Summary :
- The digital transformation of the State is expensive in consulting
- OVHcloud files a complaint against Microsoft
- Russia still connected to the internet
- The key figure: 51% of smartphones sold in January are 5G compatible
- Practice : 5 criteria of happiness at work for developers
- The zoom of the editorial: how the CNIL became the policeman of digital data
The digital transformation of the State is expensive in consulting
In 2021, the State will have spent 646.4 million euros in IT consulting. This is more than double the expenditure generated a few years earlier, in 2018. Health crisis, digital transformation… so many issues that explain this phenomenal increase in the use of private service providers.
This dependence on consulting firms highlights in particular the insufficient IT resources of the State. Even though it currently has 18,000 digital agents and recruits 2,000 a year, human resources in these areas of expertise remain rare and expensive.
OVHcloud files a complaint against Microsoft
Last summer, OVHcloud filed a complaint against Microsoft for unfair competition. The French company criticizes the American giant for the way it grants licenses for its products. More specifically, it denounces unfair pricing practices, as well as services operating more optimally on Azure, Microsoft’s cloud, than on competing services.
Microsoft defends itself by explaining that its products bring value to cloud computing players operating in a growing market. Nevertheless, the American giant is accustomed to the fact. Two other complaints have also been filed recently in Europe, one by professional messaging Slack, the other by the German company Nextcloud. Other cloud computing companies have also followed in OVHcloud’s footsteps.
Russia still connected to the internet
Despite demands to disconnect Russia from the global internet, the country’s connectivity remains virtually unchanged. The biggest interference in the country’s internet access actually comes from Russia itself: Moscow has indeed blocked Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, in order to better control what its population can consult on the web.
The Russian sites are nevertheless the subject of significant DDoS attacks, but they remain for the moment largely operational. Ironically, if you are outside of Russia and try to access a Russian site, you may have trouble logging in. But inside Russia, work with Russian websites is proceeding more or less normally.
The key figure: 51% of smartphones sold in January are compatible with 5G
Sales of 5G-equipped smartphones have for the first time exceeded sales of 4G-only devices. In detail, 51% of new smartphones sold in January were compatible with 5G. Much of this growth is due to the iPhone, which is relatively late on the 5G scene.
However, this growth should be qualified, with sales of 5G phones representing a much larger share in China, North America and Western Europe than in the rest of the world – respectively 84%, 73% and 76%.
Practical: 5 criteria of happiness at work for developers
In this period of “Great Resignation”, employers are increasingly concerned about the satisfaction of their employees. In particular developers, rare commodities on the labor market. To do this, they must take care of these five factors:
- salary level;
- work-life balance;
- workplace flexibility;
- job productivity;
- the possibilities of evolution.
The editorial zoom: how the CNIL became the policeman of digital data
The CNIL, acronym for “Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés”, is the reference authority for data protection in France. It was created in 1978, following the SAFARI file scandal which saw the birth of the Data Protection Act.
Today, the authority ensures the application of the laws governing the protection and use of personal data, and in particular compliance with the European GDPR. It now has the power to sanction and can impose considerable fines.