We hope everyone had a wonderful week! 

This week, Matt and I attended the Intel Sapphire Rapids Launch. Next week, Melody will be attending NRF in NYC. Paul will be attending Qubits.

Our MI&S team published 21 deliverables: 

• 12 Forbes insight columns 
• 1 MI&S blogs
• 6 podcasts   
• 2 research papers

The press quoted us with 12 citations. Journalists wanted to hear about AMD foundry, Aruba, Ericsson, foldables, Frore Systems, gaming laptops, HCI, Intel Sapphire Rapids, LinuxONE, NVIDIA DGX H100, and Synaptics. 

MIS Quick Insights:

A.I./Machine Learning (Paul Smith-Goodson)

• When traditional antibiotics can no longer kill bacteria, treating and controlling infections becomes much more difficult or impossible. Drug-resistant diseases kill 700,000 people (about half the population of Hawaii) every year worldwide. By 2050, that number is expected to rise to 10 million deaths yearly.
• Artificial intelligence (AI) in drug discovery has the potential to accelerate the development of new antimicrobial drugs and improve their effectiveness in treating bacterial infections. AI-driven approaches can quickly generate and test many potential drug candidates, allowing researchers to identify promising compounds more rapidly than traditional methods. Additionally, generative AI can consider a broader range of factors and variables than a human researcher, allowing it to identify potential drug candidates that may have been overlooked using traditional methods. This can lead to reduced costs and increased efficiency in drug development. One example of this approach is IBM's use of generative AI to create 20 different novel antimicrobial peptide designs out of a pool of 90,000 generated sequences, which resulted in six successful drug candidates.
• I have finished an article exploring how IBM uses generative AI to create new antibiotics. Look for it next week in Forbes.

AR/VR (Anshel Sag)

• N/A

Carrier/Wireless (Will Townsend)

• Recently, Cradlepoint announced its NetCloudPrivate Networks offering aimed at light IT-staffed enterprises. The solution will resonate with mid-market companies that wish to explore the benefits of private cellular networking, especially in manufacturing environments. One size does not fit all, which gives Ericsson a dual-path approach to capture share relative to Nokia's more mature private wireless portfolio.                 

Datacenter: 

• Storage- (Steve McDowell) 
  • Airlines were grounded for a few hours this past week because of what the FAA describes as a corrupt “database file” in their NOTAM pilot alert system. The IT crew at the FAA followed its playbook and switched over to its redundant standby server, but that system also had corruption. To solve it, they rebooted their system, which took over 90 minutes (about one and a half hours). In the wake of the failure, there is a lot of press about upgrading the infrastructure. My quick take is that aging infrastructure likely did not cause the problem but undoubtedly impacted the recovery time. It is also a reminder that best practices for data protection are evolving, and every enterprise should be bothtesting redundant systems and the integrity of their backups. It is too early to know if the FAA did the right thing here, but it is a suitable time to consider data protection. 
  • HPE introduced new Alletra 4000-series “storage servers” to replace its older Apollo 4000 line. The new Allegra models are compute-heavy, based on Intel’s just-announced Sapphire Rapids CPU. The new Alletra models are targeted to cloud-native workloads and are available as both on-prem and GreenLake-hosted options. It is a nice product for cloud-native deployments where you want storage and compute placed close together.
  • Data protection stalwart CommVault, which has been a roll over the past few years, pre-announced that its upcoming earnings release for Q4 will be disappointing. The company indicated that revenue for the quarter would be down 4% year-on-year, with expected revenue of $195.1M and a net loss of $310K. There is a bright spot. Its Metallic Backup-as-a-Service offering continues to grow and is expected to show ARR growth of $641M, up 14% year-on-year. Commvault will formally release earnings on January 31. 
• Networking- (Will Townsend)
  • The enterprise cloud networking segment is heating up, and I believe 2023 will be its coming-out party. It is a crowded space, and I expect consolidation in the form of acquisitions to occur later in the year. Multi-cloud networking is complicated, and a handful of well-established companies and start-ups will vie for share. It will be interesting to see who emerges as winners and losers, but competition should drive innovation and cost competitiveness. 
• Server- (Matt Kimball)
  • Intel launched its 4th Gen Scalable Xeon Processor (codenamed Sapphire Rapids) this week, focusing on workload optimization. Specifically, the company spent a lot of resources building acceleration capabilities into Sapphire Rapids to drive optimal performance on data-centric workloads such as AI/ML, analytics, and HPC. I like the strategy the company has employed. While SR “per core” performance is strong, it lags EPYC. Further, the disparity in high-level specifications works against Sapphire Rapids. Longer term, I believe the company is setting a solid foundation by building these acceleration engines into the CPU – to enable best-in-class performance beyond the traditional x86 stronghold of scalar. 
  • Sustainability. It is a major talking point for every IT value chain executive. From CIOs to the solutions providers that deliver products and services to the enterprise IT. While much of the discussion around sustainability has been around reducing carbon footprints and the more “idealistic” elements of sustainability projects – less discussed are the cost savings, manageability, reliability, and security benefits that result from such efforts. These are real, measurable, and practical benefits that are equally important when reporting to shareholders. IT solutions providers – do not shy away from articulating these benefits. While every company is proud to publicly demonstrate being a good steward of mother earth, the executives are thrilled to realize significant savings and efficiencies across these different vectors. 
  • With the launch of Intel’s Sapphire Rapids, major OEM announcements quickly followed, with the likes of Lenovo, HPE, and Cisco announcing updated servers’ portfolios and accompanying benchmark results. I was particularly interested in HPE achieving world records in power efficiency and virtualization performance (VMmark). I will be curious to see Dell’s announcement and accompanying performance claims.

FinTech (Melody Brue)

• ICYMI  Fintech is going to go through some massive transformations in 2023. I'll break it down into a few key things and keep this going over the following several newsletters, Forbes articles, and blogs (which will also be in our newsletter). Continuing from last week: 
  • Open Banking: This was #1 in CEO of Plaid Zach Perret's Fintech predictions for 2023. Open banking will become a reality in the U.S. Some can argue that it already is, and Pat and I have said on the Fintech Friday podcast several times that it's inevitable. Open banking is a practice where banks and non-bank financial institutions provide third-party financial service providers with access to customers' banking, transaction, and other financial data. This is achieved through the utilization of application programming interfaces (APIs). Open banking facilitates the networking of accounts and data across institutions for use by customers, financial institutions, and third-party service providers. Banks control consumer financial data and, unlike the U.K. and the rest of Europe, there are no regulatory guidelines in the U.S. 2023 will be the year that with consumers' demand for control of their data and banks' inevitable need for fintechs' innovation that open banking will take hold in the U.S. 
  • Embedded Finance: All kinds of financial services – not only banking – embedded into software are on the rise and will continue in 2023 at a faster pace. What this should actually be called is embedded fintech. As banks look at a downturn in loan volume, they will need offerings that cater to customers' needs at the right time and place. 
  • RegTech: This year, we will see more compliance-driven technologies such as data, cloud computing, and machine learning algorithms that will help businesses to optimize their risk management procedures by providing automated and accurate risk analysis, ensuring that they remain compliant with the latest regulations. With such advanced technologies, financial services will become more robust and secure.  

IIoT and IoT (Bill Curtis)

• Matter was a big story at CES2023. In the world of IoT, it was THE big story. Matter, a new industry standard for smart homes, promises universal product interoperability, better user experiences, and reduced friction across consumer electronics (CE) supply chains. Matter is a universal “language” for smart home device communication using networks already available in most homes – Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and Thread. Matter makes smart homes smarter by transforming the whole home into a plug-and-play automation platform for CE products. With over 550 certified products, Matter was everywhere at the show. Matter (and Thread) are generally available in mass-market products from Google, Apple, and Samsung. Although Amazon’s Matter implementation doesn’t currently have Thread support, it’s coming in Q1. NXP and other semiconductor companies already offer secure, fit-for-purpose Matter solutions, complete with software, so CE companies can start writing application code the same day the dev kit arrives. In this new world, the smart home marketplace transitions from technology-driven to consumer-driven, from early adopter to mainstream, and from slow growth to rapid growth. 
• LoRa supplier Semtech finalized the acquisition of cellular IoT supplier Sierra Wireless, opening the door to single-vendor solutions connecting LoRa wide area, low-power device networks to cloud services. The all-cash transaction was about $1.2 billion. The combined company can offer complete cloud-to-ground LPWAN solutions that work right out of the box.

Personal Computing/ Collaboration (Anshel Sag) 

• N/A

Quantum Computing (Paul Smith-Goodson)

• Zapata Computing is a quantum software company that partners with various companies to develop agnostic quantum software for industries such as chemistry, finance, logistics, pharmaceuticals, engineering, and materials. It released the findings from its "Second Annual Report on Enterprise Quantum Computing Adoption."  As one of its features, the report provides details for the top survey takeaways:
  • Are companies using quantum for a competitive advantage
  • Expectations that are driving quantum adoption
  • What tactical issues are exec facing for quantum adoption
  • Is quantum adoption on pace with previous AI adoption trends
  • Top emerging quantum use cases
  • How do the executives value quantum vendors
  • Do execs have vendor lock-in concerns
  • Is integration an obstacle to quantum adoption
  • Is post-quantum cybersecurity considered to be a threat
  • More info on the report and the download link can be found in our Forbes article. 
  • There is no need to panic about the recently released paper by Chinese researchers claiming to have adapted Schnorr's factoring algorithm (not Shor's) to run as a quantum QAOA algorithm to test it on 15 digits using 10 qubits. 
• The paper has been debunked based on several technical reasons. But the decisive factor is based on common sense. If the research using Schnorr's could break RSA encryption, the Chinese government would have never allowed it to be published. It would have been classified. 
• However, quantum computers will eventually be able to break almost all forms of classical encryption. It is only a matter of time.   

Retail Tech (Melody Brue)

• Amazon is set to make the "Buy with Prime" feature available to all U.S. merchants by the end of January, allowing Prime members to shop on outside websites with their saved checkout details while taking advantage of Prime benefits, such as free delivery and returns. The option was initially launched in April last year, but only by invitation. Also, Amazon has launched Reviews from Amazon, allowing merchants to showcase ratings and reviews from Amazon customers on their sites at no extra cost, as stated in a company press release. BigCommerce, a software-as-a-service e-commerce platform, has announced that it will integrate the Buy with Prime app in the first quarter, making it possible for its merchants to add the option without coding. This signals the company's efforts to expand outside its ecosystem as it scales back on its retail operations.

Security (Will Townsend)

• I spent time with Palo Alto Networks at the end of 2022 at its signature Ignite event. The company is often labeled as a one-trick firewall pony. Still, its new vertical focus on IoT security in healthcare and manufacturing could be one way that it shakes that reputation.          

Space (Paul Smith-Goodson)

• N/A   

Columns Published 

1. The Samsung Galaxy XCover6 Pro Is Samsung’s Most Durable And Capable Phone Yet, by Patrick Moorhead
2. Cloudera – As The World Goes Hybrid, So Must Data Management, by Patrick Moorhead
3. A Worrisome Revelation For Apple: The HP Dragonfly Pro Laptop Rocks Unique AMD Internals And Optimizations, by Patrick Moorhead
4. Lenovo Shows Off New And Innovative PC And Phone Designs At CES 2023, by Patrick Moorhead
5. Intel Announces New 13th Gen Mobile Processors At CES To Kick Off 2023, by Patrick Moorhead
6. Zapata Computing’s Second Annual Global Survey Shows Strong Progress For Quantum Computing In The Enterprise Market, by Paul Smith-Goodson
7. Snapdragon Satellite And The State Of Satellite Mobile Communications, by Anshel Sag
8. DigiLens Makes Waves In The AR Market With Its ARGO Headset, by Anshel Sag
9. Sapphire Rapids Signals Intel Has Found Its Bearings, by Matt Kimball
10. AWS’ Role In The Metaverse And Spatial Computing Is Constantly Evolving, by Anshel Sag
11. IonQ Acquires Entangled Networks And Locks In Quantum Networking Technology Critical To Its Future Success, by Paul Smith-Goodson
12. The 2023 Enterprise Storage Agenda, by Steve McDowell

Blogs Published (MI&S)                                                              

• ProWallet Is Building A Better Payments System For The Construction Industry, by Melody Brue

Research Paper(s):

1. RESEARCH PAPER: How IT Modernization Accelerates Digital Transformation, by Matt Kimball
2. RESEARCH PAPER: Managing Applications And Data In The Digitally Transformed Business, by Matt Kimball

Podcasts:

The G2 on 5G by Moor Insights & Strategy, with Anshel Sag and Will Townsend

1. N/A

DataCentric Podcast by Moor Insights & Strategy, with Matt Kimball and Steve McDowell

• HPE and Nutanix Expand the Potential of Greenlake & as-a-service offerings

The Six-Five Podcast by Moor Insights & Strategy and Futurum Research, with Patrick Moorhead and Daniel Newman

1. The Six Five On the Road at CES with Luminar and Dennis Nobelius, COO of Polestar
2. The Six Five On the Road at CES 2023 with Nakul Duggal, Qualcomm Technologies
3. The Six Five On the Road at CES 2023 with Dinesh Bahal, Micron Technology, Inc.
4. The Six Five On the Road at CES 2023 with Austin Russell, Luminar Founder & CEO

Moor Insights & Strategy Podcast

• Moor Insights & Strategy Insider Podcast at CES 2023 with Dr. Seshu Madhavapeddy, Frore Systems

Press Citations: 

1.  EdTech magazine/HCI: https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2023/01/k-12-schools-modernize-their-premises-data-centers-hyperconverged-infrastructure (Matt Kimball)
2. Economic Times/ Ericsson: https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/ericsson-expands-private-networks-portfolio/96933082(Will Townsend)
3. CNN/ gaming laptops: https://www.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/electronics/why-you-should-buy-gaming-laptop-in-2023 (Anshel Sag)
4. SiliconAngle/ NVIDIA DGX H100: https://siliconangle.com/2023/01/10/nvidia-debuts-new-dgx-h100-systems-powered-intels-4th-gen-intel-xeon-scalable-chips/ (Patrick Moorhead)
5. The Register/ Intel Sapphire Rapids: https://www.theregister.com/AMP/2023/01/12/intel_sapphire_rapids/ (Patrick Moorhead)
6. ITPro/ IBM LinuxONE: https://www.itpro.co.uk/business-strategy/digital-transformation/369846/achieving-sustainability-and-performance-goals-with (Matt Kimball)
7. Android Central/ Foldables: https://www.androidcentral.com/phones/microsoft-reportedly-abandons-dual-screen-surface-duo-3-for-foldable (Anshel Sag)
8. Hot Hardware/ Frore Systems: https://hothardware.com/news/frores-airjet-cooling-tech-aims-to-get-rid-of-laptop-fans (Patrick Moorhead)
9. Barron’s/ Synaptics: https://www.barrons.com/articles/synaptics-enables-lenovo-thinkbook-wireless-dock-for-seamless-cable-free-dual-4k-display-connectivity-01672935007 (Patrick Moorhead)
10. Tom’s Hardware/ AMD foundry: https://www.tomshardware.com/news/amd-outsouces-older-chips-to-globalfoundries-samsung (Patrick Moorhead)

Company:

1. Aruba: https://www.arubanetworks.com/resource/the-role-of-aiops-for-network-as-a-service/ (Will Townsend)
2. Ericsson: https://www.ericsson.com/en/press-releases/2023/1/strengthened-ericsson-private-network-portfolio-leads-the-market-in-solution-choice (Will Townsend)

New Gear or Software We are Using and Testing that is Public Knowledge 

• Inseego MiFi X Pro 5G hotspot 
• Solis Lite Global Mobile Wi-Fi hotspot  

Events MI&S Plans on Attending In-Person or Virtually (New) 

• January
  • NRF, NYC, Jan 16-17 (Melody Brue)
  • Qubits, Jan 17-19 (Paul Smith-Goodson)
  • Event, San Francisco, Jan 31- Feb 1 (Patrick Moorhead)
• February
  • Event, San Franciso, January 31-Feb 1 (Patrick Moorhead)
  • Seattle advisory, February 2-3 (Patrick Moorhead)
  • Cisco Live – Amsterdam, February 6-8 (Will Townsend)
  • Net Events Debate Moderator – Digital Transformation and the challenges of CIOs and CISOs, San Jose, Feb 15-16 (Matt Kimball)
  • Mobile World Congress – Barcelona, February 27 – March 2 (Will Townsend)
• March
  • Mobile World Congress, March 1 (Patrick Moorhead)
  • APS Quantum, Las Vegas, March 5-10 (Paul Smith-Goodson)
  • Connected America – Dallas, March 28-29 (Will Townsend)
• April
  • Fortinet Accelerate – Orlando, April 3-6 (in person) (Will Townsend)
  • RSA Conference – San Francisco, April 24-27 (virtual) (Will Townsend)
• May

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The Team 

Analysts, Analysts In-Residence, Contributors

1. Patrick Moorhead, Founder, CEO, Chief Analyst; Broad technology coverage plus deep insights into Cloud & SaaS, Personal Computing, Semiconductors, & Automotive 
2. Bill Curtis, Analyst In-Residence, IIoT, and Deep IoT Technology 
3. Matt Kimball, Principal Analyst, Datacenter Servers, CI, and HCI 
4. Melody Brue, Principal Analyst, Financial Tech
5. Steve McDowell, Principal Analyst, Datacenter Storage, and Storage Technologies 
6. Anshel Sag, Principal Analyst; VR, PC Gaming, Mobile Platforms 
7. Paul Smith-Goodson, Principal Analyst; Machine Learning, A.I. and Quantum Computing 
8. Will Townsend, Principal Analyst; Security, Carrier Services, Networking 
9. Chris Wilder, Contributor, Security 
10. Jacob Freyman, Junior Analyst

Operations 

1. Dan Pickens, Business Director 
2. Paula Moorhead, Marketing Director, Website and Social Media 
3. Zane Pickett, Office Manager, AP, AR, travel, writer 
4. Lee LeClercq Williams, Business Associate 
5. Nigel Church, Business Associate, Writer, Editor
6. Connor Kenyon, Six Five Sales & Business Development