Information & Communication Technology (ICT)

Agentic AI Foundation Launches First MCP Certification for Engineers

San Francisco – September 16, 2026 -- The Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF) has launched the Model Context Protocol Associate (MCPA), the first official certification validating engineers' understanding of the Model Context Protocol (MCP), as monthly downloads of MCP's Tier 1 SDKs approach half a billion.

MCP usage has surged to nearly half a billion monthly downloads

Both the TypeScript and Python SDKs for MCP have each surpassed 1 billion total downloads. MCP tool calls from ChatGPT users reached 98 times their January level by August 2026, while email API provider Resend passed one million MCP calls in a single month.

Oracle's Ellison Cancels Stock Sale Plan, No Shares Sold

Austin, Texas – September 16, 2026 -- Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) confirmed that Executive Chair and Chief Technology Officer Larry Ellison has cancelled his 10b5-1 trading plan to sell company stock, halting a scheduled divestment before any shares changed hands.

Ellison cancels stock sale plan with zero shares sold

Oracle stated no stock was sold under the now-terminated 10b5-1 plan. The company added that Ellison currently has no other arrangements in place to sell any of his Oracle shares.

March Networks, VIVOTEK Debut Joint GSX Booth as Merger Bears Fruit

Atlanta – September 16, 2026 -- March Networks and VIVOTEK will make their first joint appearance at Global Security Exchange (GSX) 2026, five months after their April merger, showcasing new product integrations and a customer deployment with a North American apparel chain operating more than 500 stores.

Combined booth at GSX 2026 highlights new C•CURE and VORTEX integrations

At booth 1823, running September 14-16 at the Georgia World Congress Center, the merged company will demonstrate broader VIVOTEK camera support within March Networks environments, a new C•CURE integration with March Networks' Command Enterprise Software, and a link between VIVOTEK's VORTEX platform and Searchlight Cloud. Searchlight AI, offering natural-language video search, is now included for Searchlight Cloud customers at no additional license cost.

Cyble Names Ex-EY, PwC Cyber Leader Steve Ingram US EVP

Cupertino, Calif. – September 16, 2026 -- Cyble has appointed Steve Ingram as Executive Vice President, US, moving him from a two-year advisory role into an operating position as the AI-native cybersecurity company accelerates growth in the American market.

Ingram exits advisory board to run Cyble's US business operations

Ingram will lead Cyble's US business, taking responsibility for customer and partner relationships and expanding the company's footprint in what Cyble describes as one of the world's largest cybersecurity markets. He joins after two years on Cyble's Advisory Board, during which he counseled the company on portfolio expansion and global growth.

Mark43 Gathers 100+ UK Policing Leaders at Manchester DDaT Forum

Manchester – September 16, 2026 -- Mark43 convened more than 100 senior leaders from UK policing, government and the technology sector at its annual 2026 DDaT Forum in Manchester to address digital reform, legacy infrastructure and responsible AI adoption.

Forum targets interoperability gaps and legacy system modernization

Discussions at the event centered on four priorities: modernising legacy infrastructure, improving interoperability and data access, adopting AI responsibly, and scaling local innovation into national reform. Matt Polega, President, Cofounder and Managing Director of the UK at Mark43, said technology should reduce administrative burden and connect information for officers, adding that no single force should have to solve these challenges alone.

SIQA Launches AI Music Verification Registry, Sets LA Awards Show

Los Angeles – September 16, 2026 -- The Sonic Intelligence Academy Inc. (SIQA) has launched the SIQA Verified Registry, a system that lets artists verify the provenance of AI-generated tracks before release rather than face flagging after distribution.

Registry classifies tracks under three categories to fight platform confusion

The SIQA Verified Registry sorts music under the SIQA Classification Framework into three tiers: Fully AI-Generated, AI-Assisted, or Human + AI Hybrid, the latter covering techniques such as vocal cloning. The system moves beyond the generic 'AI-Generated' label now used across streaming platforms including Spotify and Deezer, where AI-made tracks have proliferated faster than the industry can track, according to reporting from Billboard and Music Business Worldwide. SIQA's stated approach is 'Verified, Not Flagged,' positioning verification as a credential artists can carry rather than a dispute they must fight.

Azure DevOps, Jira Named Champions in Info-Tech 2026 ALM Report

Arlington, Va. – September 16, 2026 -- Azure DevOps leads the 2026 Application Lifecycle & Release Management Data Quadrant with a Composite Score of 8.9, based on verified end-user feedback compiled by Info-Tech Research Group through its SoftwareReviews platform.

Four vendors earn Champion status in Info-Tech's 2026 rankings

Info-Tech named Azure DevOps, Jira, Inflectra SpiraTeam, and Rally Software as Champions in the report, which evaluates platforms supporting software planning, development, testing, and release management. Jira scored 8.8 CS and was recognized for bug tracking and issue management. Inflectra SpiraTeam scored 8.7 CS, noted for ease of implementation, while Rally Software posted 8.6 CS on the strength of its managed artifact repository capabilities.

Fenix24 Named Gartner Cool Vendor for Argos99 Recovery Platform

Chattanooga, Tenn. – September 16, 2026 -- Fenix24 has been named a Cool Vendor in the Gartner Coolest Vendor Innovations in Cyber Resilience report for its Argos99 Cyber Resilience and Recovery Intelligence Platform.

Gartner projects 30% of large enterprises will deploy dedicated cyber resilience platforms by 2029

Gartner's report, authored by Arthur Sivanathan, Wayne Hankins and Niyati Daftary and published September 7, 2026, forecasts that by 2029, 30% of large enterprises will deploy dedicated cyber resilience platforms that continuously validate recovery readiness and orchestrate business-led incident response.

Workday Names Ex-Google Cloud Marketing Chief Sarah Kennedy Ellis as CMO

Pleasanton, Calif. – September 15, 2026 -- Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY) has appointed Sarah Kennedy Ellis as chief marketing officer, effective October 5, 2026, tasking her with driving the enterprise software vendor's brand strategy for the AI era.

Kennedy Ellis arrives from Google Cloud with two decades of enterprise marketing experience

Kennedy Ellis will report directly to co-founder, CEO, and chair Aneel Bhusri and take charge of Workday's global marketing and communications organization. She joins from Google, where she led global marketing for Google Cloud and Google Workspace, contributing to what the company describes as one of enterprise technology's fastest-growing businesses.

Hagens Berman Probes IBM Over Q2 Mainframe Revenue Collapse

San Francisco – September 15, 2026 -- Shareholder rights firm Hagens Berman is investigating International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) for potential securities law violations after CEO Arvind Krishna disclosed a Q2 2026 earnings shortfall on July 14, 2026 that wiped out over $68 billion in market capitalization in a single trading day, sending IBM shares down 25%.

IBM's Z mainframe business drove a sudden reversal from prior growth guidance

On April 22, 2026, IBM reported quarterly revenue gains of 15% in Infrastructure, 28% in Hybrid Infrastructure, and 51% in IBM Z, with management projecting constant-currency revenue growth of "5-plus percent" for 2026 and a similar growth rate for the second quarter. Executives at the time called it a "tremendous start" and a "record start" for the z17 mainframe, launched in April 2025 as IBM's flagship system for large-scale AI processing.