Category: Cloud Enable

Cloud Enable examines the options available to IT departments considering adopting or managing cloud-based architectures in their business environment.

Executive Departure Adds More Uncertainty to Broadcom’s VMware Acquisition

by Steven J. Schuchart Jr., posted in Cloud Enable, IT Leader, Secure
S. Schuchart

Summary Bullets:

  • Tom Krause is leaving Broadcom to become CEO of Citrix-Tibco, increasing tensions around the planned acquisition of VMware.
  • Broadcom CEO Hock Tan is taking over the Broadcom Software division, but there may be a chance that VMware’s leadership team could run the division if the acquisition closes.

The latest chapter in the saga of Broadcom’s quest to buy VMware sees the architect and face of the deal, Broadcom Software President Tom Krause, leaving Broadcom to become CEO of Citrix-Tibco. For fans following along at home, Citrix was purchased by private equity firms Vista Equity Partners and Elliott Investment Management that plan to merge Citrix with Tibco. The merger of those two is much like the purchase of VMware by Broadcom – a move with very few synergies that leaves everyone scratching their heads and wondering why. It seems as if the thought process is that any software company can be merged with any other… because they are all software, right?

Continue reading “Executive Departure Adds More Uncertainty to Broadcom’s VMware Acquisition” →

DevSecOps is Now Ops’ Greatest Digitization Challenge

by Charlotte Dunlap, posted in Cloud Enable, Secure
C. Dunlap

Summary Bullets:

  • DevSecOps’ barriers to adoption include culture clashes between teams and technical challenges.
  • Emerging tools are beginning to appear among traditional platform providers and startups.

The move to microservices-based apps has unleashed a flood of new DevOps and GitOps platforms in recent months aimed at helping enterprise operations and developer teams create continuous integration and continuous development pipelines for streamlining the deployment of advanced apps within complex processes. Efforts to spin off new app architectures, including Kubernetes clusters, require configurations between networking, security, and provisioning of computing. This need involves the developer as part of a ‘shift left and GitOps’ movement taking place over the past 18 months, spurred by the need to automate continuous delivery and operations of apps and infrastructure. However, progress toward this effort has been slow.

Continue reading “DevSecOps is Now Ops’ Greatest Digitization Challenge” →

MuleSoft Conference Touted Integration but Downplayed API Security

by Charlotte Dunlap, posted in Big Data, Cloud Enable, IT Leader
C. Dunlap

Summary Bullets:

  • MuleSoft Connect delivered on Dreamforce promises made in late-2021.
  • MuleSoft executives missed the opportunity to provide thought leadership on API security and DevSecOps.

Salesforce’s notable integration business, MuleSoft, used its annual conference this week to deliver on the general availability of its Dreamforce announcements made in late-2021. While this week’s recap around intelligent automation, robotic process automation (RPA), pre-built connectors/accelerators, low-code, and collaboration was short on new technical updates, the company achieved its purpose of highlighting the importance of MuleSoft’s highly coveted integration and application programming interface (API) management technology for helping global companies, big and small, accomplish digitization.

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Microsoft Updates Its Responsible AI Standard And Adjusts Its Portfolio

by Guest Author, posted in Cloud Enable

Principal Analyst, Advanced Analytics

Summary Bullets:

• Artificial intelligence (AI) is not an infallible process that resides on the computing equivalent of Mt. Olympus. AI results can contain bias or be misinterpreted, and companies need to put guardrails in place to prevent misuse.

• Microsoft decided to remove several products that could be used to manipulate information negatively. This will improve trust and accountability in the use of AI.

AI has already made a positive impact in a wide variety of fields, including businesses, science, and financial markets. Eventually, AI’s impact will influence every facet of daily life by increasing factory efficiency, solving complex problems, and improving the overall quality of life. However, in order to realize this future state, it is essential that the AI software that will control humanity’s critical systems be deployed in a manner that will impact life in a positive manner.
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Google Cloud Launches New Subsidiary Catering to Government Clients

by Amy Larsen DeCarlo, posted in Cloud Enable
Amy Larsen DeCarlo – Principal Analyst, Security and Data Center Services

Summary Bullets:

• A bit late to the enterprise party, Google Cloud is looking to play catch up on the government front with a new public sector business.

• The business will operate autonomously while selling the full suite of Google products.

Looking to capture a bigger share of the public sector IT sales and challenge fellow hyperscale rivals Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud is launching a separate subsidiary to serve US government clients, which will have its own separate board of directors to be named later. The Google Cloud Public Sector arm will sell the full suite of Google services, including cybersecurity solutions to federal, state, and local government entities. Will Grannis, Google Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer, will oversee the new business at launch until a permanent CEO is named. Lynn Martin, a Google vice president, will head the US Public Sector sales organization.

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Atos’ Future Will Bring a Much-Needed Restructure

by Rena Bhattacharyya, posted in Big Data, Cloud Enable, IT Leader, Secure
R. Bhattacharyya

Summary Bullets:

  • Atos announced plans to split into two companies: one will focus on digital solutions and the other on information systems.
  • There is still much uncertainty regarding what will happen to Atos in the long term, with rumors flying of a potential acquisition by another French organization.

For France-based Atos, significant change is imminent. In mid-June 2022, the IT services provider (ITSP) announced plans to split into two companies:  SpinCo will offer high-growth solutions that support digital transformation, big data (including Atos’ computing portfolio), and cybersecurity; and TFCo (Atos’ Tech Foundations) will provide low-growth managed infrastructure services, digital workplace solutions, and professional services.  By restructuring, Atos is separating its higher-growth and higher-margin businesses from its underperforming divisions, which have been dragging the company’s overall financial performance down for several years.

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UC&C Platforms Are Becoming Homogenized

by Gregg Willsky, posted in Cloud Enable, Communicate
G. Willsky

Summary Bullets:

  • Three forces are driving homogenization of UC&C platforms: common features, a continuous surfeit of bells and whistles, and interoperability between competing platforms.
  • The need for in-office and remote workers to communicate and collaborate – and thus demand for UC&C platforms – will remain robust in the hybrid world.

Unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) platforms are becoming homogenized. There are three forces driving this phenomenon: (1) a common set of features has emerged from the major players, including meetings, chat, calling, and events (some players have created an augmented core by also including contact centers and AI); (2) competitors are continually and rapidly complementing common features with a surfeit of bells and whistles (e.g., live reactions such as likes, enhanced lighting for video feeds, and polling); and (3) interoperability between platforms and cooperation between competitors are fast becoming the norm.

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With Atos Partnership, ZainTech Is Positioning Itself to Capitalize on Next-Gen Enterprise Services Boom in MENA

by Ismail Patel, posted in Cloud Enable, IT Leader, Secure
I. Patel

Summary Bullets:

  • After it consolidated its digital and enterprise divisions into ZainTech in late 2021, the deal with Atos is a signal of Zain Group’s strategic direction.
  • The partnership with Atos is part of Zain’s strategy to allow ZainTech to enter into deals with major enterprise vendors and grow organic revenue by selling next-gen enterprise services to regional clients.

Zain Group announced a partnership with French technology company Atos to provide digital transformation services to ZainTech enterprise customers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The deal comprises the provision of the following three services: a round-the-clock managed cybersecurity solution, a cloud solution to help businesses deliver next-gen digital technologies, and an end-to-end video analytics platform for customizable AI models (e.g., Atos Computer Vision Platform).

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IBM’s Quantum Roadmap for 2025 Brings Practicality and Excitement

by Steven J. Schuchart Jr., posted in Cloud Enable, IT Leader, Secure
S. Schuchart

Summary Bullets:    

  • IBM’s roadmap for quantum computing leans heavily into software/development as the interface to make solving problems on quantum computers as easy as it is on classical systems.
  • IBM’s introduction of its modular quantum computing plan will allow, in the long term, parallelization of quantum computing, essentially creating larger quantum CPUs out of several smaller ones.

As it has been for the last several years, the quantum computing market is again boiling with a great deal of vim and vigor.  In May 2022, IBM made an announcement that it is expanding its roadmap for quantum computing, particularly at a large scale with a focus on realistic problems. IBM’s very near-term, previously disclosed roadmap includes the 433-qubit processor named IBM Osprey, which the company expects to make available later this year. In 2023, IBM intends to introduce IBM Condor, a quantum CPU that reaches 1,000+ cubits.

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Red Hat Summit: Ansible’s Growing Prominence

by Charlotte Dunlap, posted in Big Data, Cloud Enable, Communicate, Internet of Things, IT Leader, Mobilize, Network, Secure
C. Dunlap

Summary Bullets:             

  • Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform is growing in prominence within OpenShift and the industry in general
  • Ansible’s popularity has prompted a new round of key partnerships to expand OpenShift’s ecosystem

Red Hat Ansible has matured into a shining star, not only among OpenShift’s portfolio, but the industry in general for its ability to abstract the complexity of building and operating IT automation at scale as part of enterprises’ business transformations.

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