NBN Co deputy chair Diane Smith-Gander has resigned from the company to take up the role of chairman at Transfield Services, an NBN contractor. [ + ]

Microsoft and Google will move ahead with litigation against the US government, in order to gain permission to disclose greater detail about the customer information they are compelled to reveal to US agencies under the US's Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). [ + ]

A data centre can't function without experiencing some downtime. The art lies in controlling this downtime, planning it effectively into the data centre schedule. [ + ]

Australian tech sector remuneration grew 3.2% from June 2012 to June 2013, ahead of public sector wage increases. But this still represents a slowdown from a year earlier. [ + ]

Telstra still has a commanding lead in the business fixed internet market, but its rivals are making inroads in segments such as the professional services sector. [ + ]

Australian paid search advertising dollars are increasingly shifting to mobile, with the segment predicted to generate $430m in 2013. [ + ]

It's commonly said in IT that security is the antithesis of innovation. Innovation creates disruption, and disruption introduces vulnerability. But is that really the case? [ + ]

Facebook granted Australian authorities access to data on at least 384 of the social network's users in the first half of 2013. [ + ]

A new report from NSW's ICAC details five steps to help organisations avoid the corruption that can come when dealing with external IT contractors. [ + ]

Hybrid deployments represent the most efficient way to make use of cloud resources, according to University of Sydney researchers. [ + ]

User virtualisation solutions enable a level of mobility that wasn’t available to employees before. This, along with the ability to allow IT managers to centrally manage and set up any desktop regardless of device, platform or location, means IT teams also see huge resource benefits. [ + ]

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced last Friday that he will retire within the next 12 months. He will remain as chief executive until a successor is chosen. [ + ]

Big data is rapidly emerging as an important resource for enhancing customer relationships. Teamed with predictive analytics tools, it can be used to improve loyalty, increase sales opportunities and boost the bottom line. [ + ]

Startup Spring 2013 will be a three-week festival designed to promote local tech start-ups and encourage more Australians to become technology entrepreneurs. [ + ]

Users of now-defunct Kogan Mobile have turned to the internet to vent their frustrations, with some emailing sites like Technology Decisions with their comments and others trading barbs in forums over who is ultimately to blame for the carrier's downfall. [ + ]