Research Feed: Steve McDowell
Research Note: State of the Private 5G Industry
The outlook for the Private 5G industry remains positive, driven by the ongoing digital transformation needs of enterprises across various sectors.
Research Note: Palo Alto Networks’ $25 Billion Acquisition of CyberArk
Palo Alto Networks announced its intent to acquire CyberArk for $25 billion in a cash-and-stock transaction, marking the company’s largest acquisition to date and one of the most significant cybersecurity consolidations in 2025. The deal values CyberArk at $495 per share, representing a 29.2% premium to its pre-announcement price.
The acquisition addresses Palo Alto’s strategic gap in identity security and privileged access management (PAM), positioning the combined entity to capture opportunities in the emerging AI and autonomous agent security market.
Intel’s Networking Exodus: A Strategic Rebirth or a Sign of Decline?
Intel’s foray into networking didn’t start with flashy switches or routers. Its foundational contribution dates back to 1980…
Azure Marketplace: meter’s New Avenue for Enterprise Customer Acquisition
For meter, this isn’t just about passive listing. It’s an active customer acquisition strategy. They’re tapping directly into enterprise budgets already allocated to Azure, bypassing traditional sales friction.
The Great Network Shift: Why Enterprises Are Outsourcing Support and What It Means for Contracts
Enter the Managed Service Provider (MSP). These partners offer a lifeline, promising to take on the heavy lifting of network design, delivery, and ongoing operations.
Broadcom’s Tomahawk Ultra: Challenging Nvidia’s Dominance in AI Networking
The significance of this battle lies in “scale-up” computing – the technique of ensuring closely located chips can communicate at lightning speed.
Research Note: Red Hat OpenShift on Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA
Dell Technologies recently announced that its integrated Red Hat OpenShift with its Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA platform is now generally available to customers. The solution was previewed earlier this year at Dell Tech world. The updated solution combines Dell PowerEdge infrastructure, NVIDIA GPU acceleration, Red Hat container orchestration, and NVIDIA AI Enterprise software into a validated stack.
Open Flash Platform Initiative Aims to Redefine Flash Storage for AI
Six industry participants recently launched the Open Flash Platform (OFP) initiative, backed by six founding members: Hammerspace, the Linux Foundation, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), ScaleFlux, SK hynix, and Xsight Labs.
The initiative purports to address the challenges presented by the next wave of AI-driven data storage, specifically the limitations of power, heat, and data center space.
Research Note: AWS Enhances S3 for Enterprise AI
At its recent AWS Summit in NYC, Amazon Web Services introduced two significant enhancements to its S3 object storage service: S3 Vectors for cost-effective vector data storage and expanded S3 Metadata capabilities for comprehensive object visibility.
Research Note: Enterprise AI Agents Take Center Stage at AWS Summit NYC 2025
AWS recently concluded its New York City Summit with a clear message: the future of enterprise software is agentic AI, and Amazon aims to own the infrastructure that enables it.
Research Note: IBM Brings Hyper Protect to Red Hat
IBM recently expanded its Hyper Protect confidential computing portfolio to the Red Hat ecosystem through two new offerings: Hyper Protect Container Runtime (HPCR) for Red Hat Virtualization Solutions and Hyper Protect Confidential Containers (HPCC) for Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform.
Research Note: IBM Power11
IBM recently announced the latest generation of its Power family, Power 11. The new processor and associated servers provide a significant architectural evolution, focusing on autonomous operations, AI integration, and hybrid cloud deployment.