Research Notes

Nutanix Enterprise AI 2.8: Governance and Cost Controls for Production Agentic AI

Steve McDowell August 30, 2026

Nutanix announced the general availability of Nutanix Enterprise AI (NAI) 2.8, the latest release of its software platform for deploying and governing LLMs and AI agents across hybrid cloud environments.

IBM Brings Arm to the Mainframe: Dual-Architecture Z and LinuxONE Processor with Native Arm Support

Steve McDowell August 24, 2026

At Hot Chips 2026, IBM disclosed the next-generation processor for its Z and LinuxONE systems, the first commercial chip designed to execute both IBM’s z/Architecture and Arm instruction sets natively on the same physical cores.

NetApp Acquires JetStream, Strengthens VMware Cyber Resilience

Steve McDowell August 24, 2026

NetApp recently announced the acquisition of JetStream Software, a San Jose-based cyber resilience vendor. JetStream builds disaster recovery and workload migration technology for VMware environments. NetApp plans to integrate that technology into its existing data protection portfolio alongside SnapMirror, its long-standing replication engine.

High Bandwidth Flash: Bridging the Gap Between Expensive HBM & Flash Memory

Steve McDowell August 23, 2026

At the recent FMS 2026, SK hynix and SanDisk announced the first open technical specification for High Bandwidth Flash (HBF), formalizing a new memory category that sits between high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and solid-state drives.

Nutanix: Open-Source MCP Server Brings Governed AI Agent Automation to Cloud Platform

Steve McDowell August 23, 2026

Nutanix recently released an open-source MCP server for the Nutanix Cloud Platform (NCP). The server sits between AI coding assistants and agent frameworks, including GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, Cursor, and the Nutanix Prism Central management plane, translating natural-language requests into calls to the Prism v4 REST API. It is now available as a free download.

IBM’s Modular Cryogenic Architecture: Scaling Toward Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing

Steve McDowell August 20, 2026

IBM has connected two modular cryogenic cells within a single cooled environment at its Poughkeepsie, New York, facility and cooled the combined system to below 15 millikelvin, more than 100 times colder than deep space. The demonstration replaces the cylindrical dilution-refrigerator enclosures used in IBM Quantum System One with box-shaped aluminum cells that sit side by side and link via short, shielded interconnect tunnels.