Americas Weekly IT News Highlights from Last Week of August

- Samsung Surpasses Intel and Maintains Lead in 'Semiconductor Chip'

Samsung Electronics has maintained its position as the number one semiconductor sales company by surpassing its competitor Intel. According to market research firm IHS Markit, Samsung Electronics' second quarter semiconductor chip market share reached 15.9%. In contrast, competitor Intel's share was identified at 13.9%. However, as the NAND flash memory market cooled significantly, Intel narrowed the gap with Samsung Electronics somewhat in the fourth quarter. Samsung Electronics' second quarter revenue was 19.2 billion dollars, an increase of 3.4% compared to the first quarter and 33.7% compared to the second quarter of 2017.

- "Semiconductor Chip Market to Grow to 1 Trillion Dollars by 2030"

Ajit Manocha, CEO of the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI), announced at the recent Semicon West exhibition that "the semiconductor chip market will grow to 1 trillion dollars by 2030." He explained that "last year, semiconductor sales grew 22%, but few companies predicted this." CEO Manocha emphasized △the competitiveness of artificial intelligence △future electronics 3D system productivity, and others.

- Australian Government Notifies Ban on 'Huawei, ZTE 5G Network'

The Australian government has recently banned the supply of 5G network equipment from Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE, citing security risks. The Australian government implemented this measure to protect the 5G network from unauthorized access and interference. In response, Huawei's Australian subsidiary stated, "Huawei is a global leader in 5G and has safely provided wireless technology in Australia for nearly 15 years," adding that "this is a very disappointing outcome for consumers." The Australian government's ban was announced jointly by the Department of Home Affairs.

- Gartner Forecasts 4.3% Growth in South Africa's IT Spending This Year

IT research firm Gartner forecasted on the 27th (local time) that South Africa's IT spending will grow by 4.3% in 2018. According to Gartner, South Africa's IT spending in 2018 is expected to reach 27.66 billion dollars, a 4.3% increase compared to 2017. All IT sectors are on track to achieve growth this year, with data center systems and server sectors returning to growth.

- VMware Launches New Cloud Services for 'Automotive, Security'

VMware launched new cloud services on the 27th (local time) for cost, operations, security, and compliance management across various clouds. This announcement came one day after VMware decided to double its partnership with Amazon Web Services. Through this development, VMware emphasized its focus on enterprise users who have adopted a multi-cloud strategy. The new cloud services include △VMware Cloud Assembly △VMware Service Broker △VMware Code Stream △VMware Secure State and others.