Eurobites: DT Thinks Small on Big Data

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: data privacy ding-dong continues; Sky/Fox merger latest; the Internet of Ships

Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT) is hoping to bring big data within reach of smaller projects with the launch of the Small Volume Hadoop solution on AppAgile, the development platform operated by its IT services arm, T-Systems International GmbH . The technology, based on RedHat's Openshift cloud platform, is said to be suitable for projects with data volumes of no more than 9 terabytes. Small Volume Hadoop will be offered as a pay-as-you-go service on T-Systems' cloud platform.

Deutsche Telekom's security arm, meanwhile, is expanding its Magenta Security portfolio in collaboration with Symantec, offering a package that it claims will offer extra protection against the likes of the WannaCry malware virus that recently crippled the UK's National Health Service and numerous other organizations worldwide. Telekom Security is also adding the Lookout mobile security offering to its portfolio, offering protection for data on both Android and iOS smartphones. (See Global Ransomware Attack Strikes 70K Systems (& Counting).)

The European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association (ETNO) and the GSM Association (GSMA) have jointly voiced their concerns over a draft report on the tightening up of data privacy regulation produced by Marju Lauristin, a member of the European Parliament, earlier this week. Acknowledging that EU citizens' "trust in the digital ecosystem" is essential, ETNO demands that any change in regulation -- such as insisting on end-to-end encryption of digital services -- should "allow providers of electronic communications services to use metadata responsibly for the benefit of consumers, citizens and society." For the full text of the joint statement, click here.

Will the controversial merger of Sky and 21st Century Fox have to go before the UK's Competition and Markets Authority? We will find out on June 29, which is when the Secretary of State will announce her decision on the matter, having been given regulator Ofcom's report on public interest considerations relating to the proposed deal to mull over. The issue in question is whether 21st Century Fox boss Rupert Murdoch should effectively control such a large slice of the UK media.

Telia is working with Baltic Yachts, a Finnish manufacturer of luxury yachts, to develop IoT-related applications for the yachting market. The hope is that, in the future, the Baltic Yachts team will be able to help a crew in trouble remotely using the new technology, wherever they happen to be when their yacht encounters a problem.

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading