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Even if you take DOGE's savings claims so far at face value, its moves to cancel contracts, end leases and push federal agencies to reduce head count barely dent the government's balance sheet.

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Wisconsin is on track to break spending records once again in a high court contest that's at times turned heated. But these races weren't always like this.

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When Musk took over Twitter, he launched a payroll audit to root out dead workers getting paid. Now, Musk is launching the same campaign across the federal government.

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• UK CMA was worried about Microsoft’s involvement in OpenAI
• “OpenAI does not qualify for investigation,” says Authority
• Critics worried about government pressure on CMA

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has ended its investigation into Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI and its multibillion-dollar investment into the company behind ChatGPT.

Despite Microsoft investing heavily in the AI startup and having exclusive use of some of its AI products, the CMA has now concluded the partnership has not been problematic.

The watchdog also considered how the companies’ relationship changed during the short period that CEO Sam Altman was fired, then rehired.

UK CMA deems Microsoft-OpenAI partnership healthy

The CMA said yesterday: “The CMA has decided that Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI does not qualify for investigation under the merger provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002.”

Expanding on its conclusion in a phase one summary, the CMA noted that “no relevant merger situation ha[d] been created,” therefore it did “not ha[ve] to conclude on whether the other criteria for establishing a relevant merger situation [were] met.”

The Authority initiated the probe back in December 2023 because of Microsoft’s involvement in bringing Sam Altman back to OpenAI, but despite Microsoft’s “high level of material influence” over OpenAI, it doesn’t have full control over the company.

The official decision came just one day after the merger inquiry was launched, and critics have argued that political changes and government pressure on regulators to focus on economic growth may have guided the CMA’s conclusion.

Foxglove co-executive director Rosa Curling told the BBC: “This is a bad sign that Big Tech has successfully convinced the prime minister to defang our competition regulator and let Big Tech gobble up the current generation of cutting-edge tech – just like they did the last one.”

Microsoft welcomed the outcome: “Our OpenAI partnership and its continued evolution promote competition, innovation, and responsible AI development, and we welcome the CMA's conclusion, after careful and prudent consideration of the commercial realities, to close its investigation.”

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The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) came into effect on January 17, 2025. Financial services institutions (FSIs) across the EU must now fully comply with its stringent cybersecurity and operational resilience requirements. But achieving compliance is not just about meeting regulatory expectations. DORA represents a fundamental shift in how financial institutions approach digital security, ensuring they can withstand cyber threats, operational disruptions, and third-party vulnerabilities.

For firms that have already established a compliance framework, the focus now moves to long-term resilience and continuous improvement. For those still catching up, the urgency to close security gaps has never been greater. Failing to meet DORA’s requirements carries not only financial penalties but also the risk of operational restrictions and reputational damage. In this new era of cybersecurity regulation, FSIs must go beyond basic compliance measures and embed resilience into their core strategies.

A shift in cyber resilience thinking

For years, financial institutions have relied on traditional cybersecurity approaches, primarily focused on perimeter security to keep external attackers at bay. However, recent cyber incidents have made it clear that threats do not always come from outside an organization. Many damaging breaches have originated from within digital supply chains, through third-party vulnerabilities, or from internal weaknesses. In 2023, third-party attacks led to 29% of breaches with 75% of third-party breaches targeting the software and technology supply chain. This evolving threat landscape has forced financial institutions to rethink their approach. The future of cyber resilience isn’t about building higher walls - it’s about securing every layer, inside and out.

DORA mandates a resilience-first mindset, shifting the focus from prevention alone to a more comprehensive strategy that includes rapid response and recovery. It is no longer enough to defend against cyber threats; organizations must assume that breaches and disruptions will happen and ensure they can respond swiftly and effectively. This change means cybersecurity is no longer just the responsibility of IT management. It is now a board-level priority, requiring CFOs, CIOs, and risk officers to play a direct role in overseeing governance structures, risk assessments, incident response planning, and ongoing security monitoring.

The growing role of automation in compliance

With DORA now in full effect, financial institutions are also navigating additional regulatory frameworks such as the NIS2 Directive and the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), both of which introduce further security and operational resilience requirements. The increasing complexity of compliance is prompting many organizations to turn to automation to streamline regulatory processes.

Okta’s 2024 Businesses at Work report found that data compliance tools were the fastest growing applications with 120% year-on-year growth. As firms seek to reduce the burden on their security teams while ensuring continuous adherence to evolving regulations, the rising popularity of these tools is unsurprising.

Automating security audits, compliance validation, and real-time threat detection allows financial institutions to maintain compliance efficiently while also enhancing their ability to identify and mitigate risks before they escalate into major incidents. In a landscape where regulatory expectations will only become stricter, automation is important for maintaining both security and operational efficiency.

Addressing digital supply chain risks

One of the most pressing concerns for financial institutions under DORA is the security of their digital supply chains. High-profile cyberattacks in recent years have demonstrated that vulnerabilities often originate not from within an organization's own IT infrastructure, but through weaknesses in third-party service providers, cloud platforms, and outsourced IT partners. DORA places a strong emphasis on third-party risk management, making it clear that security responsibility extends beyond a firm’s immediate network.

Ensuring supply chain resilience requires a proactive and continuous approach. FSIs must conduct regular security assessments of all external vendors, ensuring that partners adhere to the same high standards of cybersecurity and risk management. It is no longer sufficient to perform security checks only at the beginning of a partnership; ongoing monitoring and real-world scenario testing are essential to ensure that contingency plans hold up under real conditions. The ability to anticipate and respond to emerging threats within the supply chain is critical to maintaining operational stability and regulatory compliance.

Navigating post-implementation compliance challenges

While many FSIs had operational resilience frameworks in place before DORA’s enforcement date, aligning these existing efforts with the regulation’s EU-wide supervisory structure presents new challenges. Firms that have not been closely following the consultation process may struggle to adapt to these additional requirements.

At this stage, financial institutions must prioritize regular compliance evaluations to ensure that their security frameworks remain aligned with DORA’s evolving mandates. Conducting a gap analysis is critical to identifying areas where improvements are needed. Engaging with regulators, industry bodies, and technology partners can provide valuable insights into best practices and common pitfalls. Additionally, collaboration within the financial sector will be essential, as firms can learn from each other’s experiences and share strategies for maintaining long-term compliance.

The cost of non-compliance

The consequences of failing to comply with DORA are severe. Regulators now have the authority to suspend business operations, issue cease-and-desist orders, and demand access to sensitive data for compliance reviews. For critical third-party service providers, non-compliance could result in financial penalties of up to 1% of their global daily turnover for up to six months - a staggering cost that could significantly impact business operations.

Beyond regulatory penalties, the reputational damage of non-compliance may be even more devastating. The financial sector operates on trust, and any failure to meet cybersecurity standards can lead to a rapid loss of confidence from both consumers and investors. A single security lapse or compliance failure can undermine an institution’s credibility, and once trust is lost, rebuilding it can take years. FSIs must recognize that compliance is not just about avoiding fines - it is about preserving their reputation and long-term viability in an increasingly digital financial ecosystem.

The role of identity security

One of the most effective ways to strengthen cybersecurity resilience under DORA is through identity management (IAM). Research indicates that 80% of cyberattacks originate from compromised credentials, making authentication and access control a top priority for financial institutions.

A robust IAM strategy involves implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA), enforcing least-privilege access policies, and continuous monitoring for credential-based threats. The adoption of a zero-trust security model, where no user or system is automatically trusted, further enhances security by ensuring that every access request is verified before granting permissions. As cybercriminals continue to develop more sophisticated attack methods, securing user identities will remain a cornerstone of both regulatory compliance and overall cyber resilience.

An opportunity for long-term resilience

DORA has transformed the cybersecurity landscape for financial services firms. Compliance is no longer a one-time activity - it is an ongoing effort that requires constant adaptation to emerging threats and regulatory updates. Organizations that approach DORA as an opportunity to strengthen their overall cybersecurity posture will be best positioned for success.

FSIs that invest in proactive security strategies today will not only protect themselves from regulatory penalties but will also build stronger, more resilient digital ecosystems. Cyber resilience is now a business imperative, and those that take it seriously will emerge as leaders in the evolving financial landscape. Compliance in itself should not be the security strategy of any organization, but it is a rising tide that raises all ships to a better security foundation to the benefit of all.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

The four non-3D Zen 5-based AMD Ryzen processors top our leaderboard when it comes to price per core.

Data collated at the beginning of March 2025 shows that the 9900X, the 9950X, the 9700X and the 9600X are the most competitive price wise.

The Ryzen 9900X is by far, the most balanced offer of the quartet, with a low TDP per core (just 10W), a high base speed (4.4GHz) and a very reasonable price at $387.75 (or $31.56/core) at the time of writing, almost a quarter cheaper than its suggested retail price.

This is the second of several articles based on data I’ve compiled on 41 AMD Zen 4 and Zen 5 CPUs (socketed, OEM). In the rest of the series, I will be looking at the cost per core, performance per core, AMD CPUs that are getting more expensive, all this with the new Ryzen 9 9900/9950 X3D CPUs in the backdrop.

Not bad for a near-flagship CPU launched less than one year ago. The 9950X has a cost per core slightly higher, at $34.05, but is the fastest consumer CPU that AMD has to offer (until the launch of the 9950X3D).

The table of all the CPUs I have analyzed can be found at the end of this article. They have been sorted by cost per core. Some CPUs are not yet on sale at the time of writing.

A ‘value’ 192-core CPU?

At just over $10,000 from a reputable retailer (Wiredzone), the EYPC 9965 is AMD’s most expensive CPU ever launched and one that I covered extensively in a recent article.

It has 192 cores, which translates into a per-core cost of $52.26; far more than any consumer Ryzen CPUs but still a third of the cost of the most expensive AMD CPU (per core).

It delivers one of the lowest TDP per core (at just 2.6W) and the lowest TDP per GHz* (1.16W), thanks to its Zen 5c architecture, a more compact (but compatible) version of the Zen 5.

Its smaller sibling, the 96-core AMD EPYC 9655, has the largest discount I’ve seen across the 41 CPUs I’ve tracked, with a staggering 56.8% reduction from the sticker price.

It is a full Zen 5 part and as such gets a much higher TDP per core, twice the amount of cache and a faster base speed.

* Lowest TDP per GHz is calculated by taking the CPU TDP and dividng it by the number of cores x the base speed in GHz. It delivers a very rough composite efficiency metric.

The mystery of the ThreadRipper Pro 7945WX

At the other end of the spectrum, the EPYC 9175F is the most expensive AMD CPU per core costing of just under $160, that’s almost 5x that of the 9950X, which shares the same number of cores (16).

The reason why it is so expensive is that it has 32x more cache per core than an average consumer CPU (512MB) and cache is a very, very expensive commodity.

Other F-labelled EPYC CPUs trawl the bottom of my cost per core leaderboard; F stands for Fast and these CPUs are high frequency optimized parts with big cache memory.

One more thing. I’d like to draw your attention to the existence of the Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7945WX.

It is the only AMD CPU from this list that you cannot buy as it is available exclusively in workstations from Lenovo, HP and Dell.

What makes it so special for me is its high TDP per core, the highest of all the CPUs I’ve analysed.

At 6.21W, this Zen 4 part is 5.5X more power hungry than the EPYC 9965 (or 3x that of the 9900X, a similar 12-core CPU).

Maybe that’s because it has the highest base speed of any CPU in the list (jointly with the 9800X3D) and is built on an older manufacturing technology.

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Sony FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS: two-minute review

Closer is better when it comes to wildlife photography, and that’s where Sony’s super-telephoto zoom delivers in spades: with a reach of 400-800mm, it’s the longest lens of its kind in Sony’s E-mount lens lineup. Trumping the 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS by a full 200mm at the telephoto end, it sacrifices wide-angle flexibility to give you a significantly tighter shot of distant subjects.

Comparable in many respects to Canon’s RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM, Sony’s super-telephoto is a win for capturing wild and winged creatures. It's less effective in the sports arena though: a slow f/6.3-8 maximum aperture makes it harder to work at the kinds of shutter speeds needed to freeze fast-moving subjects, especially in low-light scenarios, and also limits your scope for blurring busy backgrounds.

Still, in bright conditions, the 400-800mm excels. You don’t get the absolute pin-sharp detail of a telephoto prime, but it’s still sharp both throughout the zoom range and across the frame. Effective image stabilization also helps to keep things crisp when shooting handheld, with motion blur only becoming noticeable at the long end. Chromatic aberrations are kept under tight control, too.

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Tipping the scales at the best part of 2.5kg, this is not a lightweight lens. Nor is it small by anyone’s standards, especially with the lens hood attached. Yet Sony has made it a surprisingly manageable telephoto zoom to shoot with. For starters, internal zoom keeps the weight balance relatively centered over the tripod foot, which usefully doubles up as a handle.

Then you’ve got the tactile, accessible controls. With well-judged resistance, the focus ring makes manual adjustments a joy. Similarly, the short throw and smooth action of the zoom ring mean it’s swift and easy to shift through the full spectrum of focal lengths. Add a trio of programmable focus hold buttons, and the 400-800mm becomes a super-telephoto that’s easy to handle.

It’s also a lens with superb focusing skills. This isn’t G Master glass, but you wouldn’t know it from the responsiveness of the autofocus: driven by two precision linear motors, it moves fast and very rarely misses, and only when shooting busy scenes at a serious distance will you need to consider manual fine-tuning. At the wide end of the range, it also has the versatility to focus on subjects just 1.7m away.

This isn’t a perfect lens. Professional wildlife photographers will get better fine detail from a premium telephoto prime, while serious sports coverage requires the faster maximum aperture of something like the Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS Sports. But compromise is inevitable with a lens that's designed to cover several bases, and if you want a super-telephoto zoom that gets you closer than any other Sony E-mount glass, the trade-offs here are more than palatable.

Sony FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS specs Sony FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS: Design

• Heavy but well-balanced lens
• Robust build with weather seals
• Internal zoom with smooth ring rotation

There’s no escaping the fact that the Sony FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS is a hefty lens. At the best part of 2.5kg, you’ll feel its weight when wielding it. That said, it’s not too much bigger than the 200-600mm: it's 358g heavier, 29mm longer and just 8.3mm wider. Those don’t feel like huge trade-offs for the extra reach at the long end, although you will need to invest in costly 105mm front filters.

It helps that Sony has done a good job of balancing the lens. Rather than telescoping out in front, the zoom mechanism is all packaged internally. That keeps the weight distribution fairly consistent, whether you’re shooting handheld or on a tripod. It also means that the zoom control ring only requires a light touch, which contributes to the sense that this is a manageable lens.

So does the tripod foot, which sits pretty squarely beneath the lens and body’s center of gravity. Its collar isn’t removable, but you’ll likely find the foot useful to have more often than not. The design isn’t exactly ergonomic, but the foot makes for a natural handle, both when carrying and framing. The collar can be easily rotated, with markers for landscape and vertical orientation.

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While this isn’t a pro-grade lens, it’s more than robust enough to survive a lifetime of shoots in the wild. Besides its general weightiness, everything feels well-assembled: the barrel is solid, the control rings turn smoothly, and the switches have a nice, affirmative action. Weather seals are there to keep dust and moisture out, too.

Despite its size, Sony has tried to make the 400-800mm an accessible lens. The hood, for example, attaches with a simple button release, and features a sliding window, so you can make filter adjustments without removing it. Around the barrel, three focus-hold buttons sit at 90-degree intervals, and each can be programmed with custom functions. Then you have its stack of five focus and stabilization switches. As heavyweight telephoto zoom lenses go, this is one of the most user-friendly.

Sony FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS: Performance

• Fast autofocus with two linear motors
• Relatively slow f/6.3-8 maximum aperture
• 1.7m minimum focus distance at 400mm

When it comes to focusing performance, the 400-800mm impresses. Driven by a pair of high-speed linear motors, autofocus is both rapid and reliable, with zero delay between button press and motor response. According to Sony, the telephoto zoom can handle the 120fps maximum burst speeds of the A9 III. We didn’t have Sony’s sports star to hand during testing, but our chosen body – the A1 II – is no slouch, and the 400-800mm had no trouble keeping up.

It’s not immune from the odd miss, particularly when shooting over significant distances, but two features help here. The first is the focus limiter switch, which lets you give the 400-800mm a helping hand. By switching from the full range to one of two restricted modes, based on your distance from the subject, the lens has to hunt around less to find focus.

The second is full-time direct manual focus, which allows you to manually fine-tune focus in any mode by twisting the control ring. There aren’t many occasions where you’ll need to do this, but if the autofocus is having trouble with branches, for example, you’ll find the focus ring has just the right amount of resistance to let you make careful adjustments.

Close focusing is another key selling point of the 400-800mm, with a minimum distance of 1.7m at the wide end. In practice, that lets you get the shot even when your subject is relatively close. 400mm is probably too tight to practically shoot from the sidelines of a sports event, but that distance does mean you can capture small creatures that are near the end of the lens.

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Of course, it’s the super-telephoto number that grabs the headlines – and for good reason: 800mm is a long way in. Compared to a barrel that maxes out at 600mm the extra reach gets you significantly tighter in on your subject, and whether you’re shooting a kingfisher or a kickabout the difference is dramatic.

Almost as important as the range itself is the short throw of the zoom ring, which is optimized for quick shifts in focal length, and has a wonderfully smooth action; the internal zoom mechanism helps here, because the control ring isn’t responsible for telescoping elements. The net result is that it's pretty effortless to move through the full 400-800mm range, and together with the swift autofocus it enables you to readily switch between subjects near and far.

What does hold the 400-800mm back in some scenarios is the slow f/6.3-8 maximum aperture. This isn’t an issue in good light, where the lens performs well (see the sample images below). Under darker skies, though, it can struggle to keep up with rapid action, and at the shutter speeds required to freeze movement you’ll need to crank up the ISO setting or risk underexposed stills.

As a result, this isn’t a lens for shooting sports, especially not indoors. Even in the dimmer conditions of undergrowth, it can be a challenge to capture blur-free animal motion.

That slower maximum aperture also makes the lens less effective at blurring backgrounds. It’s not a major issue with leafy scenes or distant backdrops, but it does demand more care when composing against busy settings. At f/5.6-6.3, the 200-600mm has better light-gathering abilities and enables a tighter depth of field.

Sony FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS: sample images Image 1 of 8

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Optically, there’s a lot going on inside the 400-800mm. There are 27 elements in 19 groups, six of which are extra-low dispersion, which translates into sharp stills which are pretty much free from chromatic aberrations.

At a pixel level, you’ll get finer results from a telephoto prime, but for a super-telephoto zoom, the 400-800mm exhibits decent sharpness. Detail is crisp at both the center and the edge of the frame, across the full zoom range. Again, the lens delivers its best results in good lighting, where you can work at shutter speeds fast enough to eliminate motion blur.

SteadyShot stabilization helps to keep things sharp. Sony hasn’t published the official rating of its OIS system, but with a trio of modes covering static and panning shots, as well as active subjects shot using the viewfinder, we found it pretty effective at counteracting hand shake. Blur did become noticeable at the extreme end, but panning handheld at 800mm is never going to bag you the sharpest stills.

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Chromatic aberrations are tightly controlled, with just a hint of purple fringing creeping in at super-telephoto focal lengths. Pincushion distortion is minimal, too, leaving you with very little to fix in raw images. The 11-blade aperture diaphragm also produces bokeh smooth enough to satisfy most enthusiasts.

Should you buy the Sony FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS? Buy it if...

You’re a bird or wildlife photographer

The spec sheet of the 400-800mm reads like a wish list for bird and wildlife photographers, with rapid autofocus, a long reach, and internal zoom, plus short minimum focus distances at the wide end.

You need maximum telephoto reach

Sony’s longest telephoto zoom to date gets you closer than any other E-mount zoom lens. It has an additional 200mm on Sony’s next-longest telephoto, which gets you significantly closer to the action.

You want easy zooming and focusing

Internal zoom contributes to a smooth control ring action, while a relatively short rotational range lets you move easily through focal lengths. Full-time direct manual focusing means precision adjustments are slick and quick, too.

Don't buy it if...

You’re a sports photographer

With a slow f/6.3-8 maximum aperture, the 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS struggles to keep up with action on dull days. Indoors or in low lighting, it’s simply not fast enough for sports.

You’re happy with a shorter reach

If you shoot relatively close to your subjects or simply don’t need the extra reach at the telephoto end, you’ll find better value in the Sony FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS.

You don’t want an unwieldy lens

Its zoom range might be unrivalled, but there’s no escaping the fact that the 400-800mm is a large and weighty lens. Internal zoom makes it easier to handle, but 2.5kg is still a lot to carry.

How I tested the Sony FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS

• I used the lens extensively for a week
• I paired it with the Sony A1 II
• I tested it in a range of scenarios

Sony only made the FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS available for a short loan period, so I made the most of my week with it. I was blessed with a several days of clear skies and winter sun, allowing me to test the telephoto zoom in ideal conditions.

Given the lens's wildlife credentials, animals were obviously a focus of my test shots. That said, I also made sure to assess its capabilities as a sports lens, shooting on-track action at the Goodwood motorsports circuit near my home in the UK. To be thorough, I also shot architectural details, flowers, and a handful of portraits.

Paired with a Sony A1 II, I took the FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS on several walks to get a good understanding of how easy it was to move and shoot with the lens handheld, taking into account not just its weight, but also its full complement of controls, as well as the collar.

• First reviewed March 2025

In a world where Generative AI (GenAI) is reshaping the global business landscape, mastering faster decision-making at the right time at the right pace has become a crucial competency for leaders seeking to maintain a competitive edge. GenAI is rapidly becoming an integral part in business operations, driven by its ability to streamline processes, enhance effectiveness, improve competitiveness, and lead to significant cost reductions and revenue enhancements.

According to a recent IDC report, enterprise spending on GenAI globally will grow by 30% in 2024 – $40 billion from an estimated US$16 billion in 2023. Spending is also expected to swell to more than $150 billion by 2027, with the banking, retail, and professional services industries being the top spenders. This spending is bound to increase significantly beyond the estimates in coming years.

The latest developments in the field include the broad adoption from open public models to private models to pre-trained open source AI models to untrained open source and custom models. The significant investments are in both infrastructure and AI-enhanced products and services.

Enterprises are moving beyond initial experiments with GenAI and towards aggressive infrastructure and trained data model building, aiming for a transformation that integrates GenAI at the core of digital business activities. This strategic integration is expected to provide a competitive edge and catalyze a shift towards more dynamic, efficient, and innovative business environments.

For business leaders, the challenge now lies not just in adopting these technologies but in integrating GenAI with human intuition to optimize faster and right decision-making processes. This nuanced approach ensures that businesses keep pace with technological changes and stay ahead of their competitors. Understanding and harnessing the power of GenAI is essential for any organization aiming to thrive in this transformative era.

Strategic Implications of GenAI

GenAI stands distinct with its ability to create new content, ranging from text to images, from existing data sets, a stark contrast to other AI technologies that primarily analyze or interpret data. This capability positions GenAI as a revolutionary technology in enhancing business strategy, across global tech giants. 

In marketing, for instance, GenAI enables the creation of highly personalized content that resonates with diverse customer segments, dramatically improving engagement rates. Product development also benefits from GenAI as it can suggest innovative product features or designs by analysing current market trends and consumer feedback. Moreover, in customer service, it enhances responsiveness and personalization, as seen in AI chatbots that provide real-time, context-aware solutions to customer queries. These examples illustrate significant efficiency gains and competitive advantages, marking GenAI as a transformative force across business functions. 

One significant example of strategic implication of GenAI is in the telecommunications industry where it helps to optimize network performance and management. GenAI models analyze vast amounts of data from network operations, including traffic patterns, equipment health, and historical performance metrics. These models can simulate various scenarios to predict potential network failures or degradations before they occur.

GenAI plays a crucial role by creating synthetic datasets and simulations that mirror real-world network conditions. This allows telecom operators to test and validate maintenance strategies, capacity planning, and network upgrades without disrupting actual service. By simulating different traffic loads and failure conditions, AI can recommend optimal configurations and preemptive actions, leading to reduced downtime, improved service quality, and cost savings on emergency repairs. The predictive insights generated by AI ensure that the network remains resilient and capable of handling increasing data demands.

Challenges in AI-driven Decision-Making

Integrating GenAI into business decision-making processes presents nuanced challenges, necessitating a balanced approach to utilizing AI outputs. In complex scenarios, the efficacy of GenAI hinges on the model’s training adequacy. If a model is not sufficiently trained for a specific task, human intervention becomes crucial, as human expertise can surpass undertrained AI models in navigating intricate decisions. Conversely, when models are well-trained, they can outperform humans by delivering consistent and data-driven insights at scale.

Therefore, the integration of GenAI requires astute judgment to discern when to rely on AI and when to defer to human judgment. This balance ensures that decision-making processes harness the strengths of both AI and human intelligence, leveraging AI for efficiency and precision, while capitalizing on human intuition and experience in areas where AI’s training may fall short. This nuanced approach is essential for maximizing the potential of GenAI in business contexts.

Another notable challenge associated with integrating GenAI into business decision-making processes is data privacy. GenAI systems require vast amounts of data to train and operate effectively. This reliance on large data sets raises concerns about compliance with global data protection regulations such as GDPR in Europe or CCPA in California, which mandate strict guidelines on data usage, storage, and privacy. In the telecommunications industry, GenAI could be used to analyze customer call data to improve service offerings or personalize marketing strategies.

However, this data often contains sensitive personal information. Ensuring that GenAI applications comply with data protection laws requires robust anonymization techniques and secure data handling practices. Failing to adhere to these regulations can result in substantial fines and damage to the organization's reputation, illustrating the complexity and risk associated with deploying GenAI in sectors with stringent privacy requirements. There are multiple data masking and data anonymization solutions available in the market which needs to be applied if there are PII in the data before using them for training the models.

To navigate these complexities, leaders must stay abreast of the latest developments in GenAI by engaging with ongoing education, participating in industry forums, and fostering partnerships with AI ethics boards. By doing so, they can implement GenAI's capabilities responsibly and effectively, ensuring that their strategic decisions are both innovative and ethically sound. 

Embracing the Epoch of GenAI: A Strategic Imperative 

In the vanguard of technological evolution, the strategic integration of GenAI stands as a linchpin for redefining decision-making and operational efficiency within forward-looking businesses. This leap towards GenAI adoption is not merely an enhancement but a transformative shift that sets enterprises apart in today's competitive landscape. 

To harness GenAI’s full capabilities, establishing a solid business case is crucial before implementation. This involves identifying key objectives and anticipated benefits aligned with business goals. Conducting a Proof of Concept (PoC) or pilot project helps validate GenAI’s potential, demonstrating tangible results and addressing any challenges. By doing so, businesses can ensure a strategic, well-informed adoption of GenAI, optimizing its impact and value.

In a nutshell, diving into GenAI isn't just about keeping up with the latest tech trends. It's about seizing an opportunity to redefine how your business operates, making decisions smarter and faster than ever before. The future is about those who adapt, and with GenAI, that future is bright.

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We’ve reached a point of obfuscated redundancy in the auto space. Many manufacturers pushing out new models incorporate aspects calling on Tesla’s minimalism – but that means the axing of many important things, like the instrument cluster, tactile buttons and dials, and a focus on customization in the infotainment system, with this trend more noticeable in the EV space. Among the axing of supposed non-essentials is the humble full-size spare tyre – which is why it’s cause for celebration whenever it returns.

The Chery Omoda E5, sold in the UK as simply the Omoda E5 and originating from China, is the car we’re celebrating today. I was diplomatic in my initial impressions article on the E5, noting that it’s likely a better fit for value-savvy Aussies than Britons, who have a greater variety at the car’s price point. It lacks a competitive angle on driving comfort, boot capacity, and DC recharge time, though its price to range ratio is considerable and the features offered in the slightly more expensive trim are notable.

Across both trims in Australia and the UK, there is one standout feature – the full-sized spare tyre. There’s also the expected internal space for it to be stored under the boot mat in the back.

A spare tyre is a rarity among new cars, especially for EVs. It’s a feature only typically found in cars built for off-roading lifestyles, such as heavy-duty SUVs and utes, but you’ll find exceptions here and there, like the 2022 Subaru BRZ.

But it should be a greater consideration for drivers and manufacturers alike. Roadside assistance, though often reliable, especially for drivers who may not be comfortable repairing a spare on the roadside, can often be time consuming when your car is capable of carrying a spare. So let’s talk about why it’s great that the Omoda E5 has included it.

Spare a spare?

(Image credit: Behold! The spare tyre found in the Chery Omoda E5. Zachariah Kelly / TechRadar)

The spare tyre is an inclusion that has largely been lost over time, with the argument often going that the space is better used to improve volume capacity, that it adds room for a larger battery or fuel tank, or that it adds unnecessary weight. Of the more than 30 EVs I’ve reviewed, only two have featured a full-sized spare tyre – the Omoda E5 and the 2024 Hyundai Kona EV (though there are a handful of other EVs offering spares).

I’m not going to fly in the face of removing redundancy, but a spare tyre is the furthest thing from it. This is the kind of thing where the term ‘have it and not need it, rather than need it and not need it’ applies.

The most common argument against the provisioned spare tyre is that it’s unnecessary. In many cases, a space–saver tyre is enough to get the job done, or a puncture repair kit would suffice.

A puncture repair kit will only work for holes smaller than 3mm (per Drive, who interviewed a former roadside assistance mechanic on the topic), and even then, the tyre may have been further damaged by driving at low pressure. Meanwhile, a space saver limits your speed to 80km/h (49mph) and can only be used for a short distance. These are solutions that could work in the city, but are unideal if you live far out from town.

Within reason, tyres can be repaired for general road use after a tread puncture, but a puncture to the tyre wall is often unlikely to be repairable. A full-size spare tyre gives the owner greater agency over their car. As it’s specced in-line with the rest of the car’s tyres, it can be fitted and used ongoing as if things were normal – though it would be best to replace (or repair the spare) at your earliest convenience.

But obviously roadside assistance can be preferred. People who are less nimble might not want to bend their back to get the wheel out of the back of the car, or might not want to kneel down to replace the tyre if it’s too heavy.

Getting by sparingly

(Image credit: Zachariah Kelly / TechRadar)

It’s hard to think of a spare tyre as anything less than necessary in rural and regional areas. You can get by in cities where a puncture repair kit or space-saver could be relied on for a short distance, but places like regional New South Wales in Australia may not have a tyre shop or mechanic for a great distance.

And to give yourself peace of mind on the road, especially if you live far out of town or are roadtripping, it’s probably not a bad idea to pick up a compatible full-size spare tyre, to save yourself from calling up roadside assistance.

You might also like…

• Chery's Omoda E5 is a brilliant EV in Australia, but a poor purchase in the UK
• I've driven Hyundai's enormous Ioniq 9 – and it's the most luxurious EV the brand has ever made
• Road trips ahoy! Volvo says its upcoming ES90 will offer up to 435 miles of range

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