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The term spring cleaning exists for a reason, and the new season is right around the corner, officially kicking off in Australia on Tuesday, September 1. That means you don’t have long to get your cleaning tools in order, specifically a vacuum cleaner. If your current model could do with an upgrade, this perfectly timed deal of nearly 50% off the Shark PowerDetect Cordless could be just the thing you’re looking for.
And while it might be tempting to opt for a Dyson — especially now that the premium brand has set its Afterpay Day deals live — Shark makes some of the best on the market at lower prices even when not discounted. Right now, though, you can grab the Shark PowerDetect Cordless that we consider to be the best cordless vacuum in Australia, for AU$619 (down from AU$1,199).
The Shark PowerDetect combines the power of the brand’s Stratos line with the clever dirt-detecting skills of the Detect Pro line, delivering great results. It aced our cleaning tests thanks to its excellent suction. We love the fact that the wand can bend to get under furniture, and that it works wonders on carpets and hard floors. You also get a self-emptying docking station.View Deal
Given that we consider the Shark PowerDetect Cordless to be the best stick vac in Australia, it’s no surprise it’s also the best Shark vacuum in our opinion. As our vacuum-expert reviewer, Ruth Hamilton, says, “the PowerDetect Cordless came out top in my cleaning trials, beating even Dyson's priciest vacuums to the cleaning crown”.
She also loved how it can automatically adjust suction depending on the floor surface, stating “It knows what type of floor it's on and how dirty that floor is, and whether it's near the edge of a room, and will increase or lower suction in response.”
The PowerDetect further justifies its higher price tag by offering an additional feature called DirectionDetect, which means it can clean just as well when it’s pulled backwards as it does when pushed forward — a rare addition that you won’t find in many machines at its discounted price. It also has a large battery that’s rated for up to 70 minutes of runtime, which is a figure we can certainly vouch for, with it managing 67 minutes in our tests.
The only slight downside is that the PowerDetect Cordless is pretty heavy, and some users may find it a little tricky to manoeuvre around their home. However, it’s at least comfortable to hold thanks to an ergonomically shaped handle, complete with a rubberised grip and padding.
This isn’t quite the lowest price I’ve ever seen on this talented vacuum — it dropped to AU$566 during the recent Prime Day sales. However, for it to receive such a hefty discount so soon, and just in time for the spring season, makes it one well worth considering.
After months of leaks and rumours, Google has officially launched its new flagship Pixel handsets, introducing a wave of hardware upgrades and even a new ‘HiLight’ feature. Also unveiled were a new Pixel Watch and the Pixel Tag, Google’s answer to the Apple AirTag.
Pre-orders have also kicked off in Australia, with retailers and telcos offering a variety of deals, including up to AU$1,000 in savings or some free gifts, depending on which model you’re after.
Retailers JB Hi-Fi and The Good Guys are handing out a free Google Fitbit Air, Pixel Buds and even the new Pixel Watch 5 as part of their pre-order offers, but the most standout deal we’ve found comes from Vodafone, which is offering a free PlayStation 5 console (plus a bonus controller) with select models. With the PS5 seeing price hikes over the past few years, this is an offer not to be missed.
Devices will start shipping from August 20, though pre-order offers are set to run longer — August 26 for the retailers we’ve picked and as late as October 6 for selected telco deals.
The best Google Pixel 11 pre-order dealsGet a free Fitbit Air and 3 months of YouTube Premium
JB Hi-Fi is offering a free Google Fitbit Air fitness tracker with every Google Pixel 11 pre-order from today up to August 26, as well as 3 months of YouTube Premium. You can also trade in your old device for a gift card for extra savings. View Deal
Google Pixel 11 (256GB) | Vodafone Small Plan | 65GB | 24 months | AU$80.36p/m
Vodafone is offering a AU$650 handset discount on the base Pixel 11, and a AU$13p/m discount on the 65GB Small Plan for the first 12 months, making this the cheapest telco pre-order deal. The plan includes unlimited national calls and texts, unlimited international texts and 5GB of daily roaming for an extra AU$5. This offer ends on September 30.View Deal
Google Pixel 11 (256GB) | Optus Small Choice Plus Plan | 60GB | 24 months | AU$81.58p/m
Optus is also offering a handset discount on the Pixel 11, but only AU$500, though the plan fee discount is bigger at AU$20p/m for the Small Choice Plus Plan for the first 12 months, making it competitive enough with the Voda offer above. The plan includes unlimited national calls and texts and 5GB of daily roaming for an extra AU$5. This offer runs until October 6.View Deal
The best Google Pixel 11 Pro pre-order dealsGet a free Fitbit Air, Pixel Buds 2a, 3 months of YouTube Premium and 6 months of Google AI Pro
In addition to the free Fitbit Air and YouTube Premium, JB Hi-Fi is throwing in a pair of Pixel Buds 2a and 6 months of Google AI Pro when you pre-order a Google Pixel 11 Pro from today up to August 26. Device trade-ins are also available here.View Deal
Google Pixel 11 Pro (256GB) | Optus Small Choice Plus Plan | 60GB | 24 months | AU$96.19p/m
Optus is also offering a AU$500 handset discount on the Pixel 11 Pro and the same AU$20p/m price cut for the Small Choice Plus Plan for the first 12 months. The plan includes unlimited national calls and texts and 5GB of daily roaming for an extra AU$5. This offer runs until October 6.View Deal
The best Google Pixel 11 Pro XL pre-order dealsGet a free Fitbit Air, Pixel Buds Pro 2, 3 months of YouTube Premium and 6 months of Google AI Pro
JB Hi-Fi swaps the Pixel Buds 2a for the Pixel Buds Pro 2 when you opt for the bigger Pixel 11 Pro XL, and you also get a free Fitbit Air, YouTube Premium and Google AI Pro subscriptions like the Pro above. This offering also runs until August 26, and you can also trade in your old device to save on the handset price.View Deal
Get a free Fitbit Air and Pixel Buds Pro 2
The Good Guys is offering a similar deal with a free Fitbit Air and Pixel Buds Pro 2, but the offer will run slightly longer, ending on August 27. The retailer is also offering standard local delivery with every pre-order.View Deal
Google Pixel 11 Pro XL (256GB) | Vodafone Small Plan | 65GB | 24 months | AU$132.45p/m inc. free PS5
Vodafone is only discounting the plan fees by AU$13p/m for the Pixel 11 Pro XL, but it’s making up for the high monthly cost by throwing in a PlayStation 5 console and an extra DualSense Wireless Controller (valued at AU$1,009) for free if you pre-order by August 19. The Small Choice Plus Plan includes unlimited national calls and texts, unlimited international texts and 5GB of daily roaming for an extra AU$5.View Deal
Google Pixel 11 Pro XL (256GB) | Optus Small Choice Plus Plan | 60GB | 24 months | AU$85.78p/m
If you already have a PS5 or don’t want one and just want an outright bargain, Optus is offering AU$1,000 off the Google Pixel Pro XL. When paired with the AU$20p/m discount on the first 12 months of the Optus Small Choice Plus Plan, this makes the Pro XL cheaper than the smaller Pro by AU$11p/m.View Deal
The best Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold pre-order dealsGet a free Google Pixel Watch 5
JB Hi-Fi is upping the ante with the most expensive Pixel 11 model, the Pixel 11 Pro Fold, by bundling in the just-released Google Pixel Watch 5 for free instead of the Fitbit Air and Pixel Buds in the offers above. The deal applies to the larger 45mm Wi-Fi version, which costs AU$699.View Deal
Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold (256GB) | Optus Small Choice Plus Plan | 60GB | 24 months | AU$114.94p/m
Like the Pixel 11 Pro XL above, Optus is also discounting the new Pixel foldable by AU$1,000 when you pre-order. When paired with the AU$20p/m discount on the first 12 months of the Optus Small Choice Plus Plan, you’ll be paying AU$114.94 per month for the first year and AU$134.94 for the rest of the plan.View Deal
- Tech leaders are finding complexities with contacts, vendors, and platforms are restricting transformation
- Network resilience is increasingly an issue for leaders, rather than just IT
- Businesses are relying on too much technology
New research has lifted the lid on how small business tech leaders are finding it increasingly difficult to ensure technology can drive change, citing network issues, increased complexity, and a lack of buy-in from other departments.
A rsurvey by Zen Internet of 500 tech leaders are mid-market and above companies, the research paints a depressing picture. IT departments and infrastructure are integral aspects of running a business, but too often – as indicated here – their expertise and purpose are misunderstood or simply ignored. The result seems to be a mismatch of contracts, vendors, and platforms slowing change.
Of particular concern is the suggestion that network modernization, while desirable, is unlikely for many businesses due to struggles with suppliers.
Network resilience equals successResults from the research make for sobering reading about what influence senior technology decision-makers have concerning investment into tech. A worrying 78% state that complexities are slowing change, and highlight challenges with multiple vendors, platforms, and contracts.
This suggests various issues, such as external departments making unilateral procurement decisions for software and hardware (a challenge that has existed for decades and one that comes with various unexpected implications for the buyer). Similarly, 49% of leaders feel their biggest barrier to making long-term decisions is the lack of commitment from non-IT leadership.
The research also shows 51% of technology leaders in the UK consider network resilience to be business critical, with outages having an impact on revenue and customers. Similarly, 94% consider network resilience to be important to their business’ overall success.
While 36% state network modernization will be their biggest investment over the next few years, of concern are responses concerning third parties. 47% believe suppliers delay projects, and 31% feel they block changes.
IT is infrastructureBased on the findings of the research, the state of UK businesses from an IT point of view is disappointing.
"Too many organisations are spending valuable time managing multiple suppliers, disconnected systems and separate security solutions when they should be focused on innovation and delivering value to customers," noted Jon Nowell, Managing Director of Zen Business.
"The challenge isn't simply keeping businesses connected. It's giving them the confidence that their network can support growth, cloud adoption, AI initiatives and new ways of working, while ensuring users, applications and data remain secure without adding more complexity.”
Finding a solution to the question of heel-dragging suppliers and finding a smart approach to challenges presented by contracts that may no longer be fit-for-purpose – while also encouraging leadership on network and infrastructure challenges – seem to be the priorities.
There are three things guaranteed in life: death, taxes and me seeking out the best coffee machine deals during major sales events such as Afterpay Day. Yes, I love a hunt for discounts on the givers of life that are coffee machines, and this week there are plenty to shop.
Admittedly, some stores’ discounts aren’t quite as good as other events such as Black Friday, and some retailers don’t have any discounts at all! But I’m confident that the models I’ve picked out for you below will fill the coffee-machine-void in your life kitchen.
My selections cover automatic, manual and capsule coffee machines to suit a variety of budgets, so there really is something for everyone. And based on my experience reviewing coffee machines, they deliver the true crema de la crema (see what I did there?) of at-home espresso.
I have seen this highly capable and, dare I say, cute coffee machine get closer to AU$430 before, but this is the best price I can currently find. This compact machine is ideal for small kitchens and you’re guaranteed a well-extracted shot of espresso, making it a great option for coffee machine newbies. You'll need to pair it with a great coffee grinder if you want to use beans, or you can simply use ground coffee instead. Don’t forget to grab a unique 10% Breville coupon code for the full savings. View Deal
The Ninja Luxe Cafe is a regular feature in any coffee machine deals round up, owing to the fact that it can brew virtually any coffee-based drink you can think of. What’s more, it’s very simple to use — as we said in our Ninja Luxe Cafe review, it’s "an espresso machine anyone can master". You get plenty of help coming from various technologies that will determine the ideal grind size and automatically froth milk for you. The best price I’ve found only applies to the Cyberspace colour (pictured), which is my second-favourite after Oat Milk. View Deal
This compact coffee machine consistently brews a wonderful espresso and benefits from a manual steam wand that gives you super-silky, well-texturised milk (even non-dairy types). Its preset drinks menu is limited and while its iced coffee isn't the best I've come across, for a machine that will take up barely any space on your counter and give you a delicious brew every morning, it's well worth it.View Deal
Taking the spot for the best entry-level bean-to-cup coffee maker, the Philips Baristina is simple to use, taking care of the grinding, tamping and pouring for you. The porta filter will even automatically slide into position for you. Do note there's no milk frothing here, but a matching milk frother is available.View Deal
We rate the Vertuo Creatista as the best Nespresso machine out there thanks to its use of the Vertuo pods, which come in a range of cup and mug sizes and an integrated milk frother. It performs exceptionally well, too, and will brew your morning cuppa in no time at all. This offer includes a Milk Essentials kit via redemption, comprising two travel mugs, a milk jug and a set of coffee glasses.View Deal
This compact manual coffee machine can pour up to two espresso shots at once and features a steam wand for cafe-quality milk foaming. There's no built-in grinder, but you could either use ground coffee beans or invest in a separate grinder using the cash you save with this deal.View Deal
If you buy or already own a coffee machine that doesn’t have its own built-in grinder, this option from Breville is a great place to start. It offers 60 grind settings to help you really experiment with your cuppa joe and accommodates porta filter sizes from 50 to 58mm. View Deal
In the mid 2000s, I was fascinated with the reality TV show Aussie Ladette to Lady. It branded a "new breed" of Australian woman as loud, vulgar, and unfit for any self-respecting society, thrusting them into weeks-long sophistication training that, of course, never lasted. In a nutshell, this is also the premise for the new Netflix series My Brilliant Career.
In hindsight, the former TV show was nothing but an excuse to vilify a new kind of 'modern woman' for the sake of viewing figures, purposefully engineering mistakes to be captured on camera through the magic of reality TV production. If these producers were around in the early 1900s, Sybylla (Philippa Northeast) would be ripe for the picking.
My Brilliant Career introduces us to the voracious, outspoken, and self-assured eldest daughter from Possum Gully (what an incredible name) as she's forced to move into her Grandma's (Anna Chancellor) house to be conditioned for her entry to high society. Convinced that she doesn't want a husband but instead wants to live life to the fullest — and become a published writer in the process — Sybylla is a woman before her time. For us in 2026, that also means she's timeless.
How? Her refusal to back down, concede to a patriarchal society that is built for her to fail, and an impeccable ability to see the godforsaken truth from a mile away. Sybylla is the type of woman most of us aspire to be now, let alone over 100 years ago.
So framing her plight in early 20th-century Australia only makes her triumphs all the more delicious. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that the six-episode binge doesn't even feel like a typical period drama.
As a renowned hater of the genre, watching My Brilliant Career is the most unexpected pleasure I've had so far this year — and I'll happily vouch for it being the strongest and most authentic show that Netflix has released across 2026 to date. And what if I said that I even prefer it to Bridgerton?
My Brilliant Career is the joyous binge I need in my life right nowIf you know a thing or two about Australian New Wave Cinema, you might recognize this story already. Based on the novel of the same name by Miles Franklin (who, if you haven't guessed, is a woman using her middle name as a pseudonym), My Brilliant Career was first adapted for film in 1979.
But as incredible as Judy Davis and Sam Neill were, Netflix's typically frustrating and overused style actually works to unlock something even more playful in Franklin's story. Every decision, from production design to soundtrack, is one that doesn't take itself seriously, and allows Sybylla to simultaneously run wild and challenge authority in one fell swoop.
If you are a woman who grew up believing that by being a "good girl," you were able to get ahead in life, My Brilliant Career is the metaphoric kick in the nuts you've always wanted to give the world.
Throughout its six episodes, there are so many instances where I feel as though Sybylla is living my dream. Telling people what she truly thinks regardless of consequence? Bliss. Having the time and space to think and create freely? I could only imagine. Being so self-assured at such a young age? Hell, I'm not even sure if I'm at her level as a 31-year-old.
All of this makes My Brilliant Career one of those beautiful moments where you are so immersed in what you are watching that time, as you know it, is suspended. Throughout those six episodes, the only truth that exists in your life is the one that's playing out on screen. And that, my friends, is the sign of a job done well.
Anna Chancellor as a grandma? That can't be right(Image credit: Netflix)My Brilliant Career is scandalous for its time, but don't think that equates to the bonkbusting boundaries of Bridgerton. Personally, I think that this element is a little oversold, especially as it doesn't need outright sex scenes to feel like a rampant, virginal teen. Less certainly is more... as is the use of words, not actions.
But these effects are only possible thanks to the phenomenal casting. Northeast's Sybylla at once embodies every decade of life that she'll ever live, and her wisdom and wit are frankly spellbinding. The same can be said for Kate Mulvany's intoxicating Aunt Augusta, whose moral quandary between a man's world and a woman's needs is more thoughtful than most think pieces on the subject I've ever read.
A particular shoutout must go to the woman I've parasocially loved since her appearance in the 2002 adaptation of Tipping the Velvet: Anna Chancellor. Though I still cannot get my head around the idea of her playing someone's grandmother, she's exactly the calibre of actor you want when a period drama takes a more bohemian turn. She manages to make absolutely everything feel like the first time you've ever seen it, and her delicious delivery never fails to delight me.
Netflix, I have to give it to you. Just when I think I've experienced everything you have to offer, a treat for the eye and mind like My Brilliant Career comes along and blows me away. Maybe you never lost your touch after all.
My Brilliant Career is on Netflix from August 13.
I’ve had the Sky Glass Gen 2 TV setup in my living room since April of last year. To begin with, I wasn’t quite sure whether I was going to get on with Sky’s flagship TV. It was quite different from a lot of TVs in its price range, boasting a relatively chunky build, a unique OS, and I'd be swapping my trusty soundbar for its built-in Dolby Atmos sound system.
For the uninitiated, Sky Glass models provide a captivating proposition for Sky customers. It acts as an all-in-one TV hub, with access to live channels over your network connection (rather than a satellite or aerial), various streaming and smart apps, and more.
So would I recommend buying the Sky Glass Gen 2 instead of one of the best OLED TVs or best mini LED TVs in its price range? I’ll take you through my experience as a user, break down its picture and audio performance, and tell you whether I think it's truly worth the asking price.
The user experience: how does the Sky Glass Gen 2 stack up after a year?(Image credit: Future)Let’s start by talking about the user experience you get with the Sky Glass Gen 2.
As I said, it aims to serve as an all-in-one hub for Sky customers, and in my view, it pulls this off with ease. The user interface is laid out in a simple and practical way, making it seamless to scroll through each channel, access a comprehensive TV guide, tap into apps like Netflix and HBO Max, and switch between various sources.
The crowning achievement of the Sky Glass Gen 2’s experience, though, is its voice control. I’m not usually a big fan of these — I’ve never really got on with Alexa for controlling devices, or Bixby on Samsung phones, for instance.
But Sky nails it on its Glass TVs. You can either say ‘hello Sky’ or press the mic button on the remote control, and ask for specific apps or channels, or even issue a more general command such as ‘show me movies with cats’. I always find that I get accurate, helpful results, and I rarely experience accidental triggers of voice controls or irrelevant answers.
The interface also looks really clean, and accessing settings is quick and seamless. Just press the ‘…’ button, and you can swiftly alter picture mode, sound settings, toggle speech enhancement, and more.
More generally, I just find Sky's OS to be a lot more user-friendly than a lot of its rivals, such as VIDAA OS on my Hisense TV or even Google TV on TCL models I've tested. Sky's OS just feels sleeker, more organised, and its pin-point voice controls make everyday viewing feel much more seamless.
Other than the occasional plug for a Sky exclusive, there's also little in the way of ads — something the aforementioned rivals push onto the home screen more than I'd like.
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One issue I’d previously had was that advanced settings were buried deep within the main menu, but Sky has updated this, making them accessible via the ‘…’ button as well. This means I can easily change network settings, alter viewing preferences, and make advanced picture adjustments (such as changing Dolby Vision or HDR picture modes).
I’ve also found that having TV channels available through my home network is a big plus. The quality of broadcasts is excellent (more on that later), and I’ve experienced very few network issues during my time with the TV — you need 25Mbps download speeds to get 4K streaming, which is no problem in a city. But if you ever do encounter issues, there’s an option to fall back on an aerial connection, which is always handy.
This isn’t to say I’ve experienced no hiccups whatsoever. On occasion, some channels have failed to load, and apps haven’t displayed on the main menu. But this has been a very rare thing, and has always been fixable by unplugging the TV to restart it.
Something else that I love about the Sky Glass Gen 2, is that you get bundled subscriptions to select streaming apps, such as Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, and Hayu — so long as you have a Sky Ultimate TV subscription, which is £24 per month.
That’s an exceptional deal, and has opened up a lot of shows and movies that I’d previously missed out on. Sure, it's the standard (with ads) subscription for these services, but as someone who typically buys 4K Blu-ray if I want the best viewing experiences for things I really cherish, that’s fine by me for everything else.
Finally, I have to say that the Sky Glass Gen 2 is extremely easy to set up and get started with. It comes with plastic feet that slot into the TV without needing to mess around with screws or fiddly stands.
Picture & audio quality: a solid all-round performer(Image credit: Future)Right, so the user experience is great on the Sky Glass Gen 2, but how does it perform when it comes to picture and audio?
First things first, it's important to understand the tech inside this model. It's a QLED TV that harnesses the power of local dimming to create a vibrant picture with solid black levels to match. The Glass Gen 2 added more dimming zones, greatly boosts brightness, and provides wider viewing angles than its predecessor, and the results are pretty good overall.
Are you going to get the inky blacks and eye-popping colors that a TV like the LG B6 can deliver? No, but as a QLED model, the Sky Glass Gen 2 still really impressed me, and it's brighter than LG's model, making it good for well-lit living rooms.
I'd consider its picture to be competitive against similarly priced mini-LED options from the likes of Hisense and TCL most of the year around — though in the sales or on Black Friday, you might be able to get a more premium TV from those models for a similar price, which might edge the Glass 2 out.
The Glass Gen 2 supplies good contrast and color accuracy, decent black levels, and impressive motion-handling, making it a versatile option for all kinds of content. Whether I’m watching a blockbuster Premier League match, indulging in the quality of the best 4K Blu-ray players, or just watching a YouTube video, the Sky Glass Gen 2 is able to give me the vibrant colors and detailed picture that I need.
You get Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG support, meaning you can enjoy most video content at its best, although it's worth noting that there’s no HDR10+.
My main gripe with the Sky Glass Gen 2, performance wise, is its restrictive 60Hz refresh rate. As a keen gamer, this means I’m unable to play titles that offer 120fps gameplay at the peak of their powers.
Don’t get me wrong, 4K 60fps is good enough for the vast majority of my favorite PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2 titles, but if you want advanced gaming settings and buttery 120Hz refresh rates, you may want to look elsewhere.
On the audio side, things get really interesting, though. The TV has a Dolby Atmos soundbar system built-in, which uses a 3.1.2 channel configuration. This means you get: three outward-firing speakers; a pair of woofers for bass output; and a pair of upward-firing speakers for more vertical, immersive sound.
If you’ve not got room for a standalone soundbar, or you don’t want to spend more on one, then it’s a practical solution without question. It offers much deeper bass and clearer dialogue than you’d expect from most TVs' built-in speakers. The system also whips up relatively expansive sound, ideal for movies with striking Dolby Atmos effects.
But in honesty, the built-in sound system can’t compete with a top-class soundbar. If you want rippling bass, crystal clear mids, and expressive highs — and if you want fantastic music playback to boot — I’d still recommend investing in one of the best soundbars, such as the Samsung HW-Q800F, or a larger surround sound option like the JBL Bar 1300MK2.
One unintentional benefit of the built-in system is that it provides some height below the screen to easily slot in your own soundbar, if you do want an upgrade. For example, I have the spectacular Marshall Heston 120 sitting in front of it, with plenty of space between the bottom of the screen and the soundbar.
Wrapping up: is the Glass worth the cash?(Image credit: Future)So, is the Sky Glass Gen 2 worth picking over rivals from the likes of LG, Samsung, and Sony? For me, the answer is yes — it offers reliable performance, intuitive functionality, and serves as a great hub for Sky TV and streaming services.
OK, if your number one concern is getting the best picture quality possible, and you’re happy with a Sky box (including the Sky Stream, which has the same core software as the Glass 2, though isn't quite as snappy), then there are some cheaper OLEDs and mini-LED TVs that outperform the Glass Gen 2.
But if you want an accomplished entertainment hub that still performs well across the board, and even comes with a built-in sound system, then the Sky Glass Gen 2 is well worth the outlay. Sky's trick here is that it says this is an all-in-one system, needing just one cable to get started, and I think it achieves that.
The Sky Glass Gen 2 costs £699 for the 43-inch version, £949 for the 55-inch, and £1,199 for the 65-inch model. For reference, I own the latter, and I think it certainly earns its price, all things considered.
It's also worth noting that the Sky TVs have flexible purchase structures — you can buy them outright or pay for them via monthly installments, which in itself can be a big plus.
However, one thing to consider is that purchasing the TV on its own will result in a fairly restrictive user experience. You’ll have to pay a subscription fee for a number of Sky TV products — such as Sky Sports, Sky Cinema, UHD & Dolby Atmos, and Ad Skipping — to get the best out of your Sky Glass, and these costs can really add up.
But if you’re all in on the Sky experience, or if you’re an existing customer, I think the Glass Gen 2 is a great TV all things considered, and after more than a year with it, I have no intention of substituting it out.
The past two years have seen unprecedented adoption of generative AI. This was driven largely by LLM platforms such as Claude, which reported 28 million paying US customers in March.
In the corporate world and startups, this has put the pressure on companies to invest in AI, to keep up with the latest models and bolster productivity and efficiency. But now that the world has adopted AI, a stark readiness gap is emerging as governance and AI skills lag behind. AI fluency is now a baseline expectation for employees as leaders feel the pressure to prove the returns on their hefty investments.
Tokenmaxxing is the latest AI trend to come under fire as businesses want employees to use more AI in their work. In essence, this means boosting AI input to maximize AI output. On the surface, it sounds efficient and harmless. But underneath, it poses major security risks.
Tokenmaxxing explainedSo what actually is tokenmaxxing?
A ‘token’ is a unit of data processed by an AI model. For example, a word or character inputted into an LLM search. So ‘tokenmaxxing’ quite simply means over-engineering generative AI prompts to get the most out of one search input. This can be anything from overly detailed prompts, to overloading an LLM chat with information, to asking an AI model for step-by-step breakdowns, as opposed to short summaries.
The trend is driven by businesses as leaders face pressure to prove the ROI of AI. It became a tongue-in-cheek benchmark of AI performance. Some companies, such as Meta, even gamified tokenmaxxing, measuring and ranking AI usage and citing the highest scorers ‘Token Legends’.
Their assumption is that AI usage means being AI-forward. But instead, companies need to consider the value they get from AI tools. They also need to keep security at the center of the conversation.
The hidden costs of tokenmaxxingAlthough it might look like harmless corporate showboating, this trend poses a wide range of security risks given that LLM vendors are 52% more likely to be designated as “high risk” than traditional SaaS. This is due to access to sensitive data, IP, and internal workflows, so it’s imperative that businesses have oversight of how employees use these resources.
Rapid adoption of AI has led to an experimentation mindset. This is a positive shift from an innovation standpoint, but from a compliance perspective, a ‘trial and error’ approach is more error than trial.
The legacy tech systems most major enterprises are still reliant on are controlled by procurement and security teams and were not designed for the agility of AI technology. Meaning both innovation and compliance are lagging behind. It’s the latter that’s causing major concerns in the cybersecurity world.
When employees face mounting pressure to get the job done, they won’t wait for security teams to approve new tools, which results in shadow AI. This is where unmanaged, unapproved AI tools operate inside company environments without oversight.
Industry data shows that 70% of 16k cybersecurity customers currently have some form of shadow AI lurking within their organization, largely due to AI tools introduced through improper procurement channels that now have access to company data without oversight or guardrails.
There’s also been a 36% increase in shadow IT year-on-year, with organizations discovering, on average, around 140 Shadow IT tools accessing their environment within 90 days of connecting to the platform.
The bottom line is that AI adoption is drastically outpacing governance, and employees are prioritizing speed over control.
How businesses can defend against Shadow AIThe core issue isn’t tokenmaxxing itself; it’s businesses' inability to keep up with employee demand for speedy access to the latest AI tools. This ultimately results in friction between the desire to safely onboard new tools and the ongoing pressure to use AI.
When security teams intervene and revoke access to unmanaged tools, employees just reinstall them. Industry data finds that within a 30-day period, the average enterprise sees employees reinstall revoked tools 100+ times. Within one year, it happens 1,000 times.
To bolster defenses, organizations must design their procurement systems to match the speed of AI innovation, so they can keep up with the rate of AI usage, as demonstrated by so-called ‘token legends’.
Three actions businesses can take nowThe more generative AI gets adopted in the corporate world, the more employees will face pressure to adopt and prove its ROI. Tokenmaxxing is just one hype within this wider picture. Businesses need to act fast to stop the gap between experimentation and control widening.
Three things leaders and compliance teams can kickstart today to bolster defenses against shadow AI are:
- Shrinking vendor review timelines so they match the speed of AI adoption
- Set up continuous monitoring systems to detect threats caused by tokenmaxxing before they jeopardize safety
- Implement employee training and policies for AI usage to ensure employees don’t expose sensitive data or IP
The new mandate is matching speed with governance, and it’s up to security teams to lead the charge.
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As governments and organizations rethink their reliance on foreign-owned IT infrastructure, data sovereignty has become a boardroom priority.
However, the conversation has become overly focused on where data is stored, overlooking the legal, operational and resilience factors that determine whether organizations are truly in control.
Whether through misunderstanding or a deliberate attempt to mislead, the term data sovereignty is often misused.
Data residency and data sovereignty are being conflated, despite being very different. Data residency is about the physical location of data, while data sovereignty is much broader and also includes legal jurisdiction, operational control, resilience, governance and the ability to manage risk.
Concerns about dependence on foreign-owned digital infrastructure have brought added urgency to issues of digital independence and control over critical technology.
In response, various vendors - particularly the big US-based hyperscalers - are now repositioning themselves with “sovereign” alternatives based primarily on where they store customer data.
While this might address some of their customers’ needs, reducing sovereignty to a question of geography creates a misleadingly simple narrative: if an organization moves data to the “right” country, it will somehow become compliant. In reality, the core issue is not just where data should be hosted, but understanding who may seek access to it and who ultimately controls the infrastructure supporting it.
This misunderstanding is giving rise to what could be described as “data sovereignty washing”, with simplified claims that don't reflect legal or operational reality.
Data sans frontièresGovernments the world over have well-established legal mechanisms for requesting information held in other jurisdictions. While data residency influences which laws apply and how requests are handled, it does not provide immunity from lawful access or eliminate international cooperation.
An example is the US CLOUD Act. Under certain conditions, it enables US authorities to request data from US service providers even when it is stored outside the United States. So, even if a UK or European-owned organization hosts data with a US-owned provider in a UK or European data center, it may still be reachable under US legal process. Being physically ‘local’ doesn’t change that.
The US is far from unique in this regard. Many other countries have legislation in place allowing authorities to access data for law enforcement or national security purposes, often supported by cross-border agreements and established legal processes.
The risk is that enterprises treat location as a complete sovereignty strategy, rather than one element of it. Threat actors care about the value of the data, not geography. As a result, organizations can spend significant time and money migrating data to new locations while leaving their biggest security risks fundamentally unchanged.
A more useful starting point is to ask what risks the organization is actually trying to reduce. That shifts the focus and any subsequent changes in approach away from maps, and towards threat modelling, which provides the right context for meaningful conversations about sovereignty.
Start with the threat modelDifferent organizations have fundamentally different threat models. A local retailer, a multinational bank, a defense contractor and a government department are unlikely to share the same priorities, even if they all process sensitive information.
For some organizations, regulatory compliance or data residency requirements may be the primary concern. For others, resilience against cyberattack, protection of intellectual property, or reducing dependence on a particular technology provider may be far more important. It’s generally a matter of sector-specific and business priorities.
So, rather than simply asking where data is stored, leaders should consider who ultimately controls the infrastructure, how dependent they are on individual cloud providers, what happens if services become unavailable, and whether they retain sufficient visibility and control over critical systems. If any of this raises operational or regulatory concerns, it may be sensible to adjust strategy.
The resilience paradoxAn unintended consequence of pursuing absolute data localization is that it can reduce resilience. Organizations often improve availability and data recovery by maintaining geographically separate copies of critical data. Restricting everything to a single jurisdiction can reduce those options.
Decisions about sovereignty should therefore factor in availability, confidentiality, and integrity – all of which are important. The most effective approaches recognize that resilience sometimes requires carefully managed distribution rather than rigid localization.
Consider this scenario: an organization has ensured all their email is stored within a single jurisdiction to meet sovereignty objectives. Months later, their provider has a major outage in that one region, and they lose access to their email for days. Even worse, a serious data loss event affects their backups, which are also stored in the same region. If they had optimized for resilience instead, their data would have been safe and available throughout.
Even though the organization successfully addressed one aspect of sovereignty, they weakened another by reducing their ability to recover critical business information. That's ultimately the difference between treating sovereignty as a marketing claim and treating it as a genuine risk management exercise.
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This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to 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/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit