Off to Africa and ahead in the cloud…
3rd September 2021 |
Data is on the move.
Data migration – the movement of data from one storage location to another – has increased over the last 18 months or so, thanks in part to the Covid-19 pandemic.
With greater numbers of employees working from home, and offices becoming inaccessible, more data than ever before is being transferred away from on-premise work locations.
And with the pandemic bringing a sharp rise in the number of cyber-attacks, it is essential that this movement of data is completed in a secure way, without leaving a trace behind.
Cybersecurity, or rather the lack of it, has become a huge issue.
According to a report by security company PurpleSec, cybercrime has increased by 600% since the start of the pandemic.
WANdisco plc (LSE: WAND), one of the stocks in the Frontier Tech Investor portfolio, guarantees safety and security in its data migration software.
On 31 August 2021, the company revealed that it has won a contract with Sanlam, a leading South African-based financial services group.
In the contract, Sanlam will be migrating hundreds of terabytes (TB) of critical data to a new environment.
According to Dropbox, 1 TB of storage equates to the storage capacity of roughly eight iPhones. One terabyte is equivalent to 1000 gigabytes (GBs).
Specifically, WANdisco will use its LiveData Migrator tool to migrate Sanlam’s Hadoop data from Cloudera CDP on-premises to another CDP on-premises location.
Hadoop is a software programme that stores large data sets, whilst Cloudera CDP is an enterprise data storage cloud.
In this instance, a combination of cloud and on-premise solutions will be used by Sanlam.
Cloud data is hosted on the vendor’s server, whereas on-premise data is stored locally on the company’s server.
WANdisco’s migrator will ensure data is replicated exactly to ensure integrity between the two environments is maintained.
Data migration is a complicated procedure, which has to be done correctly. Failure to do so could lead to data becoming inaccurate, or the security of the data becoming compromised.
Jacques Joubert, Big Data Platform Owner at Sanlam, noted:
“We were impressed with WANdisco’s unique capabilities for real-time replication without disrupting our production environments…
“WANdisco and its partners provided Sanlam with great support during the product evaluation. They addressed our questions and concerns in an efficient and professional manner, and delivered results within the timeline they promised. We look forward to building a productive and ongoing relationship with WANdisco.”
This deal highlights the credibility of WANdisco’s data migration tool.
To earn custom from a very substantial multinational corporation that possesses significant, critical financial data, such as Sanlam, is a coup for WANdisco.
Judging by Joubert’s comments, WANdisco is clearly having success in making complex data migration processes as smooth and seamless as possible.
With the global data migration market expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 18.37% from 2020 to 2025, we believe WANdisco will do well from its efficient data migration tool.
We reiterate our BUY recommendation on the stock. You can find the original recommendation here.
Buy list update
Frontier Developments (LSE: FDEV)
It has been a while since we last gave you an update regarding Frontier Developments.
In truth, the last three months or so have been a quiet period for the gaming developer and publisher.
Nevertheless, it has still managed to churn out a healthy 65% gain for our Frontier Tech Investor portfolio so far.
Its latest news release is one that caught our eye.
On 25 August 2021, the company announced that its very own Jurassic World Evolution 2 game will be launching across a series of games consoles, including PlayStation 5, Xbox Series XIS, and PC.
The game will be launching on 9 November 2021.
The gameplay will provide a surreal, yet engaging experience for gamers.
For example, gamers will be able to create their very own Jurassic World dinosaur park, using up to 75 different species of dinosaur.
The Jurassic World film sequels have been a hit across the world.
When released in 2015, the Jurassic World film earned the highest-grossing global opening ever (at the time), bringing in $524.1 million globally.
Its popularity is shared in the gaming world too.
Jurassic World Revolution, made by Frontier, became the bestselling game on gaming website Steam in 2018.
With Frontier pioneering the release of the Jurassic World games, we think it is capturing the entirety of an exciting, yet popular area of the gaming market.
Although the gain at the time of writing already sits at 65%, we are expecting further upside to the share price following the release of the new game, which we believe the market hasn’t fully priced in yet.
We reiterate our HOLD recommendation on the stock. You can find the original recommendation here.
Velocys (LSE: VLS)
Velocys is a producer of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).
On 25 June 2021, we reported that Velocys had helped power the first ever commercial flight using SAF in Japan.
And now, its influence in the country has grown further.
On 31 August 2021, the company revealed that it will be deploying its biomass gasification technology at a commercial scale biofuel refinery in Japan.
Specifically, Velocys’ Fischer-Tropsch technology will be used to convert woody biomass into SAF.
Velocys has a commercial partnership with Japanese engineering company Toyo Engineering Corporation, which explains its exploits in the country.
The latest project is part of the “Biojet Fuel Production Technology Development Project” being overseen by the Japanese government.
Henrik Wareborn, CEO of Velocys, noted:
“This step towards a commercial-scale biorefinery in Japan shows the increasing momentum of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel market… Velocys is well positioned to deliver its proprietary FT technology to biorefinery projects that convert a range of renewable feedstocks into the low carbon, sustainable fuel that airlines need to meet their carbon reduction goals, without having to make any adjustment to engines or fueling systems.”
Velocys is leading the transition towards a greener aviation industry.
Aviation industries around the world are facing more stringent carbon emissions targets, as the world looks to tackle climate change.
For example, the UK aviation industry has pledged to cut its net carbon emissions to zero by 2050.
This has created opportunities for Velocys to commercialise its SAF, as the industry seeks to reach such targets.
With Velocys still at an early stage in scaling up its SAF production, the upside potential of the company looks huge.
We reiterate our BUY recommendation on the stock. You can find the original recommendation here.
The Frontier Tech Investor “Top Three”
Sometimes it’s hard to decide on which stocks to invest in from our buy list.
Below is our Frontier Tech Investor “Top Three” section showing three stocks in open BUY positions. If you’re trying to figure out what to invest in next, these are three that we think are a great place to start.
This doesn’t mean our other stocks are no good: this is just a tool to help you spot the next Frontier Tech Investor stock that could be worthy of your consideration.
Mode Global Holdings (LSE: MODE) – Mode looks to revolutionise the way in which payments are being conducted. Its platform provides a seamless way to manage, and spend assets from both monetary systems: the old, fiat currency system, and the new, crypto and digital assets system. The platform has unique features, such as the potential for you to earn interest on your bitcoin holdings. We see the popularity of Mode rising in line with the wider adoption of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment. You can find the original recommendation here.
Equals Group (LSE: EQLS) – Equals is a one-of-a-kind international payment ecosystem that removes the barriers to cross-border payments. It provides a number of consumer and business-facing products that allows payments to be settled efficiently, in a variety of currencies. Whilst the platform is built upon the principles of the old, fiat currency system, it has shown its desire to integrate into the new (crypto) money system by introducing crypto liquidity to its payment services. Collectively, this makes it an unusual payment platform that provides the best of both money systems. You can find the original recommendation here.
Surface Transforms (LSE: SCE) – this is car braking technology like you have never seen before. The carbon ceramic brake discs from Surface Transforms are notable for their efficiency, providing up to 70% in weight savings. Surface Transforms is the UK’s only manufacturer of carbon ceramic brake discs for automotive use, meaning it has something of a niche market all to itself. The durability and smoothness of the brakes enhances the driving experience for all. It currently has a buy limit of 68GBp. Make sure you stick to the latest advice and check the current price before investing. You can find the original recommendation here.
Sam Volkering
Editor, Frontier Tech Investor
Elliott Playle
Junior Analyst, Frontier Tech Investor
