations to entirely recover all affected systems from the outage. Crowdstrike: Largest IT outage ever?
AI
Nvidia takes the lead
In July, major business and AI news broke out, with Nvidia becoming the world’s most valuable company after a climb in its share price to an all- time high. As of July 2024, Nvidia’s net worth was at $3.34 trillion, with this price having almost doubled since the start of 2024. Founded in 1993, Nvidia began designing PC chips for video game graphics. Some 30 years later, it specialises in hardware powering AI workloads with some of the biggest companies in the world
specifying its GPUs to power their AI projects. Demand for its GPUs has exploded, with the company having shipped 900 tonnes of AI chips in just one quarter of 2023. Its stock growth is also boosting founder and CEO Jensen Huang’s net worth, who possesses a 3% stake in the company. With the company’s stock rising, his stake could be worth $119 billion, near the $123 billion of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, placing him among the richest people in the world.
The market cap for the world’s richest business has fluctuated hugely since this lead from Nvidia. Its hold on the top spot was short- lived after Apple share prices soared in reaction to its AI announcements at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference. Although the tech giant didn’t hold the lead for long, it marks a milestone in the AI business. Nvidia’s rise serves as a metaphor regarding the booming space, emphasising its place as the new gold or oil of the tech sector.
LIVE PRODUCTION
Ateliere has announced Ateliere Live, a true software and cloud-native live production and editing platform. It’s set to redefine live broadcasting and cloud TV with a more cost-efficient and environmentally friendly user-centric experience. Production editing, mixing, graphics and effects are seamlessly integrated on a single software platform that powers true remote production with advanced proxy editing. Ateliere Live’s innovative product design simplifies the creation of multiple production versions, enabling customers to reach more viewing platforms, including Twitch, TikTok and YouTube, with relevant content at a far lower cost than competing live production solutions. Ateliere live debut
“Ateliere Live solves the hard challenges around live production, empowering customers to attain unprecedented levels of operational and environmental efficiencies,” said Dan Goman, chief executive officer, Ateliere. “Adopting Ateliere Live will give your organisation a more flexible and efficient way of working and remove the complexity to produce better outcomes for your business.”
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