Gartner estimates the security software market will account $14.5bn (£8.9bn) in 2009, gaining an eight percent increase from that of last year. A bigger boost is expected next year, with a 13 percent increase as the economy show signs of recovery. 

Analyst Ruggero Contu also predicted a growth in the security software market in spite of the economic downturn because companies can’t afford to risk their security by trimming down IT budget. 

“In the medium term, the greatest growth opportunities will come from software-as-a-service (SaaS), appliance-based offerings and small and medium businesses (SMBs), which are in security catch-up mode compared with large companies and therefore spend a higher percentage of their budgets on security,” Contu stated.

Mobile Ad hoc Interoperability Network GATEway or MAINGATE will be responsible in linking various tactical ground, airborne and satellite communications terminals owned by the government. It is also designed to allow composite radio groups to merge with heterogeneous network tolerant to high latency and packet loss. 

According to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), MAINGATE will include a WAN port, a LAN port, and six legacy radio ports.

Of the £137 million, about 30 percent will be allocated to business planning systems gearing towards the development of how vital data are used in meeting business needs. Changes will be felt by its enterprise resourse planning, document management, and resource systems divisions.

KTN plans to get the IT industry, academia, and the government involved in spotting the challenges of virtual computing, as well as take appropriate measures in enhancing cyber security across the UK.

"A lot of innovation is going on in this country, and only occasionally do we talk to each other. This silo mentality is not good enough.The threats are worldwide and those seeking to undermine us operate worldwide, so we have to decide how best to deal with that," Dyhouse explained.

The director also affirmed that the structure of IT networks and software is still being built regardless of its lack of security provisions. Dyhouse mostly attributed this problem on the efforts of companies to trim down their IT spending.

The research studied around 200 consumers who are 18 years old and above, with experiences dealing with call center agents for the past 12 months. Of those polled, about 60 percent said they didn’t feel satisfied with the services they got from customer services reps.

The survey also concluded that 46 percent prefer to interact with automated service systems rather than coping with foreign accents and not being able to get the services they expect. 

One of the main reasons cited is language barrier. Another contributing factor is the amount of time spent waiting on the queue. 

“Typically, when UK consumers contact a call centre it is often to complete a routine or rudimentary task – they simply want to get that task done, and don’t necessarily want or need to speak to an agent to do it. They want to be served quickly and effectively," the report said. 

“There appears to be a general recognition amongst call centres that customer service has to improve and we have already seen some progress in this area."

Despite the job cuts, Microsoft will still be recruiting more workers in India. Some of the retrenched staff may be cross-trained to other divisions, reducing percentage of unemployed workers. 

Microsoft explained in a statement, "We are currently working with the concerned employees to evaluate alternative positions internally, and where applicable look at mutually favorable disengagement terms."

Microsoft has about 5,500 in India, spread in various divisions. Companies all over India have been massively losing people and 1 percent is a small number compared to those having to cut hundreds, if not thousands of employees.  

The plan is part of AT&T’s pay-as-you-go GoPhone program. Users will pay $3 dollars per day and get to call their loved ones countlessly without extra charge. 

AT&T is also giving out a prepaid Unlimited Mobile-to-Mobile plan for those who want to make exclusive calls to other AT&T mobile users. Customers will just need to pay $1, and 10 cents per minute if they want to make outside calls. 

AT&T is the largest telephone provider in the United States, and also serves digital subscriber line Internet access. It is the second largest provider of wireless service in the US, with more than 77 million wireless customers, and over 150 million total customers. 

Several groups have expressed disapproval over cyber-security in the US, following President Obama’s plans to release review results he originally ordered. The review is slated to be opened for public comment by the end of April. 

President Obama is also anticipated to declare a new cyber-security tsar who will be carrying out the government’s pledge to prioritize cyber protection. 

Cyber-security has become a hot topic over the past couple of weeks because of prominent breaches. According to SANS director Mr. Paller, the only way to achieve an extremely secure technology is through federal acquisitions. 

If you want to change things, use the laws of procurement," said Mr Paller.

Many have viewed Microsoft as recession-proof, but apparently, even the biggest companies could not escape the ill effects of a bad economy.

Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer said the fall was brought by no less than the worldwide financial slump. Microsoft’s chief financial officer also said the firm sees declining sales over the next quarter.

The software giant plans to sack 5,000 jobs over the next 18 months.  Analysts expected little of a Microsoft profit drop. Sadly, this did not turn up proving that even the mighty could fall when the battle is as big as a worldwide economic disaster.

Of the banks polled, 20 percent said they intend to optimize their middle- and back-office over the next five years. This is to enhance operations in different nations by means of outsourcing and offshoring. 

Banks have also mentioned the use of remote channels and call centers as their strategy to overcome financial downturn. The survey further revealed that 36 percent  use outsourcing companies as a business advantage. Around 40 percent expressed plans to venture iin remote sales channels to top off their branch network.