Author: Chris Drake

As Principal Analyst for Data Center Technology at Current Analysis, Chris is responsible for covering the emerging technologies that are remapping the traditional data center landscape. These include software and hardware products that are required to support public, private and hybrid cloud architectures, as well as the underlying virtualization and orchestration technology that is needed to enable process automation and workload management. He also covers the Converged Infrastructure market, with a focus on the latest generations of vendor pre-certified and optimized hardware/software stacks.

Cloud Giants Will Drive Supercomputing Demand

by Chris Drake, posted in Cloud Enable

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• Major cloud service providers, including Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure, are intent on capturing a larger share of the lucrative market for supercomputing.

• Competition between IT infrastructure vendors and cloud service providers will make supercomputing more accessible, while also helping to drive use case development.

Supercomputers have traditionally been major fixed infrastructure investments that are designed for specific tasks, and which comprise hardware provided by IT infrastructure providers such as Lenovo, Dell Technologies, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). However, increasingly the world’s largest cloud service providers, including Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure, are intent on capturing a larger share of this lucrative market.

Continue reading “Cloud Giants Will Drive Supercomputing Demand” →

New Battle Lines Emerge in Push for Higher-Performance Computing Solutions

by Chris Drake, posted in Cloud Enable

  • Chris Drake
    C. Drake

    The combined growth of IoT, big data, and AI will drive demand for higher-performance computing solutions over the next five years.

  • As IT infrastructure vendors and cloud service providers respond, this will contribute to an increasingly vibrant and competitive market.

Despite the disruption to IT projects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, IT infrastructure vendors and cloud service providers alike remain upbeat about future enterprise demand for new, more powerful computer processing capabilities. These include servers for artificial intelligence (AI) workloads, high-performance computing (HPC) servers, and supercomputing. Continue reading “New Battle Lines Emerge in Push for Higher-Performance Computing Solutions” →

Oracle Drives Competition in the Growing Market for Arm-Based Cloud Compute

by Chris Drake, posted in Cloud Enable

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  • Oracle’s new Arm-based compute service offers several advantages over x86 alternatives, which will help Oracle extend its reach to new markets.
  • Longer term, however, Oracle should expect to face increased competition from key rivals as they add Arm-based cloud services to their portfolios.

The launch of Arm-based instances on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) will help Oracle extend its reach to new market segments, including the Arm app developer community.  Longer term, however, Arm-based servers are likely to play a much greater role as a destination for cloud workloads, coexisting in cloud data centers with x86 alternatives.  Oracle should expect to face increased competition from key rivals, including Microsoft Azure, Alibaba, and Google Cloud, as they add Arm-based cloud services to their existing portfolios. Continue reading “Oracle Drives Competition in the Growing Market for Arm-Based Cloud Compute” →

Arm’s Growing Clout in Data Center Technology Threatens Intel and Potentially NVIDIA’s Planned Takeover

by Chris Drake, posted in IT Leader

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• New processor chip design platforms from Arm will strengthen and deepen Arm’s importance within the data center technology industry.

• These developments increase the competitive and other pressures currently facing Intel, and could also jeopardize NVIDIA’s proposed acquisition of Arm.

Arm’s latest chip design platforms will strengthen and deepen the UK’s firm’s importance within the data center technology industry. This will increase the competitive and other pressures currently facing Intel, which are chipping away at Intel’s dominance in the data center processor space. It could also jeopardize NVIDIA’s proposed $40 billion (£29 billion) acquisition of Arm, which is currently under investigation by the UK government.

Continue reading “Arm’s Growing Clout in Data Center Technology Threatens Intel and Potentially NVIDIA’s Planned Takeover” →

IBM and eProvenance Deploy Blockchain to Address Wine Industry Supply Chain Challenges

by Chris Drake, posted in IT Leader
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Summary Bullets:

  • IBM and eProvenance recently announced the availability of VinAssure, a blockchain-based solution for the wine industry that helps users address traditional supply chain challenges.
  • Although VinAssure is off to a good start with its first member, a growing membership will help to reinforce the new solution’s strength and utility.

IBM and eProvenance, a Franco-American company that specializes in monitoring wine shipment conditions, recently unveiled plans to create a new wine industry ecosystem by harnessing the power of blockchain.  Central to this initiative will be VinAssure, a new, IBM blockchain-powered platform that is designed to provide users with a more insightful and secure way of tracking wines as they move through the distribution and transportation process from vineyard to consumer.  For example, using existing identifiers, such as a QR code on the bottle, consumers will be able to learn about a wine’s provenance and flavor profiles, or whether it meets certification standards for organic, biodynamic, or sustainability practices.  Similarly, retailers will be able access information about a wine’s production environment or the conditions in which the wine was transported. Continue reading “IBM and eProvenance Deploy Blockchain to Address Wine Industry Supply Chain Challenges” →

Microsoft Announces Azure Percept to Bring Azure AI Services to the Network Edge

by Chris Drake, posted in Cloud Enable
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Summary Bullets:

  • With Azure Percept, Microsoft aims to help enterprises deploy and use Azure AI services on devices located at the network edge to support new use cases.
  • Despite a swath of capabilities to support use-case development, Microsoft still needs to demonstrate demand for the sort of use cases Azure Percept is designed to enable.

One of the new solutions announced by Microsoft at its recent annual developer conference, Ignite, was Azure Percept, a hardware- and software-based platform to help enterprises deploy and use Azure AI services on devices located at the network edge.  Azure Percept includes a development kit, Azure Percept DK, which allows users to develop AI proofs of concept for use cases leveraging vision and/or sound.  These could include applications that detect production anomalies in manufacturing scenarios or those that apply shelf or customer analytics to retail environments.  The kit features hardware-enabled AI modules for running models at the edge.  However, they can also be connected to the Azure cloud, supporting enterprises’ ability to take advantage of hybrid cloud scenarios. Continue reading “Microsoft Announces Azure Percept to Bring Azure AI Services to the Network Edge” →

Microsoft and HPE Bring Advanced Data Processing and Cloud Computing to Space Station

by Chris Drake, posted in IT Leader

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  • HPE’s SBC-2 computer system on the International Space Station will enable advanced data processing in support of space-based research, while connecting to Microsoft’s Azure cloud on Earth.
  • Despite SBC-2’s potential, the new computer system will be vulnerable to the same environmental challenges as its predecessor.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Microsoft have joined forces to combine the potential of HPE’s edge computing technology and Microsoft’s cloud computing capabilities in outer space. HPE’s Spaceborne Computer-2 (SBC-2) system – soon to be deployed on the International Space Station (ISS) – will enable many new activities on the space station that require advanced data processing. It will also connect via satellite to Microsoft’s cloud data centers on Earth for more demanding requirements. However, despite the potential offered by SBC-2, the new computer system will be vulnerable to the same environmental challenges as its predecessor. Continue reading “Microsoft and HPE Bring Advanced Data Processing and Cloud Computing to Space Station” →

Blockchain Won’t be a Global Solution for COVID-19 Vaccination Plans Anytime Soon

by Chris Drake, posted in IT Leader

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• There a growing interest in how blockchain, a distributed ledger technology (DLT), can help governments and health authorities address the challenges associated with COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

• However, several hurdles and barriers mean that specific blockchain-based initiatives are likely to be slow to materialize and may never be fully realizable on a global scale.

With some countries, including Russia and the United Kingdom, having already started vaccinating populations against COVID-19, and with others expected to follow suit in the coming weeks, there is a growing interest in how blockchain could help governments and health authorities address some of the many challenges associated with vaccine distribution and dissemination. Continue reading “Blockchain Won’t be a Global Solution for COVID-19 Vaccination Plans Anytime Soon” →

Mayflower Voyage Opens Up a New World of Opportunity for Edge Computing and AI

by Chris Drake, posted in IT Leader

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  • The transatlantic voyage of the Mayflower robotic ship will be an important testbed for the use of edge computing and artificial intelligence at sea.
  • Potential use cases for commercial autonomous ships include marine research, ocean clean-up, remote marine pilotage, and defense.

On September 16, the UK’s first robotic ship, named the Mayflower Autonomous Ship, will embark on a transatlantic voyage from Plymouth, England to Plymouth, Massachusetts, retracing the route of the original Mayflower on the 400th anniversary of its crossing. The transatlantic voyage of the Mayflower Autonomous Ship will be an important testbed for emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and edge computing, and is widely expected to pave the way both for the development of commercial autonomous ships and for the advancement of use cases ranging from marine research and defense to remote marine pilotage and ocean cleanup. Continue reading “Mayflower Voyage Opens Up a New World of Opportunity for Edge Computing and AI” →

Altran’s Latest Platform Enhancements Acknowledge the Central Role of App Developers in Driving Emerging Edge IT Opportunities

by Chris Drake, posted in IT Leader

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Summary Bullets:

  • Altran of the Capgemini Group has enhanced its Ensconce-branded edge computing platform with Intel software, in a move that specifically targets the needs of application developers.
  • Altran is one of several companies now targeting the edge computing requirements of app developers, a trend that will necessitate vendors to differentiate around features, functionality, and flexibility.

As a growing number of companies target emerging opportunities associated with edge computing, some have begun to differentiate their edge IT offerings with solutions that address the specific needs of application developers. In doing so, they are acknowledging the central role developers will play in driving new market growth opportunities, especially those based on new, high-performance, low-latency applications and digital services. Continue reading “Altran’s Latest Platform Enhancements Acknowledge the Central Role of App Developers in Driving Emerging Edge IT Opportunities” →