As some of the tech titans report their earnings, we’re starting to see a possible pattern relating to the value of AI. Google, Meta, and Microsoft all reported earnings on Wednesday of last week, and of the three, only Google saw a positive Street reaction. Meta fared worst of the three. So, what can we…
I’ve been a theoretical fan of AT&T’s idea of “facilitating services” since they first talked about it. I say “theoretical fan” because while I applaud the basic concept, I’ve not been enamored of the specific services they’ve elected to offer. I think they, and telcos in general, have a real opportunity in that space, but…
In the last six months, I’ve heard operators express concern over the diminishing 5G opportunity, and network vendors express concern over the state of operator spending and the fact that 5G is sinking as a driver. The same two groups are working hard to believe that 6G will solve all problems. Of course, that’s what…
Sometimes it’s best to break down something complicated so it can be understood. Sometimes, breaking things down leads to losing the forest concept in a maze of trees. Which of these truths apply to computing, to hosting, and ultimately to networking? We’re likely on the verge of finding out, but not yet quite there, which…
If there’s any point about AI that’s critical, not just important, it’s whether the “real” AI applications evolve and take hold before the hype wears off. If there’s a single company we’d need to watch to answer this, it’s IBM, and they reported earnings last week. IBM has, from the first, represented the AI viewpoint…
As I’ve said a number of times recently, enterprises are still in the throes of learning how to deploy their own AI. The process is complicated because of shifts in the AI model technology (smaller, less demanding models), the ways AI can be trained (foundation models or “bare” models), the framework for use (hosted, hybrid,…
I think that the HPE acquisition of Juniper is the most significant company-side event in the network equipment market, and I think it’s critical for both HPE and Juniper. But execution is critical, and last week, HPE offered the first projections of a year’s worth of the combination. The Street didn’t like it. I asked…
Let’s face it, when there’s an uncertainty in a market, companies get antsy because investors do. When the uncertainty is doubled because the sellers and buyers both have issues, they get real antsy. So it is with telecom, and a Light Reading article on Ericsson is a good indicator. The basic problem with telco equipment…
We still can’t really pin down the value of AI overall, so it’s hardly a surprise that telcos can’t pin it down either. What’s a bit surprising to me is that a lot of the talk about AI savings ignores the fact that AI is a technology that can be applied to enhance automation, and…
Earnings reports are always important, both to assess a company’s position and to validate (or invalidate) the market assumptions they’re making in their product planning and positioning. This quarter, the third calendar quarter of 2025, will be particularly important because of the massive bets tech companies have placed on AI. Obviously, companies like Google and…