2nd Week of August Americas Weekly IT News Summary

- Tesla Board to Discuss 'Tesla Delisting' This Week

Tesla's board of directors is expected to review plans to take the company private during a meeting with financial advisors this week. The board had previously discussed the matter with CEO Elon Musk following his proposal to take the company private by buying back shares at $420 per share. If Musk's proposal succeeds, it is expected to be the largest delisting in history.

Apple Will Not Wiretap iPhone Users in the Future

Apple has responded to a U.S. congressional committee investigation into its corporate privacy practices by stating that it “will not eavesdrop on iPhone users.” Specifically, going forward, Siri will not be able to eavesdrop on users until they first say “Hey Siri.” The committee sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook on the 9th of last month, demanding answers to 16 questions regarding how the company handles iPhone user privacy.

- Facebook Blocks Sharing of '3D Printer Gun Blueprints and Sites'

Facebook has decided to block the sharing of 3D-printed gun blueprints and the websites where they are shared. Facebook stated in an official position that sharing 3D-printed gun blueprints violates community standards. It has issued a temporary blocking order against websites that attempted to share the blueprints. A federal judge in Seattle recently issued a temporary restraining order to prevent the sharing of untraceable 3D-printed gun blueprints.

- “B2B users want concise information access regardless of the presence of a sales representative”

A survey has revealed that B2B users desire concise access to information, regardless of the presence of a sales representative. According to a new study by IT research firm Gartner, consumers recently spend two-thirds of their B2B time gathering, processing, and purchasing conflicting information. In its report, Gartner explained, “In an increasingly complex B2B sales environment, what customers truly value is a vendor that makes the purchasing process easier by providing the right information through the right channels.”

- Global IaaS public cloud service market grows 29.5%

The global public IaaS cloud service market showed significant growth last year. According to a report by IT research firm Gartner, the IaaS market grew by 29.5% in 2017, increasing from $18.2 billion in 2016 to $23.5 billion. Cloud-based IT spending currently accounts for more than 20% of the total IT budget of organizations using the cloud. The top four companies—Amazon, Microsoft, Alibaba, and Google—are all hyperscale IaaS providers, accounting for approximately 73% of the total IaaS market and 47% of the IaaS and IUS markets.