IBM & Red Hat: Project Lightwell, Protecting Open Source Software
IBM and Red Hat announced Project Lightwell, a $5 billion initiative to establish a trusted enterprise clearinghouse for open-source software security. The project deploys more than 20,000 engineers, augmented by AI, to identify, triage, validate, and remediate vulnerabilities across open-source supply chains at a scale that exceeds what most enterprises can achieve independently.
Think 2026: IBM’s AI Operating Model Takes Shape
At its annual Think conference in Boston earlier this month, IBM delivered the most comprehensive expansion to date of its enterprise AI and hybrid cloud portfolio. The announcements center on what IBM calls an AI Operating Model, a four-pillar architecture built around agents, data, automation, and hybrid infrastructure.
HPE ProLiant: Edge Compute for AI and Mission-Critical Workloads
HPE recently expanded its HPE ProLiant edge portfolio with three new platforms: the HPE ProLiant Compute EL2000 chassis, two new Gen12 servers built for the EL2000 (the EL220 and EL240), and an enhanced version of the HPE ProLiant DL145 Gen11 server, now powered by AMD EPYC 8005 series processors. The announcement also introduced an Environmental Ruggedization Option Kit applicable across the portfolio.
Google Cloud: 8th-Generation TPU Family Splits Training and Inference
At Google Cloud Next 2026, Google unveiled its 8th-generation Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) family, splitting its custom silicon lineup into two purpose-built architectures for the first time.
The TPU 8t targets large-scale model training, emphasizing compute throughput and scale-up bandwidth, while the TPU 8i addresses inference and reasoning workloads, emphasizing memory bandwidth and low-latency communication.
Google Cloud Next ‘26: Storage Infrastructure Advances + the NetApp Partnership
At its recent Next ’26 conference, Google Cloud advanced its storage portfolio across three fronts: high-performance infrastructure for AI training and inference, intelligent metadata capabilities built directly into the storage layer, and expanded ecosystem integrations.
The announcements span Cloud Storage Rapid, Google Cloud Managed Lustre with 10 TB/s throughput, Hyperdisk Exapools, Smart Storage automation, and material expansions to the Google Cloud NetApp Volumes service, including a deeper partnership with NetApp.
IBM & Arm: Together Extending Arm Architecture into Enterprise Computing
IBM and Arm announced a strategic partnership to support the Arm architecture on IBM’s enterprise computing platforms, IBM Z and LinuxONE. The collaboration aims to address two key enterprise needs: greater workload flexibility and infrastructure capable of handling AI- and data-heavy applications at a mission-critical level.
“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.
Research Note: NetApp Updates Cloud Offerings
NetApp announced new capabilities designed for strategic cloud workloads, including GenAI and VMware, to help reduce the resources and risks for managing these workloads in hybrid multi-cloud environments.
Inside Microsoft’s New Cloud-Based Data & AI Solutions for Healthcare
Microsoft announced its first industry-specific application of its Fabric analytics platform, introducing new healthcare-focused AI models, and releasing new AI-driven tools to simplify the clinician experience.
Pure Storage Brings Cloud Block Store To Microsoft’s Azure VMware Solution
Pure Storage is bringing its Cloud Block Store (CBS) to Microsoft AVS, allowing users to provision storage as needed to fully use an Azure AVS deployment without having to scale out compute resources.