Kathryn Weldon – Research Director, Business Network and IT Services – Americas Summary Bullets: • IoT platform vendor dropouts were in the news in 2023, suggesting not only consolidation but reduced demand and profitability concerns. • While hyperscalers remain leaders, industrial stalwarts such as PTC, Software AG, and Siemens are still innovating and enhancing platforms with security, easy of use, and integration with adjacent products in their portfolios. Over the last year, the most compelling changes in the market for enterprise IoT platforms were the dropping out of key vendors includin ..read more

S. Schuchart Summary Bullets: • The impact of IT technologies that are growing beyond IT is staggering and shows the need for advanced test and measurement. • According to the GlobalData Deal Trends database, there have been over 20 acquisitions in this space since 2020 and numerous asset purchases and partnerships. For every technology product that comes to market, both hardware and software, there is testing. One of the best ways to see where a market is heading, and what technologies are coming up in the next 4+ years, is to watch the testing market. The software testing market for developm ..read more

C. Dunlap Research Director Summary Bullets: • Google leads mega developer conference with its engineering-driven developer reputation. • Key dev tools include Google’s Gemini Code Assist and Vertex AI Agent Builder. Google was heavily scrutinized during the Google Cloud Next conference, particularly after 2023’s fumble during its foray into the generative AI (GenAI) space when, during a public GenAI demo, Google Bard returned a highly publicized inappropriate response. The company’s clear directive during its mega developer conference, Google Cloud Next, was to demonstrate its key role in the ..read more

R. Pritchard Summary Bullets: • Orange Business has enhanced its Flux Vision real-time population flow observation tool with measurement of carbon footprints produced by the movement of people and goods. • Using anonymized technical data points and AI-driven analysis, it helps local authorities, and tourism, distribution, and transport customers address sustainability challenges and save money. Orange Business Flux Vision is a real-time population flow observation tool that provides anonymized data from the company’s mobile network. Launched ten years ago, the GDPR-compliant solution helps in ..read more

Amy Larsen DeCarlo – Principal Analyst, Security and Data Center Services Summary Bullets: • US government officials are advising state governors that drinking water and wastewater systems are under threat. • Recent attacks carried out by bad actors working on behalf of the Iranian and Chinese governments used different techniques to breach critical infrastructure; the government expects more to come. A letter from the White House included a link to guidance on what security controls water systems should have in place. Concerns about attacks on critical infrastructure are nothing new, but rece ..read more

Kathryn Weldon – Research Director, Business Network and IT Services – Americas Summary Bullets: • Since October 2023, there have been few public announcements of new private wireless services or enhanced capabilities of existing services from key mobile operators in the US and Europe. • However, operators have announced interesting new trials or commercial launches of private 5G, expanding use cases in verticals that ranged from automotive to retail, heavy industry, event venues, universities, ports, and utilities. Recent PCN Announcements US Operators Verizon Business is building a priv ..read more

R. Pritchard Summary Bullets: • The European Commission (EC) continues to set the benchmark for sustainability reporting in technology as part of the European Energy Efficiency Directive (EEED). • Signs of ongoing innovation to mitigate climate damage from data centers and use scarce resources as efficiently as possible as demand continues to grow. The European Union’s climate goals aim to “enhance present and future energy security and affordability.” With the information and communication technology (ICT) sector as a focus for sustainability, the EC notes that in 2018, the energy consumption ..read more

S. Soh Summary Bullets: • While both generative AI (GenAI) is having widespread interests, and more use cases are emerging, companies need to ensure the infrastructure does not become a bottleneck. • GenAI will need new approaches from the processors to data centers and cooling systems to ensure the development can be efficient and sustainable. AI continues to be a hot topic moving into 2024. The technology has evolved from predictive AI to GenAI and multi-modal GenAI, over a relatively short period of time. This technology is creating endless possibilities, and various use cases have started ..read more

S. Schuchart The news has been abuzz for the last few days about the US federal government banning TikTok in the country unless its Chinese owner, ByteDance, sells the company. Federal lawmakers contend that TikTok is beholden to the Chinese government and that ByteDance would be compelled to share TikTok data on Americans if asked, constituting a national security threat. The base allegation here is that the Chinese government could gain significant amounts of data on American citizens via TikTok. ByteDance, for its part, claims it would never share the data it collects with the Chinese gover ..read more

R. Bhattacharyya Summary Bullets: • With the passage of the EU AI Act, staying on top of issues related to AI and ethics is going to become increasingly important to multinational organizations. • The need for individuals that can help organizations adapt business processes to meet evolving ethical AI requirements will become increasingly urgent. The EU AI Act is groundbreaking legislation that strives to hold organizations more accountable for their use of artificial intelligence. It categorizes use cases by risk, stipulates greater oversight of riskier AI use cases, bans certain use cases ou ..read more