Research Note: UALink Consortium Releases UALink 1.0
The UALink Consortium recently released its Ultra Accelerator Link (UALink) 1.0 specification. This industry-backed standard challenges the dominance of NVIDIA’s proprietary NVLink/NVSwitch memory fabric with an open alternative for high-performance accelerator interconnect technology.
Key Takeaways: Microsoft FabCon 2025
At Microsoft’s second annual Fabric Community Conference (FabCon) 2025, held earlier this month in Las Vegas, the company unveiled several significant announcements that together enhance its unified data platform. The updates to Fabric focus on improving data security, AI integration, and streamlined data management.
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.
NAND Insider Newsletter: March 30 2025
Every week NAND Research puts out a newsletter for our industry customers taking a look at what’s driving the week, and what happened last week that caught our attention. Below is a excerpt from this week’s, March 30, 2025.
NAND Insider Newsletter: March 10, 2025
Every week NAND Research puts out a newsletter for our industry customers taking a look at what’s driving the week, and what happened last week that caught our attention. Below is a excerpt from this week’s, March 10, 2025.
Research Note: ServiceNow to Acquire Moveworks
ServiceNow has agreed to acquire Moveworks, an enterprise AI assistant and search technology provider. The cash-and-stock transaction, expected to close in the second half of 2025, is ServiceNow’s largest acquisition.
The acquisition strengthens ServiceNow’s agentic AI strategy and expands its capabilities in AI-driven enterprise automation, employee experience, and search.
March Cyber Tracker: AI, Partnerships, and the Future of Cyber Resilience
Cyber threats are evolving, and the industry is fighting back with AI-powered defenses, strategic alliances, and enhanced resilience measures. Here’s what we’ve seen over the past month that’s captured our attention:
Research Note: OpenText Core Threat Detection & Response
OpenText recently announced its new Core Threat Detection and Response, an AI-driven cybersecurity solution that will become generally available with its Cloud Editions 25.2.
The new platform integrates with Microsoft security tools, including Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Entra ID, and Microsoft Security Copilot, to enhance threat detection and response capabilities.
The solution operates as an Open XDR (Extended Detection and Response) platform, enabling enterprises to integrate telemetry from multiple security tools and applications.
NAND Insider Newsletter: February 17, 2025
Every week NAND Research puts out a newsletter for our industry customers taking a look at what’s driving the week, and what happened last week that caught our attention. Below is a excerpt from this week’s, February 17, 2025.
Research Note: Palo Alto Networks Cortex Cloud
Palo Alto Networks recently introduced Cortex Cloud, its integrated cloud security and security operations (SecOps) platform that consolidates the capabilities of Prisma Cloud and Cortex CDR.
The new platform provides a unified approach to managing cloud security risks, real-time threat prevention, and automated response workflows.
Research Note: ServiceNow Unveils New AI Agent Capabilities
ServiceNow announced the expansion of its agentic AI capabilities by introducing the AI Agent Orchestrator and AI Agent Studio. The new capabilities provide centralized coordination of AI agents within enterprise workflows, integrating with the ServiceNow Platform to improve automation and task execution across IT, HR, customer service, and other business functions.
Research Note: Cisco AI Defense
Cisco recently introduced its Cisco AI Defense, its new enterprise security solution to address the growing risks associated with AI adoption in multi-cloud and multi-model environments.
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.
NAND Insider Newsletter: January 21, 2025
Every week NAND Research puts out a newsletter for our industry customers. Below is an excerpt from this week’s.
Research Note: UALink Consortium Expands Board, adds Apple, Alibaba Cloud & Synopsys
The Ultra Accelerator Link Consortium (UALink), an industry organization taking a collaborative approach to advance high-speed interconnect standards for next-generation AI workloads, announced an expansion to its Board of Directors, welcoming Alibaba Cloud, Apple, and Synopsys – joining existing member companies like AMD, AWS, Cisco, Google, HPE, Intel, Meta, and Microsoft.
NAND Insider Newsletter: January 12, 2025
Every week NAND Research puts out a newsletter for our industry customers. Below is a excerpt from this week’s.
NAND Insider Newsletter: January 5, 2025
Every week NAND Research puts out a newsletter for our industry customers. Below is a excerpt from this week’s.
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.
NAND Insider Newsletter: Week Ending Nov 17 2024
Every week we send a newsletter to our list of tech industry insiders. Here’s an excerpt of what we shared for the week ending November 17.
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.
Quick Take: Azure’s Impact on Microsoft FQ4 2024 Earnings
Microsoft closed its fiscal year with solid financial results, reporting a total annual revenue of more than $245 billion, a 15% year-over-year increase. Microsoft Cloud (which include Azure, LInkedIn, and Office 365) revenue surpassed $135 billion, growing 23% year-over-year.
Research Note: Microsoft & IBM’s Expanded Cyber Security Alliance
Microsoft and IBM announced an enhanced collaboration to strengthen the cybersecurity capabilities of clients navigating hybrid cloud environments.
The partnership leverages IBM Consulting’s industry-leading cybersecurity services and Microsoft’s comprehensive security technology portfolio to provide advanced, integrated solutions for modern security operations and cloud identity management.
Research Note: UALink Alliance & Accelerator Interconnect Specification
UALink is a new open standard designed to rival NVIDIA’s proprietary NVLink technology. It facilitates high-speed, direct GPU-to-GPU communication crucial for scaling out complex computational tasks across multiple graphics processing units (GPUs) or accelerators within servers or computing pods.
Quick Take: Microsoft Corp. and G42 Digital Investments in Kenya
Microsoft and G42 announced a substantial digital investment initiative in Kenya, partnering with the Republic of Kenya’s Ministry of Information, Communications, and the Digital Economy.
The initiative, supported by an initial $1 billion investment arranged by G42, aims to enhance Kenya’s digital infrastructure, AI capabilities, and connectivity, fostering the region’s digital transformation and economic growth.
Microsoft Azure Cobalt 100 Arm-based VMs
At its 2024 Microsoft Build Event this week, Microsoft announced the preview of new Azure Virtual Machines powered by Microsoft’s previously announced in-house-design Arm-based processor, the Cobalt 100
Microsoft New Phi-3 Model Additions
This week at the Microsoft Build 2024 conference, the tech giant announced an exciting set of updates to its Phi-3 family of small, open models. The news includes the introduction of Phi-3-vision, a multimodal model that combines language and vision capabilities, providing developers with powerful tools for generative AI applications.
What Microsoft’s FQ3 2024 Earnings Reveal About Azure
Microsoft announced its fiscal Q3 2024 results, demonstrating robust growth. The company reported a total revenue of $61.9 billion, a 17% increase year-over-year, primarily driven by the cloud segment.
Microsoft’s Cloud business, which includes Azure and other cloud properties such as LinkedIn, generated over $35 billion in revenue, up 23%. During its earnings call, Microsoft said that Azure’s expansion and the increasing demand for AI infrastructure propelled much of its growth.
Research Report: Oracle Database@Azure
Oracle and Microsoft Azure recently announced Oracle@Azure, making Microsoft Azure the only cloud provider besides Oracle itself capable of running Oracle’s database services with the performance, reliability, and security of Oracle Exadata and OCI
Research Note: Microsoft Phi-3 Small Language Model
Microsoft recently announced its Phi-3 small language models (SLMs), designed to deliver powerful performance at a reduced cost. These SLMs offer a compelling option for developers and businesses looking to harness the potential of generative AI.
This Research Note looks at what Microsoft announced.
Quick Take: Microsoft & Quantiniuum Achieve Quantum Error Correction Breakthrough
Microsoft and Quantinuum announced an advancement in quantum computing that significantly reduces quantum error correction, a significant achievement that addresses one of the major hurdles in quantum computing.
Quick Take: Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability Gains Data & AI Capabilities
Microsoft introduced new data and AI solutions in its Cloud for Sustainability at its recent AI for Sustainability event. The new offerings will assist organizations transitioning from sustainability pledges to tangible sustainability progress.
Research Note: Microsoft Updates Azure for Operators
At the recent MWC 2024 in Barcelona, Microsoft shared updates on its Azure for Operators portfolio, demonstrating significant advancements in generative AI and its application in telecommunications.
This Research Note takes an in-depth look at what Microsoft announced.
Quick Take: Microsoft & Vodafone’s Strategic Engagement
Vodafone and Microsoft announced a significant 10-year strategic partnership aimed at driving digital transformation for businesses and consumers across Europe and Africa, leveraging their combined strengths in technology and connectivity.
The collaboration will focus on enhancing Vodafone’s customer experience through Microsoft’s AI, expanding Vodafone’s managed IoT connectivity platform, developing new digital and financial services for SMEs, and revamping Vodafone’s global data center strategy.
Research Note: Microsoft/Vodaphone Strategic Partnership
Vodafone and Microsoft announced a significant 10-year strategic partnership aimed at driving digital transformation for businesses and consumers across Europe and Africa, leveraging their combined strengths in technology and connectivity.
Research Note: Microsoft’s New Processor & Accelerator
At its recent Microsoft Ignite event, the company announced the launch of the Azure Cobalt 100 CPU and the Maia 100 AI accelerator, marking a significant pivot in Microsoft’s approach to its cloud infrastructure and representing the company’s commitment to driving innovation in high-performance computing and AI.
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.
Dell Launces APEX Block Storage for Azure
This week, Dell has launched its new APEX Block Storage for Azure, just days after it released its APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure.
Let’s look at what Dell is delivering.
Dell Launches APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure
Today Dell Technologies launched its APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure. This makes Dell the first partner in Microsoft’s Premier Solutions for Azure Stack HCI category, the latest in a long history of joint innovation between the two companies.
Let’s look at the new Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Azure.