Though a recent tech-jobs report featured some month-to-month declines, a conversation with one of its contributors revealed some reasons to be optimistic.

Trade association CompTIA’s most recent jobs numbers for December featured encouraging data points: Tech-industry employment—in areas like semiconductor manufacturing, IT services, and cloud infrastructure—had its biggest spike since April, and employers are hiring for specialized skills as they begin to move on longer-term investments.

“If you’re thinking about it as a tech professional, or someone who is considering career pathways, tech is still a great bet. Because what’s the alternative? Most of the other categories are not going to grow at that rate,” Tim Herbert, chief research officer at CompTIA, told IT Brew.

CompTIA’s jobs report, meant as a complement to the monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics report, focuses solely on technology and features additional figures like job postings and unemployment rate. The CompTIA report also distinguishes between tech occupation employment and tech industry employment.

Read more here.—BH

Do you work in IT or have information about your IT department you want to share? Email [email protected].

We’ve spent years hearing about “the next big things” in healthcare. But the “next big things” are happening now.

GE HealthCare President & CEO Peter Arduini believes that 2024 will be a catalyst year for innovation and improved patient outcomes in the future. And just like many other industries, AI is poised to play a very big role in all this innovation.

AI’s impact ranges from enhancing image quality in PET and CT scans to reducing time spent on administrative tasks. Overall, GE HealthCare leaders believe that digital technology will help make healthcare more human.

Want a front-row seat to all this innovation? Start right here.

It’s all about the money. Aqua Security—a cloud native security company—earned $60 million in its latest funding round, an extension of its Series E.

Founded by Dror Davidoff and Amir Jerbi in 2015, Aqua currently provides security services to six of the top 10 banks in North America, and six of the top seven in Canada. It offers end-to-end protection for cloud-native applications, which CEO Davidoff says is just the beginning.

“When we started the journey, there wasn’t a space,” Davidoff told IT Brew. “We did something that was extremely new. And most people didn’t even understand what it is that we do and why it’s necessary. Eight years later, it’s a space, it’s a category.”

With 500 enterprise customers in 40 countries, Aqua has raised $325 million since its launch—the most recent round being led by Evolution Equity Partners. The company’s Series E round was also backed by M12—Microsoft’s venture fund—as well as Lightspeed Venture Partners, Insight Partners, and StepStone Group.

Read more here.—AF

Do you work in IT or have information about your IT department you want to share? Email [email protected].

Today’s top IT reads.

Stat: 11%. That’s how far iPhone sales in China declined YOY in the last quarter of 2023, spurring the company to offer discounts on the device. (the Wall Street Journal)

Quote: “The compromised account holders are left with huge cloud bills.”—Europol on the ramifications of cryptomining hacking after arresting a Ukrainian national for installing the malware on US servers (The Record)

Read: In the post-Twitter landscape, the group chat is rising as the new social media haven. (the New York Times)

Big breakthroughs: Precision healthcare, artificial intelligence, democratization—meet 2024’s top healthcare trends according to GE HealthCare. Learn more about these trends and their potential impact from a few of GE HealthCare’s innovative minds.*

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