Computer & Technology
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Microsoft Ignite Data and Analytics roundup: Platform extensions are the key theme

John A. Ratliff
cosmos.jpg

The shift toward online digital conferences has prompted Microsoft to reconvene Ignite about six months early this year. Scanning the data and analytics announcements, the overriding theme is of extending the reach of the portfolio of Azure data platforms.

For data and analytics, the headlines on this go-round include a new Azure Managed Instance for Apache Cassandra; support for a MongoDB 4.0 API in Azure Cosmos DB; the general availability of Azure Synapse Link for Cosmos DB; and some enhancements to Azure Cache for Redis offering. And Microsoft is introducing new tools for data warehouse users to automate their migration to Azure Synapse Analytics. On the hybrid cloud front, there are several announcements for the software-defined hybrid platform Azure Arc, including support of Kubernetes (K8s) and the addition of Azure Machine Learning to the small, but growing stable of Azure services available on Arc.

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Computer & Technology
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Interested in data analysis? There’s a program for that

John A. Ratliff

The Daily Beast

Olympian McKayla Maroney Ensnared in Mystery ‘Cult’ the Church of the Master Angels

Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Photos via Facebook/GettyWhen serial pedophile and former doctor for the U.S. women’s gymnastics team Larry Nassar was sentenced to a maximum of 175 years in prison, more than 150 women of all ages came forward to share their horrific stories of abuse.They bravely told of how they endured years of trauma and how they had been silenced. For Olympian McKayla Maroney, unfortunately, it had been no different.The now 25-year-old went dark on Instagram in September of 2017; the next month, she shared her harrowing story about Nassar’s abuse, starting from age 13 and even up until she was competing in the Olympics in 2012.“It happened in London before my team and I won the gold medal, and it happened before I won my silver,” she said in

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Computer & Technology
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Kroger is latest victim of third-party software data breach

John A. Ratliff

Kroger Co. says it was among the multiple victims of a data breach involving a third-party vendor’s file-transfer service

February 20, 2021, 9:47 PM

2 min read

BOSTON — Kroger Co. says it was among the multiple victims of a data breach involving a third-party vendor’s file-transfer service and is notifying potentially impacted customers, offering them free credit monitoring.

The Cincinnati-based grocery and pharmacy chain said in a statement Friday that it believes less than 1% of its customers were affected — specifically some using its Health and Money Services — as well as some current and former employees because a number of personnel records were apparently viewed.

Kroger said the breach did not affect Kroger stores’ IT systems or grocery store systems or data and there was no indication that fraud involving accessed

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Technology
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Monte Carlo raises $25 million for AI that monitors data reliability

John A. Ratliff

San Francisco-based data reliability startup Monte Carlo today announced that it raised $25 million, bringing the company’s total capital raised to date to over $40 million. Monte Carlo says the proceeds will allow it to foster its community of users and further develop its data and analytics products as it looks to expand the size of its workforce.

It’s estimated that the average company spends upwards of $15 million annually tackling periods of time where data is missing, broken, or otherwise inaccurate. Around 93% of organizations who lose servers for 10 days or more during a disaster file for bankruptcy within the next 12 months, while 43% never reopen and 51% close within two years.

Barr Moses, former VP of customer operations at Gainsight, cofounded Monte Carlo in 2019 with Lior Gavish, an ex-SVP of engineering at Barracuda Networks. Both were struck by what they perceived as an ease of

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