Channel Beat: Cisco Cuts 8 Percent Of Workforce

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In this week's top stories, Cisco will cut 6,000 jobs in the upcoming financial year, roughly 8 percent of its workforce. The networking giant did not say which parts of its business will be impacted by the layoffs, but it did say the company will refocus on cloud, software and security. The layoffs come after several rocky financial quarters for Cisco, while the company tries to shift to SDN technology. Cisco's fourth-quarter results beat analyst estimates despite the news.

HP continues to fire shots at IBM, urging customers to jump ship on IBM partnerships and move over to HP.The New York Times printed a full-page advertisement this week in which HP called out the uncertainty around IBM's x86 server sale to Lenovo. HP promoted 48 of its top Platinum partners in the ad, which is an unusual move for vendors in a national campaign.

Apple is preparing to launch a new line of iPads this fall, and has reportedly already begun mass production of the gadgets. Apple will launch a 9.7-inch iPad in the fall, before launching a 7.9-inch iPad mini by the year's end. The new iPads arrive after two consecutive quarters of slumping Apple numbers, including the first drop in iPad sales in the product's history. The new iPads will reportedly have a less glossy display, and partners are hoping for touch ID security. Apple will host a media event on Sept. 9th.

PUBLISHED AUG. 15, 2014