Mastodawn

NVIDIA Reveals Rubin AI and Blackwell Ultra || Tech Field Day News Rundown: March 19, 2025

NVIDIA unveiled new AI-focused chips at its GTC conference, including the Blackwell Ultra series launching this year and the next-gen Vera Rubin GPUs set for 2026. CEO Jensen Huang emphasized the company’s shift to an annual release cycle, a departure from its previous biennial schedule. This move reflects NVIDIA’s response to the growing AI market and increasing competition. This and more on the Rundown.

https://youtu.be/49b4_OrMpvI

2:29 – Taara Spun Out from Google’s Parent Company Alphabet

Alphabet has spun off Taara, its laser-based internet backbone provider, into an independent company focused on delivering high-speed connectivity to underserved regions. The newly formed company will continue developing its wireless optical communication technology, which aims to provide reliable internet without the need for traditional fiber infrastructure.

6:41 – Intel Names Lip-Bu Tan as New CEO

Intel has appointed Lip-Bu Tan as its new CEO, succeeding Pat Gelsinger who stepped down in December 2024. Tan, formerly CEO of Cadence Design Systems and an Intel board member, aims to revitalize the company by streamlining operations and focusing on advanced chip manufacturing, including AI server chips, to better compete with industry leaders like TSMC. Following the announcement, Intel’s stock surged nearly 8%, reflecting investor optimism about Tan’s strategic vision.

12:38 – DevOps Gets Empowered by Semaphore Going Open Source

Semaphore has open-sourced its core CI/CD platform under the Apache 2.0 license, aiming to provide developers with greater flexibility and transparency. This move addresses the limitations of existing CI/CD solutions by combining enterprise-grade reliability with the customizability of open-source software. By making its codebase publicly accessible, Semaphore empowers developers to explore, modify, and enhance the platform to suit their unique requirements, fostering a community-driven approach to innovation.

16:38 – Microsoft’s New Quantum Chip Greeted with Major Skepticism

Microsoft’s recent announcement of its Majorana 1 quantum chip, claimed to be a significant advancement in quantum computing, has been met with skepticism from the scientific community. Experts question the validity of Microsoft’s findings, citing a lack of peer-reviewed evidence and unproven underlying physics, leading to concerns about the legitimacy of the breakthrough.

22:04 – Solo.io Launches Kagent for Agentic AI-Driven Cloud Ops

Solo.io has launched Kagent, an open-source agentic AI framework designed to automate cloud-native operations within Kubernetes environments. Built on Microsoft’s AutoGen, Kagent integrates with existing tools to streamline tasks like configuration, troubleshooting, and network security, enabling DevOps teams to leverage AI-driven automation.

25:37 – Amazon, Google, and Meta Nuclear Datacenters by 2050

Amazon, Google, and Meta are investing heavily in nuclear energy as part of their strategy to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. These tech giants plan to power their operations with 100% renewable energy, with nuclear energy playing a key role in meeting their ambitious sustainability goals. Alongside nuclear, they are exploring advanced technologies like carbon capture to reduce their environmental impact and address the urgency of climate change.

29:38 – NVIDIA Reveals Rubin AI and Blackwell Ultra

Nvidia unveiled new AI-focused chips at its GTC conference, including the Blackwell Ultra series launching this year and the next-gen Vera Rubin GPUs set for 2026. CEO Jensen Huang emphasized the company’s shift to an annual release cycle, a departure from its previous biennial schedule. This move reflects Nvidia’s response to the growing AI market and increasing competition.

40:58 – The Weeks Ahead

Upcoming Tech Field Day Events

Networking Field Day 37 – March 19 – 20

Tech Field Day Extra with HPE – April 8

AI Infrastructure Field Day 2 – April 23 – 24

Mobility Field Day 13 – May 7 – 8

Security Field Day 13 – May 29 – 30

Host Information

Stephen Foskett is the President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the Tech Field Day Event Series, now part of The Futurum Group. Connect with Stephen on LinkedIn or on X/Twitter.

Alastair Cooke is a Tech Field Day Event Lead, now part of The Futurum Group. You can connect with Alastair on LinkedIn or on X/Twitter and you can read more of his research notes and insights on The Futurum Group’s website.

Gestalt IT and Tech Field Day are now part of The Futurum Group.

The Gestalt IT Rundown is your look at the IT news of the week. Be sure to subscribe to Gestalt IT on YouTube for even more weekly video content.

#AI #NVIDIAGTC #Rundown #AWSCloud #DemitasseNZ #GestaltIT #Google #GoogleCloud #Intel #IntelBusiness #Meta #Microsoft #Nvidia #SFoskett #TechFieldDay #TechstrongTV #TheFuturumGroup

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NVIDIA Reveals Rubin AI and Blackwell Ultra || Tech Field Day News Rundown: March 19, 2025

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Stephen Foskett Feb 12

OpenAI Not For Sale as They Prepare Proprietary Chip | The Gestalt IT Rundown: February 12, 2025

A group of investors, led by Elon Musk’s startup xAI and other backers, has made a $97.4 billion bid to take control of OpenAI, aiming to refocus the organization on open-source AI and safety amid rising tensions between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over its shift to a for-profit model. Meanwhile, OpenAI is advancing its AI hardware strategy with plans to launch a custom-designed AI chip in 2024, fabricated by TSMC using 3-nanometer technology to reduce reliance on Nvidia. Initially deployed on a limited scale, the chip is designed to optimize AI model performance, with OpenAI’s expanding chip team already working on future iterations with enhanced capabilities. This and more on The Rundown.

https://youtu.be/Ng59i8nmVI4

2:44 – Turn/River Capital Acquires SolarWinds

With its $4.4 billion acquisition of SolarWinds, Turn/River Capital seeks to take the IT management software firm private, allowing it to focus on long-term growth without the pressure of quarterly earnings. This deal aligns with a broader surge in private-equity buyouts in the software sector, driven by declining borrowing costs, and comes after SolarWinds’ turbulent past, including a major 2020 cyberattack that compromised government and corporate clients.

5:21 – WEKA Restructure to Focus on AI

WEKA is restructuring its go-to-market functions to align with the rapid growth of generative AI, following a strong 2024 in which it raised $140 million in funding and surpassed $100 million in annual recurring revenue. CEO Liran Zvibel emphasizes that this strategic shift will position the company for long-term success, with plans to expand headcount by approximately 120 employees to support large-scale enterprise AI and GPU acceleration deployments.

9:23 – Cisco One Silicon Shows Big at Cisco Live EMEA

Cisco Live EMEA is happening this week and Cisco has had some big announcements. The biggest news comes with investments in new service provider hardware and data center infrastructure as well. The moves appear to be positioned to help Cisco customers take advantage of AI while also offering a custom advantage. The newest platforms are all powered by Cisco’s Silicon One chips. The newest A-series and K-series CPUs help offload processing to the edge and give Cisco an opportunity to challenge merchant silicon vendors in the space. For more on this we’re going on site to Tom Hollingsworth in Amsterdam at Cisco Live for more.

12:50 – Hammerspace is Changing the AI Training Game

Hammerspace is challenging conventional reliance on object storage for AI workloads by advocating for universal, protocol-agnostic data access instead. The company has emphasized the importance of intelligent data orchestration across various storage types, ensuring seamless access to relevant datasets without disruptive migrations. As AI adoption continues to grow, Hammerspace highlights the need for metadata-driven automation and hybrid access models to optimize performance and scalability in enterprise environments.

17:31 – French President to Invest $112B in AI

French President Emmanuel Macron announced $112 billion in private investments for the AI ecosystem, with funds expected to be deployed in the coming years, coinciding with Paris hosting the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit. This investment will primarily focus on AI data centers, with the country positioning itself as an ideal location for AI infrastructure due to its low-carbon electricity and stable grid, which Macron emphasized as a competitive advantage for attracting global investments.

22:36 – Huawei Shows Revenue Growth Despite Ban

Huawei expects to meet its 2024 revenue target of ¥860 billion ($118.25 billion), marking 22% growth compared to 2023. Despite sanctions, its ICT business remains strong, its consumer sector is growing, and its smart car solutions are expanding quickly. This success is notable considering Huawei’s challenges, including the sale of its Honor brand and the difficult economic environment in China.

26:49 – Sam Altman Says OpenAI is Not for Sale

A group of investors has made a $97.4 billion offer to take control of OpenAI, aiming to restore the organization’s focus on open-source AI and safety. The investors are led by Elon Musk’s startup xAI and several other backers. Tensions between Musk and OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman have escalated as Musk challenges OpenAI’s shift to a for-profit model and its current management.

33:06 – OpenAI to Take On NVIDIA with Proprietary Chip

OpenAI is preparing to launch its own AI chip in 2024, aiming to reduce its reliance on Nvidia. The custom-designed chip, to be fabricated by TSMC using 3-nanometer technology, will focus on running AI models and will initially be deployed on a limited scale. OpenAI’s chip team, which has recently doubled in size, is also working on future versions with enhanced capabilities.

38:13 – The Weeks Ahead

Cloud Field Day 22 – February 19 – 20

Networking Field Day 37 – March 19 – 20

Gestalt IT and Tech Field Day are now part of The Futurum Group.

The Gestalt IT Rundown is your look at the IT news of the week. Be sure to subscribe to Gestalt IT on YouTube for even more weekly video content.

#AI #ITNews #Rundown #Cisco #CiscoNetworking #DemitasseNZ #GestaltIT #HammerspaceInc #Huawei #OpenAI #SFoskett #SolarWinds #TechFieldDay #TechstrongTV #TheFuturumGroup #WekaIO

https://wp.me/p4YpUP-mUe

OpenAI Not For Sale as They Prepare Proprietary Chip | The Gestalt IT Rundown: February 12, 2025

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Stephen Foskett Dec 10

Company Acquisitions are a Necessary Evil in Enterprise Tech

The IT industry’s reliance on acquisitions is a necessary driver of innovation, though they often seem to get in the way of competition and progress. This episode of the Tech Field Day podcast, recorded during Cloud Field Day 21, features Ray Lucchesi, Jon Hildebrand, Ken Nalbone, and Stephen Foskett considering whether acquisitions in the IT industry are a necessary evil or a detriment to innovation. Acquisitions are often seen as a double-edged sword, with both positive and negative implications. On one hand, acquisitions can fuel innovation by providing smaller companies with the resources and market access they need to scale their ideas. On the other hand, they can stifle competition, lead to cultural clashes, and sometimes result in the disappearance of promising technologies or products.

https://youtu.be/Iy5z_Xbaib0

See more from Cloud Field Day 21 on the Tech Field Day website or YouTube channel.

We May Not Like Acquisitions in Tech But We Need them!

The IT industry has long been shaped by the cycle of acquisitions, with large companies absorbing smaller, innovative startups to bolster their portfolios. This practice is often seen as a double-edged sword. On one hand, acquisitions can inject fresh ideas and technologies into established organizations, enabling them to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving market. On the other hand, the process can stifle innovation, as smaller companies with promising technologies are often absorbed and their products either languish or are subsumed into larger, less agile corporate structures. The debate over whether acquisitions are a necessary evil or simply detrimental to the industry remains a contentious topic.

One of the key arguments in favor of acquisitions is their role in fostering innovation. Startups often emerge with groundbreaking ideas but lack the resources or market reach to scale effectively. Being acquired by a larger company can provide the necessary capital, infrastructure, and customer base to bring these innovations to a broader audience. However, this process is not without its pitfalls. Many acquisitions result in a clash of corporate cultures, leading to inefficiencies and, in some cases, the eventual dissolution of the acquired entity’s unique value proposition. This raises questions about whether the industry might benefit more from encouraging organic growth rather than relying on acquisitions as a growth strategy.

Critics argue that acquisitions often prioritize short-term financial gains over long-term innovation. Large corporations may acquire smaller companies not to integrate their technologies but to eliminate potential competition. This practice can lead to market consolidation, reducing diversity and stifling the competitive landscape. Furthermore, the focus on financial returns, driven by venture capital and private equity investments, often pressures startups to position themselves as acquisition targets rather than sustainable, standalone businesses. This dynamic can skew the priorities of emerging companies, emphasizing exit strategies over product development and customer satisfaction.

The role of private equity in driving acquisitions adds another layer of complexity. Private equity firms often seek to maximize returns by cutting costs and streamlining operations, which can lead to a loss of innovation and employee morale within the acquired company. While some private equity firms take a more hands-on approach to foster growth and innovation, others focus solely on financial metrics, potentially undermining the long-term viability of the companies they acquire. This dichotomy highlights the need for a more balanced approach to investment, one that prioritizes sustainable growth and innovation over short-term financial gains.

In an ideal world, the IT industry would thrive on organic growth, with companies building sustainable business models and scaling through customer acquisition and market expansion. However, the reality is that acquisitions are deeply ingrained in the industry’s fabric, driven by the need for rapid growth and the financial incentives of venture capital and private equity. While acquisitions may be a necessary evil in the current landscape, the industry must strive to ensure that they are conducted in a way that fosters innovation, benefits customers, and supports the long-term health of the market. The challenge lies in finding a balance that allows both startups and established companies to thrive without compromising the industry’s overall dynamism.

Podcast Information:

Stephen Foskett is the President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the Tech Field Day Event Series, now part of The Futurum Group. Connect with Stephen on LinkedIn or on X/Twitter.

Ray Lucchesi is the president of Silverton Consulting and the host of Greybeards on Storage Podcast. You can connect with Ray on X/Twitter or on LinkedIn. Learn more about Ray on his website and listen to his podcast.

Jon Hildebrand is an automation and observability expert. You can connect with Jon on LinkedIn or on X/Twitter. Learn more about Jon by reading his personal blog.

Ken Nalbone is a Senior Solutions Architect at AHEAD. You can connect with Ken on X/Twitter, Bluesky, and on LinkedIn. Learn more about Ken on his personal website.

Thank you for listening to this episode of the Tech Field Day Podcast. If you enjoyed the discussion, please remember to subscribe on YouTube or your favorite podcast application so you don’t miss an episode and do give us a rating and a review. This podcast was brought to you by Tech Field Day, home of IT experts from across the enterprise, now part of The Futurum Group.

#CFD21 #TFDPodcast #GestaltIT #KenNalbone #RayLucchesi #SFoskett #SnoopJ123 #TechFieldDay #TechFieldDayPod

https://wp.me/p4YpUP-mQu

Company Acquisitions are a Necessary Evil in Enterprise Tech - The Tech Field Day Podcast

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Stephen Foskett Dec 3

There’s a Gulf Between Storage and AI

There is a significant gap between storage companies and their ability to effectively support AI infrastructure. In this episode of the Tech Field Day podcast, recorded during the AI Data Infrastructure Field Day 1 in Santa Clara, host Stephen Foskett and guests Kurtis Kemple, Brian Booden, and Rohan Puri explore the evolving relationship between storage and AI. The discussion highlights a significant gap between storage companies’ current capabilities and the demands of AI applications. While storage vendors are pivoting to support AI, many lack deep AI expertise, often focusing on cost and efficiency rather than offering integrated, AI-specific solutions. The panel emphasizes the need for storage companies to move beyond being mere data repositories and instead develop end-to-end solutions that address AI workflows, data preparation, and metadata management. They also stress the importance of education, partnerships, and hiring AI specialists to bridge the knowledge gap and drive innovation. The conversation underscores the early stage of this convergence, with a call for clearer strategies, open standards, and more cohesive integration between storage and AI to meet the growing demands of data-driven applications.

https://youtu.be/3sZoByYja8A

Learn more about AI Data Infrastructure Field Day 1 and watch videos from these presentations on the Tech Field Day website.

How Can Storage Support AI?

The intersection of storage and AI infrastructure presents a complex and evolving challenge. While storage companies are increasingly pivoting toward AI solutions, there remains a significant gap in understanding and integration. Storage has traditionally been viewed as a low-level, technical domain focused on hardware like disks and file systems. On the other hand, AI, particularly in the context of large language models (LLMs) and data analytics, operates at a higher level, requiring nuanced data management and application-specific insights. This disconnect highlights the need for storage companies to move beyond simply offering cost-effective and high-performance infrastructure. Instead, they must develop a deeper understanding of AI workflows and provide solutions that address the specific needs of AI applications, such as data preparation, metadata management, and seamless integration with AI training pipelines.

One of the key challenges is the lack of “solutioning” in the storage industry. Many storage vendors focus on infrastructure performance and efficiency but fail to address how their products fit into the broader AI ecosystem. For instance, while some companies are integrating with GPU technologies to support AI workloads, this approach often stops at the infrastructure level. True integration requires a more comprehensive understanding of AI applications, extending beyond hardware to include data management, insights, and application-level affordances. Without this, storage solutions risk being perceived as generic and interchangeable, reducing their value proposition in the AI space.

Another critical issue is the fragmentation of data sources and the absence of standardized frameworks for integration. Data in AI workflows often comes from diverse sources, including databases, data warehouses, file systems, and cloud storage. These sources are frequently siloed, making it challenging to consolidate and analyze data effectively. While some progress has been made in the database world with open formats and decoupled layers, similar advancements are lacking in the storage domain. The industry needs open standards and protocols that enable seamless data integration across vendors and platforms, facilitating the development of unified AI solutions.

The role of storage companies in AI could evolve in two distinct directions: becoming specialized storage solutions for AI or serving as connectors that enable AI applications to access existing data seamlessly. Both approaches have merit, but they require a clear strategy and a deep understanding of AI workflows. Companies that choose to specialize in AI storage must offer features like automated data preparation, efficient data movement, and real-time insights. Conversely, those opting to act as connectors must focus on breaking down data silos and providing tools that simplify data access and integration for AI applications.

Education and leadership are crucial for bridging the gap between storage and AI. Storage companies need to hire AI specialists and empower them to influence product development and strategy. This requires a top-down approach, with leadership roles dedicated to understanding and addressing the unique challenges of AI. Without this internal expertise, companies risk creating a disconnect between their AI-focused messaging and the actual capabilities of their products. Moreover, fostering collaboration between storage and AI teams within organizations can lead to more innovative and effective solutions.

Finally, the industry is still in the early stages of addressing the intersection of storage and AI. While the rapid growth of data and the increasing complexity of AI workloads present significant challenges, they also offer opportunities for innovation. Storage companies that can adapt to these demands by developing specialized products, embracing open standards, and fostering cross-disciplinary expertise will be better positioned to succeed. As the market matures, we can expect to see a blending of technologies and a shift toward more integrated and user-friendly solutions that cater to the unique needs of AI applications.

Podcast Information:

Stephen Foskett is the President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the Tech Field Day Event Series, now part of The Futurum Group. Connect with Stephen on LinkedIn or on X/Twitter.

Brian Booden is the Managing Director at DataGlow IT. You can connect with Brian on X/Twitter and on LinkedIn. Learn more about DataGlow IT on their website.

Rohan Puri is an Storage Infrastructure Engineer. You can connect with Rohan on LinkedIn or on X/Twitter. Learn more about him on his personal website.

Kurtis Kemple is the Director of Developer Relations as Slack. You can connect with Kurtis on LinkedIn or on X/Twitter. Learn more about Kurtis on his website.

#AIDIFD1 #TFDPodcast #BrianBooden #GestaltIT #RohanPuri #SFoskett #TechFieldDay #TechFieldDayPod #_DigitalVandal

https://wp.me/p4YpUP-mNU

There’s a Gulf Between Storage and AI - The Tech Field Day Podcast

Event Page: https://techfieldday.com/event/aidifd1/There is a significant gap between storage companies and their ability to effectively support AI infrastru...

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Stephen Foskett Nov 20, 2024

US Antitrust Actions Challenge Tech Deals | The Gestalt IT Rundown: November 20, 2024

The US Department of Justice is looking at two big IT companies, potentially making waves in the enterprise IT space. They are asking a federal judge to force Google to sell or spin off its Chrome browser, arguing that integration with Google’s other products, particularly Android, Search, and the Play store, is anti-competitive. At the same time, the DOJ is also looking at the proposed acquisition of Juniper Networks by Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

https://youtu.be/-X7dbN26PSA

2:09 – NIST Can Hear When Your Battery is Going to Catch Fire

Researchers at NIST, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, have trained an AI to detect the sound of a Lithium battery that is about to catch fire. The characteristic sound of the safety valve releasing excess gas pressure is a precursor to an unstoppable fire erupting.

4:48 – StarTree Cloud Powers Real-Time Data

StarTree Cloud, built on Apache Pinot, now includes more real-time data warehouse features including pauseless ingestion, ML-driven query optimization, schema evolution for dynamic data, and role-based access control. StarTree’s massive-scale real-time data warehouse is finding big corporate customers, and these new features ought to attract even more.

9:44 – Itential Debuts Automation Service at Networking Field Day

Itential has launched its Automation Service to streamline and standardize network automation, allowing NetDevOps teams to securely create, share, and execute automations at scale. The service features a dynamic Automation Gateway that integrates tools like Python, Ansible, and OpenTofu, enabling developers to build automations while empowering teams to use them without coding expertise. With capabilities like role-based access control, Git synchronization, and reusable service frameworks, Itential aims to simplify automation management, reduce script proliferation, and foster agility across hybrid cloud infrastructures. Let’s kick it over to The Futurum Group’s Ron Westfall for more.

17:11 – SentinelOne reports on The State of Cloud Ransomware in 2024

SentinelOne has reported that cloud services are not immune to ransomware and are specifically targeted by ransomware groups. Poorly secured cloud accounts can allow attackers to use cloud-native encryption services to encrypt cloud data. Alternatively, cloud storage can be the destination for data exfiltration, copying stolen data from the victim network.

21:38 – Cyber Defense Agencies reveal Most Exploited Vulnerabilities in 2023

Cybersecurity agencies from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand jointly released an advisory highlighting the most exploited vulnerabilities of 2023, emphasizing a rise in zero-day attacks targeting high-priority systems. The report incluudes recommendations for dealing with this new world, but it’s very hard to prepare for zero-day exploits.

Read More: 2023 Top Routinely Exploited VulnerabilitiesThe State of Cloud Ransomware in 2024

25:34 – Lightbend Launches Akka 3

Lightbend has rebranded as Akka with the launch of Akka 3, a platform for building elastic, agile, and resilient apps with a simple SDK and support for Serverless and Bring-Your-Own-Cloud environments. Akka introduces industry-firsts like cross-cloud app migration, multi-master replication for failover-free operations, and guarantees against app reliability issues. Already powering major enterprises, Akka 3 redefines app development by focusing on responsiveness and SLAs, independent of infrastructure.

29:40 – US Antitrust Actions Challenge Tech Deals

DOJ will attempt to Break Up Google

The Department of Justice plans to ask a federal judge to require Google to sell its Chrome browser, arguing that its integration with Google’s other products sustains an illegal search monopoly and limits competition. Additional proposals include separating Android from Search and Google Play, enhancing advertiser control, limiting AI content use, and banning exclusive contracts central to the antitrust case.

Juniper Networks Sees Drops as DOJ Reviews HPE Deal

Juniper Networks shares fell 5% amid reports that the DOJ may soon decide whether to approve or block its $14 billion acquisition by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). While HPE expects the deal to close by early 2025, recent DOJ scrutiny and trader speculation have raised concerns about potential regulatory hurdles.

38:44 – The Weeks Ahead

Mobility Field Day 12 – November 20 – 21

AI Field Day 6 – January 29 – 30

Gestalt IT and Tech Field Day are now part of The Futurum Group.

The Gestalt IT Rundown is your look at the IT news of the week. Be sure to subscribe to Gestalt IT on YouTube for even more weekly video content.

#CyberSecurity #Ransomware #Rundown #Security #DemitasseNZ #GestaltIT #Google #HPE #JuniperNetworks #LightbendNIST #SFoskett #StartreeDataRonWestfallDX #TechFieldDay #TheFuturumGroup

https://wp.me/p4YpUP-mNI

US Antitrust Actions Challenge Tech Deals | The Gestalt IT Rundown: November 20, 2024

The US Department of Justice is looking at two big IT companies, potentially making waves in the enterprise IT space. They are asking a federal judge to forc...

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Stephen Foskett Nov 8, 2024

Exploring the Future of App Development at AppDev Field Day from KubeCon and CloudNativeCon

From IT operations, platform engineering, and DevOps to application development, we’re considering the complete software lifecycle. That’s the focus at the next Tech Field Day event, AppDev Field Day, which we’re co-locating with the incredible KubeCon + CloudNativeCon, thanks to our partners at the Cloud Native Computing Foundation and TechStrong TV. We’ll be coming to you live and direct from Salt Lake City on November 12th and 13th. Tune in live on LinkedIn, DevOps.com, Techstrong TV, and check out the Tech Field Day website for the complete schedule.

https://youtu.be/ITbBsESAJIo

Tech Field Day has partnered with Mitch Ashley of the Futurum Group to organize the AppDev Field Day event. We’re kicking off our next event in this series next week, broadcasting live from Salt Lake City on Techstrong TV.

Event Schedule

We’ll kick things off at AppDev Field Day on Tuesday at 1:00 MT, 12:00 PT with SOUTHWORKS. They’ll explore the future of cloud migration and multi-cloud strategies, demonstrating how SOUTHWORKS leverages CNCF technologies to help customers realize the potential of multi-cloud.

At 2:30 MT, we’re welcoming Heroku, a Salesforce company, to AppDev Field Day. Heroku will showcase its evolving platform capabilities, including new developments in Cloud Native Buildpacks and OpenTelemetry, while reflecting on a decade of container-driven transformation in application development.

On Wednesday at 12:00 MT, 11:00 PT, we’ll be introduced to Codiac, a new company that simplifies container and cluster management, allowing organizations to focus on software development and applications.

Watch AppDev Field Day Live

All of our sessions are broadcast live on LinkedIn and Techstrong TV, as well as the Tech Field Day website and partner sites including DevOps.com. The presentations are recorded and shared on the Tech Field Day YouTube channel as well as on TechStrong TV. We welcome participation on X/Twitter or Mastodon using #ADFD2, as well as on LinkedIn.

You can learn more about the event and our panel of independent technical influencers on the Tech field Day website as well. Each of our delegates has their own blog, podcast, or social media platform where they share their thoughts on enterprise technology.

Thank you for joining AppDev Field Day live on November 12th and 13th on our social media channels. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on X/Twitter, Mastodon, or LinkedIn for more Field Day updates.

#ADFD2 #CloudNativeCon #KubeCon #CodiacIO #GestaltIT #Heroku #MitchellAshley #SFoskett #SOUTHWORKS #TechFieldDay #TheFuturumGroup #ADFD2

https://wp.me/p4YpUP-mLZ

AppDev Field Day 2 - Tech Field Day

Tech Field Day

Stephen Foskett Nov 6, 2024

What Another Trump Presidency Means for Enterprise Tech | The Gestalt IT Rundown: November 6, 2024

Another Trump presidency could bring significant implications for enterprise tech, particularly through a focus on deregulation, increased M&A, and expanded Big Tech investments. this also extends to advancements in military technology, Israel’s influence on cybersecurity, the impact of initiatives like StarLink and rural broadband on connectivity, nuclear energy, AI, the CHIPS Act, and the expanding space industry. Altogether, these insights suggest that a pro-deregulation agenda, aiming to remove ten regulations for each new one introduced, could profoundly shape the future of enterprise technology. This and more on the Gestalt IT Rundown.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Tjv_5INq3k&list=PL4esUX7mpOVbSGJ3IbnfaAfgdV-9CqgXQ&index=1

1:54 – Log-in Bug Infects Okta

Okta recently disclosed a security vulnerability that allowed users to log in without a correct password under specific conditions, such as usernames over 52 characters, the presence of a stored cache key, no two-factor authentication, and Okta’s authentication agent being down or overloaded. Okta has since fixed the issue by updating its cryptographic algorithm and advises affected customers to review access logs from the past three months.

4:14 – Nuclear Amazon Datacenters Denied over Safety Concerns

Back on Oct 2, Tom and I talked about nuclear power for AI datacenters. Amazon’s plans to power new U.S. datacenters with nuclear energy faced a setback after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected an agreement allowing it to draw additional power from the Susquehanna nuclear plant, citing potential impacts on grid reliability and consumer costs. Despite FERC Chairman Willie L. Phillips advocating for approval, FERC ruled that the proposal lacked sufficient support, raising concerns over preferential treatment and the potential effects of similar arrangements on the grid in future cases.

7:56 – Microsoft Recalls Recall. Again.

Microsoft has once again delayed the release of its new AI Recall feature for Copilot Plus PCs, pushing the preview for Windows Insiders to December. Recall, which was originally slated for an October release, has been plagued by concerns about its security and privacy implications. The delays stem from Microsoft’s efforts to address these concerns by making Recall an opt-in feature that can be fully uninstalled. Microsoft has been working to fix bugs in how the feature appears and is controlled in Windows 11. The company remains committed to delivering a secure and trusted experience with Recall.

10:58 – Cloudera Launches Private Link

Cloudera recently launched the Cloudera Private Link Network, a service designed to provide secure, internet-free connectivity across multi-cloud environments. This network allows data to travel securely between customer workloads and Cloudera’s Control Plane without traversing the public internet, addressing privacy and regulatory concerns for industries like finance, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals. By using services like AWS PrivateLink and Azure Private Link, the Private Link Network enables consistent security across cloud providers, reducing the complexities of cross-cloud setups and lowering total costs by simplifying network management. This development marks Cloudera’s effort to support enterprises with strict data protection needs in leveraging multi-cloud environments efficiently. For more on this, let’s turn to our colleague Mitch Ashley.

14:50 – Google Cloud gets Multi-Factor Authentication

In response to rising cyber threats and high-profile data breaches, Google has announced that it will require all Google Cloud users to enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) by 2025. Starting this month, users will receive reminders to implement MFA, with mandatory enforcement beginning in the new year. This policy shift, aimed at protecting against unauthorized access through stolen credentials, aligns Google with other cloud giants like AWS and Microsoft, which have also moved to enforce MFA. Google says this requirement addresses the heightened security risks in enterprise cloud environments, where sensitive data remains a prime target for cyberattacks.

17:33 – Supermicro Faces Financial Woes as NVIDIA Seeks New Suppliers

Needham suspended its buy rating for Super Micro Computer (SMCI) after Ernst & Young resigned as auditor, citing governance issues and concerns about financial transparency amid an ongoing DOJ investigation and Hindenburg Research’s allegations of accounting manipulation. In response, NVIDIA is redirecting AI server orders to other suppliers to maintain supply chain stability, as Supermicro’s stock faces volatility and potential delisting risk.

22:07 – What Another Trump Presidency Means for Enterprise Tech

The Weeks Ahead

Networking Field Day 36 – November 6 – 7

AppDev Field Day 2 – November 12 – 13

Mobility Field Day 12 – November 20 – 21

Gestalt IT and Tech Field Day are now part of The Futurum Group.

The Gestalt IT Rundown is your look at the IT news of the week. Be sure to subscribe to Gestalt IT on YouTube for even more weekly video content.

#AI #CHIPSAct #CyberSecurity #PrivateCloud #Rundown #AWSCloud #Cloudera #GestaltIT #Google #GoogleCloud #Microsoft #MitchellAshley #Nvidia #OktaDev #Poller #SFoskett #SupermicroSMCI #TechFieldDay #TheFuturumGroup

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What Another Trump Presidency Means for Enterprise Tech | The Gestalt IT Rundown: November 6, 2024

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Stephen Foskett Nov 4, 2024

#SymLink: Platform9's Private Cloud Director enhances private cloud management, targeting VMware customers with advanced features like Kubernetes management. @sfoskett #SFoskett #Platform9Sys #CFD21 #GestaltIT #Rundown
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Platform9 Launches Private Cloud Director

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Stephen Foskett Oct 16, 2024

Commvault Shift’s Cyber Resilience for the AI Era | The Gestalt IT Rundown: October 16, 2024

https://youtu.be/ywM-ey-IR7Q

At Commvault SHIFT 2024, The Futurum Group’s Daniel Newman and Patrick Moorhead sat with CEO Sanjay Mirchandani, who discussed Commvault’s strategic pivot towards a cloud-first approach in cyber resilience. This shift involves key acquisitions, such as Appranix and Clumio, and new partnerships with AWS and Google, aimed at enhancing cloud data protection and recovery. Mirchandani also introduced the concept of “Continuous Business,” highlighting its distinction from traditional business continuity by emphasizing ongoing readiness and adaptability in a dynamic digital landscape.

2:57 – Chip Boom Continues with Record-Breaking Demand

Global semiconductor sales jumped 20.6% year-on-year in August 2024, reaching $53.1 billion, with the Americas leading the growth at 43.9%, driven by AI, cloud computing, and automotive demand. Despite the strong recovery, supply chain disruptions and ongoing US-China geopolitical tensions pose significant risks to the industry. While export controls and national security concerns remain, the sector is expected to continue rebounding due to persistent demand across multiple sectors.

5:47 – Accenture Pushes Agentic AI Built on NVIDIA

Accenture is positioning itself at the forefront of the emerging agentic AI wave by expanding its partnership with Nvidia to leverage advanced AI capabilities within its operations. The company is launching the Accenture Nvidia Business Group, which will employ an “army of agents” to tackle complex workflows, enhance efficiency, and deliver customized solutions for clients. While agentic AI presents significant opportunities for innovation, Accenture acknowledges the challenges of data security, ethical considerations, and the necessity for human oversight as these systems become increasingly autonomous.

10:53 – AMD AI Chips to Challenge NVIDIA

AMD announced the release of its MI325X AI accelerator in 2025, followed by the MI350 series, which will feature 256GB of memory and 6TBps throughput, surpassing NVIDIA’s H200 series. Additionally, the company introduced the AMD Pensando Pollara 400 Ethernet accelerator and a new 5th Gen EPYC processor that improves performance by up to 17%, while CEO Dr. Lisa Su stressed the importance of leveraging open-source software and building an ecosystem around the ROCm stack to compete effectively in the market. For more on this story, let’s bring in Techstrong.ai’s Mike Vizard to discuss what this means.

13:22 – Geopolitics’ Impact on Digital Infrastructure

In his latest column on Every.to, Gareth Edwards explores the British government’s decision to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, an event that will lead to the retirement of the widely used .io domain suffix in the tech and gaming industries. This geopolitical shift highlights the interconnectedness of global politics and digital infrastructure, as the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) prepares to eliminate the “IO” country code, impacting numerous existing websites. Citing historical precedents like the fall of the Soviet Union and the breakup of Yugoslavia, Edwards cautions tech founders to consider the implications of their domain name choices, as real-world events can significantly affect the digital landscape.

16:53 – Cisco sells their stake in Rubrik

Cisco has sold its nearly $6 million stake in cybersecurity firm Rubrik, following the company’s April IPO. Despite the sale, the two companies maintain a strategic partnership, with Rubrik joining Cisco’s SolutionsPlus program in August, making its products available on Cisco’s Global Price List.

20:49 – CTERA’s Data Intelligence Enhances GenAI with File Data

CTERA has launched its Data Intelligence offering, designed to enhance retrieval-augmented generation, or RAG, by linking cloud file services data to chosen GenAI models, providing real-time private context to improve response accuracy. CEO Oded Nagel highlighted that the service enables organizations to securely integrate their proprietary data with AI, delivering relevant insights while maintaining data privacy, through features such as semantic engines, identity-based access, and customizable virtual assistants. CTERA’s solution supports both on-premises and cloud deployments, addressing challenges related to unstructured data and facilitating effective AI interactions within enterprise environments.

25:28 – Commvault Shift’s Cyber Resilience for the AI Era

Gestalt IT Live Blog: Commvault Shift 2024 Live Blog

As we discussed on the September 25th episode of The Rundown, Commvault announced the acquisition of Clumio. This integration, which will launch later this year, aims to accelerate Commvault’s vision of a resilient, cloud-first enterprise by leveraging Clumio’s expertise in AWS to bolster cyber recovery and resilience for customers and partners.

Commvault announced significant updates including full availability of its Commvault Cloud platform on AWS, support for Google Workspace protection, and a partnership with Pure Storage to help financial customers comply with the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), which comes into effect in January 2025. The new offerings, such as Cloud Rewind and the Cyber Resilience Dashboard, aim to enhance cyber resilience by enabling rapid recovery from cyber incidents while ensuring that applications and data are restored efficiently and securely across multiple cloud environments.

38:51 – The Weeks Ahead

Security Field Day 12 – October 16 – 17

Cloud Field Day 21 – October 23 – 24

Networking Field Day 36 – November 6 – 7

Gestalt IT and Tech Field Day are now part of The Futurum Group.

The Gestalt IT Rundown is your look at the IT news of the week. Be sure to subscribe to Gestalt IT on YouTube for even more weekly video content.

#AgenticAI #CommvaultShift #Rundown #Accenture #AMD #AShimmy #Cisco #Commvault #CTERA #GarethEdwards86 #GestaltIT #Nvidia #RubrikInc #SFoskett #TechFieldDay #TechstrongTV #TheFuturumGroup #TheSixFiveMedia

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Commvault Shift's Cyber Resilience for the AI Era | The Gestalt IT Rundown: October 16, 2024

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Stephen Foskett Sep 25, 2024

Qiskit and IBM’s New Quantum Innovations | The Gestalt IT Rundown: September 25, 2024

https://youtu.be/MZfZa_jF5q8

We’re happy to have Dr. Bob Sutor joining us this week on the Rundown, since he covers quantum and advanced computing for The Futurum Group. IBM made two important announcements in the quantum space this week. The first announcement was Qiskit, a quantum SDK that runs on Python for quantum computers. This promises to bring quantum compute to a more mainstream audience and converting the underlying code to Rust. This solution is much faster than competing solutions from Google, Amazon, and Quantinuuum. IBM is also putting together an app store for quantum applications and runtime functions, including from third-party developers. This matches the moves that we have seen in areas like cloud and AI, and serves to push IBM as the leader in quantum computing. This and more on The Rundown.

1:57 – Qualcomm to Buy Intel?

Qualcomm is exploring a potential acquisition of Intel, a move that could strengthen both companies and enhance U.S. leadership in the chip industry, despite potential antitrust review. Intel, under CEO Pat Gelsinger, is pursuing strategic changes to boost its competitive edge, including expanding its manufacturing capabilities and investing in next-generation technologies. A successful deal would significantly broaden Qualcomm’s portfolio and position both companies for growth in the rapidly evolving AI and semiconductor markets.

4:11 – Kioxia No Longer Planning IPO

Kioxia has postponed its planned IPO, which we discussed on the August 28 show, due to challenges in achieving its target valuation amid a broader market downturn. Despite recent improvements in memory chip prices, the company has been impacted by a slump in the chip market, which they had already previously delayed its IPO in 2020. Kioxia, with a 14% share in the flash memory market, remains focused on listing when market conditions improve.

6:42 – Announcements from Dreamforce

At its Dreamforce conference, Salesforce introduced Agentforce, a suite of AI-powered agents designed to streamline app development and improve customer experiences across industries. The platform’s low-code AI tools, new partnerships, and enhanced AI models aim to drive adoption of these autonomous agents, helping businesses automate tasks and unlock the full potential of their data. By integrating AI more deeply across its ecosystem, Salesforce seeks to differentiate its offering and support customers in modernizing operations and achieving higher ROI through scalable AI solutions. For more on this, let’s turn it over to The Futurum Group’s Keith Kirkpatrick who was at the event.

16:32 – Commvault Buys Clumio

Commvault just announced its acquisition of Clumio, an AWS data protection specialist we’ve previously discussed here on the Rundown. The acquisition enhances Commvault’s cyber resilience capabilities for cloud-native applications and allows the company to leverage Clumio’s innovations, including rapid access to Amazon S3 data during critical recovery operations, expanding its offerings for AWS-based businesses. Clumio’s expertise in protecting complex data sets will now reach a global scale through Commvault’s platform.

20:07 – CISA Wants to Say Ciao to Ivanti EOL Units

In a very telling move, CISA has made a statement telling customers to move off of Ivanti Cloud Services Appliance 4.6. The notice comes as yet another security update has been released and Ivanti is not porting it to versions prior to 5.0. The CISA has been very up front about exploits this year and Ivanti is no stranger to having issues with their underlying code quality.

22:47 – Veeam Acquires Alcion

Veeam announced today that they are acquiring Alcion. Alcion has focused on SaaS backups since being founded back in 2022. Veeam had led an investment round for Alcion in 2023 and Veeam had also acquired Kasten, which was the startup that had been founded previously by Alcion founders. In addition to the acquisition, Niraj Tolia will move into the vacant CTO role at Veeam to help guide the integration between all the products.

25:29 – Qiskit and IBM’s New Quantum Innovations

We’re happy to have Dr. Bob Sutor joining us this week on the Rundown, since he covers quantum and advanced computing for The Futurum Group. IBM made two important announcements in the quantum space this week. The first announcement was Qiskit, a quantum SDK that runs on Python for quantum computers. This promises to bring quantum compute to a more mainstream audience and converting the underlying code to Rust. This solution is much faster than competing solutions from Google, Amazon, and Quantinuuum. IBM is also putting togetther an app store for quantum applications and runtime functions, including from third-party developers. This matches the moves that we have seen in areas like cloud and AI, and serves to push IBM as the leader in quantum computing.

34:27 – The Weeks Ahead

Networking Field Day Exclusive with Nokia – September 24

AI Data Infrastructure Field Day 1 – October 2 – 3

Commvault Shift – October 8 – 9

Security Field Day 12 – October 16 – 17

Cloud Field Day 21 – October 23 – 24

Gestalt IT and Tech Field Day are now part of The Futurum Group.

The Gestalt IT Rundown is your look at the IT news of the week. Be sure to subscribe to Gestalt IT on YouTube for even more weekly video content.

#Dreamforce #Qiskit #QuantumComputing #Rundown #1 #Alcion #Clumio #Commvault #GestaltIT #IBM #Intel #IntelBusiness #Qualcomm #Salesforce #SFoskett #TechFieldDay #TheFuturumGroup #Veeam