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Leidos

Leidos – The Largest IT Service Provider in the Defense Sector.

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Leidos is a global leader that provides cutting-edge technology solutions to customers in demanding situations. The main sectors that Leidos offers efficient solutions to are aviation, defense, information technology, and healthcare. Leidos provides a wide range of both hardware and software solutions from automatic equipment identification technology to security instruments and many more.

Leidos was formerly known as Science Application International Cooperation (SAIC) which is currently headquartered in Reston, Virginia, US. J. Robert Beyster founded the company in 1969 which now operates in four main divisions, namely, Civil, Health, Advanced Solutions, Defence & Intelligence. Roger Krone is the current CEO of the company and the company has approximately 32,000 employees.

The Establishment of Leidos

In 1969, Robert J. Beyster founded the company as Science Applications Incorporated (SAI) in San Diego, California. Before founding the company, Beyster was a scientist for Westinghouse Atomic Power Division and Los Alamos National Laboratory. In 1957, Beyster became the Chairman of the Accelerator Physics Department of General Atomics and later he sold stocks received from here to raise the money for his new company.

From the beginning of the entrepreneurial journey, Beyster’s company focused on projects for the US government. Initially, SAI focused on nuclear power and weapons effects study programs but soon the company was renamed as Science Applications International Cooperation (SAIC) and it eventually expanded its area of interest. The company worked on radiation therapy, assistance to the development of the cruise missile, post-accident cleanups in nuclear stations, design and evaluation of Stars & Stripes 87, design of the first luggage inspection machine, etc.

Leidos
Image Source: twitter.com

Beyster developed SAIC as an employee-owned company which helped in attracting many dedicated and highly motivated employees. This is the biggest reason that SAIC grew and expanded so fast in many sectors. Beyster retired in 2003 and in 2009 the headquarters of the company was shifted to Tysons Corner in Virginia. In 2012, the company had to pay a large sum of money to the City of New York for overbilling the city for seven long years.

The Founding Story of Leidos

In 2012, the company decided to split up into two independent trading companies thus forming a $4billion per year and $7billion per year publicly traded entities. The former focused on government services, systems engineering, technical assistance, financial analysis, and program office support. The $7billion company became an IT business specializing in national security, health, and the engineering sector. After the companies were split into two different businesses they were able to pursue more fields which created a conflict of interest as a whole.

In 2013, it was decided that the smaller company will continue with the name SAIC while the bigger company changed its name to Leidos and moved its headquarters to Reston. Leidos was the true successor of SAIC though it didn’t retain the name. So, the company retained SAIC’s pre-2013 stock price and corporate filing history. In 2016, Leidos announced one of the biggest deals in the defense sector as it merged with Lockheed Martin’s Information Systems & Global Solutions. This doubled the size of Leidos making it a leader in the global defense industry. In 2019, the company ranked 311 on the Fortune 500 list and its annual revenue summed up to $18.569 billion.

Subsidiaries and Structure of the Company

Leidos has multiple subsidiaries in a diverse market which helped it become successful in a short period. Some of the subsidiaries of the company are Systems Made Simple (SMS), QTC Management, Leidos Engineering, Leidos Health, CloudShield Technologies, Reveal, Dynetics, Leidos Biomedical Research, etc. In 2018, the company again shifted its headquarters to Reston, Virginia, and the new building was completed last year.

As mentioned earlier, the company is divided into four main sectors. The Civil Division deals with the aviation system, security transportation measures, IT infrastructure, and efficient energy. The Health division is responsible for optimizing healthcare companies, securing medical data, and providing better solutions for data entry. Leidos’ Advanced Solutions Division focuses mainly on data analysis, integrating advanced defense systems, etc. The Defense & Intelligence Division works on providing air service systems, geospatial analysis, cybersecurity, intelligence analysis, etc.

About J. Robert Beyster

Beyster was from Detroit, Michigan, and went to the University of Michigan. He served in the US Navy during World War II which might be one of the reasons why he focused on governmental projects when he started his own business. Apart from founding SAIC, he started the Foundation for Enterprise Development in 1986. In 2004, this foundation established Beyster Institute which is dedicated to training and education on entrepreneurial grounds. He passed away on 22nd December 2014 in his home.

Qualcomm Snapdragon Sound

Qualcomm launched Snapdragon Sound promising better quality and connectivity

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Qualcomm launches Snapdragon Sound as a new suite that can be connected to smartphones and well as wireless headphones and earphones. The first announcement regarding this suite for audio products was announced last year during the Qualcomm Summit in December. The Snapdragon Sounds claim to have improved interoperability between Qualcomm Snapdragon fueled smartphones and also with audio products such as headphones and earphones (Gadgets 360).

The new product suite by Qualcomm has promised better audio quality and efficient connectivity for its users. Apart from these two major improvements, it has also embedded additional features like active noise cancellation (ANC) and voice communication software. To enable and use the Snapdragon Sound, both source device and outfit should be supporting the particular technology.

Qualcomm Snapdragon Sound

This new suite is expected to roll out in the market within the next few weeks. The Qualcomm Snapdragon Sound can be enabled on smartphones powered by Snapdragon 888 which is going to roll out this year. This new product is targeting the electronics manufacturer who originally built smartphone and audio products. The Snapdragon Sound will be provided as a one-step solution for product makers working in ANC, Bluetooth, chipset, and other connectivity technologies.

Qualcomm Snapdragon Sound
Image Source: anandtech.com

If a user is using a compatible audio product along with supporting a smartphone such as one with Snapdragon 888, this will allow the activation of the entire audio suite experiencing every feature included in Snapdragon Sound. Some of the features of this new audio suite are ANC, Qualcomm FastConnect, aptX Bluetooth codec, etc.

Other companies working for Snapdragon Sound

Qualcomm worked with two other companies for developing the Snapdragon Sound, namely, Xiaomi and Audio Technica (Japanese headphone maker). The new audio suite will be embedded on some of the company’s new products which will broaden the scope for compatibility and attract more audiences. The users will understand that Snapdragon Sound has been enabled and it is operational when they will receive a new pop-up logo on the connected device. The Snapdragon Sound can be connected even in speakers but both the source and output device should support the technology.

The main technologies that are expected to make the Snapdragon Sound exceptional with enhanced audio quality and connectivity are Qualcomm FastConnect 6900 and the Snapdragon 8-series chipset range. The former technology will enable faster and stable Bluetooth connectivity. There is also Qualcomm active noise cancellation technology which will make the experience more real and authentic. The aptX adaptive codec will be used for high-quality audio transmission over Bluetooth and there will be an amplifier package and Qualcomm Aqstic DAC(Gadgets 360). 

Since Qualcomm has announced the rollout officially, the product makers can now license the entire audio suite for their new products. The company is also working with Amazon Music HD in order to certify the listening experience and reach out to more people. They want to convey all the purposes that will be provided by the new Snapdragon Sound.

Features of Snapdragon Sound

Snapdragon Sound is ensuring the best audio experience bringing the Qualcomm technologies altogether. The new Snapdragon Sound will provide the best audio paired with excellent connectivity and delivering high-resolution music. Using Snapdragon Sound, the voice calls will be clearer and it will ensure a lag-free gaming experience. The audio suite also ensures extended battery life. You can check out the official website of Snapdragon Sound to get a demo of what your music will sound like.

The Snapdragon Sound is compatible with both smartphones as well as wireless earbuds to headphones. This is the kind of technology aspired by every gamer and those attending business calls 24/7 across the globe. If you don’t choose to connect to earphones or headphones, Snapdragon Sound will play the music extra loud from your phone’s speaker using Aqstic technology. This will not damage the phone speakers.

The audio quality will be uncompressed 24-bit 96 kHz. For Bluetooth connectivity, the audio will be compressed and delivered in quality up to 16-bit 44kHz. Snapdragon Sound uses the aptX voice technology to make calls clearer by improving the sound quality. The background noises will be minimized which has a huge advantage of receiving calls no matter where you are.

Computacenter

Computacenter: The Leaders in the Field of IT Infrastructure

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Though there has never been such a demand for computers and other related technologies as it is now, going back 30-40 years ago, the computer business was the one flourishing industry that attracted everyone who got to know about it. The ones, who understood the worth of information technology at that time, are now listed among the biggest entrepreneurs in the world. Many technology companies that started with a scratch at that time, have emerged as the top-most companies of IT today. One such company is Computacenter that unlike the other technology firms started big and still is making big in the computer business at the global level.

About the Company Computacenter

Computacenter is a UK-based leading independent IT infrastructure provider. The company assists its customers with technology infrastructure investment, such that to help them yield maximum results for their businesses at a lesser cost. Computacenter offers a wide range of IT services including supply, implementation, providing support, and managing the information technology systems for its clients. The company also provides security services for the network, the data center as well as the workplace for the clients. Its customer base is expanded in both public and the private sector all around the world.

Computacenter
Image Source: sharecast.com

The Beginning of the Company

Computacenter is a leading IT infrastructure provider, founded by two Harvard graduates Philip Hulme and Peter Ogden in 1981. The company started its operations in the UK and now is a major IT service provider for countries like Germany, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, etc.

The company began its operations in 1981, but the real journey of Computacenter started in 1990 when the internet had become the hottest topic. The founders saw the potential of the internet and made the maximum use of it for their business. The company built a team of 15 people to work on a new electronic catalog, to form a high-quality market catalog, and revolutionize their transactions with their customers. Computacenter was one of the first companies to enter e-Commerce for their business.

The Expansion

By the year 1994, Computacenter had become the fastest-growing independent IT company in the UK and had decided to expand its operations in the other parts of Europe as well. In 1995, the company established a new branch in France, and in another three years, Computacenter got listed on the London Stock Exchange, on 21 May 1998. The company opened another branch in Belgium in 1999.

By 2001, the internet was reaching every corner of the world, and Computacenter started selling its services through its website. But for its websites in different countries, the company had to create separate content, to provide the users with the right and understandable information. So the company decided to change its strategy for other countries and adopted the concept of outsourcing and partnered with CNET Content Solutions to outsource their product content management needs.

Acquisitions

During the same time, in 2001, Computacenter acquired the GECITS UK and GECITS France. On the other hand, GECITS took over the operations of Computacenter Germany. Other than GECITS, Computacenter acquired Digica and Allnet to enhance its outsourcing and IT management services.

In 2002 Computacenter established its new Solution Centre in the UK. The company then acquired the Germany and Austria branches of GE Capital IT Solutions in 2004. In 2009, Computacenter took over the operations of Thesaurus Computer Services (UK), followed by the acquisition of Top Info in February 2011. Then Computacenter went on to acquire TeamUltra, a service management company, in 2017, and RDC, an IT Asset Disposal business, in 2018. Before the takeover, Computacenter had been a partner of c for several years. Later in 2019, Computacenter’s acquiring included the USA-based Fusionstorm and Netherlands’ Misco Solutions.

Present Condition

Computacenter is a leading name in the technology world with a huge customer base globally. The company offers support to its clients by providing them with resources and manage their IT infrastructure. The co-founder of Computacenter Peter Ogden served the company as the Chairman from the beginning till 1998, and its other co-founder, Philip Hulme, took over the post of Chairman in the same year after Odgen resigned, until 2001. Later, both joined the board of the company. Both the co-founders have been knighted for their contribution to the field of technology.

As of 2019 records, Greg Lock is serving as the Chairman and Mike Norris is serving as the CEO of Computacenter.

Deutsche Telekom

Deutsche Telekom – Evolution of the business from being government to a private company

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Nowadays, most of the applications run on the internet. In fact, these applications are an integral part of our day-to-day life. Like chilling with Netflix, sending videos and images, connecting with friends online. As well, an internet connection is needed even for getting help from Alexa, Google assistance, and another similar device. However, for all this internet must be fast enough. As technology evolves the leads to many advances in devices. Thus, in such case, needed faster internet connectivity. It means both home and business need more data transfer at a higher speed.

While Deutsche Telekom is the one-stop for all such customer’s needs. Fulfilling the needs of 200+ million mobile users, and about 21 million broadband users, the firm also has over 27 million fixed network users. Started as a conventional telephone company, it has transformed into a new integrated telecommunication firm. Apart from the core business of selling networks and connections, it has also sought new opportunities from time to time. Thus, growing the business all across continents. Germany based firm Deutsche Telekom has its offices in 50+ countries.

About Deutsche Telekom

It is part of a group of leading integrated telecommunications firms on the planet. Primarily, it provides internet connectivity, fixed network, broadband, and other mobile communication services to the customers. As well, it offers IPTV products and ICT solution for small to large size businesses. Whereas, all services come with complete security storage, which is the need of the present world.

Deutsche Telekom
Image Source: asystems.as

On the international level, Deutsche Telekom is known for its efficient networks. In fact, its network solution is sufficient to meet the rising demand for broadband in the upcoming years. As well, it is way intelligent to kick start the new business. We can say it is sufficient enough to power up the entire industry. Like healthcare, the energy sector, the automotive industry, etc.

Services offered

Apart from offering the best service in network sales and connectivity, it also offers cloud-based services. In fact, it plunged into the new business fields as per the future requirements. Like IoT, M2M, and Industrial Internet. Deutsche Telekom is well-known for its wide range of integrated solutions, assist to shape other businesses.

How Deutsche Telekom is formed?

Well, it’s all get started in 1947. At that time, Germany was under the rule of the federal government. For the postal administration, the government created Deutsche Bundespost, which later on became west Germany’s key telephone firm. Meanwhile, in 1989, post office reforms in Germany gave birth to Deutsche Telekom. It was one of the parts of Deutsche Bundespost that were fragmented into three parts. Thereafter, the firm became private in 1996. Prior to that, Deutsche had a monopoly in Germany as a major Internet service provider. However, the firm has witnessed a major transformation in its business structure till 2005. In the same year, it started the Broadband /Fixed Network strategies business unit, out of the merger of its T-Mobile and T-Com units. Later on, this structure was also altered and it launched a new business unit called T-Home.

Triumphs of Deutsche Telekom

Deutsche Telekom and its other subsidiaries are working to accelerate innovation in the telecom sector. The launch of the Telecom Infra Project was one of the initiatives to do so. It was introduced in 2016 in association with big IT firms like Facebook, Intel, Nokia, and two others. On top of that, it joined a HAPS Alliance recently in 2020. With this, the firm is assisting to promote high-altitude vehicles for eliminating the digital divide. Recently, the subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile US acquired Sprint this year.

Based on the vision to offer more, the firm never compromised its commitment to sustainable development. For that, it has also started the “We Care for Our Planet” program. This initiative turned out as a milestone for climate and resource protection.

Later achievements under Timotheus Höttges

He is active as the CEO of Deutsche Telekom form 2014. Earlier, he was a member of the board of management at the firm. Timotheus played an important role to extend the broadband and fixed network business in Germany. One of the business segments of Deutsche Telekom, T-Home had dominated the telecom market under his policies. Also, he implemented several strategies to cut down the cost in business.  Well, his experience as a project manager, helped in acquisition strategies of Deutsche Telekom.

Nvidia

Nvidia finally acknowledged the GeForce RTX 3000 series global crisis publicly.

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On 5th December 2020 during the Credit Suisse 24th Annual Technology Conference, Colette Kress, CFO of Nvidia acknowledged the global shortage of the RTX 3000 series. He went into some details about the reasons for the shortage as there have been several reports on what is causing such a crisis. Colette revealed in front of the media that wafer yields are not the only reason behind the global shortage.

During the webcast of the conference, Colette also mentioned that the production yield of Samsung 8nm nodes is one of the prime reasons for the decelerated rate of 3000 series production. Before this conference, Nvidia didn’t put any official statement acknowledge the global shortage of the RTX 3000 series.

Reason behind Nvidia GeForce RTX 3000

Colette Kress has given proper statements in the webcast regarding the shortage of the RTX 3000 series. Apart from revealing that the yield of Samsung 8nm nodes is one of the reasons for the shortage, other topics on the same group have also come up. Kress further said that the company is currently facing supply constraints that go beyond just the wafers and silicon supply. Some constraints are also in substrates and components but no details were discussed. The company will continue to work in this crisis and it believes that the demand will exceed supply in Q4 for overall gaming.

Nvidia
Image Source: indianexpress.com

From what Colette said in the webcast it is clear that the low production rate of various components is one of the reasons the production rate of GPU has gone down. Till now, Samsung was the sole provider of Nvidia GeForce RTX 3000 series 8nm nodes. But, this is also having a negative effect slowing down the production of Nvidia. So, the company is looking for other options and most probably will get nodes from TSMC as well. It is better to keep more than one option in hand in a time of crisis.

Samsung or TSMC nodes 

Many rumors and reports have spread earlier regarding Nvidia’s preference for using Samsung or TSMC’s nodes. But, it was only a few months ago that Nvidia confirmed the use of the Samsung 8N node for building Ampere second-gen RTX cards. The company said that it is replacing the TSMC 7nm node which was used for the initial Ampere GA100 GPU. Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia then announced that for the majority of its GPUs they will be using TSMC tech and for a small subset of graphics silicon production they have chosen Samsung.

On 1st September 2020, in GeForce Special event, Jensen Huang announced that the company decided to use Samsung’s 8N process for all the large Ampere RTX GPUs. Many reports said that with smaller Samsung-built process nodes, the new generation of GeForce chips will offer a huge amount of rasterizing performance. But, with the shortage of production, Nvidia probably will switch to TSMC again.

Why the shortage is taking place?

According to some experts, the reason behind the shortage is difficulties faced in logistics and supply chain. A report by Tom’s Hardware explains that most of the cargo space in the distribution system is taken up by the pharmaceutical supplies which have caused the shortage of supplies for the electronic division. We are in the middle of a pandemic and most of the attention is going to the pharmaceutical needs and their fastest transportation. So, this can be a very important reason why the delay has been caused in yield and production rate. Moreover, the COVId-19 vaccines are also getting transferred to so many places across the world. And, currently, that is the prime concern of every nation.

The demand for the GPU has already exceeded the supply. And, you might have also noticed that the stocks are vanishing in no time. Even if someone is lucky to get hold of the RTX 3000 series they are receiving an unboxed version.

Will it get better soon?

Kress mentioned that the situation will improve within a couple of months but still it is difficult to quantify what is the exact portion of the demand they can meet. The company will update further on this situation by the end of this quarter. Till then we just have to sit tight and wait when these GPUs will be in stock again. The pandemic has affected every field in the industrial sector and we have to overcome it.

Qualcomm

Qualcomm announced Snapdragon 750G SoC, Enabling Truly Global 5G, and HDR Gaming

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Qualcomm Technologies are always on top when it comes to global connectivity and leading wireless technology. Many multinational companies are working tirelessly to bring more advancement incorporated in the 5G network, but currently, Qualcomm is playing its ace. On 22nd September 2020, Qualcomm Technologies announced a new mobile platform, Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G 5G Mobile Platform. This is a true 5G mobile platform offered by the company and will be added to the Snapdragon 7-Series.

The 750G 5G will offer a truly impeccable 5G mobile platform for the users that will ensure excellent global connectivity, high-quality gaming, and on-device AI. The Snapdragon 7-Series has witnessed a lot of new design launches and every time it has turned out to be a bit hit. And, with the 5G global connectivity, the excitement among users will increase by several folds.

Kedar Kondap, VP of product management, Qualcomm Technologies, said that the company is looking for more ways to support the needs of OEM customers as they are growing every day. The new Snapdragon 750G Mobile Platform will provide a handful of premium features to a wider user base. Now, let’s have a more detailed look at its features.

Features of the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G

The Snapdragon 750G 5G Mobile Platform runs in an X52 5G Modern-RF System. The system supports mmWave and sub-6GHz, both standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) nodes, TDD, FDD, and Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) as well. The platform provides both global roaming and global multi-SIM. With these highlighted features any device that runs in Snapdragon 750G will support multi-gigabit connections. This means the users can download and upload files within the blink of an eye. Gone are those when we use to have 2G speed internet connectivity even to download big files. Both the speed and the limit of data have expanded just in a couple of years.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G SoC
Image Source: firstpost.com

As I mentioned earlier, the platform has been made compatible with high-quality gaming as well, the new Snapdragon 750G offers Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite Gaming. This new feature allows low-latency gameplay thus making the platform smoother and better in terms of quality. The platform has also incorporated Qualcomm Adreno 619 GPU that will provide better graphics quality making the scenes look more real. The users can also stream games from 5G cloud gaming platforms.

5th Generation Qualcomm AI Engine

AI has already taken over most of the industries in a diversified field. The capability of a machine to understand human intelligence has unlocked many new opportunities and paved a way for a better understanding of the customers. After all, the main goal is to give a better experience to the users. The Qualcomm AI Engine creates a better interaction with the smart camera and video, voice recognition and translation, advanced imaging based on AI, etc. The new Qualcomm AI Engine powering the Snapdragon 750G provides a 20% sharp improvement in functioning (smart detections and functions that are based on AI) than 730G. In 750G Mobile Platform, the AI engine provides 4.0 Trillion Operations Per Second (TOPS).

The platform also has Qualcomm Kryo 570 CPU that enhances the overall performance consequently user experience as well. The 750G mobile platform also has Qualcomm Sensing Hub that combines multiple data streams to work in a better way. For example, the Snapdragon 750G 5G Mobile Platform has Qualcomm’s AI-based audio and voice communication suite. This helps in canceling the noise or background voices as the system enables AI-based echo cancellation automatically. Thus it provides a better experience while voice calling or voice assistant tasks.

What experts have to say?

Andreas Bussmann, Program Manager 5G devices, Deutsche Telekom, said that Deutsche and Qualcomm have a very strategic collaboration. They hope this new Snapdragon 750G 5G will scale the 5G network and improve user experience. Chris Emmons, Executive Director Device and Product Marketing, Verizon said that with Qualcomm coming up with superior solutions, it will help run the 5G devices their customer relies on. Xiaomi works in collaboration with Qualcomm and they will launch the first commercial smartphone that will have Snapdragon 750G 5G connectivity. The commercial devices having Snapdragon 750G are expected to roll out by the end of this year.