Alice Chambers

The opening ceremony of Hannover Messe 2025 set the stage for a week of industrial innovation, with leaders emphasising the need for technological transformation, international cooperation, and economic resilience in challenging times.  The event kicked off with a performance. The solo dancer took the stage, seamlessly blending art and technology. As the music built, she introduced a series of robots, each joining the choreography in perfect sync. The spectacle reached its peak when...

Microsoft will highlight how its AI and cloud technologies are transforming the sports industry at NAB 2025, which takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada, on 5-9 April. Alongside key partners, Microsoft will showcase solutions that enhance athlete performance, streamline broadcasting and media integration opportunities, enhance fan engagement with real-time insights and support secure data storage. For example, Microsoft’s technology is helping sports organisations like the...

Over 11,000 visitors from 100 countries are expected at IOT Solutions World Congress (IOTSWC) 2025 when it takes place on 13-15 May at the Gran Via venue in Barcelona, Spain. Under the theme ‘Connect to the next level,’ the event will highlight how technologies like the internet of things, AI, digital twins, 5G and edge computing are driving industrial transformation. There will be over 100 conference sessions with 150 expert speakers such as AI Emanuela Girardi, president...

Cybersecurity has become a collective duty that spans both the public and private sectors, said Brad Smith, vice chair and president at Microsoft, when opening his testimony before the US House Homeland Security Committee in June 2024. His statement was underscored by a year of escalating cyberthreats.   The Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2024 identifies Russian-backed hackers, such as Star Blizzard, as having advanced their attempts to target governments, journalists and...

Lloyds Banking Group is accelerating its cloud migration process by moving its Oracle databases to Oracle Database@Azure. This follows Microsoft’s 2019 partnership with Oracle to bring Azure services to Oracle workloads and provide multi-cloud capabilities to shared customers.   “Lloyds is just one of the organisations taking advantage of this capability,” said Bill Borden, corporate vice president of worldwide financial services at Microsoft. “Through its...

The future of customer service will require a strategic blend of human and virtual agents, says Capgemini.    The report – Unleashing the value of customer service – found that whilst virtual agents are favoured for their speed and convenience, consumers overwhelmingly (70 per cent of the 9,500 consumers surveyed) prefer human agents for their empathy and creative problem-solving skills. The preference varies by age though, with younger consumers showing greater...

Anywhere365 will integrate Microsoft’s new Teams Phone Extensibility for Dialogue Cloud (pictured) into its contact centre platform. The integration – which will be generally available by the end of the second quarter of 2025 – enables Anywhere365 to use Azure Communication Services with Microsoft Teams, offering customers call automation, cognitive services and AI-driven insights. Ilya Bukshteyn, vice president for Microsoft Teams calling, devices and premium...

Project Management Institute (PMI) is equipping teams in the construction industry with an essential roadmap to harness the full potential of AI. Its three-hour online course, ‘AI in Infrastructure and Construction Projects’, provides real-world examples from construction organistions Ontario Power Generation and Bruns & McDonnell, on-site demonstrations and expert insights about AI applications in the construction industry. The aim is to help businesses integrate AI for...

There is a common thread between some of the largest, most complex and deadliest data breaches in recent history.  In 2010, malware like Stuxnet disabled Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme by infecting a contractor’s laptop, which was used to perform updates on the supervisory control and data acquisition (known as SCADA) equipment. Threat actors stole data from Aadhaar – the largest ID database for 1.1 billion Indian citizens – including personally...

Microsoft will focus on industrial AI and how organisation can put it into action at Hannover Messe, which will take place on 31 March to 4 April 2025. The Microsoft booth – located in Hall 17, Stand G06 – will host expert-led presentations and showcase real-world customer success stories. Topics will include AI in digital engineering, AI for the factory floor, accelerating frontline operations with AI and creating an AI-driven product digital thread. Sessions will cover a...