The Department of Defence has awarded Optus a $19.5m contract extension covering the continued supply of satellite capacity and support services. [ + ]

ICT analyst firms Ovum and Informa are merging under the Ovum brand, to create a research house that will employ 180 analysts across six continents. [ + ]

UNIT4 has won a deal to provide research management software to Monash University, to help the university manage its $300 million global research practice. [ + ]

Microsoft's recently revealed Office for iPad will appeal to some users, but will leave those looking for innovative tablet-related features disappointed, according to one analyst firm. [ + ]

Microsoft has made new leadership appointments to its Cloud and Enterprise, Microsoft Devices and Xbox groups. [ + ]

Only 6.5% of PCs in Australia and New Zealand are still running Windows XP, compared to 32% worldwide, but Trend Micro warns that these laggards are posing a "public health risk to the internet". [ + ]

The Australian smart home automation market will be taking in nearly $1 billion by 2017, with 'smart home hubs' capturing 40% of the market, Telsyte predicts. [ + ]

ACMA has issued a formal warning to Optus after an investigation found the telco inaccurately billed customers almost $9 million. [ + ]

Google has published its latest figures on authorities' legal requests for user data, including details from Australia, but the report still has no statistics on the type of user data shared. [ + ]

With Australian companies feeling more confident in their growth prospects for 2014, the percentage of businesses planning to increase headcount is also growing, a survey shows. [ + ]

Australian beverage company Bickford's has selected cloud-based and mobile CRM systems from StayinFront as part of an overhaul of its current systems. [ + ]

A survey shows Australian consumers and businesses who have lost data were in fact using a backup system at the time of their data loss. [ + ]

Pure Hacking has urged Australian individuals and businesses still using Windows XP to upgrade now, before Microsoft pulls the support plug on the OS next month. [ + ]

The Communications Alliance will absorb the core responsibilities of the Internet Industry Association (IIA), after the IIA's board made the decision to shut down the organisation. [ + ]

Apple's iOS is the most commonly used mobile OS in enterprises in mature markets, according to analyst firm Gartner. IT managers have a series of decisions to make about managing iOS devices, in order to minimise the risk of data leakage. [ + ]