Tag: resilience

Innovative Mica Insulation Solutions | Axim Mica

In a world powered by technology and precision, the importance of reliable insulation materials cannot be overstated. Axim Mica stands as North America’s only ISO 9001:2015-certified manufacturer and supplier of mica-based insulation products recognized for its innovation, quality, and customer-first approach. For over a decade, the company has led the industry with solutions that empower high-performance applications across some of the most demanding sectors in the world.

Axim Mica’s mica insulation materials are engineered to meet the needs of industries where reliability, safety, and efficiency are non-negotiable. From advanced aerospace systems to cutting-edge electric vehicles, Axim’s expertise ensures optimal performance where it matters most.

The Legacy of Innovation and Quality

Axim Mica’s journey is defined by its dedication to excellence. For 12 years, the company has been continuously certified under ISO 9001:2015 a distinction that reflects its consistent commitment to world-class manufacturing standards. This certification isn’t just a label; it represents the company’s promise of quality, reliability, and accountability in every product it delivers.

The company’s approach goes beyond merely supplying mica insulation; it redefines how these materials are designed, produced, and integrated. By combining traditional craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology, Axim Mica ensures every product delivers superior thermal and electrical insulation performance, even under the harshest conditions.

Every partnership begins with a simple goal: understanding the customer’s specific challenges and engineering insulation solutions that deliver lasting value.

Elevating Performance in Aerospace Applications

The aerospace industry demands materials that can withstand extreme environments, intense heat, vibration, and stress. Mica insulation plays a critical role in ensuring aircraft systems operate safely and efficiently under these conditions. Axim Mica’s precision-engineered materials provide exceptional dielectric strength and thermal resistance, making them a trusted choice for aerospace components.

From turbine insulation to engine wiring protection, the company’s mica-based products ensure aircraft reliability at every altitude. More importantly, Axim’s technical expertise allows it to customize solutions for aerospace manufacturers who require precision and performance without compromise.

Innovation isn’t just about creating new products, it’s about anticipating the evolving needs of industries like aerospace and delivering insulation solutions that meet tomorrow’s challenges today.

Driving Efficiency in the Automotive Industry

The global shift toward sustainability has transformed the automotive industry, making high-performance insulation more important than ever. As vehicles become more electrified and intelligent, the demand for efficient thermal and electrical management systems continues to grow.

Axim Mica’s materials are designed to meet these modern automotive challenges head-on. Whether used in braking systems, electrical insulation, or heat shielding, mica provides exceptional resistance to temperature and voltage fluctuations. The result is enhanced vehicle safety, improved component lifespan, and greater energy efficiency.

The company’s ability to collaborate directly with automotive engineers ensures that its mica insulation products integrate seamlessly into new designs, supporting innovation across conventional and emerging vehicle technologies.

Powering the Electric Vehicle Revolution

Few industries are evolving as rapidly as the electric vehicle (EV) sector, where innovation meets environmental responsibility. Axim Mica is playing a vital role in supporting this revolution by supplying mica-based insulation solutions that enhance the safety and reliability of EV batteries, motors, and power systems.

Mica’s natural properties make it ideal for thermal and electrical insulation in EV components, protecting them from overheating and electrical failure. Axim’s advanced mica laminates and sheets are engineered to handle the high voltages and temperatures typical of EV powertrains ensuring stable performance and safety for drivers and manufacturers alike.

As global demand for electric mobility grows, Axim continues to innovate in this space, helping manufacturers build the next generation of sustainable vehicles.

Supporting the Foundry and Steel Industries

In heavy industrial sectors like foundry and steel, insulation must withstand some of the most extreme conditions imaginable. High heat, constant exposure to molten metals, and demanding mechanical processes require materials that offer unparalleled thermal endurance and structural integrity.

Axim Mica’s insulation products are trusted in foundries and steel plants worldwide for their durability and resilience. From furnace linings to heat shields and electrical insulation components, these mica-based materials help optimize energy efficiency and equipment longevity.

What sets Axim apart is its hands-on approach to problem-solving. The company doesn’t just deliver products it partners with engineers and operators to provide tailored insulation solutions that improve safety, minimize downtime, and reduce operational costs.

A Team Driven by Expertise and Integrity

Behind Axim Mica’s global success is a team of dedicated professionals engineers, materials specialists, and technical experts who bring decades of industry knowledge to every project. Many team members have worked directly in the industries Axim serves, giving them unique insight into the real-world challenges their clients face.

This insider expertise allows the company to provide practical, results-driven recommendations that go beyond generic solutions. Whether it’s optimizing a production process or improving insulation efficiency, Axim’s team approaches every task with precision and a deep understanding of the client’s needs.

It’s this personalized, collaborative philosophy that has made Axim Mica a trusted partner to manufacturers and engineers worldwide.

Innovation That Moves Industries Forward

At its core, Axim Mica is more than a materials manufacturer, it’s an innovation partner. The company invests continually in research and development to stay ahead of evolving industry standards and customer expectations. This commitment ensures that its mica insulation products not only meet current demands but also anticipate future applications across emerging technologies.

From aerospace breakthroughs to advancements in electric mobility and heavy industry, Axim’s insulation solutions are helping shape the future of engineering performance.
Please find relevant business stories here. 

A Trusted Partner for the Future

In an era where technology, efficiency, and sustainability intersect, Axim Mica remains a benchmark for quality and innovation. Its customer-driven approach, combined with a relentless pursuit of excellence, continues to set new standards for mica-based insulation manufacturing.

Choosing Axim Mica means choosing a partner that values precision, integrity, and long-term success. As industries continue to evolve, the company’s focus remains clear: to provide insulation solutions that empower innovation, enhance performance, and move the world forward one layer of mica at a time.

HP Report Unveils Critical Gaps in Printer Platform Security

HP Wolf Security has released a new report – Securing the Print Estate: A Proactive Lifecycle Approach to Cyber Resilience – highlighting the challenges of securing printer hardware and firmware (platform security), and the implications of these failures across every stage of the printer’s lifecycle. Based on a global study of 800+ IT and security decision-makers (ITSDMs), the findings show that platform security is being overlooked, leaving concerning security gaps.

Exploring four lifecycle stages, the report reveals that during the Ongoing Management stage, just 28% of UK ITSDMs apply firmware updates promptly. This is despite IT teams spending 4 hours per printer per month managing hardware and firmware security issues. Failure to promptly apply firmware updates to printers unnecessarily exposes organisations to threats that could lead to damaging impacts, such as cybercriminals exfiltrating critical data or hijacking devices.

Further security gaps revealed across the other stages of the printer’s lifecycle include:

Supplier Selection & Onboarding stage: 

  • Lack of procurement collaboration: Only 34% of UK ITSDMs say procurement, IT, and security collaborate to define printer security standards – with 63% warning that this lack of collaboration puts their organisation at risk.
  • RFPs going unchecked: 47% of UK ITSDMs fail to involve IT/security teams in vendor presentations; 57% fail to request technical documentation to validate security claims; and 58% fail to submit vendor responses to security teams for review.
  • Inability to verify the printer’s integrity: Once the printer arrives 51% of ITSDMs cannot confirm if the printer has been tampered with in the factory or in transit.

Remediation stage:

  • Inability to detect and remediate threats:  Many organisations are struggling to keep on top of patching devices. Only 31% of UK ITSDMs globally are able to identify vulnerable printers based on newly published hardware or firmware vulnerabilities, not to mention zero-day threats that are unknown to the vendor or the public.  Only 35% can track unauthorised hardware changes made by users or support teams, and only 30% of ITSDMs can detect security events linked to hardware-level attacks.
  • Not just cyber – print risks are physical too: 66% of UK ITSDMs are increasingly worried about offline threats, such as employees printing and mishandling sensitive company information.

Decommissioning and Second Life stage

  • End of life risk: 88% of UK ITSDMs say data security is a barrier to printer reuse, resale or recycling – a big problem, given that on average ITSDMs report having approximately 103 printers that are redundant or are in the process of being decommissioned within their organisations.
  • Lack of confidence: ITSDMs lack confidence in current sanitisation solutions, with 37% saying they are uncertain whether printers can be fully and safely wiped. Meanwhile, more than 1-in-4 (28%) believe it’s necessary to physically destroy printer storage drives, and nearly 1-in-10 (9%) insist on destroying both the device and its storage drives to ensure data security.

“Printers are no longer just harmless office fixtures – they’re smart, connected devices storing sensitive data,” warns Steve Inch, Global Senior Print Security Strategist at HP Inc. “With multi-year refresh cycles, unsecured printers create long-term vulnerabilities. If compromised, attackers can harvest confidential information for extortion or sale. The wrong choice can leave organisations blind to firmware attacks, tampering or intrusions, effectively laying out the welcome mat for attackers to access the wider network.”

The report offers recommendations on how to address these security challenges across the printer’s lifecycle, including:

  • Ensure IT, security and procurement teams collaborate effectively to define security and resilience requirements for new printers.
  • Require and leverage manufacturer provider security certificates for products and / or for supply chain processes.
  • Apply firmware updates promptly to minimise exposure to security threats.
  • Leverage security tools to streamline printer policy-based configuration compliance.
  • Deploy printers that can continuously monitor for zero-day threats and malware with the ability to prevent, detect, isolate and recover from low-level attacks.
  • Select printers with built-in secure erasure of hardware, firmware and stored device data to enable safe second life and recycling.

“By considering security at each stage of a printer’s lifecycle, organisations will not only improve the security and resilience of their endpoint infrastructure, but also benefit from better reliability, performance, and cost-efficiency over the lifetime of their fleets,” comments Boris Balacheff, Chief Technologist for Security Research and Innovation at HP Inc.

For further insights and recommendations, download the full report “Securing the Print Estate: A Proactive Lifecycle Approach to Cyber Resilience” here.

6 surprising things you can learn from playing games

When you hear the word “games”, you probably think of fun, excitement, or maybe even a waste of time (if you’re not a fan). But beneath the surface of all the thrilling gameplay and fantastic graphics, games can actually be incredible tools for learning. And it’s not just about educational games where you match words with pictures or solve puzzles to unlock math equations. Nope, even the most unexpected games can teach you valuable life skills that sneak up on you while you’re busy leveling up.

1. Protecting your privacy 

Whether you’re playing on your console, phone, or PC, many games require you to share personal information, which can sometimes put your privacy at risk. Games often collect data about your habits, location, and even your spending preferences, and not all companies handle this data with the same level of care. 

For instance, if you love playing casino games, you might choose one of the no verification casinos where you can play anonymously. The thing about these casinos is that they don’t have KYC regulations, so you don’t have to register with your personal data in order to play your favorite games. You can still enjoy gaming, but without unnecessary exposure of your private data, such as financial or ID. 

When you learn to value your privacy through gaming, you can also become more aware of the importance of safeguarding your data in everyday digital interaction.

2. Problem-solving skills

Games throw all kinds of problems at you. You could be outsmarting a monster in an RPG, solving tricky puzzles in a mystery game, or finding the best strategy to conquer your enemies in a battle royale. The beauty of it is that these problems often require creative solutions, quick thinking, and adaptability–and all these skills transfer beautifully to the real world.

Let’s be honest: Life doesn’t always go according to plan, and neither do video games. When things go south in the game, you have to think on your feet. Maybe you’ve run out of healing potions, your weapons are on the verge of breaking, and you’re trapped in a corner. What do you do? You adapt. The ability to improvise can help you navigate everyday challenges in a much smoother, more strategic way. Plus, the satisfaction of figuring out a solution to an in-game problem? Priceless! 

3. Teamwork and communication 

If you’ve ever played a multiplayer game, you already know how important teamwork and communication can be. For instance, games like League of Legends, Fortnite, or even Among Us can show you that if you’re not talking with your teammates, you’re probably not winning. Yeah, it’s not just about shouting “Watch out!” or “Get over here!” It’s about listening, strategizing, and cooperating. 

This is the best way to figure out how to best complement your team’s strengths and weaknesses. Are you the fast problem-solver, or the one who can read the game and anticipate what’s coming next? 

Once you learn to communicate your ideas effectively and make quick decisions as a group, you’ll have an invaluable skill applicable in any part of your life–from the workplace to your personal relationships.

4. Resilience and perseverance 

Have you ever rage-quit a game after losing for the tenth time, only to come back and try again the next day? That’s resilience. Games teach you to keep going, even when things get tough. You’ve probably noticed that failure is a huge part of gaming. You could be dying in a dungeon or missing a crucial jump–it happens to everyone. But you can also learn through these mistakes and push through them. 

The cycle of failing, learning, and trying again fosters perseverance. It’s no secret that people who persevere are more likely to succeed, whether it’s in their careers, personal goals, or just getting through tough times. 

5. Multitasking and time management 

Think playing games is just about mashing buttons and zoning out? Think again! Many games, especially real-time strategy or resource management games, demand you juggle multiple tasks at once. You could be managing a base, gathering resources, and fending off enemies–all within a short amount of time. This could be a serious workout for your brain.

Playing these kinds of games can teach you how to prioritize tasks, balance multiple objectives, and make quick decisions–skills that come in handy for any fast-paced job or even just managing a busy schedule.

6. Cultural awareness and historical knowledge 

Games set in different time periods or in various fictional worlds can really teach you about cultures, history, and geography. For example, the Assassin’s Creed series leads you through historical events and periods, from Ancient Egypt to Renaissance Italy. While the games take creative liberties, they still introduce you to important historical figures, events, and locations.

Even games like Civilization or Age of Empires can give you insights into how different societies evolve, expand, and interact with one another. Sure, you won’t become a history professor by playing these games, but they can definitely broaden your horizons and make history a lot more engaging than it was in school. 

Dell Technologies Storage Software Innovations Bolster Cyber Resilience and Advance IT Efficiency

Dell Technologies (NYSE: DELL) advances software-driven innovation across its industry-leading storage portfolio, driving increased cyber resiliency, energy efficiency and automation to power customers’ multicloud journeys.

Dell’s commitment to software development has resulted in more than 2,000 storage portfolio advancements in the past twelve months across every category of the external storage industry. These advances are available at no additional cost to existing customers and are consumable through on-premises software or as-a-Service via Dell APEX.

“As data continues to pile up, and skilled IT talent often difficult to find, companies are finding themselves in a position to do more with less,” said Jeff Boudreau, president and general manager, Infrastructure Solutions Group, Dell Technologies. “We’re helping customers rise to this challenge by enabling them to make the most of their IT investments with storage software innovation that is more energy efficient, boosts productivity and strengthens cyber resiliency.”

Built to meet the most stringent security requirements across any industry

PowerStore, Dell’s intelligent all-flash data storage array, is delivering increased security to help today’s leading businesses adopt a Zero Trust model — a security architecture that provides continuous verification of users and resources to ensure the authorization of only known entities and actions.

Through PowerStore’s new security software enhancements, Dell is helping customers accelerate Zero Trust adoption to better protect, prevent and respond to cyberattacks. New advancements include:

  • STIG-hardening – Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs) meet the most stringent configuration standards as defined by the U.S. federal government and the U.S. Department of Defense.  STIG hardening adds to PowerStore’s adherence with the NIST Cyber Security Framework standard, which is required for U.S. federal networks and other government entities worldwide.
  • Secure and immutable snapshots – Prevents unauthorized deleting or modifying of snapshots before their expiration date.
  • Streamlined file permissions – Allows storage administrators to manage access directly from PowerStore to respond quickly to security threats.
  • Increased file resiliency – Up to 4x more mounted snapshots per system, giving users more protection points for granular recovery if needed.
  • Multi-factor authentication – Protects administrative access to PowerStore by requiring increased verification of a user’s identity.

 Dell helps customers drive increased productivity while keeping costs down

New PowerStore software automation and multicloud advancements help customers make the most of their existing IT investments while keeping operational and energy costs down. These new PowerStore features include:

  • Dell PowerProtect native integration – Organizations now have increased simplicity and choice driving their multicloud data protection strategies with convenient backup to the cloud capability through PowerStore’s deeper integration into Dell’s physical and software-defined data protection solutions. Backups can be configured in less than two minutes, directly from the PowerStore user interface, allowing customers to easily take advantage of PowerProtect appliances with up to 65:1 data reduction, DD Boost technology and other capabilities. The solution can enable cost-effective cloud archiving, reducing on-premises capacity requirements which can help reduce power and cooling costs.

  • DevOps workflow enhancements – New integrations with Ansible and Terraform and new application mobility capabilities with Dell Container Storage Modules help PowerStore customers accelerate innovation with flexible storage automation. By supporting these open source solutions, PowerStore gives DevOps workers easy-to-use storage automation tools and the ability to build repeatable, automated processes across diverse environments to provision storage without low-level coding or help desk support.

PowerStore delivers up to 60% more IOPS (input/output operations per second) per watt, now available with ENERGY STAR certified configurations, providing dramatic increases in both density and performance per watt as the most energy efficient PowerStore system to date. With this advancement, Dell is addressing the increased need for energy efficiency and sustainability, one of the most important criteria for IT buying decisions according to a recent IDC survey.

“With Dell PowerStore’s compression technology, we reduced our old storage area network from as much as 20 systems, down to two—a 90% reduction in our footprint,” said Nathan Young, IT director, Maricopa County Recorder’s Office. “As a result, PowerStore has improved our energy efficiency while allowing us to innovate to meet changing demands from constituents and the increased expectations of our staff.”

Dell ramps up software-driven storage innovation

In addition to PowerStore, new software innovations address a wide range of advancements across the Dell Storage portfolio:

  • Dell PowerMax, the world’s most secure, mission-critical storage, strengthens cybersecurity by enabling an operational airgap to allow customers to expedite recovery of compromised production data following a cyberattack.
  • Dell PowerFlex, Dell’s software-defined infrastructure, speeds modernization with enhanced NVMe/TCP and security.​
  • Dell ObjectScale, Dell’s software-defined object-storage platform, introduces faster enterprise S3 object storage performance with a simpler deployment and support experience.
  • Dell CloudIQ, Dell’s AIOps software, extends its AI/ML-driven performance and capacity analytics and VMware integration to simplify and accelerate IT and DevOps.
  • Dell Unity XT, Dell’s flexible hybrid storage platform, increases Ansible support to enhance storage automation, helping customers lower costs, reduce errors and increase productivity.

Availability

  • Dell PowerStore and ObjectScale advancements will be globally available in June 2023.
  • Dell PowerMax, CloudIQ and Unity XT capabilities are globally available today.
  • Dell PowerFlex advancements will be globally available in the third quarter of 2023.