Azure - NAND Research

“Chips” is now the “C” in CES

While the focus of CES 2026 remained on consumer electronics, this year felt different. More expansive, with the semiconductor industry dominating the pre-show with overlapping announcements that reveal diverging strategies for AI workload acceleration, manufacturing sovereignty, and market expansion beyond traditional computing segments.

Research Note: Lenovo’s Expanded Storage and HCI Portfolio for Enterprise Modernization & AI Workloads

Lenovo announced a comprehensive update to its storage and hyperconverged infrastructure portfolio. The announcement includes four new ThinkSystem DS Series all-flash SAN arrays, three ThinkAgile HCI product lines supporting VMware, Nutanix, and Microsoft Azure Local environments, and expanded lifecycle services.

Research Note: Snowflake BUILD 2025 Announcements

At its recent BUILD 2025 event, Snowflake unveiled a substantial array of platform updates centered on three core themes: compute performance optimization, data interoperability across heterogeneous environments, and operational automation.

The offerings address persistent enterprise challenges around data fragmentation, manual infrastructure management, and the operational overhead of supporting both transactional and analytical workloads on unified platforms.

Call Notes: Q4 Semiconductor Tracker

We’re in a moment that’s less about individual chip performance and more about processing-at-scale. It’s all about sprawling AI racks, optics, interconnect, and custom silicon hungry for scale, speed, and a story.

Research Brief: Oracle Database 26ai Delivers Fully Integrated AI

Oracle released its Oracle Database 26ai at its recent AI World event in Las Vegas. The update makes the database an integrated platform that embeds artificial intelligence capabilities across data management, development, and analytics operations.

The platform integrates vector search capabilities with traditional database functions, supports agentic AI workflows through in-database tools and MCP servers, and extends analytics capabilities through Iceberg table format support. Oracle also bundles in advanced AI features, including AI Vector Search, at no additional cost.

The Unseen Architects: How System Integrators are Powering Carrier-Led Private 5G Deployments

For mobile carriers like Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, the P5G opportunity is immense, offering new revenue streams beyond consumer services.

Research Note: Cloudera Acquires Taikun for Kubernetes Capabilities

Cloudera announced its acquisition of Taikun, a Czech-based company that develops a Kubernetes-native platform for managing cloud and on-premises infrastructure across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The acquisition adds a fully integrated, Kubernetes-based compute layer to the Cloudera Data Platform (CDP), enabling consistent deployment and management of data and AI services across distributed and regulated IT estates.

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.

Research Note: OpenText Titanium X in CE 25.2

OpenText recently launched Titanium X, part of its Cloud Editions (CE) 25.2 release, its most comprehensive AI-native upgrade across all major product clouds. The release introduces new AI agents, expanded automation capabilities, and integrated cloud security enhancements.

MWC 2025 Playbook: Enterprise IT’s Big AI & 5G Moment

If you blinked, you might have missed the tidal wave of AI, 5G, and cloud announcements at Mobile World Congress 2025. But don’t worry—we’ve got the cheat sheet.

Research Note: Oracle Exadata X11M on Oracle Database@Azure

Oracle recently announced that it’s expanded its Oracle Database@Azure service with the general availability of Exadata Database Service on Exascale Infrastructure, introducing a shared, multi-tenant deployment model. The service now spans 14 Azure regions, with 18 additional regions planned within the next 12 months.

Research Note: The Stargate Project

The Stargate Project, announced at a political event on January 25, 2025, is a joint venture between OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, and MGX that will invest up to $500 billion by 2030 to develop AI infrastructure across the United States.

IT Infrastructure Round-Up: Emerging Trends in Infrastructure and Connectivity (Nov 2024)

November was a busy month of announcements in infrastructure and connectivity, revealing a convergence of innovation to meet the stringent demands of AI-driven workloads, scalability, and cost efficiency.

Research Note: Veeam Cloud Data Vault v2

Veeam Software recently announced the release of its Veeam Data Cloud Vault v2, a fully managed, secure cloud storage solution that builds on its predecessor with enhanced durability, affordability, and integration.

Research Note: Nutanix Enterprise AI

Nutanix recently introduced Nutanix Enterprise AI, its new cloud-native infrastructure platform that streamlines the deployment and operation of AI workloads across various environments, including edge locations, private data centers, and public cloud services like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.

What Earnings Tell Us About the Public Cloud Market

All of the major public cloud providers have released earnings for calendar Q3 2024, allowing us to draw conclusions about the state of the public cloud market and the relative competitiveness of each CSP. The public cloud market remains highly competitive and rapidly evolving, with each provider strategically leveraging AI, infrastructure innovation, and multi-cloud partnerships to drive growth.

Tag: Azure