Cloud computing, Log4j flaw, IT spending, and more: Tech research roundup

Let's start with our special feature on managing the multicloud. Analyst Gartner estimates that over 85% of organisations will embrace the cloud-first principle by 2025, with over 95% of new workloads being deployed on cloud-native platforms (up from 30% in 2021).

SEE: Cloud computing is evolving: Here's where it's going next

One of the big news stories of the month was the Log4j flaw. Cybersecurity company Sonatype tracked the number of total Log4j downloads since the vulnerability was discovered on Dec. 10, also noting the number of vulnerable versions of Log4j being downloaded in the last hour.

SEE: Log4j flaw: Attackers are 'actively scanning networks' warns new CISA guidance

On December 18, Google released a security report where Open Source Insights Team members James Wetter and Nicky Ringland said they found that 35,863 of the available Java artifacts from the Maven Central repository depend on the affected Log4j code. The two researchers noted that it will be difficult to address the issue because of how deep Log4j is embedded in some products. 

SEE: Apache releases new 2.17.0 patch for Log4j to solve denial of service vulnerability

Meanwhile, international security company ESET released a map showing where Log4j exploitation attempts had been made, with the highest volume occurring in the US, the UK, Turkey, Germany, and the Netherlands.

SEE: Second Log4j vulnerability discovered, patch already released

Multiple ad blockers topped Firefox's list of the most popular and innovative add-on browser extensions of 2021. Adblock Plus averaged 6,134,231 daily users while uBlock Origin averaged 5,011,974 throughout 2021. Firefox data shows that of the 133 million visits to addons.mozilla.org in 2021, most came from people based in China and the US.

SEE: Firefox: Ad blockers are 2021's most popular browser extensions

According to Gartner, IT spending in MENA will continue to grow this year, but at a marginally slower rate than in 2021. Nevertheless, with $170 billion forecast to be spent on IT in 2022, spending will still exceed pre-pandemic levels, led by investments in IT services and expenditure on software.

SEE: Tech in 2022: The biggest trends shaping the digital future of the Middle East

Snowflake reported better-than-expected third quarter results as sales surged 110% from a year ago. The cloud data company reported third quarter revenue of $334.4 million, up 110% from a year ago, with a net loss of $154.86 million, or 51 cents a share.

SEE: Snowflake's industry focus paying off with strong Q4

Finally, technology titan Hewlett Packard Enterprise reported Q4 revenue for the fiscal year ending in October that was in line with Wall Street's expectations. Profit per share came in higher than expected, but it offered an outlook for profit below what analysts had been modeling. 

SEE: Hewlett Packard Enterprise FYQ4 EPS tops expectations on jump in storage sales