Catch up on this month’s round-up of the latest hosting and tech news. Here’s what we’ve uncovered since our last edition.
More AI In IT
Leading analyst firm, Gartner, has predicted that by 2030, all work in IT departments will involve AI support; however, it does not forecast significant job losses as a result. While humans currently do most IT tasks alone, Gartner expects that in five years, 75% of IT work will be led by humans with AI assistance, while the rest will be managed solely by bots. This change is likely to decrease entry-level positions, with AI carrying out tasks that are now assigned to junior staff.
While Gartner claims AI adoption will boost workforce capacity, it has cautioned that hidden costs could affect ROI. These include ongoing retraining, acquiring new datasets, managing various models, and even using one model to?check?the results of another.
Though Gartner’s research shows that 65% of CIOs are not currently breaking even on AI initiatives, it encourages?organisations?to keep pursuing AI. However, it recommends collaborations with cloud providers that can fully cater for the needs of enterprises.
Food Delivery Drones
Drone food delivery is being tested in parts of Scandinavia, with the goal of providing takeaway deliveries to island and coastal communities that are often too remote for traditional services.
A pilot programme run by the Norwegian startup, Aviant, will enable residents on the Swedish island of Värmdö to order burgers from the mainland and have them delivered via drone, at a price similar to regular car or bike delivery. Able to transport food up to six miles in ten minutes, the drones are equipped with specially designed insulated containers that keep meals hot, even during winter.
Aviant intends to expand to other areas and has identified about 40 possible bases throughout Scandinavia. The model targets semi-rural areas that are hard to reach by road but have enough population density to make deliveries feasible.
Similar initiatives have been tried in the UK, Germany and China, although most have depended on government or corporate support to cover high operating expenses. While there are significant benefits to be gained from drone-based logistics, potential operators need to overcome challenges like regulatory approval, cost-effectiveness and reliability.
Mainframe Trend
According to Kyndryl’s 2025 State of Mainframe Modernisation survey, businesses are speeding up the modernisation of their mainframe environments to reduce costs and utilise new technologies like generative AI. Almost 80% of organisations have intensified modernisation in the last year, primarily to incorporate AI, while project costs have significantly decreased. Reported returns on investment, meanwhile, ranged from 288% to 362%.
The survey showed that almost 90% of enterprises have either adopted or are planning to adopt generative AI on mainframes, with many anticipating significant savings and new revenue opportunities over the next three years.
The results also highlight a shift towards hybrid strategies, with 56% of companies increasing their mainframe usage and half concentrating on integration with cloud platforms. Once expected to be replaced by cloud computing, mainframes are now becoming essential to hybrid IT environments, supporting critical applications while connecting to modern cloud services. Kyndryl expects this dual function to remain a key aspect of enterprise technology strategies.
Cloud Ransomware
Microsoft has warned that the Storm-0501 ransomware group is shifting from traditional endpoint attacks to a cloud-first approach. By taking advantage of hybrid and cloud settings, the group has managed to steal data, erase backups and quickly escalate privileges without depending on traditional malware deployment.
Storm-0501 has shown considerable expertise in breaching Active Directory environments and moving into Microsoft Entra ID, where it searches for security weaknesses and elevates privileges to global administrator status. In recent operations, the group has also used tools like Evil-WinRM for lateral movement, together with DCSync attacks to collect credentials, before transitioning to the cloud to list users and Azure resources.
Microsoft has pointed out that weaknesses in security, such as tenants not using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint or lacking multi-factor authentication, enable Storm-0501 to bypass security measures. Once global administrator privileges have been gained, the group can take full control of the cloud environment. To defend against these attacks, businesses are advised to consistently extend security monitoring and access controls across their hybrid infrastructures.
Public Sector Security Fears
A recent survey has shown that almost half of UK public sector IT leaders think their cybersecurity tools are only ‘somewhat effective’ in safeguarding sensitive data. The study, carried out by SolarWinds, highlights the increasing complexity of cloud and hybrid IT systems as a significant challenge, with 58% of participants describing their environments as very complex. This rises to 70% in health and education.
According to the survey, financial constraints were the main obstacle to enhancing security, followed closely by worries about insider threats, with 56% seeing careless or untrained employees as a significant risk. Participants also noted a lack of training, poor collaboration between departments, and inadequate leadership as barriers to progress.
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