PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
Five for Friday is a weekly feature to give a brief roundup of our top five stories from the week that you might have missed. Think we left anything out? Let us know your favourite stories of the week by pinging us a tweet @pcr_online.
Fake AMD Ryzen CPUs appearing on Amazon
User reports have emerged over the past month that Amazon customers have been receiving fake AMD Ryzen CPUs.
The first instance came via a Reddit user who posted an album of photos showing his ‘new’ Ryzen 7 1700 CPU to in fact be an Intel Celeron processor with 2.9 GHz and an AMD sticker poorly plastered on. A few days later, the same thing happened to another user. Both also received beaten up looking passive coolers instead of the Wraith-Spire-LED cooler that was supposed to be bundled in with the processor.
Luckily for the affected customers, Amazon has sent replacements with overnight delivery so they have ended up with what they ordered
Lenovo PC growth proves there’s still life in the industry yet
You’d be right in thinking that sales in the traditional PC market have taken a tumble over the past few years. In fact, PC sales hit a 10-year low last week, as both Gartner and IDC released their somber-looking quarterly sales reports.
However, Lenovo’s latest announcement proves that there’s life in the old industry yet. Speaking to Reuters, the firm’s chief executive Yang Yuanqing said that Lenovo expected its PC business to return to positive growth for this year. The firm – which battles with HP as the largest PC maker in the world – saw a return to profit in March, but has suffered losses in its smartphone business due to rising component costs. Yang also confirmed that talks with Fujitsu were in advanced stages to integrate the firm’s personal computer business.
Nottingham-based reseller goes global
Nottingham-based managed IT solutions firm Octavian IT has declared its international ambitions by announcing that it is set to open an office in the US.
Octavian IT, which is part of the Octavian group of companies, will open its US office in Phoenix, Arizona, within the headquaters of the Octavian USA business. The move comes just 18 months after the business was set up in Nottingham.
Ben Solomon, managing director of Octavian IT, explained the reasons behind the expansion, saying: "We want to expand and grow quickly and the US IT market obviously is huge. For businesses that want to, it’s an ideal expansion step for a number of reasons.
"The Octavian Group took that leap a few years ago and has been growing ever since, making this step even more logical for us."
Spire Technology pens deal with ADATA
Spire Technology has partnered with ADATA to distribute the manufacturer’s highly acclaimed range of products. One of the world’s largest vendors of DRAM modules and USB flash drives, ADATA’s product line includes memory cards, solid state drives, and portable hard drives. The company is also now a major provider of advanced LED lighting.
The partnership will give ADATA the opportunity to grow within the memory market by collaborating with a specialised distributor with deep coverage of the local PC component sector. Dave Taylor, ADATA UK country manager for Sales and Marketing, commented on the agreement: "We are excited to be partnering with Spire Technology. Given the significant growth we have experienced in the system builder and PC upgrade market; Spire offer a perfect complement of brands across all components that will allow our customer base a one-stop shop in this area.
Major cyber attack could cost global economies £40 billion
A major, cyber attack has the potential to cost global economies and businesses billions. The actual figure could in fact be as much as £40.5 billion, accroding to a new report by Lloyd’s of London. Co-written with risk-modelling firm Cyence, the report examines the hypothetical losses from hacking of a cloud service provider combined with an attack on computer operating systems used by businesses across the world.
It comes as insurance firms attempt to grasp the potential damages of a cyber-related attack. "Because cyber is virtual, it is such a difficult task to understand how it will accumulate in a big event," Lloyd’s of London Chief Executive Inga Beale said.
