News
Confluent and Google Cloud Announce Strategic Partnership to Help Enterprises Move Event Streaming Workloads to Google Cloud Platform

Confluent, Inc., the enterprise event streaming platform pioneer, today announced a partnership with Google Cloud, offering a managed service operated by Confluent that will be tightly integrated into Google Cloud Platform (GCP), providing customers with a seamless user experience across management, billing and support.
Today, many customers are diversifying workloads across environments and running applications both on-premises and in the cloud. Confluent Cloud for Apache Kafka is now available natively on GCP to aid customers in creating mission-critical use cases, including event-driven applications, advanced analytics using machine learning and hybrid cloud data pipelines.
We are delighted to partner with Confluent and that they have chosen to deliver a managed service on Google Cloud, said Kevin Ichhpurani, Corporate Vice President, Global Ecosystem and Business Development at Google Cloud. Additionally, we are committed to shared success with our partners and to building the best platform for open source applications. We look forward to continued partnership and innovation with Confluent and the open source community at large.
With Confluent Cloud, enterprises and developers have the option to build and run applications in the cloud, knowing that the team who originally created Kafka are maintaining and managing the event streaming service. With a simple, resilient, secure and performant service, enterprises can focus on what matters most: building revolutionary event-driven applications.
The open source community has been leading innovations in the software industry and this partnership advances the benefits of having an open-source-centric approach. Through this partnership, enterprises will have access to these innovations and the choice of where to run their workloads. Customers will have the flexibility to develop with open source technology using the integrated partner managed services on GCP. This will include the ability to manage Confluent Cloud from the GCP console as well as integrated billing and support.
Event streaming has become a foundational layer in hybrid cloud, internet of things, and microservice architectures. The availability of Confluent Cloud as a native service on Google Cloud Platform gives developers an amazing cloud-native experience of Apache Kafka in seconds, said Jay Kreps, co-founder and CEO at Confluent.
Resources
- Read more on the Confluent blog.
- Read more on the Google Cloud blog.
- Learn more about Confluent Cloud and sign up: https://www.confluent.io/confluent-cloud/.
- Visit Confluent at Google NEXT ˜19 at booth S1549.
About Confluent
Confluent, founded by the original creators of Apache Kafka, pioneered the enterprise-ready event streaming platform. With Confluent, organizations benefit from the first event streaming platform built for the enterprise with the ease-of-use, scalability, security and flexibility required by the most discerning global companies to run their business in real time. Companies leading their respective industries have realized success with this new platform paradigm to transform their architectures to streaming from batch processing, spanning on-premises and multi-cloud environments. Backed by Benchmark, Index Ventures and Sequoia Capital, Confluent is headquartered in Palo Alto and London with offices globally. To learn more, please visit www.confluent.io. Download Confluent Platform and Confluent Cloud at www.confluent.io/download.
Connect with Confluent
Read our blog: www.confluent.io/blog
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/confluentinc
Confluent, Inc. 2014“2019. All rights reserved. Confluent and associated marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Confluent, Inc. Apache, Apache Kafka and Kafka are trademarks of the Apache Software Foundation. All other marks used are the property of their respective owners.
Erica Knowlton Bennett
[email protected]
408.440.7080
News
Fraport Traffic Figures 2020: Passenger Numbers Fall to Historic Low Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic

Massive passenger slump recorded at Frankfurt Airport and Fraport's Group airports worldwide – Relatively low decline in FRA's cargo volumes
FRANKFURT, Germany, Jan. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — FRA/gk-rap – Frankfurt Airport (FRA) welcomed some 18.8 million passengers in 2020, representing a decrease of 73.4 percent compared to 2019. With the outbreak of the Covid-19 global pandemic, Frankfurt Airport started to experience a major decline in passenger traffic in mid-March 2020. Between April and June, traffic almost came to a complete standstill – with weekly passenger figures plummeting by up to 98 percent year-on-year. Following a slight traffic recovery in the third quarter of 2020, a new rise in coronavirus infection rates led to intensified travel restrictions. This resulted in passenger numbers falling sharply once again in September and remaining low for the rest of the year.
Fraport AG's executive board chairman, Dr. Stefan Schulte, commented: “The year 2020 brought extreme challenges to the entire aviation industry. In Frankfurt, passenger volumes dropped to a level last seen in 1984. Cargo traffic was one of the few bright spots, reaching almost the same level as in 2019 – despite the loss of “belly freight” capacity on passenger aircraft. Aviation played a vital role in ensuring the supply of essential medical goods to the world's population, particularly during the first lockdown.”
Aircraft movements at Frankfurt Airport contracted by 58.7 percent year-on-year to 212,235 takeoffs and landings in 2020. Accumulated maximum takeoff weights (MTOWs) shrank by 53.3 percent to about 14.9 million metric tons. In comparison, cargo throughput (airfreight + airmail) registered a relatively minor dip of only 8.3 percent year-on-year to just under 2.0 million metric tons.
In December 2020, FRA's passenger traffic slumped by 81.7 percent to 891,925 travelers. With 13,627 takeoffs and landings, aircraft movements declined by 62.8 percent compared to December 2019. MTOWs were down 53.6 percent to about 1.1 million metric tons. Cargo throughput grew by 9.0 percent to 185,687 metric tons in December 2020, rising for the third consecutive month.
Looking forward, CEO Schulte said: “Because of the recent launch of vaccination programs throughout many countries, we are optimistic that travel restrictions will be gradually lifted beginning in the spring. Therefore, we expect Frankfurt's passenger traffic to rebound noticeably in the second half of 2021. Nevertheless, we have to realize that a difficult year lies ahead of us. While we are confident passenger traffic will exceed last year's level, we still expect Frankfurt to reach only 35 to 45 percent of the 2019 level.”
Fraport's international portfolio also hit by sharp traffic declines
Across the Group, the airports in Fraport's international portfolio also recorded a sharp decline in passenger traffic during 2020. However, the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the individual Group airports to varying degrees over the months. At times, regular passenger operations were even suspended at some airports (Ljubljana, Antalya and Lima). In addition, wide-ranging travel restrictions affected most of the Group airports beginning in the spring.
Traffic at Slovenia's Ljubljana Airport (LJU) fell by 83.3 percent last year to 288,235 passengers (December 2020: down 93.7 percent). The Brazilian airports of Fortaleza (FOR) and Porto Alegre (POA) together received about 6.7 million passengers, representing a 56.7 percent decrease year-on-year (December 2020: down 46.2 percent). Peru's Lima Airport (LIM) reported a 70.3 percent slide in traffic to around 7.0 million passengers (December 2020: down 61.6 percent).
Serving a total of about 8.6 million passengers in 2020, the 14 Greek regional airports experienced a 71.4 percent plunge in traffic (December 2020: down 85.3 percent). Combined traffic at the Twin Star airports of Varna (VAR) and Burgas (BOJ) on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast decreased by 78.9 percent to about 1.0 million passengers (December 2020: down 69.7 percent).
Antalya Airport (AYT) in Turkey registered a 72.6 percent decline in traffic to about 9.7 million passengers (December 2020: down 69.8 percent). Last year, Russia's Pulkovo Airport (LED) in St. Petersburg saw traffic drop by 44.1 percent to about 10.9 million passengers (December 2020: down 38.5 percent). Xi'an Airport (XIY) in China achieved a slight recovery in the course of the year, following a strong reduction in traffic during the spring. In 2020, XIY registered about 31.0 million passengers – a 34.2 percent decrease year-on-year (December 2020: down 14.8 percent).
Print-quality photos of Fraport AG and Frankfurt Airport are available for free downloading via the photo library on the Fraport Web site. For TV news and information broadcasting purposes only, we also offer free footage material for downloading. If you wish to meet a member of our Media Relations team when at Frankfurt Airport, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our contact details are available here.
Fraport AG |
|
Dana Selin Kröll |
Telephone: +49 69 690 31403 |
Corporate Communications |
E-mail: [email protected] |
Media Relations |
Internet: www.fraport.com |
60547 Frankfurt, Germany |
Facebook: www.facebook.com/FrankfurtAirport |
For further information about Fraport AG please click here.
Fraport Traffic Figures |
|||||||||||||||||||
December 2020 |
|||||||||||||||||||
Fraport Group Airports1 |
December 2020 |
Year to Date (YTD) 2020 |
|||||||||||||||||
Fraport |
Passengers |
Cargo* |
Movements |
Passengers |
Cargo |
Movements |
|||||||||||||
Fully-consolidated airports |
share (%) |
Month |
Δ % |
Month |
Δ % |
Month |
Δ % |
YTD |
Δ % |
YTD |
Δ % |
YTD |
Δ % |
||||||
FRA |
Frankfurt |
Germany |
100.00 |
891,794 |
-81.7 |
182,568 |
8.9 |
13,627 |
-62.8 |
18,768,601 |
-73.4 |
1,914,285 |
-8.5 |
212,235 |
-58.7 |
||||
LJU |
Ljubljana |
Slovenia |
100.00 |
5,422 |
-93.7 |
1,143 |
11.0 |
686 |
-61.4 |
288,235 |
-83.3 |
10,559 |
-7.1 |
12,980 |
-58.8 |
||||
Fraport Brasil |
100.00 |
782,592 |
-46.2 |
6,111 |
-25.1 |
7,952 |
-38.3 |
6,718,048 |
-56.7 |
51,528 |
-39.8 |
70,809 |
-48.5 |
||||||
FOR |
Fortaleza |
Brazil |
100.00 |
361,676 |
-47.7 |
3,494 |
-32.4 |
3,662 |
-34.7 |
3,156,418 |
-56.3 |
29,356 |
-39.3 |
32,897 |
-44.9 |
||||
POA |
Porto Alegre |
Brazil |
100.00 |
420,916 |
-44.8 |
2,617 |
-12.5 |
4,290 |
-41.1 |
3,561,630 |
-57.1 |
22,172 |
-40.4 |
37,912 |
-51.2 |
||||
LIM |
Lima |
Peru |
80.01 |
768,959 |
-61.6 |
18,422 |
-28.4 |
7,673 |
-54.9 |
7,017,414 |
-70.3 |
190,365 |
-29.8 |
73,255 |
-63.0 |
||||
Fraport Regional Airports of Greece A+B |
73.40 |
102,623 |
-85.3 |
471 |
-29.9 |
3,036 |
-56.2 |
8,611,780 |
-71.4 |
5,330 |
-29.9 |
101,007 |
-58.9 |
||||||
Fraport Regional Airports of Greece A |
73.40 |
69,107 |
-87.2 |
400 |
-28.2 |
1,894 |
-59.3 |
4,838,669 |
-71.0 |
4,266 |
-26.6 |
54,767 |
-58.2 |
||||||
CFU |
Kerkyra (Corfu) |
Greece |
73.40 |
4,826 |
-78.6 |
7 |
-18.7 |
229 |
-27.8 |
961,037 |
-70.7 |
72 |
-59.7 |
10,889 |
-57.0 |
||||
CHQ |
Chania (Crete) |
Greece |
73.40 |
9,125 |
-83.6 |
20 |
18.7 |
224 |
-55.4 |
703,482 |
-76.4 |
180 |
-52.7 |
7,392 |
-63.9 |
||||
EFL |
Kefalonia |
Greece |
73.40 |
992 |
-72.0 |
0 |
0.0 |
88 |
-20.0 |
192,477 |
-75.1 |
2 |
> 100.0 |
3,184 |
-56.7 |
||||
KVA |
Kavala |
Greece |
73.40 |
794 |
-85.3 |
2 |
-80.8 |
30 |
-74.6 |
72,674 |
-77.5 |
38 |
-61.8 |
1,142 |
-67.0 |
||||
PVK |
Aktion/Preveza |
Greece |
73.40 |
176 |
-52.0 |
0 |
n.a. |
58 |
3.6 |
161,408 |
-74.2 |
0 |
-100.0 |
2,342 |
-58.1 |
||||
SKG |
Thessaloniki |
Greece |
73.40 |
52,035 |
-88.4 |
371 |
-28.9 |
1,187 |
-65.6 |
2,317,336 |
-66.4 |
3,974 |
-22.8 |
24,966 |
-55.2 |
||||
ZTH |
Zakynthos |
Greece |
73.40 |
1,159 |
-63.7 |
0 |
n.a. |
78 |
-22.0 |
430,255 |
-76.2 |
0 |
-98.4 |
4,852 |
-63.2 |
||||
Fraport Regional Airports of Greece B |
73.40 |
33,516 |
-78.6 |
72 |
-38.2 |
1,142 |
-49.7 |
3,773,111 |
-72.0 |
1,064 |
-40.5 |
46,240 |
-59.6 |
||||||
JMK |
Mykonos |
Greece |
73.40 |
1,400 |
-80.6 |
1 |
-49.0 |
56 |
-60.3 |
409,060 |
-73.1 |
47 |
-46.9 |
7,556 |
-59.8 |
||||
JSI |
Skiathos |
Greece |
73.40 |
416 |
-61.8 |
0 |
n.a. |
34 |
-22.7 |
88,916 |
-80.1 |
0 |
n.a. |
1,600 |
-61.7 |
||||
JTR |
Santorini (Thira) |
Greece |
73.40 |
3,049 |
-90.4 |
4 |
-48.5 |
120 |
-73.0 |
572,963 |
-75.1 |
66 |
-61.2 |
7,286 |
-65.8 |
||||
KGS |
Kos |
Greece |
73.40 |
4,577 |
-75.9 |
7 |
-70.0 |
182 |
-47.1 |
800,655 |
-70.1 |
162 |
-50.2 |
7,994 |
-59.6 |
||||
MJT |
Mytilene (Lesvos) |
Greece |
73.40 |
7,053 |
-75.0 |
22 |
-11.7 |
234 |
-48.9 |
206,095 |
-58.5 |
228 |
-34.6 |
3,729 |
-43.2 |
||||
RHO |
Rhodes |
Greece |
73.40 |
12,388 |
-78.2 |
26 |
-31.8 |
330 |
-39.1 |
1,551,123 |
-72.0 |
377 |
-39.8 |
14,801 |
-60.5 |
||||
SMI |
Samos |
Greece |
73.40 |
4,633 |
-63.2 |
11 |
-40.8 |
186 |
-37.6 |
144,299 |
-69.9 |
184 |
-20.5 |
3,274 |
-47.8 |
||||
Fraport Twin Star |
60.00 |
27,948 |
-69.7 |
1,015 |
> 100.0 |
474 |
-43.0 |
1,046,467 |
-78.9 |
3,934 |
-19.2 |
10,960 |
-69.1 |
||||||
BOJ |
Burgas |
Bulgaria |
60.00 |
2,590 |
-79.0 |
1,014 |
> 100.0 |
94 |
-39.4 |
424,252 |
-85.3 |
3,889 |
-18.1 |
4,079 |
-79.6 |
||||
VAR |
Varna |
Bulgaria |
60.00 |
25,358 |
-68.3 |
1 |
-79.4 |
380 |
-43.9 |
622,215 |
-70.1 |
44 |
-64.1 |
6,881 |
-55.5 |
||||
At equity consolidated airports |
|||||||||||||||||||
AYT |
Antalya |
Turkey |
51.00 |
263,536 |
-69.8 |
n.a. |
n.a. |
2,473 |
-61.3 |
9,713,650 |
-72.6 |
n.a. |
n.a. |
65,223 |
-68.4 |
||||
LED |
St. Petersburg |
Russia |
25.00 |
828,230 |
-38.5 |
n.a. |
n.a. |
8,546 |
-32.5 |
10,944,421 |
-44.1 |
n.a. |
n.a. |
105,042 |
-37.7 |
||||
XIY |
Xi'an |
China |
24.50 |
3,212,568 |
-14.8 |
42,773 |
0.9 |
26,791 |
-6.4 |
31,083,681 |
-34.2 |
376,320 |
-1.5 |
254,607 |
-26.2 |
Frankfurt Airport2 |
||||
December 2020 |
Month |
Δ % |
YTD 2020 |
Δ % |
Passengers |
891,925 |
-81.7 |
18,770,998 |
-73.4 |
Cargo (freight & mail) |
185,687 |
9.0 |
1,952,628 |
-8.3 |
Aircraft movements |
13,627 |
-62.8 |
212,235 |
-58.7 |
MTOW (in metric tons)3 |
1,100,860 |
-53.6 |
14,874,646 |
-53.3 |
PAX/PAX-flight4 |
91.7 |
-35.6 |
108.6 |
-26.0 |
Seat load factor (%) |
51.9 |
58.4 |
||
Punctuality rate (%) |
74.1 |
82.9 |
||
Frankfurt Airport |
PAX share |
Δ %5 |
PAX share |
Δ %5 |
Regional Split |
Month |
YTD |
||
Continental |
59.5 |
-81.5 |
66.2 |
-72.3 |
Germany |
8.1 |
-86.5 |
10.1 |
-74.3 |
Europe (excl. GER) |
51.4 |
-80.4 |
56.1 |
-72.0 |
Western Europe |
41.8 |
-80.5 |
47.1 |
-71.6 |
Eastern Europe |
9.6 |
-79.9 |
9.0 |
-73.8 |
Intercontinental |
40.5 |
-82.0 |
33.8 |
-75.3 |
Africa |
6.7 |
-76.6 |
4.9 |
-72.5 |
Middle East |
7.3 |
-77.9 |
5.5 |
-71.8 |
North America |
12.5 |
-83.6 |
10.6 |
-78.1 |
Central & South Amer. |
6.3 |
-75.9 |
4.4 |
-65.6 |
Far East |
7.7 |
-87.4 |
8.3 |
-78.2 |
Australia |
0.0 |
n.a. |
0.1 |
n.a. |
Definitions:1 According to ACI definition: Passengers: commercial traffic only (arr+dep+transit counted once), Cargo: commercial and non-commercial traffic (arr+dep excluding transit, in metric tons), Movements: commerical and non-commercial traffic (arr+dep), preliminary figures; 2Commercial and non-commercial traffic: Passengers (arr+dep+transit counted once, incl. general aviation), Cargo (arr+dep+transit counted once, in metric tons), Movements (arr+dep); 3Inbound traffic only; 4 Scheduled and charter traffic; 5absolute change vs. previous year in % ; *Cargo =Freight + mail |
News
42Gears SureMDM Simplifies Setting up Kiosk Mode on Linux Devices

BANGALORE, India, Jan. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — 42Gears today announced its capability to enable kiosk mode on Linux devices using the 42Gears mobile device management (MDM) solution, SureMDM. 42Gears SureMDM is now capable of managing, monitoring, and securing Linux, Android, iOS, iPadOS, and Windows devices from a single pane of glass.

Although Linux already had a kernel lockdown feature that prevented developers from modifying the kernel in any way, businesses still needed a mechanism that could help them convert Linux devices into dedicated purpose tools if required. However, MDM solutions capable of locking down Android, iOS, iPad OS, and Windows devices lacked the capability to lockdown Linux devices. Thus, until now, businesses using Linux devices along with devices based on other operating systems had to use two separate platforms to enable kiosk mode on their enterprise devices.
“It's both effort- and cost-intensive for businesses to use a different solution to enable kiosk mode on Linux devices. This is the problem Linux Profiles addresses – it helps businesses restrict user access to approved apps and settings only using SureMDM, which is already capable of enabling kiosk mode on non-Linux devices,” said Prakash Gupta, CTO and co-founder of 42Gears. “This naturally means that businesses will no longer need two different solutions to manage Linux as well as other platforms. This will certainly have a positive impact on the total cost of ownership, while easing device management even further.”
Apart from enabling kiosk mode on Linux devices, Linux Profiles can also help businesses in:
- User Management – IT admins can add or remove users, grant or revoke admin access, and allow users to access machines during specific windows of time
- Wi-Fi Configuration – It is now possible for IT admins to remotely configure Linux devices with wireless network credentials
- System Settings – This feature will allow IT admins to remotely control peripherals, install or update packages, and modify settings for Wi-Fi, Clipboard, and more
- URL Blocking – IT admins can now block access to specific URLs on remote machines
Linux Profiles is already available for use by 42Gears customers ready to manage their Linux devices through SureMDM. Please email [email protected] with any inquiries. To learn more, visit the 42Gears Linux web page.
About 42Gears
42Gears is a leading Unified Endpoint Management solution provider, offering SaaS and on-premise solutions to secure, monitor, and manage all business endpoints, such as tablets, phones, desktops, and wearables. 42Gears products support company-owned as well as employee-owned devices built on Android, iOS, iPadOS, Windows, macOS, Wear OS, VR, and Linux platforms. 42Gears products are used in various industries, such as healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, education, and retail. 42Gears products are trusted by over 10,000 customers in more than 115 countries. For more information, please visit https://www.42gears.com.
Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/517153/42Gears_Mobility_Systems_Logo.jpg
News
Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) facilitates upskilling & reskilling with online MBAs & courses

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 5 January 2021 – As we to move into Phase 3 of Covid-19 towards the end of 2020, flexibility and adaptability remains an indefinite priority for Singaporeans as the labour market adjusts to the new normal. This renders upskilling and reskilling a necessity for professionals to remain employable. Riding in tandem, the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) delivers a series of online MBAs and short courses to equip the workforce with ample opportunities to ride the wave.
Career Resilience in Times Of Change
Armed with a vision for lifelong learning, MDIS strengthens its resolve to offer educational experiences that are fresh and industry-relevant. This fully maximises the future readiness of employees and jobseekers for local and international career success.
Organisations seeking to invest in resources to upskill and enhance the leadership potential of future managers can consider among MDIS’ online MBAs that cover five specialised areas: events management, health management, leadership and innovation, hospitality & tourism management, and marketing. With a flexible postgraduate curriculum tailored for the dynamic global business environment, employees can look forward to building career resilience and accelerate professional pursuits as they step into the new albeit volatile economic conditions. Likewise, jobseekers can perform better in a competitive job market with sharpened managerial efficacies – a trait that’s never been more necessary than today.
In addition, MDIS is also offering industry-based short courses to allow employees and jobseekers to reinvent and acquire new skills to keep pace with evolving business needs and market trends. With 10 disciplines to choose from, prospective students can consider taking up a single-day course or one of up to three months.
Carving the Way Forward
While the pandemic may have accelerated the need for skills expansion and upgrading, this should not be viewed as a by-product of economic crises but a strategy to face unknown challenges that lie ahead. Being ready for the unforeseen is pertinent to career success, a value that MDIS inculcates in its students as it carves generations of lifelong learners of tomorrow.
About MDIS
Founded in 1956, MDIS is Singapore’s oldest not-for-profit professional institute for lifelong learning. It offers internationally-accredited courses in Business and Management, Education, Engineering, Fashion and Design, Health and Nursing, Information Technology, Life Sciences, Languages and Education, Media and Communications, Psychology, Tourism and Hospitality Management, and Safety and Environment Management. These are offered in partnership with renowned universities in the United Kingdom.
For more information, visit our website here.