Futurum Tech Webcast

On this episode of The Main Scoop, we are joined by EY's Clare Aldegren, Global Head of Blockchain Sales and Operations for a conversation on the transformative potential of Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) in the banking sector. Hosted by Greg Lotko and Steven Dickens, this episode dives deep into the interplay between traditional banking systems, emerging technologies, and the digital transformation journey of the banking industry.

On this episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast, hosts Randy Kerns and Krista Macomber are joined by SIOS Technical Evangelist Dave Bermingham, for a conversation on the importance of high availability solutions for regulated industries such as financial services. Their discussion covers: The complexity and criticality of ensuring uptime for applications and data in regulated industries Exploring high availability (HA) options for regulated industries, including financial services, with a focus on cost and performance considerations An introduction to SIOS DataKeeper as a solution for high availability needs

On this episode of The Main Scoop, hosts Daniel Newman and Greg Lotko are joined by Broadcom's Lauren Valenti, Director, Mainframe Education, Vitality Residency Program, for a conversation on the allure of the mainframe for new technologists and the critical role of workforce resiliency. Are Greg Lotko and Daniel Newman ready to give up their Main Scoop host positions? Well ... maybe not permanently. In this unique episode, Lauren Valenti takes over as host to discuss mainframe workforce development with two up-and-coming mainframers - Adia Sakura-Lemessy and Liam Glynn. Learn about their career goals, advice for other new technologists, their pathway to the mainframe, and more. It was a great conversation and one you don't want to miss. Like what you've heard? Check out all our past episodes here, and be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode of The Main Scoop™ series.

On this episode of DevOps Dialogues: Insights & Innovations, I am joined by CTO Advisor and Signal65 Analyst, Alastair Cooke, for a discussion on the Intersection of DevOps, Platform Engineering, and SREs Our conversations cover: DevOps for Continuous Evolution Platform Engineering Orchestrating Infrastructure for Innovation Site Reliability Engineers Are Bridging the Gap The Importance of Each Practice Area These topics reflect ongoing discussions, challenges, and innovations within the DevOps community.

On this episode of the Infrastructure Matters, host Keith Townsend is joined by HPE's Bharath Ramesh, Global Head of AI Product for a conversation on exploring the complex landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) in the enterprise domain, with a focus on the challenges organizations face and the emergence of hybrid AI solutions as a viable approach. Their discussion covers: The current state of AI adoption in enterprises and the primary obstacles they encounter The evolution and importance of hybrid AI solutions in addressing enterprise needs Insights into how organizations can effectively navigate the integration of AI technologies Strategies for enterprises to maximize the value of AI investments Future trends in AI development and how they might influence enterprise strategies

In this episode of Enterprising Insights, host Keith Kirkpatrick discusses two conferences he attended during the week, Epicor Insights and Salesforce Connections. Kirkpatrick talks about the key news from each event, new product announcements, and provides his take on each event. He then closes out the show with the Rant or Rave segment, focusing on a particular galling CX experience that saw a failure with applications, training, and the ability to show empathy.

In this episode of Infrastructure Matters, Steven Dickens and Camberley Bates discuss their experiences at various industry events, including Dell, IBM, Nutanix, and Lenovo earnings announcements. They highlight major announcements and key trends, particularly focusing on AI and multicloud. Dell emphasized their AI Factory and PowerStore updates, while IBM focused on hybrid cloud and AI developments through watsonx and AWS partnerships. Nutanix's collaboration with Dell and Lenovo's strong non-PC revenue growth were also discussed. Key Points: Dell Event Highlights: Major focus on AI, with the introduction of the AI Factory and significant updates to PowerStore. IBM Think Conference: Emphasis on hybrid cloud and AI, featuring developments in watsonx and partnerships with AWS. Nutanix and Dell Partnership: Integration of PowerFlex with Nutanix's AHV virtualization offering for scalable solutions. Lenovo Earnings Report: Strong growth in non-PC revenue and expansion in data center and AI solutions. Overall Industry Trends: Shift from AI proof-of-concepts to production deployments and infrastructure focus to support AI workloads and multicloud environments.

In this episode of The 5G Factor, our series that focuses on all things across the 5G ecosystem, we review recent adjustments by key players throughout the 5G ecosystem including Verizon Business' debut in the neutral host network segment, Dell and Ericsson commercially debuting Ericsson Cloud RAN software on Dell PowerEdge servers to spur telco cloud journeys, and how Red Hat's open source approach is making inroads across telco hybrid cloud and Open RAN environments. Our analytical review drilled down on: Verizon's First Neutral Host Deal with Cummins. Verizon created a 5G ecosystem stir in announcing its debut neutral host private 5G deal with Cummins Inc., a manufacturer of heavy-duty truck engines. Cummins is tapping Verizon as the technical lead and anchor tenant for a combo network to be deployed at its Jamestown engine plant in Lakewood, New York. Verizon will collaborate with Ericsson to implement the neutral host model using Verizon's C-band and mmWave spectrum bands, plus support for 3.5GHz CBRS connections. The move follows T-Mobile already tossing its hat into the neutral host arena with suppliers such as Celona certified on its 4G-based neutral host system within T-Mobile's "Bring Your Own Coverage 2.0" (BYOC 2.0) program that has the property owner financing and hosting the neutral site. We delve into how the neutral host model can deliver benefits like ensuring all users, such as employees, get the same level of signal across all carriers, vital to making sure emergency calls inside or outside the facility are received as well as the prospects that other operators will warm to Verizon acting as the "neutral" anchor tenant at such sites. Dell and Ericsson Target Stimulating Telco Cloud Journeys. At Dell Tech World 2024, Dell and Ericsson announced they have bolstered their partnership to push telco cloud transformation journeys forward. To help make this happen, the duo is commercially debuting Ericsson Cloud RAN software on Dell PowerEdge servers underpinned by continuous testing and lifecycle management plus joint services that offer telcos integrated network infrastructure support. They are working together to cultivate customized cloud network transformation journeys and provide guidance on network structures and operational frameworks that minimize the deployment risks across open, heterogeneous vendor environments. We assess the potential impact of the alliance on the 5G market including how Dell's AI Factory solutions can ultimately play a key role in stimulating telco cloud journeys including the acceleration of Cloud RAN implementations. Red Hat Seeks to Reduce Complexity Through Open Source Principles. Red Hat is focused on using open source principles to help telcos improve their business outcomes by reducing complexity with open source underpinning Red Hat's pre-integrated platform approach that includes orchestrating 5G automation, hybrid cloud, AI, and edge computing capabilities. Specifically, Red Hat offers a unified cloud-native application platform that spans the telco's network from core to edge. To that end, Red Hat has integrated Ericsson Cloud RAN with Red Hat OpenShift to provide telcos more flexibility in choosing a cloud platform. The move comes after Red Hat announced in 2023 a partnership to deliver Nokia's core network applications together with Red Hat's cloud infrastructure platforms. We assess the practical outcomes of Red Hat's portfolio development and marketing strategy as shown by its collaboration with telco organizations such as KDDI, Telenor, Turkcell, Perfectum, and an array of others to help accelerate cloud-native network deployments within multi-vendor environments including progress working with Nokia's anyRAN framework as well as Mavenir's Open RAN solutions in the Vodafone Idea network.

On this episode of the Infrastructure Matters, host Steven Dickens is joined by AveriSource's Stephanie Walter, Head of Product for a conversation on how AveriSource is innovating in the realm of mainframe modernization. Our discussion covers: An overview of AveriSource as a new entrant in the mainframe modernization space A deep dive into AveriSource's solution model and its unique approach Innovations AveriSource is bringing to the user interface (UI) space The role of AI in AveriSource's strategy and offerings Key trends from clients regarding mainframe modernization and how to engage with AveriSource

On this episode of Marketing Art and Science, I am joined by Infinidat's CMO, Eric Herzog, for a lively conversation on marketing and business as a team sport, the symbiotic value of a strong sales-marketing relationship, and what Eric believes is the true art of marketing. Our discussion covers: An introduction to charismatic CMO Eric Herzog and how marketing is enabling Infinidat's mission to become the standard in enterprise storage How Eric's integrated marketing organization fits in to Infinidat's corporate strategy How the Infinidat customer journey progresses through its MarTech stack The criticality of having purpose when leveraging AI

In this episode of Enterprising Insights, host Keith Kirkpatrick discusses news from the world of enterprise applications, HR, and AI. He focuses on the growing use of no-code/low-code development platforms, the focus on enterprise skills development, the use of AI guardrails within a CRM, and discusses how AI can be used to optimize digital customer experiences. He then provides a Rave during his Rant or Rave segment, praising vendors' increasing willingness to focus on time to value as a key messaging point, eschewing the endless focus on feature sets.

On this episode of the Infrastructure Matters, host Steven Dickens is joined by Rocket Software's Phil Buckellew, President of Infrastructure Modernization and Neil Fowler, Senior Vice President of Hybrid Cloud Engineering to discuss the recent acquisition of AMC (formerly part of Micro Focus) and the seamless transition of mainframe modernization to cloud environments. The conversation includes insights into the future of mainframe technologies and Rocket Software's strategic direction. Our discussion covers: The critical importance of mainframe modernization and the new capabilities Rocket Software gains from the AMC acquisition. An overview of the products included in the AMC acquisition and what they mean for mainframe customers. The benefits businesses can expect when modernizing their mainframes, particularly through cloud integration. Insight into Rocket Software's promise for modernization without disruption, and what this process entails for their customers.

On this episode of Infrastructure Matters, host Steven Dickens is joined by Rocket Software's Milan Shetti, President and CEO, for a conversation on how Rocket Software's monumental acquisition of AMC is set to revolutionize the company's market stance by significantly enhancing its modernization suite and unlocking new avenues for cloud innovation. Our discussion covers: The strategic significance of acquiring AMC and its impact on Rocket Software's position in the market. The imperative of modernization in today's digital landscape and the necessity for companies to prioritize this transition. The unique qualities that set Rocket Software apart in the competitive field of cloud solutions and infrastructure modernization.

On this episode of DevOps Dialogues: Insights & Innovations, I am joined by VP and Practice Lead, Bob Sutor, for discussion of the impacts of quantum computing on AI, DevOps and AppDev. Our conversation covered: What quantum software development is, what people use as their SDK, the platform, rise of Rust with a Python wrapper and WASM Quantum, AI and AppDev overlap and market space, including qualification TEV, ROI and the economic models Why this is important, and why prospects should care How this relates to the topics of quantum, DevOps, AI, AppDev, etc These topics reflect ongoing discussions, challenges, and innovations within the DevOps community.

In this episode of The 5G Factor, our series that focuses on all things 5G, the IoT, and the 5G ecosystem as a whole, we review new private 5G (P5G) ecosystem advances including Cisco's collaboration with Augmentir, Nokia, and Logicalis to boost adoption of the Cisco Mobility Services Platform across enterprises, Tesla building its P5G network at its Berlin gigafactory, and Verizon completing the first phase of certifying Nokia's DAC for the Verizon Business Private 5G Network portfolio. Our analytical review spotlighted: Cisco Private 5G Ecosystem Credentials Wax. At the recent Hanover Messe 2024 global trade fair, Cisco's Next-Gen Workforce Collaboration with Cisco Private 5G proposition stood out. We address why focusing on how Cisco understands that ecosystem-wide collaboration is needed to advance private 5G implementations. Cisco is working with Augmentir, Nokia and Logicalis in bolstering the Cisco Mobility Services Platform's deployment flexibility though increasing the value of mobile services by making them more accessible and programmable. The platform combines Augmentir, Cisco Webex Expert on Demand, and Cisco Private 5G to redefine automation and workforce efficiency in industrial operations. The platform also reinforces Cisco's commitment to fulfill enterprise digital transformation objectives by delivering simple, unified solutions that provide secure connectivity and supporting value-added services for people, places, and things. Tesla Jumps on the P5G Bandwagon. Tesla indicated it had constructed a private 5G network at its gigafactory in Berlin with plans to deploy the technology worldwide. The P5G network can work indoors and outdoors with the outdoor coverage enabling Tesla to update hundreds of cars outside avoiding the need to run and power to outdoor locations. We assess why Tesla's ongoing plans to build out P5G provides a high-profile market bump for the technology. Verizon has completed the first phase of certification to add Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) to its list of supported offerings in private networks that use Verizon's licensed spectrum. Upon addition to its portfolio, Nokia DAC would expand Verizon Business' hardware and software options available to customers of Verizon Business' Private 5G Network offering. The Nokia DAC platform will also be used to enhance indoor coverage for Verizon consumers and enterprise customers. We examine why Nokia's DAC is well-suited to help spur adoption of private wireless connectivity and operational technology needs across industrial sectors such as manufacturing, logistics, ports, airports, utilities, mining, and agriculture.

In this episode of Infrastructure Matters, hosts Steve Dickens, Krista Macomber and Camberley Bates cover Solidigm RSA conference and Red Hat Summit conference themes. Key topic include: Highlights from Solidigm Analyst Day for The Futurum Group Key themes from the RSA conference in San Francisco including: Advancement in AI security posture management Proactive cybersecurity measures CalypsoAI's work on identifying vulnerabilities in large language models and the use of AI in security analytics by companies like Elastic Plus Krista's thrilling ride in the Waymo! News and Announcements from the Red Hat Summit, including: RHEL AI, allowing AI to run on PCs Virtualization Strategies Open-sourcing of IBM's Granite AI model and OpenShift AI Strategic approach to partner engagement Expansion of LightSpeed

In this episode of Infrastructure Matters, hosts Krista Macomber and Camberley Bates cover Commvault earnings, Dell's data protection announcement, Microsoft's Secure Feature initiative plus why Hitachi matters. Key topics include: Commvault Earnings Discussion: Strong fiscal and quarter performance, with a 10% year-over-year revenue increase and how their shift into cyber resiliency made the difference. Dell's Innovations in Data Protection: Dell's Data Protection Group introduced improvements with its Data Domain system and PowerProtect offerings. We cover the details and what is new. Hitachi Vantara's Organizational Changes and New Offerings: With the GA of their VSP One Platform and the new organization including engineering, Hitachi marks a strategic refocus on data infrastructure space after a period of relative silence. We talk about the relevance and what to expect. Microsoft's Secure Future Initiative: As part of preparing for the RSA conference, Microsoft launches the Secure Future Initiative, which focuses on integrating security deeply into its product development processes. And what to Expect from the RSA Conference: Spoiler alert: AI plus other topics including the evolving challenges for security teams.

In this episode of Enterprising Insights, The Futurum Group's Enterprise Applications Research Director Keith Kirkpatrick discusses Tableau Conference 2024, recent earnings news from major enterprise application vendors. He then closes out the show with the Rant or Rave segment, where he picks one item in the market, and either champions or criticizes it.

In this episode of Enterprising Insights, The Futurum Group's Enterprise Applications Research Director Keith Kirkpatrick discusses the Oracle Analyst Summit, a survey on the changing nature of service organizations from Salesforce, and brief commentary on the plethora of earnings announcements from SaaS vendors. He then closes out the show with the Rant or Rave segment, where he picks one item in the market, and either champions or criticizes it.

On this episode of Infrastructure Matters, host Steven Dickens is joined by PopUp Mainframe's Gary Thornhill, Founder and CEO for a conversation on enabling DevOps practices and facilitating mainframe modernization through innovative solutions. Their discussion covers: The inception and mission of PopUp Mainframe Challenges and opportunities in mainframe modernization How PopUp Mainframe integrates DevOps into traditional mainframe environments Key benefits companies can achieve with PopUp Mainframe's solutions Future trends in mainframe technology and DevOps

On this episode of Marketing Art and Science, I am joined by Delta Air Lines' CMO Alicia Tillman for a conversation on how modern marketing is enabling Delta to revolutionize travel globally. Together, we explore the massive impact Delta's MarTech stack is having on the business and dive into the emerging technologies Delta is deploying that are already profoundly influencing the personalized passenger experience. Our discussion covers: Alicia Tillman's role as CMO of Delta Air Lines and the company's recent recognition for innovation and customer experience at events like SXSW 2024. A discussion on Delta's transformation as a digitally and culturally progressive 99-year-old organization that emphasizes how technology is enhancing passenger and employee experiences Delta's MarTech stack and its influence on brand identity, sales pipeline optimization, and the integration of emerging technologies like AI and IoT to fuel a highly personalized passenger experience. Insights into Delta's future, including its commitment to global connectivity and the implementation of tech-driven initiatives aimed at enhancing passenger and employee experiences while influencing key business metrics. Fail to Fab story, Tillman describes a marketing initiative experiment campaign that did not go according to plan and how Delta marketing transformed it into a fabulous marketing win.

In this episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast, The Futurum Group's Enterprise Applications Research Director Keith Kirkpatrick is joined by Gina Whitty, Product Management, CCaaS + AI at GoTo, about the challenges faced by SMBs and mid-market companies that are trying to undergo a digital transformation, and discusses the maturity journey involved with improving CX delivery via the use of generative AI, omnichannel engagement, and automation.

In this episode of Infrastructure Matters, hosts Steven Dickens and Camberley Bates cover the Rubrik IPO, Oracle's positioning in the cloud market, plus IBM's Storage announcements. Key topics covered: Rubric IPO: Rubric, a data protection company, went public with a $5.6 billion valuation, emphasizing its scale-out data protection capability and its focus on cybersecurity. IBM Earnings and Acquisition: IBM reported solid earnings, with notable growth in software and hybrid cloud, and announced the acquisition of HashiCorp for $35 a share, enhancing its open-source support model. IBM Storage Announcements: IBM introduced Storage Assurance Perpetual, a program aimed at keeping customers' storage infrastructure current over an eight-year period, and unveiled enhancements to its virtualized storage product, SVC, focusing on replication and mirroring capabilities. Google Cloud Growth: Google Cloud's revenue surged 28% year-on-year, nearing $10 billion for the quarter, signaling strong sales execution and growth momentum in the enterprise market. Oracle Developments: Oracle showcased its Exadata platform's cloud connectivity and cost-effectiveness, positioning itself as a competitive player in the IaaS space. Larry Ellison's involvement highlighted the company's AI strategy and its integration with the Cerner acquisition for healthcare innovation.

In this episode of The 5G Factor, our series that focuses on all things 5G, the IoT, and the 5G ecosystem as a whole, we review the Q1 2024 earnings of T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T and their impact across the 5G ecosystem, BT's partnership with Global to modernize its UK Portfolio Businesses, and Charter's Q1 2024 earnings reflect making significant strides in residential mobile service revenue growth. Our analytical review spotlighted: Big 3 US Mobile Operators Hit Guidance Home Runs: T-Mobile reported Q1 2024 results, raising full year guidance and delivering breakthrough customer growth, including a higher share of postpaid phone net additions year-over-year and matching its lowest ever Q1 postpaid phone churn. Verizon spotlighted that the company is on track to meet its financial guidance and to deliver positive Consumer postpaid phone net adds for the year. AT&T stressed that the Q1 2024 results reflect continued strong growth in the company's Mobility and Consumer Wireline connectivity businesses, which represent about 80% of its total revenues. This consistent, solid performance driven by its investment-led strategy gives AT&T confidence to re-affirm full-year consolidated financial guidance. We examine why all three major operators fulfilled their guidance, who excelled in their guidance outcomes, and the implications of the results for the entire mobile ecosystem. BT Partners with Global to Modernize UK Portfolio Businesses. BT's new partnership with media & entertainment group Global comes a year since BT's former Enterprise and Global divisions came together to create one B2B unit connecting customers in the UK and internationally. As a group of standalone businesses that consume BT's core assets and serve diverse industries, its UK Portfolio Businesses are integral to BT from the Media & Broadcast services that focus much of the UK's digital content to the company's directories businesses that underpin BT's critical 999 service and credit reference agencies. We assess how BT's agreement with Global to continue marketing and selling advertising on BT's 1,000+ existing Street Hubs as well as convert up to 2,000 conventional BT payphones and kiosks into brand new Street Hubs will play a critical role in modernizing BT's B2B proposition. Charter's Q1 2024 Reflect Residential Mobile Strides. Charter Communications Q1 2024 included revenue of $13.7 billion grew by 0.2% year-over-year, driven by residential mobile service revenue growth of 37.8% and residential Internet revenue growth of 1.9%. Also, Q1 2024 total residential and SMB mobile lines increased by 486,000. As of March 31, 2024, Charter served a total of 8.3 million mobile lines. Plus, as of March 31, 2024, Charter had a total of 32.0 million residential and SMB customer relationships, excluding mobile-only relationships. We explore why we see Charter executing on the company's plan to evolve its network at a lower cost than its competitors to offer symmetrical and multi-gigabit speeds across its entire footprint.

Ken Williams, National Senior Manager of Partner Solutions at T-Mobile for Business, joins Ron Westfall and Krista Macomber to discuss the rapidly evolving threat landscape and steps decision makers can take to protect their organizations. They delve into why 5G connected laptops are integral to meeting mounting cybersecurity threats, particularly as remote work is increasing, and how they can empower organization to connect securely from anywhere, especially through the backing of a nationwide 5G standalone network. Their discussion covers: The increase in cybersecurity threats and the potential risks, impacts, and costs they can incur for businesses. How the increase in remote work is expanding the traditional attack surface including more risks posed by public Wi-Fi An explanation of what connected laptops are and the opportunity they represent in the market. How connected laptops empower organizations to connect securely from anywhere, limiting their reliance on risky unknown Wi-Fi networks and eliminating the risks they pose. The strategic value of a nationwide 5G standalone network in attaining optimized 5G connected laptop outcomes. For more information, download our report, 5G Connected Devices: The Enduring Advantages of Superior Security, and the infographic on our website.

In this episode of Infrastructure Matters, hosts Camberley Bates, Krista Macomber, and Steven Dickens discuss recent developments in IT infrastructure, with a focus on security, cloud computing, and data protection. They highlight the enduring impact of strategic partnerships and investments among major companies, underscoring the importance of cybersecurity and cloud solutions in today's IT landscape. They also discuss updates from the NAB Show in Las Vegas, discussions on the significance of sovereign clouds, and the potential ramifications of recent acquisitions in the tech space. Key Points: Cohesity recently completed its Series F funding round, supported by major companies like IBM and NVIDIA, emphasizing the critical role of data protection in cybersecurity. Commvault announced its acquisition of Appranix, enhancing its capabilities in recovering entire application stacks, especially for cloud-hosted applications. Cisco introduced Hypershield, integrating AI with network management to improve security and vulnerability management. Recent investments in sovereign clouds by Oracle, IBM, and AWS illustrate a growing trend towards localizing cloud services to meet regulatory and latency issues. Future expectations for the industry, such as the potential IPO of Rubrik and the ongoing strategic developments in cloud and cybersecurity.

On this episode of Marketing Art and Science, I am joined by Domino Data Lab CMO Thomas Been for a conversation on how Domino is enabling its customers to unleash the power of AI, how marketing is leveraging generative AI to facilitate the customer journey, and how its martech stack is influencing targeting, amplification, and engagement. Our discussion covers: How Domino Data Lab is enabling organizations to unleash the power of AI to transform leveraging marketing. About Domino's MarTech stack and AI integration: The CMO's recommendations on AI (e.g., build the basics, learn your business, innovate); an overview of Domino's Martech stack Marketing's influence on the customer journey from prospect to advocate, emphasizing use case discovery and valuable content creation Fail to Fab: An example of turning a marketing failure into a success using technology and generative AI

In this episode of The 5G Factor, our series that focuses on all things 5G, the IoT, and the 5G ecosystem as a whole, we look at the recent high impact telco cloud, multi-access edge computing (MEC), and APIs moves. The major cloud, edge, and API developments include the progress of Azure Private MEC in supporting manufacturer private 5G network implementations, VMware Telco Cloud Platform Release 4.0 using a horizontal infrastructure approach to ease VNF and CNF deployment and administration, VMware Telco Cloud Platform RAN assisting the optimization of disaggregated RAN functions and CNF management, as well as how the Vonage Singtel partnership is uplifting network, edge, and communications API prospects. Our analytical review focused on: Azure Private MEC Proving Manufacturing Prowess. Microsoft Azure private MEC targets the streamlining and acceleration of private 5G (P5G) networks on the Azure cloud platform by providing a fully managed solution that can allow, for example, manufacturers to deploy and operate their own P5G networks with full control over their data and applications. We delve into how Azure private MEC and its ecosystem partners are helping manufacturers use 5G for improved outcomes with Pegatron, an electronics manufacturer of laptops, smartphones, and gaming consoles, creating its own private 5G network to covers its entire factory and Weavix, through the company's Internet of Workers platform, is equipping front line workers with wearable technologies and solutions to improve performance and safety. VMware Ups Telco Cloud Proposition. VMware Telco Cloud Platform Release 4.0 focuses on solidifying numerous capabilities into a unified platform that can give telcos the flexibility to modernize their network according to their business objectives particularly through the implementation of requisite automation and assurance capabilities. We discuss how the rigors of designing and managing services combined with the intricacies of coordinating virtual network functions (VNFs) and cloud-native network functions (CNFs) demands a horizontal infrastructure that can support the deployment and administration of VNFs and CNFs with consistency, efficiency, and automation. VMware Telco Cloud Platform RAN Underlines Disaggregation Benefits. VMware Telco Cloud Platform RAN delivers a horizontal platform optimized for running virtualized baseband functions or virtualized distributed units (vDUs) and virtualized central units (vCUs) from various vendors while meeting the stringent performance and latency requirements of a radio access network (RAN). The use of a horizontally consistent architecture that supports cloud-native principles can cultivate the build-out of logical end-to-end networks tailored to different 5G services. We explore why disaggregated RAN functions can be instantiated on a horizontal platform and deployed at the locations that best serve their functional purposes. Plus, how CNFs can be managed efficiently at scale and readily modified to turn business objectives into productive outcomes. Vonage and Singtel Uplift API Prospects. Vonage, part of Ericsson, is partnering with Singtel to integrate Vonage's API platform with Singtel's orchestration platform Paragon with the goal of bolstering innovation opportunities for enterprises and telcos through access to a global ecosystem of communications, network, and edge APIs. Paragon-enabled telcos from Singapore, Thailand, Spain, Taiwan, and Indonesia will be able to integrate Vonage and Paragon APIs into a globally unified telco and edge API library as well as worldwide independent software vendors (ISVs), enterprises and developers can look to use the APIs to deliver digital services at greater speed and scale over hybrid networks, hybrid edge, and public cloud infrastructures across multiple markets. We assess why this partnership can be a harbinger to answering why this time is looking different when it comes to APIs playing an integral role in driving innovation and major benefits, such as 5G service monetization and energy efficiency gains, across telco environments.

In this episode of Enterprising Insights, The Futurum Group's Enterprise Applications Research Director Keith Kirkpatrick discusses the news coming out of the Zendesk and Avaya Analyst Days, focusing on new product enhancements around AI, corporate strategy, and automation. He then closes out the show with the Rant or Rave segment, where he picks one item in the market, and either champions or criticizes it.

On this episode of DevOps Dialogues: Insights & Innovations, I am joined by Chronosphere's CEO, Martin Mao, for discussion of the partnership with CrowdStrike and the recent acquisition of Calyptia. Our discussion covers: Chronosphere recently unveiled "Logs powered by CrowdStrike," a comprehensive log storage and visualization solution, and how embedding CrowdStrike Falcon LogScale within Chronosphere's cloud-native observability platform helps clients Chronosphere's recently acquisition of Calyptia, founded by the original creators of the Fluent Ecosystem What's next for Chronosphere, and the next sets of advancements in the observability and security space Cloud native coming off Kubecon These topics reflect ongoing discussions, challenges, and innovations within the DevOps community.

In this episode of Enterprising Insights, The Futurum Group's Enterprise Applications Research Director Keith Kirkpatrick discusses the news coming out of Google Cloud Next, focusing on new product enhancements around AI, Workspace, and security. He also discusses other enterprise application vendors that made significant announcements this week, and then closes out the show with the Rant or Rave segment, where he picks one item in the market, and either champions or criticizes it.

In this episode of The 5G Factor, our series that focuses on all things 5G, the IoT, and the 5G ecosystem as a whole, we review the major mobile ecosystem moves to make AI open, responsible, and transparent including Intel's Enterprise AI proposition emphasizing open industry software for developer productivity, Qualcomm's Responsible AI vision focus on privacy and security, and Nokia using Transparent AI across its audio portfolio development. Our analytical review spotlighted: Intel Enterprise AI Strategy Emphasizes Openness. At Intel Vision 2024 Intel sharpened its Enterprise AI proposition across critical sectors such as finance, manufacturing, and healthcare as they are rapidly seeking to broaden accessibility to AI and transitioning generative AI (GenAI) projects from experimental phases to full-scale implementation. We delve into why the Gaudi 3 AI accelerator launch underpins Intel's vison by bringing together AI-dedicated compute engine, memory boost for LLM capacity requirements, efficient scaling for enterprise GenAI, open industry software for developer productivity, and Gaudi 3 PCIe capabilities as well as Bharti Airtel's selection of Intel's AI technology for enhancing its telecom data to improve customer experience and Infosys collaborating to bring Intel technologies to Infosys Topaz, an AI-first set of services, solutions and platforms that seek to accelerate business value using GenAI technologies. Qualcomm Emphasizes Privacy and Security in Responsible AI Vision. Qualcomm, in a recent blog by Durga Malladi, SVP & GM, Technology Planning & Edge Solutions, detailed its vision for shaping the future of AI responsibly by spotlighting that one of the core principles of responsible AI is privacy and security. This is especially pertinent as AI systems collect and analyze vast amounts of data to protect individuals' privacy rights and ensure the security of sensitive information. We assess why Qualcomm, by promoting transparency, is effectively targeting the fostering of trust that can enable users to make informed decisions about AI technologies, ensuring that they align with their values and expectations. Nokia Attains Audio Portfolio Gains Through Transparent AI. Nokia's applications of transparent AI in audio product development, such as OZO Audio and Immersive Voice, plays an integral role in providing mobile device owners with sounds of immersion, clarity and focus. This level of quality requires extensive exploration, analysis and testing at every step of the development process. Many of the smart features of these audio solutions, such as applying noise reduction, are developed by training algorithms. We delve into how Nokia's research and engineering team running audio data through machine-learning (ML) models, can analyze the output and tweak the algorithms until the team gets the desired result for its product. This includes using Simple Linux Utility for Resource Management (SLURM). a cluster-management, resource-allocation and job-scheduling system that shows which user ran a specific job and with what resources, together with the container system Apptainer, allows Nokia to transfer its code transparently between various allocated resources in the company's datacenter.

In this episode of Infrastructure Matters, hosts Steven Dickens and Krista Macomber cover event highlights from Google Cloud Next, The Mainframe Summit and Security Field Day. The discussion covers: Highlights from Google Cloud Next including Google's AI stack and how Google is accelerating execution to capitalize on the market opportunity. Krista covered Tech Field Day's Security Field Day where presenting were Aryaka Networks, Zerto (now part of HPE), Palo Alto Networks, and Index Engines, Security Field Focus on data security, resilience from ransomware, and actionable insights for security teams. From surviving earthquakes to thriving amidst M&A buzz, the mainframe industry is more dynamic than ever all covering in The Mainframe Summit Plus more M&A activity in the mainframe space is notable, with acquisitions such as BMC acquiring Model9 and Astadia being bought by Amdocs, indicating a dynamic market landscape.

On this episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast – Interview Series, host Daniel Newman welcomes Dell Technologies' John Boyle, Director, Platform Strategy, and Amy Price, Senior Manager, Portfolio Evangelist to discuss Dell's recent study and research report, done in partnership with The Futurum Group, on-device trust and hardware-assisted security. Their discussion covers: How security approaches and priorities have shifted since pre-pandemic times What is driving a deepened focus on hardware security Differentiations in Dell's approach to security from other PC manufacturers today The concept of "secure-by-design" from Dell's perspective The added perspective on the software side of security, threat-detection, and managing the internal issues contributing to risk factors

On this episode of DevOps Dialogues: Insights & Innovations, I am joined by The Futurum Group's Stephen Foskett and Keith Townsend, for a conversation on the impact of AI and Generative AI on DevOps, application modernization, and innovative development methodologies. The discussion covers: How the integration of AI, including Generative AI (GenAI), has impacted the efficiency and effectiveness of DevOps practices within modern software development lifecycles Specific examples where AI technologies have enhanced or optimized DevOps processes such as continuous integration, continuous deployment, and automated testing The challenges when implementing AI/GenAI within DevOps frameworks, and how can organizations address issues related to transparency, accountability, and bias in AI-driven decision-making Ways that AI contributes to the evolution of DevOps culture, collaboration, and cross-functional team dynamics, particularly in environments focused on agility and innovation How AI-powered analytics and predictive capabilities influence decision-making processes in DevOps, including resource allocation, risk management, and performance optimization across development, testing, and deployment pipelines These topics reflect ongoing discussions, challenges, and innovations within the DevOps community.

On this episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast - Interview Series, host Daniel Newman is joined by Hammerspace's David Flynn, Founder and CEO, for a conversation on the cutting edge of AI and storage technologies. Our discussion covers: The background of David Flynn's role and the revolutionary technology developed at Fusion-IO The major challenges Enterprise organizations face with their Infrastructure as they embark on AI projects Insights Enterprises can glean from Hyperscalers for their AI architectures The significance of open source in the realm of AI The critical roles of Hyperscale NAS and Data Orchestration within AI architectures

In this episode of The Futurum Tech Webcast, Saso Ivanovski, CTO of Semos Cloud joins host Keith Kirkpatrick, Research Director, Enterprise Applications at The Futurum Group to discuss the technological advances in HR Tech and the evolution of employee experience. The pair also cover issues around HR tech integration, data security, and privacy, and unravel the significance of Culture Intelligence in shaping the future of HR landscapes.

In this episode of The 5G Factor, our series that focuses on all things 5G, the IoT, and the 5G ecosystem as a whole, we review indicators of improving 5G prospects in 2024 across key areas such as Samsung's surging Q1 2024 financial results amid AI's rising tide, growing worldwide 5G connections plus eSIM expansion, the FCC proposing revival of the $9 billion 5G Fund for Rural America, and T-Mobile's creative new Blink Smart Home bundle package. Our analytical review spotlighted: Samsung Surging: Indicating Bumper Q1 2024 Results. Samsung is reporting that its operating profit would reach about 6.6 trillion Korean won ($4.9 billion) in Q1 2024, up from 64 billion won ($473 million) a year earlier, following a challenging 2023 pockmarked by diminished demand for consumer electronics. This represents nearly a tenfold increase year-over-year and appreciably above consensus estimates of 5.4 trillion won ($3.9 billion), according to FactSet. It would also be Samsung's highest operating profit since Q3 2022. We examine why this is good news for the mobile ecosystem, especially 5G, aligning with the AI-fueled surge in the financial performance of key players such as NVIDIA, Super Micro, SK Hynix, and Micron amid key drivers such as 5G accounting for as many as 1.2 billion connections by 2025 and around 1 billion eSIM smartphone connections globally by the end of 2025 (according to GSMA Intelligence). FCC Proposing $9 Billion 5G Fund Revival. The FCC is proposing rules that would revive the 5G Fund for Rural America, allocating up to $9 billion for its initial phase. Funding sources for the program typically come from a combination of government appropriations, revenue generated from spectrum license auctions, and contributions from telecommunications companies participating in the program. We explore how relaunching a program originally adopted in 2020, makes more sense not that the FCC has better mapping to get 5G to areas it believes won't receive the service without subsidization as well as inputs from the CTIA and the Rural Wireless Association (RWA) that can help optimize the potential 5G funding allocations. T-Mobile's Creative New Blink Smart Home Package. T-Mobile is offering a new bundle that enables customers to switch to 5G Home Internet or Small Business Internet and get a free Blink smart home package, including the Blink Outdoor 4 two-camera system and Blink Mini Pan-Tilt camera (a $229.97 value) for a limited time. We address the key selling point of simplified installation where people can go from unboxing to browsing in 15 minutes or less, no professional installation or wasting hours waiting for an appointment window required and how these types of creative bundling packages can help stimulate 5G service adoption.

In this episode of Infrastructure Matters, hosts Steven Dickens with Krista Macomber and Camberley Bates cover the a peak at the 60th birthday party for the Mainframe, Rubrik's IPO and AI tech from AWS to memory and CXL technology. Key moments from the conversation include: The Mainframe turns sixty, and Steve and Camberley look back and forward on the amazing endurance plus the new adoption of the mainframe. The Infrastructure Matters team lends a view into the recent Amazon's Just Walk Out technology, and what is evolving within AI and computer vision technology and where to expect Amazon to go next. AI was the top conversation at MemCon 2024 where the importance of memory technologies like HBM and CXL are addressing performance bottlenecks in high-performance computing and AI. How we will see data storage and other technologies gain traction as the new AI gains hold in everyday life. Rubrik's IPO announcement prompts discussion on its financials, its acquisitions, and the broader trend of data protection companies pivoting towards cybersecurity amidst growing cyber threats.

In this episode of Enterprising Insights, The Futurum Group's Enterprise Applications Research Director Keith Kirkpatrick discusses the news coming out of NetSuite's SuiteConnectNY event, focusing on new product enhancements around AI, and a new connector used to link multiple instances of the product. He also discusses several retail case studies, and then closes out the show with the Rant or Rave segment, where he picks one item in the market, and either champions or criticizes it.

On this episode of DevOps Dialogues: Insights & Innovations, I am joined by Plainsight's CEO, Kit Merker, for discussion of the impacts of AI and Generative AI on application modernization, and innovative development methodologies for overall business goals. Our conversation covers: How Plainsight's integration of visual AI and data science distinguish its approach in the competitive Computer Vision market In what specific ways Plainsight addresses the challenges posed by the rapidly evolving landscape of Computer Vision technology How Plainsight prioritize customers' end-to-end business processes to ensure the success of their Computer Vision initiatives The evidence or examples demonstrate Plainsight's commitment to customer satisfaction and how has it contributed to the company's achievements in the field of Computer Vision These topics reflect ongoing discussions, challenges, and innovations within the DevOps community.

The integrity of both the mainframe platform and the people within the ecosystem have kept the world's economy humming for 60 years. But don't just take it from our hosts Greg Lotko and Daniel Newman! This special anniversary episode spotlights the mainframe community, what they love about the platform, their favorite technological advancements, and why the mainframe is critical to our everyday lives.

In this episode of Enterprising Insights, The Futurum Group's Enterprise Applications Research Director Keith Kirkpatrick is joined by Robert Kramer, vice president and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, to discuss the announcements from Adobe Summit. The pair discusses the news coming out of the show, the state of SaaS applications, data management and governance, and the challenges faced by Adobe and others with incorporating and managing AI. The pair then close out the show with the Rant or Rave segment, where they each champion and criticize something from the enterprise software and CX market.

In this episode of The 5G Factor, our series that focuses on all things 5G, the IoT, and the 5G ecosystem as a whole, we look at the recent key AI RAN and telco AI moves, especially alliance formations unveiled before and during Mobile World Congress 2024. The major AI RAN and Telco AI developments include the near-term and long-term ecosystem impact of the AI-RAN Alliance launch, HEAVY.AI's progress in the key GenAI areas of accuracy and speed, the official debut of the Global Telco AI Alliance (GTAA), and the AI Alliance's focus on responsible AI. Our analytical review focused on: AI-RAN Alliance Debuts: How Substantive? The AI-RAN Alliance debuted at MWC 2024, a new collaborative initiative aimed at integrating AI into cellular technology to further advance RAN technology and mobile networks. The alliance's founding members include AWS, Arm, DeepSig, Ericsson, Microsoft, Nokia, Northeastern University, NVIDIA, Samsung Electronics, SoftBank and T-Mobile. The group's mission is to enhance mobile network efficiency, reduce power consumption, and retrofit existing infrastructure, setting the stage for potentially unlocking new economic opportunities for telecommunications companies with AI, facilitated by 5G and further out 6G. We examine how network operators in the alliance are set to spearhead the testing and implementation of these evolving technologies developed through the collective research efforts of the member companies and universities and ecosystem prospects for AI RAN for both near-term and long-term. HEAVY.AI Showing Accuracy and Speed Breakthroughs. HEAVY.AI announced HeavyIQ designed to bring LLM capabilities to the GPU-accelerated HEAVY.AI analytics platform, with the goal of enabling organizations to interact with their data through conversational analytics. Users can explore their data with natural language questions and generate advanced visualizations of that data. This streamlined process could reduce the friction of traditional business analytics, allowing more users to swiftly uncover insights. With HeavyIQ, HEAVY.AI has taken an open-source LLM foundation model and extensively trained it to perform core analytics tasks, including analyzing massive geospatial and temporal data sets. The technology employs LLM in conjunction with retrieval augmented generation (RAG) capabilities to take a user's text input, automatically convert it into a SQL query, and can both visualize and return natural language summaries of results. We review why HEAVY.AI is providing benefits in areas such as accuracy. Trained with over 60,000 custom training pairs, benchmarks show HeavyIQ to be more accurate than GPT-4, with 90%+ accuracy on common text-to-SQL benchmarks, compared to 85% with GPT-4. For speed, HeavyIQ leverages optimized and fine-tuned smaller models that take advantage of the latest NVIDIA GPU hardware innovations to deliver responses up to 10x faster than GPT-4. Global Telco AI Alliance Officially Takes Off. Deutsche Telekom, e& Group, Singtel, SoftBank and SK Telecom officially launched the Global Telco AI Alliance (GTAA), following its pre-announcement in July 2023. The telcos also announced plans to establish a joint venture, through which the companies plan to develop LLMs specifically tailored for the requirements of telecommunications companies. The LLMs will be designed to help telcos improve their customer interactions through digital assistants and chatbots. We explore why it is important to the mobile ecosystem for the JV to develop multilingual LLMs optimized for languages including Korean, English, German, Arabic and Japanese, with plans for additional languages to be agreed among the founding members and advancing telco specific LLMs that align to the telecommunications domain and can prove better at understanding user intent. AI Alliance Prioritizes Responsible AI. In December 2023, IBM and Meta launched the AI Alliance in collaboration with over 50 founding members and collaborators. The AI Alliance is focused on cultivating an open community and enabling developers and researchers to accelerate responsible innovation in AI while ensuring scientific rigor, trust, safety, and economic competitiveness. By bringing together developers, academics, scientists, and other innovators, the alliance looks to pool resources and knowledge to address safety issues. We assess why the AI Alliance is integral to fulfilling ecosystem-wide objectives including deploying benchmarks and evaluation tools and standards to enable the responsible development and use of AI systems (i.e., Responsible AI). This includes supporting AI skills building and exploratory research.

On this episode of DevOps Dialogues: Insights & Innovations, I am joined by Kalyan Veeramachaneni, Co-founder and CEO of DataCebo to discuss access to synthetic data for generative AI models. Our conversation also covered: Beyond LLMs: Generative AI models for data locked up in the enterprise warehouses Synthetic data use cases that can bring productivity gains Scalable approach to adopting synthetic data within an enterprise Synthetic data use cases that can alleviate data availability problems These topics reflect ongoing discussions, challenges, and innovations within the DevOps community.

In this episode of The 5G Factor, our series that focuses on all things 5G, the IoT, and the 5G ecosystem as a whole, we review the early market inroads and impact that Telco GenAI is delivering. The major takeaways consist of BT Group using Amazon Q's coding companion, Amazon Code Whisperer, to provide GenAI coding assistance to its software engineers, Amazon and Microsoft combining Amdocs amAIz platform and Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to bring verticalized GenAI to telcos, and the debut of the Qualcomm Snapdragon X80 5G Modem-RF system that integrates a dedicated 5G AI Processor and 5G-Advanced-ready architecture to achieve key breakthroughs across NB-NTN satellite communications, 6-antenna architecture for smartphones, 6X carrier aggregation, and AI-based mmWave range extension for FWA CPE. Our analytical review spotlighted: Amazon CodeWhisperer Shows BT Group Early Benefits. At MWC24, BT Group announced that it deployed Amazon Q's coding companion (Amazon CodeWhisperer) to provide generative AI coding assistance to its software engineers. Specifically, Amazon CodeWhisperer generates code suggestions ranging from snippets to full functions in real time in the customer Integrated Development Environment (IDE). The solution is already providing 15-20 suggestions of code per active user per day for BT Group, with an acceptance rate of 37% by its software engineers who are using the platform. We see this as an encouraging example of the value, efficiency, and support generative AI can offer to a communication service provider (CSP) organization. Amdocs and Microsoft Ready GenAI Specifically for CSPs. Amdocs expanded its strategic alliance with Microsoft to further bring verticalized GenAI capabilities to the telecommunications industry, combining Amdocs amAIz platform and Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service. The duo has established a dedicated lab and center of excellence to further productize GenAI capabilities with the goal of accelerating adoption of GenAI technologies for CSPs. The collaboration is designed to bolster business outcomes by combining deep expertise in the communications industry with GenAI technology and industry verticalization that can produce carrier-grade business outcomes. Amdocs has built Customer Engagement Platform, which includes multiple copilot products, including sales, order enrichment, care, proposals, and other key functions, like configure price quote (CPQ), which we view as integral to providing an interconnected GenAI-infused experience across the entire CSP organization. Qualcomm Snapdragon X80 Ties Together AI and 5G Progress. During MWC24, Qualcomm unveiled its new Snapdragon X80 5G Modem-RF System. The offering features new AI innovations based on a dedicated tensor accelerator to improve data speeds, latency, quality of service (QoS), coverage, location accuracy, spectrum efficiency, power efficiency, and multi-antenna management. it integrates a dedicated 5G AI Processor and 5G-Advanced-ready architecture to achieve what we see as several important industry milestones, including the first 5G modem with fully integrated NB-NTN satellite communications support, 6-antenna architecture for smartphones, 6X carrier aggregation, and AI-based mmWave range extension for fixed wireless access CPE.

In this episode of Enterprising Insights, The Futurum Group's Enterprise Applications Research Director Keith Kirkpatrick discusses several new generative AI-focused product announcements and enhancements focused on contact centers and service applications, including those from Five9, Salesforce, ServiceNow, and SAP Concur. He then closes out the show with the Rant or Rave segment, where he picks one item in the enterprise software market, and either champions or criticizes it.

On this episode of Infrastructure Matters, host Steven Dickens is joined by Anthony Anter, Technology Solutions Director and Tim Ceradsky, Director of Software Consulting for BMC Software. The discussion focuses on the strategic importance of weaving operational resilience into the fabric of the mainframe development lifecycle through the CI/CD pipeline. Their discussion covers: Key steps in the CI/CD pipeline to enhance mainframe system resilience Tailoring automated testing suites for mainframe environments within the CI/CD pipeline Optimized deployment strategies for mainframe operations resilienceImplementing rigorous monitoring protocols to bolster mainframe operational resilience The crucial role of collaboration between development and operations teams in integrating resilience measures

On this episode of Infrastructure Matters, host Camberley Bates is joined by NetApp's Eric Han and Shiva Subramanyam, for an insightful conversation on the new architecture and integration of NetApp's Astra and its implications in the world of Kubernetes for advanced data management. Our discussion covers: The origins and development of Astra by NetApp How Astra is being used to advance data management with Kubernetes The architecture of Astra, and its design for Kubernetes-native, including CRDs, least privilege access, and self-contained backups Real-world customer use cases in the Kubernetes space, demonstrating the demand for advanced data management capabilities

On this episode of DevOps Dialogues: Insights & Innovations, I am joined by The Futurum Group's CEO, Daniel Newman for a conversation on exploring the intersection of DevOps, application modernization, and innovative development methodologies. Our conversation covers: Why The Futurum Group is investing in this new DevOps, Application Development and Modernization practice The market trends that are sparking interest in this new practice area What is top of mind for DevOps and how this practice can help These topics reflect ongoing discussions, challenges, and innovations within the DevOps community.