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We are surrounded by intelligent devices and these increasingly use various AI interfaces and processing capabilities to support the needs of users. This episode of Utilizing Tech focuses on edge AI and AI assistants and agents with Olivier Blanchard of The Futurum Group along with Frederic Van Haren and Stephen Foskett. We have all used so-called intelligent assistants, starting with Apple Siri and Amazon Alexa and continuing with Google, Microsoft, and many others. These voice interfaces are increasingly functioning as agents, connecting with various data sources and tools to perform tasks on the behalf of the user. AI assistants have arrived at the same overall paradigm as AI agents, and there is an inevitable crossover between these technologies, as the best of breed components are adopted. The needs of AI assistants has also lead to an increase in availability of specialized processing on PCs and even personal devices, and this helps offload the tremendous need for power and space of AI applications.Guest: Olivier Blanchard, Research Director at The Futurum GroupHosts: Stephen Foskett, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the Tech Field Day Event SeriesFrederic Van Haren, Founder and CTO of HighFens, Inc. Guy Currier, Chief Analyst at Visible Impact, The Futurum Group.For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to the dedicated website and follow the show on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
AWS is restoring operations after a massive outage disrupted internet access worldwide, affecting major platforms like Snapchat, Facebook, Fortnite, Delta, Coinbase, and several banks. The issue stemmed from a DNS failure that temporarily prevented access to data stored in AWS systems, causing widespread service interruptions and “Error 404” messages. Experts say the outage, which exposed how heavily global internet infrastructure depends on AWS, may have cost hundreds of billions of dollars. Amazon says it has “fully mitigated” the issue and continues investigating the root cause. This and more on the Tech Field Day News Rundown with Tom Hollingsworth and guest host Kate Scarcella. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open0:27 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:21 - MLCommons Unveils New Standard for AI Security3:47 - Nation-State Hackers Breach F5, Endangering Thousands of Networks6:49 - Hackers Breach U.S. Nuclear Weapons Plant via SharePoint Flaws11:20 - Broadcom Unveils Thor Ultra: 800G Open Ethernet NIC for AI15:12 - Veeam Acquires Securiti AI for $1.7 Billion17:56 - ShengShu Launches Vidu Q2 to Compete with OpenAI and Google21:48 - Amazon Web Services Recovers After Major Global Outage29:48 - The Weeks Ahead: Upcoming Tech Field Day Events31:52 - Thanks for Watching the Tech Field Day News RundownFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
As customers try to figure out how to present data to Agentic AI applications, many of them are realizing that it's time for the storage infrastructure team to step up and take a seat at the table. In this episode of Utilizing Tech, recorded live at NetApp Insight in Las Vegas, hosts Stephen Foskett and Guy Currier from The Futurum Group sit down with Ingo Fuchs, Chief Technologist for AI at NetApp, to explore the critical role of data infrastructure in supporting enterprise AI and agentic AI applications. As organizations move AI workloads into production, traditional infrastructures—especially storage teams—must take a more active role in enabling performance, efficiency, and governance. Ingo emphasizes the emerging needs for data quality, control, compliance, and currency, particularly as AI agents begin making decisions and interacting with sensitive enterprise data. The conversation highlights how NetApp's capabilities, such as AI Data Engine and native infrastructure integrations, enable real-time data pipeline management, enforce guardrails, and ensure consistent and secure data delivery. This shift represents a transformative intersection of storage, infrastructure, and AI operations, paving the way for scalable and reliable enterprise AI solutions.'Guest: Ingo Fuchs, Chief Technologist of AI at NetAppHosts: Stephen Foskett, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the Tech Field Day Event SeriesFrederic Van Haren, Founder and CTO of HighFens, Inc. Guy Currier, Chief Analyst at Visible Impact, The Futurum Group.For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to the dedicated website and follow the show on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
AWS is restoring operations after a massive outage disrupted internet access worldwide, affecting major platforms like Snapchat, Facebook, Fortnite, Delta, Coinbase, and several banks. The issue stemmed from a DNS failure that temporarily prevented access to data stored in AWS systems, causing widespread service interruptions and “Error 404” messages. Experts say the outage, which exposed how heavily global internet infrastructure depends on AWS, may have cost hundreds of billions of dollars. Amazon says it has “fully mitigated” the issue and continues investigating the root cause. This and more on the Tech Field Day News Rundown with Tom Hollingsworth and guest host Kate Scarcella. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open0:27 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:21 - MLCommons Unveils New Standard for AI Security3:47 - Nation-State Hackers Breach F5, Endangering Thousands of Networks6:49 - Hackers Breach U.S. Nuclear Weapons Plant via SharePoint Flaws11:20 - Broadcom Unveils Thor Ultra: 800G Open Ethernet NIC for AI15:12 - Veeam Acquires Securiti AI for $1.7 Billion17:56 - ShengShu Launches Vidu Q2 to Compete with OpenAI and Google21:48 - Amazon Web Services Recovers After Major Global Outage29:48 - The Weeks Ahead: Upcoming Tech Field Day Events31:52 - Thanks for Watching the Tech Field Day News RundownGuest HostKate Scarcella, Cybersecurity ArchitectFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
Most generative AI work has been fairly general purpose to date, but it is far more effective to develop expert models focused on specific industries. This episode of Utilizing Tech features Arun Subramaniyan, founder and CEO of Articul8 AI, in conversation with Guy Currier and Stephen Foskett. According to Arun, an agent is a model with a set of tools plus data that has agency to be called and interact with other agents. If these agents are domain-specific they can perform tasks more effectively than general purpose agents at certain points in this chain. Agentic AI is able to accomplish tasks previously thought impossible, and these systems keep improving. But people remain responsible for using and managing these systems. Costs can rise significantly if AI is used improper, but it is possible to deploy it profitably. Companies that can combine domain expertise with a novel AI-powered application are breaking free from the pack.Guest: Arun Subramaniyan, CEO and Founder of Articul8 AIHosts: Stephen Foskett, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the Tech Field Day Event SeriesFrederic Van Haren, Founder and CTO of HighFens, Inc. Guy Currier, Chief Analyst at Visible Impact, The Futurum Group.For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to the dedicated website and follow the show on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
From the very first episode of this podcast back in 2020, we've been focused on practical applications for AI technology, and we're starting to see these come to market with agentic tools. This episode of Utilizing Tech features Brad Shimmin, VP and Practice Lead for Data and Analytics at The Futurum Group discussing the ways AI is gaining autonomy with hosts Frederic Van Haren of HighFens and Stephen Foskett, organizer of AI Field Day. Agentic AI is all about autonomy, leveraging generative AI to perform actions on our behalf. There are many different types of agentic AI components, ranging from tools for data and analytics, connections and processes for integrating data, and end-user agents. Increasingly, model context protocol (MCP) is used to specify the capabilities and data for each of these tools, enabling them to work together as part of an agentic process. Frameworks like agent2agent (A2A) enable these components to work together. And models are becoming true platforms to serve the needs of users. Companies like OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and Mistral are transforming their models into real agentic platforms, while Salesforce, Microsoft, Oracle, Google, and more are trying to support their business customers with Agentic AI. The Futurum Group is addressing this market with their new Signal reports, including a forthcoming one focused on agentic AI.Guest: Brad Shimmin, VP and Practice Lead, Data and Analytics at The Futurum GroupHosts: Stephen Foskett, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the Tech Field Day Event SeriesFrederic Van Haren, Founder and CTO of HighFens, Inc. Guy Currier, Chief Analyst at Visible Impact, The Futurum Group.For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to the dedicated website and follow the show on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
Security researchers have figured out how to break enclaves. Sort of. In papers published this week, two independent groups have revealed their latest exploits, Battering RAM and Wiretap. They both work by attacking memory where encrypted data is stored. Both Intel SGX and AMD SEV-SNP use deterministic encryption to store data in RAM for performance reasons. These attacks can replay the data in plain text form. The catch? You need to have a hardware device, called an interposer, between the CPU and the RAM banks. You also need to watch the RAM in a very specific spot to collect the data. This and more on the Tech Field Day News Rundown with Tom Hollingsworth and Alastair Cooke. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open1:18 - AMD GPU contract for OpenAI5:40 - ARM case against Qualcomm dismissed10:12 - Future Amazon datacenters in orbit13:59 - Arduino Acquired by Qualcomm18:48 - Walking robots repel iRobot Founder23:04 - Veeam to Buy Securiti?27:27 - Wiretapping Trusted Enclaves35:40 - The Weeks Ahead37:40 - Thanks for Watching the Tech Field Day News RundownFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
Our online interactions include audio, video, and sensor data, but most AI applications are still focused on text. This episode of Utilizing Tech considers how we can integrate multimodal data with agentic applications with Vishakha Gupta, founder and CEO of ApertureData, Frederic Van Haren of HighFens, and Stephen Foskett of Tech Field Day. After decades of developing AI models to process spoken word, images, video, and other multimodal data, the ascendance of large language models has largely focused on text. This is changing, as AI applications are increasingly leveraging multimodal data, including text, audio, video, and sensors. Many agentic applications still pass data as structured or unstructured text, but it is possible to use multimedia data as well, for example passing a clip of a video from agent to agent if the system has true multimodal understanding. Enterprise applications are moving beyond text to include voice and video, data in PDFs like charts and diagrams, medical sensors and images, and more.Guest: Vishakha Gupta, CEO and Founder, ApertureDataHosts: Stephen Foskett, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the Tech Field Day Event SeriesFrederic Van Haren, Founder and CTO of HighFens, Inc. Guy Currier, Chief Analyst at Visible Impact, The Futurum Group.For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to the dedicated website and follow the show on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
Microsoft stopped a phishing attack that used AI-generated code to hide its malicious payload and trick victims. Hackers sent fake file-sharing emails from a compromised account, with an SVG file disguised as a PDF that contained hidden JavaScript. Microsoft's Security Copilot flagged the code as AI-made because it was overly complex and unnatural, while Defender for Office 365 blocked the campaign by spotting suspicious behavior and infrastructure signals. Researchers noted that while AI makes attacks look more convincing, it also creates telltale signs that defenders can detect. The case shows how both attackers and defenders are using AI, making it crucial to prepare for more AI-driven threats. This and more on the Tech Field Day News Rundown with Tom Hollingsworth and Alastair Cooke. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open0:28 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:33 - OpenAI Launches Instant Checkout for ChatGPT5:35 - Cisco Zero-Day Puts 2M Devices at Risk9:02 - Amazon to Pay $2.5 Billion Over Misleading Prime Subscriptions12:46 - HSBC Sees 34% Trading Boost with Quantum Computing17:49 - Alkira Launches MCP Server and NIA to Make AI Network Management Easier21:14 - Microsoft Blocks AI-Generated Phishing Attack Using Security Copilot26:06 - Microsoft to Open $7B “Fairwater” AI Data Center in Wisconsin29:12 - Cisco Adds AI Agents to Webex to Automate Meetings and Boost Productivity33:51 - The Weeks Ahead: Upcoming Tech Field Day Events35:46 - Thanks for Watching the Tech Field Day News RundownFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
AI is the hottest topic in tech right now, evolving dramatically over the previous eight seasons of this podcast. We are kicking off Utilizing Tech season nine with a discussion of the state of the art of Agentic AI with Frederic Van Haren of HighFens, Guy Currier of Visible Impact, and Stephen Foskett of Tech Field Day. Generative AI augments our capabilities, and is being used every day by millions of people. Agentic AI combines reasoning with actions, enabling AI to perform actions on our behalf. Although AI does not reason like us, the way it manipulates data resembles intelligence, and iterative analysis can result in a chain of thought that strongly resembles reasoning. Agents can then receive context and take actions based on this using a framework like Model Context Protocol (MCP). These techniques help move generative AI from concept to production, building real applications rather than simply processing text. This season of Utilizing Tech will help our listeners understand the emerging agentic AI, and how this technology can make end users more productive and build profitable businesses using AI technology.Hosts: Stephen Foskett, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the Tech Field Day Event SeriesFrederic Van Haren, Founder and CTO of HighFens, Inc. Guy Currier, Chief Analyst at Visible Impact, The Futurum Group.For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to the dedicated website and follow the show on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
NVIDIA is doubling down on AI dominance with massive investments across cloud, chips, and infrastructure. It struck a $6.3B deal with CoreWeave to secure long-term GPU demand, is investing $5B in Intel to co-develop custom CPUs and PC chips that pair Intel processors with NVIDIA GPUs, and is committing up to $100B with OpenAI to build data centers requiring 10 gigawatts of power. These moves lock in demand, expand NVIDIA's role across computing ecosystems, and cement its leadership in the race to scale global AI infrastructure. This and more on the Tech Field Day News Rundown with Alastair Cooke and guest host Scott Robohn. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open 0:36 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:22 - Hugging Face Brings Open-Source Models to GitHub Copilot Chat3:52 - Pulumi Introduces AI Agents to Automate Infrastructure Management6:51 - Cisco DevNet is now Cisco Automation 9:12 - North Dakota to Test Portable Micro Data Centers for AI in Oil Fields12:14 - Sumo Logic Launches AI Agents to Streamline Cybersecurity Operations14:46 - Justice Department Moves to Break Up Google's Ad Business17:43 - NVIDIA's Multi-Billion-Dollar Moves Expand AI and Computing Leadership21:35 - The Weeks Ahead22:58 - Thanks for Watching the Tech Field Day News RundownGuest Host: Scott Robohn, CEO of SolutionalFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
CoreWeave, a cloud provider backed by NVIDIA, secured a $6.3 billion order for AI computing capacity, with NVIDIA agreeing to buy any unused supply through 2032. The deal highlights CoreWeave's reliance on NVIDIA, its sole GPU supplier and investor, while boosting its role in powering AI workloads. Despite strong growth—$1.21 billion in Q2 revenue, up 207% year-over-year—the company remains unprofitable, losing $290.5 million. Major contracts, including an $11.9 billion deal with OpenAI, have fueled demand and pushed CoreWeave's market value above $58 billion.Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open0:25 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:20 - Tarboro Data Center Rebuff Tests North Carolina's Development Future5:17 - Broadcom and OpenAI Team Up for AI Chips8:53 - OpenAI and Microsoft Restructure Deal12:20 - Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters is shutting down14:59 - Google Sued by Rolling Stone Owner for AI Summaries18:26 - Anthropic Report Reveals Misuse of Claude in Cyberattacks21:31 - CoreWeave and NVIDIA Strike $6.3 Billion Cloud Deal24:44 - Microsoft Partners with Nebius in AI Cloud Deal29:16 - The Weeks Ahead31:16 - Thanks for Watching the Tech Field Day News RundownFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
A U.S. judge ruled Google does not have to sell its Chrome browser in an antitrust case. Instead, Google must end some exclusive deals and share parts of its search data with rivals. The decision kept Google's core business intact and boosted Alphabet's stock. This and more on the Tech Field Day News Rundown with Tom Hollingsworth and guest host Ned Bellavance. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:25 - Atassian Ends Datacenter Services in Favor of Cloud4:47 - T-Mobile and Southwest Partner for Free Wi-Fi8:30 - Red Sea Cable Cuts Cause Azure Reroute by Microsoft11:14 - Salesloft Drift Breach Tracker14:41 - Cisco Partners with VAST Data for Agentic AI Platform17:47 - Midjourney Sued by Warner Bros. to Stop IP AI Creation23:06 - Chrome Stays with Google34:13 - The Weeks Ahead 35:32 - Thanks for WatchingGuest HostNed Bellavance, Content Creator, Ned in the CloudsFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against Zelle's parent company, Early Warning Services, accusing it of failing to protect customers from widespread fraud that cost victims over a billion dollars between 2017 and 2023. The suit claims EWS ignored known vulnerabilities and failed to enforce anti-fraud rules on its partner banks. Experts say the case raises major questions about the responsibilities of real-time payment platforms, highlighting the need for stronger security, identity verification, and consumer education. While a victory for New York could result in fines and mandated reforms, it remains uncertain whether consumers will see meaningful change or restitution. This and more on the Tech Field Day News Rundown with Tom Hollingsworth and Alastair Cooke. Time Stamps:0:00 - Cold Open0:24 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:15 - DevOps Platforms Face Major Outages and Security Risks4:50 - Avaya Offering Staff Exit Packages8:00 - World's first Agent-to-Agent testing launched by LambdaTest11:31 - Salt Typhoon Pwned Us All15:28 - Linux Foundation Adds DocumentDB to Open-Source NoSQL Standards19:38 - Apple Plans AI Robot, Smart Displays, and Security Devices24:32 - New York Sues Zelle Parent Over Billion-Dollar Fraud Failures33:16 - The Weeks Ahead35:48 - Thanks for Watching the Tech Field Day News RundownFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
Mary Ann Davidson, Oracle's long-time Chief Security Officer, is leaving after nearly 40 years with the company. Known for both her leadership and controversial stances on security issues, her departure comes amid layoffs and a shift at Oracle toward AI-focused strategies. While not directly linked to recent security incidents, her exit reflects a generational change as the company brings in younger executives to tackle new cybersecurity and AI challenges.Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open0:27 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:13 - Broadcom Expands VCF for AMD GPUs and AI5:27 - McDonald's Hiring Bot Served Up Personal Data to Hackers9:20 - VAST Data Unveils SyncEngine to Streamline AI Data Pipelines12:33 - Nir Zuk, Founder of Palo Alto Networks, Retires15:40 - Google and Meta $10 Billion Cloud Deal18:34 - HPE Expands Agentic AI Capabilities for Juniper Mist23:58 - Oracle CSO Mary Ann Davidson Retires Amid AI-Focused Shift32:37 - The Weeks Ahead 34:48 - Thanks for Watching the Tech Field Day News RundownFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
SoftBank is investing $2 billion in Intel by buying shares at $23 each, strengthening their partnership to advance U.S. semiconductor technology. Both companies said the deal supports innovation, AI growth, and next-generation digital infrastructure, with Intel playing a key role in U.S. manufacturing. The agreement is still subject to standard closing approvals. This and more on the Tech Field Day News Rundown with Tom Hollingsworth and Alastair Cooke. 0:00 - Cold Open0:31 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:48 - AWS Gets Oracle Database Services5:24 - Cisco Sends Firewall Warning8:39 - Meta allows AI to behave like a bad person12:14 - Druva Automates Data Protection with AI Agents15:59 - Google contracts modular nuclear power for data centre growth 19:47 - Apple's Backdoor Security Demand by UK Dropped23:32 - AI maybe taking over the world, autonomous robots not so much 27:37 - A Closer Look: Intel Investors Everywhere37:12 - The Weeks Ahead: Upcoming Tech Field Day Events40:56 - Thanks for WatchingFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
Microsoft is making GitHub part of its CoreAI team after GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke announced he's leaving to start a new company. Dohmke will stay until the end of 2025 to help with the transition. Instead of hiring a new CEO, GitHub's leaders will now report directly to Microsoft's AI group, led by Jay Parikh. This move shows Microsoft's plan to connect GitHub more closely with its AI tools and developer platform as it pushes forward in AI development. This and more on the Tech Field Day News Rundown with Tom Hollingsworth and Chris Grundemann. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open0:26 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:08 - CSG Acquires Arctera3:55 - Trump Calls for Intel CEO's Resignation Over China Links7:41 - NVIDIA and AMD Agree to Share China Revenue with U.S. for Chip Export Licenses12:24 - AOL Says Goodbye to Dial-Up17:06 - Microsoft Brings GitHub Closer to Its AI Team After CEO Resigns26:57 - The Weeks Ahead28:36 - Thanks for WatchingGuest Host:Chris Grundemann, Network Infrastructure AdvisorFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
President Trump's new tariffs on dozens of countries are shaking global markets and hurting major companies like Apple, Amazon, and carmakers by raising costs and causing delays. Apple expects to pay $1.1 billion in tariffs this quarter, and Ford estimates $2 billion for the year. The tariffs aim to fix trade imbalances but are disrupting supply chains, slowing product launches, and raising prices. Job growth is also slowing, and experts warn the economy could suffer more if costs are passed to consumers. Some believe the pressure will speed up the use of AI as companies look to cut costs. This and more on the Tech Field Day News Rundown with host Alastair Cooke and guest host Jeffrey Powers. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open0:25 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:21 - Hackers Plant 4G-enabled Raspberry Pi in Bank Network4:16 - AI Observability Tools from Riverbed6:44 - Acumera to Acquire Scale Computing8:52 - Cisco Donates AGNTCY ot The Linux Foundation11:59 - Storage.AI by SNIA Targets Faster, Smarter AI Workloads14:03 - Cycode Uses AI to Help DevSecOps Prioritize and Fix Security Risks16:52 - Trump's New Tariffs Disrupt Tech and Auto Industries, Raise Costs23:54 - The Weeks Ahead: Upcoming Tech Field Day Events26:07 - Thanks for WatchingGuest: Jeffrey Powers, Build Day Live and GeekazineFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
Hackers have used a serious, previously unknown flaw in Microsoft's SharePoint server software to launch a major global cyberattack. The attack has hit U.S. government agencies, universities, energy companies, and more, but only affects on-site servers—not cloud services. Stolen data and encryption keys could let hackers keep access even after systems are patched. Microsoft has released a fix for some versions, but many servers are still at risk. Authorities in the U.S., Canada, and Australia are investigating, with over 50 organizations confirmed as affected so far. The attackers' identity and goals are still unknown. This and more on the Tech Field Day News Rundown with Tom Hollingsworth and Alastair Cooke. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open0:31 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:46 - Stargate Datacenter Struggles to Get off the Ground5:08 - Report Reveals Top Cybersecurity Weaknesses in Healthcare9:00 - AWS Launches Tools to Help Businesses Use AI Agents12:56 - Intel Shuts Down Clear Linux OS16:33 - Microsoft's New EU Cloud Deal Sparks Praise and Criticism20:09 - Broadcom Unveils Tomahawk High-Speed Ethernet Chip for AI and HPC24:12 - Massive Hack Hits Microsoft SharePoint Servers32:27 - The Weeks Ahead34:20 - Thanks for Watching the Tech Field Day News RundownFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
A new law restores the FCC's authority to auction spectrum and requires at least 800 MHz to be sold, potentially pulling it from the 6 GHz and CBRS bands currently used for Wi-Fi and rural broadband. While mobile carriers like AT&T and Verizon support the move for 5G expansion, critics warn it could slow Wi-Fi and harm small ISPs that rely on those bands. The law reverses earlier efforts to protect 6 GHz for unlicensed use and reflects growing pressure from the wireless industry, now backed by former FCC Chair Ajit Pai, who leads a major telecom lobby. This and more on the Tech Field Day News Rundown with Tom Hollingsworth and Alastair Cooke.Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open0:27 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:38 - Rowhammer gives NVIDIA GPU a headache5:59 - Aviatrix Launches Cloud-Native Security Fabric9:04 - Is Your AI Coding Assistant Slowing You Down?11:51 - FCC Auction Power Returns, Putting Wi-Fi Spectrum at Risk16:50 - Akka Launches High-Performance Suite for Building Agentic AI Systems20:27 - Silk Typhoon Hacker Arrested in Italy for U.S. Cyberespionage23:57 - Google Snaps Up Windsurf Talent After OpenAI Deal Collapses27:26 - Futurum Releases New Data Intelligence and Analytics Reports31:13 - The Weeks Ahead34:06 - Thanks for Watching the Tech Field Day News RundownFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
Microsoft laid off 9,000 employees, about 4% of its workforce, even as it invests billions in AI technology. Company leaders say AI will eliminate many routine jobs but also create new opportunities in advanced areas. While thousands of tech workers were displaced, demand for AI experts soared, with companies offering high salaries to attract top talent. This and more on the Tech Field Day News Rundown with Alastair Cooke and guest host Gina Rosenthal. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open0:30 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:54 - AI Impersonation Scams Target Global Officials in Growing Threat3:52 - CoreWeave Acquires Core Scientific for $9 Billion6:46 - VMware's VeloCloud Acquired by Arista Networks8:53 - Ransomware Attack Hits Ingram Micro12:11 - Researchers Find Language Loopholes to Bypass AI Guardrails16:03 - OpenAI makes a big deal with Oracle19:43 - Microsoft Cuts Jobs as Part of Their AI Restructure26:07 - The Weeks Ahead27:41 - Thanks for Watching the Tech Field Day News RundownGuest Host: Gina Rosenthal, Founder of Digital Sunshine SolutionsFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
The US Department of Justice has announced a settlement in their lawsuit agains the proposed HPE acquisition of Juniper Networks. The release says that in order for the deal to move forward, HPE must sell off the Instant On line of HPE Aruba Networking access points. Additionally, Juniper must auction a license for third parties to use Juniper AIOps for Mist. The details of the auction are complicated. Up to two companies can win the rights to the license through the bidding process and Juniper must make up to 55 employees available to be hired by one of the winners to work on the product, including incentives from Juniper for them to move companies. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open0:18 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:44 - Building AI destroys books and promotes stealing of books5:32 - Cisco ISE Hit with RCE Flaws8:51 - Remote management vulnerability hits servers12:49 - Microsoft Looks to Lock Windows Kernel17:28 - Hammerspace Supercharges AI and HPC on Oracle Cloud with Tier 0 Data Platform21:20 - US Nabs IntelBroker24:46 - A Closer Look: DOJ Clears Way for HPE/Juniper Deal37:11 - HPE / Juniper Networks Update 38:46 - The Weeks Ahead31:31 - Thanks for Watching The Tech Field Day News RundownFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
At AWS re:Inforce 2025, AWS introduced key security upgrades, including expanded identity tools, enhanced code and threat detection with Inspector and GuardDuty, and easier deployment through improved WAF and firewall features. New CISO Amy Herzog emphasized identity security, while AWS reinforced its focus on automation, secure development, and ecosystem collaboration.Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open0:24 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:36 - Simbian Launches First LLM Benchmark for SOC Performance6:33 - Record-Breaking 7.3Tbps DDoS Attack Hits Cloudflare Client11:56 - Qualcomm Acquires Alphawave15:51 - QuantumCTek Unveils Affordable 1,000+ Qubit Control System21:12 - Teradata Brings AI Platform to On-Premises Data Centers26:08 - Chinese Hackers Build Hidden Network Using Fake LAPD Certificates30:01 - AWS re:Inforce 2025 Highlights Security, Identity, and Automation38:55 - The Weeks Ahead42:08 - Thanks for Watching the Tech Field Day News RundownFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
Cisco Live was last week and the opening keynote was dripping with AI. Cisco's product lineup for the rest of the year and into the future is going to embrace AI agents and information for networking operations and security as well. CEO Chuck Robbins and Chief Product Officer Jeetu Patel talked all about the integration of AI into their offerings. From dashboards to NVIDIA networking technology Cisco is pushing AI into the infrastructure. One of the big discussions was around AgenticOps, the Cisco term for agent-based network operations. They also discussed how they would help build the AI data centers for the future with pod-based architectures and more. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open0:27 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:23 - Google Cloud Breaks the Internet5:48 - IonQ Acquires Oxford Ionics for $1.08 Billion10:27 - Synopsys & Plug and Play Democratize Chip Design Tools14:41 - Microsoft and CrowdStrike Unite to Simplify Threat Names19:01 - Cribl Copilot Automates Telemetry Normalization23:55 - Todd Nightingale Named COO at Arista28:19 - Cisco Bets it All On AI At Cisco Live39:56 - The Weeks Ahead40:46 - Thanks for Watching the Tech Field Day News RundownFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
Fore more episodes: https://www.utilizingtech.com/Storage software running on modern hardware can deliver incredible performance and capability to support AI applications. This episode of Utilizing Tech wraps up our season with a discussion of WEKA's data platform for AI with Alan McSeveney, Scott Shadley of Solidigm, and host Stephen Foskett. Modern hardware is capable of incredible performance, but bottlenecks remain. The limiting factor for AI processors is memory capacity: GPUs are hungry for data and must be refreshed from storage quickly enough to keep them running at scale. Storage can also be used to share data between GPUs across the data center and to cache working data to accelerate calculation. The secret to scalability, from storage to applications to AI, is distribution and parallel processing. Modern software runs at incredible scale, and all elements of the stack must match. Technologies like Kubernetes allow applications to use huge clusters of workers all contributing to scale and performance. WEKA runs this way, matching the GPU clusters and web applications we rely on today.Guest: Alan McSeveney, Field CTO of Media and Entertainment, WEKAHosts: Stephen Foskett, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the Tech Field Day Event SeriesJeniece Wnorowski, Head of Influencer Marketing at Solidigm Scott Shadley, Leadership Narrative Director and Evangelist at SolidigmFollow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon. Visit the Tech Field Day website for more information on upcoming events. For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to the dedicated website and follow the show on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
At Microsoft Build 2025, Microsoft focused on agentic AI, making it central to their developer strategy. CEO Satya Nadella introduced the “agentic web,” where AI takes a bigger role in software creation. Key updates included evolving GitHub Copilot into a programming partner, new features for managing AI agents, and giving them identities and security controls. Microsoft also backed open standards like Agent2Agent and MCP. The event highlighted how AI will reshape developer roles, adoption challenges, and productivity gains, while noting the shift is still early. Success depends on real-world use, openness, and developer trust.Time Stamps:0:00 - Cold Open0:40 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown2:22 - Crunchy Data acquired by Snowflake5:27 - Broadcom Launches Ultra-Fast Chip for AI Data Centers9:46 - EU Group Urges Action on Broadcom's VMware Licensing14:27 - IBM Adds New Data Platform Capabilities18:27 - Amazon Investing $20 Billion in Pennsylvania for Cloud and AI Infrastructure22:44 - IBM Plans 'Starling' Quantum Computers by 202927:51 - Microsoft Centers Agentic AI Strategy around Development Community at Microsoft Build 202537:49 - The Weeks Ahead39:31 - Thanks for Watching The Tech Field Day News RundownFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
New global tariffs are making it more expensive and complicated for enterprises to manage their cloud services across regions. These changes are causing unpredictable costs and creating challenges for global cloud strategies. To stay ahead, companies need to improve visibility, automate processes, and tailor governance to each region.Time Stamps:0:00 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:12 - AI Application Delivery: Same Old, Slightly Smarter4:29 - Is the Site Down? It's a Secret to Everyone7:43 - Is AI Inferencing the Edge's Long-Awaited Killer App?10:21 - VMware Unregisters Lowest Partner Tier13:21 - Walmart's Smart AI Agent Strategy Could Lead Enterprise Automation15:38 - RSA Encryption Closer to Quantum Breakthrough19:25 - Tariffs hit Enterprise Cloud26:34 - The Weeks Ahead28:10 - Thanks for Watching the Tech Field Day News RundownGuest Host: Brad Gregory, Principal and Cloud Networking Strategist, MCN StrategiesFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
More episodes and seasons of Utilizing Tech: https://utilizingtech.com/Modern AI servers generate a lot of heat, but the industry is ready with revolutionary technologies like immersion cooling. This episode of Utilizing Tech features Micah Jordan from DUG, discussing specialized server solutions with Jeniece Wnorowski of Solidigm and Stephen Foskett. Although it sounds exotic, companies like DUG have been using immersion cooling for decades. Once they proved the value of the technology in their own datacenter, DUG began delivering immersion cooled containers wherever they are needed, especially at the edge. This uniform and efficient cooling allows servers to work harder while also extending their lifespan and reducing the risk of component failure. DUG's containerized AI racks are being deployed around the world closer to users, lowering the latency and enabling rapid response to demands. DUG is working with partners like Hypertec to build, certify, and support immersion cooling for end customers, achieving higher density and lower energy consumption. Guest: Micah Jordan, Account Executive at DUGLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/micah-jordan1/Hosts: Stephen Foskett, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the Tech Field Day Event SeriesJeniece Wnorowski, Head of Influencer Marketing at Solidigm Scott Shadley, Leadership Narrative Director and Evangelist at SolidigmFollow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon. Visit the Tech Field Day website for more information on upcoming events. For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to the dedicated website and follow the show on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
OpenAI has announced its largest acquisition to date, agreeing to acquire io, an AI device startup founded by former Apple executive Jony Ive, in an all-equity deal worth approximately $6.5 billion. The acquisition includes OpenAI's existing stake in io. As part of the merger, Jony Ive will assume significant creative and design responsibilities across both OpenAI and io. Despite the merger, Ive's design firm, LoveFrom, will continue to operate independently.Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open 0:40 - Welcome the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:39 - AT&T Acquires Century Link4:43 - VAST Data Reveals their AI Operating System8:51 - Salesforce to Acquire informatica for $8 Billion12:01 - Red Hat's Linux Push for Smart Vehicles14:49 - Google's New Approach to AI Infrastructure19:01 - Datadog Broadens Its Observability Platform Vision22:16 - OpenAI Acquires io for $6.4 Billion27:16 - The Weeks Ahead28:25 - Thanks for Watching the Tech Field Day News RundownGuest Host: Kori Rongey, Founder of TotalPacketsFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
As enterprises roll out production applications using AI model inferencing, they are finding that they are limited by the amount of memory that can be addressed by a GPU. This episode of Utilizing Tech features Steen Graham, founder of Metrum AI, discussing modern RAG and agentic AI applications with Ace Stryker and Stephen Foskett. Achieving the promise of AI requires access to data, and the memory required to deliver this is increasingly a focus of AI infrastructure providers. Technologies like DiskANN allow workloads to be offloaded to solid-state drives rather than system memory, and this surprisingly results in better performance. Another idea is to offload a large AI model to SSDs and deploy larger models on lower-cost GPUs, and this is showing a great deal of promise. Agentic AI in particular can be run in an asynchronous model, enabling them to take advantage of lower-spec hardware including older GPUs and accelerators, reduced RAM capacity and performance, and even all-CPU infrastructure. All of this suggests that AI can be run with less financial and power resources than generally assumed.Guest: Steen Graham is the Founder and CEO of Metrum AI. You can connect with Steen on LinkedIn and learn more about Metrum AI on their website.Guest Host: Ace Stryker is the Director of Product Marketing at Solidigm. You can connect with Ace on LinkedIn and learn more about Solidigm and their AI efforts on their dedicated AI landing page or watch their AI Field Day presentations from the recent event.Hosts:Stephen Foskett, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the Tech Field Day Event SeriesJeniece Wnorowski, Head of Influencer Marketing at Solidigm Scott Shadley, Leadership Narrative Director and Evangelist at SolidigmFollow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon. Visit the Tech Field Day website for more information on upcoming events. For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to the dedicated website and follow the show on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
The US government signed a new act into law that has opponents concerned about the ramifications of what it will be used to do. The Take It Down Act was proposed to allow for the rapid takedown of non-consensual intimate images, or NCII, from the Internet. The law requires social media platforms to remove identified content within 48 hours and people convicted of violating the law could face up to three years in prison. What's the catch? According ot the EFF and other freedom organizations, the law has been written so broadly as to let it apply to a broad range of content, including political speech. The law also could be used to pressure companies into weakening encryption and security to allow for easier detection of content being shared. This and more on the Tech Field Day News Rundown. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:08 - ZT Systems Acquired by Sanmina4:15 - Arista Networks Rumored to Buy Velocloud from Broadcom9:19 - Microsoft open-sources Windows System for Linux12:35 - Palo Alto Networks and T-Mobile Team Up for SASE15:46 - Salesforce buys Convergence for more agentic AI18:48 - Charter to Buy Cox Communications for $21.9 Billion23:41 - HPE integrates Morpheus with Greenlake27:12 - US Signs Take It Down Act37:31 - The Weeks Ahead40:16 - Thanks for WatchingHosts: Tom Hollingsworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/networkingnerd/Stephen Foskett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfoskett/Alastair Cooke: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alastaircooke/Follow Tech Field Day: Website: https://techfieldday.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tech-field-day/X/Twitter: https://x.com/TechFieldDay Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/techfieldday.com
Last week saw the release of a big new report from the Futurum Group around cybersecurity. The research says that the market is going to grow by 11.6% per year for the rest of the decade. By then it should be worth almost $300 billion. Fernando Montenegro states that cybersecurity is a cornerstone of the boardroom and key part of the enterprise risk management strategy. Additionally there are some great suggestions about which areas of security need to be addressed by organizations in the coming years. This and more on the Tech Field Day News Rundown. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open0:37 - Welcome to the Tech Field News Rundown1:25 - Magic Kill Switch law for AI chips5:13 - Broadcom wants those patches back9:20 - Nutanix adds more NVIDIA to enterprise AI 12:50 - Cisco Unveils Quantum Networking Advances17:10 - Economic uncertainty is taking IT jobs20:47 - sudo Replace This Command24:58 - Futurum Group Foresees Cybersecurity Futures32:04 - Upcoming Tech Field Day Events33:08 - Thanks for WatchingHosts: Tom Hollingsworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/networkingnerd/Stephen Foskett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfoskett/Alastair Cooke: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alastaircooke/Follow Tech Field Day: Website: https://techfieldday.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tech-field-day/X/Twitter: https://x.com/TechFieldDay Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/techfieldday.com
No matter how we define the edge, the special requirements for use in harsh environments drive unique product decisions. This episode of Utilizing Tech, brought to you by Solidigm, features Alistair Bradbrook, founder of Antillion, discussing edge servers with Jeniece Wnorowski and Stephen Foskett. It pays to start with the intended outcome, defining the solution based on customer needs rather than with the technology at hand. This is especially true at the edge, where unique requirements for mobility, power, ruggedness, and manageability drive novel configurations. When it comes to defense applications, AI is driving greater collection of data at the edge, yet connectivity is often inconsistent, driving increasing processing power. Yet the current CPUs can often handle inferencing in edge use cases, especially when the rest of the server, including storage, can handle high data transfer rates. Edge computers have always needed more storage capacity, and the latest SSDs can bring incredible amounts in a small form factor. Antillion is also a leader in conduction cooling, bringing liquid and immersion cooled devices to market for demanding applications. They are also working to bring disaggregated servers to market using CXL technology, a topic covered in detail on season 4 of this podcast. The edge is all about constraints, and this limitation drives incredible innovation.Guest:Alistair Bradbrook is the Founder and COO of Antilion. You can connect with Alistair on LinkedIn and learn more about Anitllion on their website. Hosts: Stephen Foskett, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the Tech Field Day Event SeriesJeniece Wnorowski, Head of Influencer Marketing at Solidigm Scott Shadley, Leadership Narrative Director and Evangelist at SolidigmFollow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon. Visit the Tech Field Day website for more information on upcoming events. For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to the dedicated website and follow the show on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
The demand for AI services is driving more growth in public cloud platforms, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have all continued investment in the public cloud platforms to keep up with generative AI. Andy Jassy highlighted triple-digit growth in AI revenues, Microsoft has committed to 40% more capacity in Europe, and Google is investing $17 Billion in cloud infrastructure.Time Stamps: 0:00 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:13 - Amazon Internet from Space in 20263:07 - Palo Alto Networks buys Protect AI5:44 - Forescout and NVIDIA Team Up for Operational Technology8:29 - Cloud Costs are Higher than Expected, Value to the Business is Even Higher11:24 - Chatbots aren't Giving Good Health Advice14:18 - Huawei AI chips to take on NVIDIA and beat US controls17:13 - AI Growth Driving Cloud Provider Investment21:27 - The Weeks Ahead22:21 - Thanks for WatchingHosts: Tom Hollingsworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/networkingnerd/Stephen Foskett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfoskett/Alastair Cooke: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alastaircooke/Follow Tech Field Day: Website: https://techfieldday.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tech-field-day/X/Twitter: https://x.com/TechFieldDay Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/techfieldday.com
Much of what we take for granted in the IT industry was seeded from HPC and the national labs. This episode of Utilizing Tech features Gary Grider, HPC Division Leader at Los Alamos National Labs, discussing leading-edge technology with Scott Shadley of Solidigm and Stephen Foskett. The Efficient Mission Centric Computing Consortium (EMC3) is working to bring technologies like sparse memory access and computational storage to life. These technologies are designed for today's massive scale data sets, but Moore's Law suggests that this scale might be coming soon to AI applications and beyond. The goal of the national labs is to work 5-10 years ahead of the market to lay the foundations for what will be needed in the future. Specific products like InfiniBand, Lustre, pNFS, and more were driven forward by these labs as well. Some promising future directions include 3D chip scaling, analog and biological computing, and quantum chips.Guest: Gary Grider, HPC Division Leader at Los Alamos National LabsHosts: Stephen Foskett, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the Tech Field Day Event SeriesJeniece Wnorowski, Head of Influencer Marketing at Solidigm Scott Shadley, Leadership Narrative Director and Evangelist at SolidigmFollow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon. Visit the Tech Field Day website for more information on upcoming events. For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to the dedicated website and follow the show on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
Intel is still looking to smooth out their operations under new CEO Lip-Bu Tan. The announcement came last week that Intel is going to be cutting more positions. Initial reports rumored that it could be as much 20,000 employees but CFO David Zinsner refuted that number last Friday. Instead, each department will assess their structure and decide whether to cut positions or offer voluntary packages. Zinsner cautioned that not all buyout offers would be accepted. Additionally, early retirements would not be offered, as previously these had led to other issues in the long term. This and more on the Tech Field Day News Rundown. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:36 - Native Sidecars Land in Kubernetes 1.335:39 - Q-CTRL Reveals Quantum Navigation System10:24 - TSMC Launches A14, Targets AI Speed14:06 - Factory Settings added to Commvault's Cleanroom Recovery17:46 - Safeguarding NATS and Open Source23:13 - HPE Expands Cybersecurity Across Platforms26:54 - Another Round of Layoffs for Intel as they Streamline33:44 - The Weeks Ahead36:17 - Thanks for WatchingHosts: Tom Hollingsworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/networkingnerd/Stephen Foskett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfoskett/Alastair Cooke: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alastaircooke/Follow Tech Field Day: Website: https://techfieldday.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tech-field-day/X/Twitter: https://x.com/TechFieldDay Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/techfieldday.com
AI applications have unique requirements for server infrastructure, so a new platform is required. This episode of Utilizing Tech features Mark Klarzynski of PEAK:AIO discussing their AI-specific software-defined storage platform with Jeniece Wnorowski of Solidigm and Stephen Foskett. With a background in enterprise storage, the PEAK:AIO team evaluated the needs of AI users with a goal of delivering a simple and integrated solution that could scale to support the most demanding applications. The company began working in healthcare to support distributed applications before finding similar use cases in research and manufacturing. Rather than focusing on advancing technology and then finding a use case, Mark advocates focusing on the needs and possibilities and bringing technology to solve these problems. Edge servers are constrained in terms of power, cooling, and cost, and this requires new thinking, as well as new software and hardware approaches, to continue to progress.Guest: Mark Klarzynski, Cofounder and Chief Strategy Officer at PEAK:AIOHosts: Stephen Foskett, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the Tech Field Day Event SeriesJeniece Wnorowski, Head of Influencer Marketing at Solidigm Scott Shadley, Leadership Narrative Director and Evangelist at SolidigmFollow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon. Visit the Tech Field Day website for more information on upcoming events. For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to the dedicated website and follow the show on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
Chris Krebs is a well-known figure in the cybersecurity space. As the former head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Krebs was responsible for directing security for the US federal government starting 2018. Krebs was fired from CISA in 2020 by President Donald Trump for his stance on the 2020 election. Last week, President Trump stripped Krebs of his security clearances for this 4-year-old issue. Krebs then announced that he would be stepping down from his role at security company SentinelOne in order to prevent the company from being harmed by what appears to be a personal issue between the president of the United States and a private citizen that dared to disagree with him. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Welcome to the Rundown0:55 - Zoom Comes to a Halt for 90 Minutes2:47 - VMware Brings Back Free ESXi6:00 - AI Can Write Code, But Struggles With Debugging8:05 - Hammerspace Gains Investors for AI Data Performance Standard11:32 - Google Ad Tech Deemed Monopolized by Federal Judge13:47 - HPE Stake Rises with Elliott Engagement17:45 - Chris Krebs Resigns from SentinelOne24:25 - The Weeks Ahead26:16 - Thanks for Watching Guest Host: Romeo Gardner, President and CEO of NehlosLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/romeog/Hosts: Tom Hollingsworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/networkingnerd/Stephen Foskett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfoskett/Alastair Cooke: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alastaircooke/Follow Tech Field Day: Website: https://techfieldday.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tech-field-day/X/Twitter: https://x.com/TechFieldDay Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/techfieldday.com
Much of the conversation on AI is focused on power consumption and chatbots, but there are so many other positive applications for the technology. This episode of Utilizing Tech, sponsored by Solidigm, welcomes Keith Bradley, VP of IT at Nature Fresh Farms, discussing with Stephen Foskett and Jeniece Wnorowski how they use AI to improve crop yields and plant performance. Farming has traditionally evaluated crop performance on a large-scale basis, but AI enables Nature Fresh Farms to much more carefully tailor care to the needs of the plants. Once a tomato or pepper has been grown, Nature Fresh can use AI to classify, package, and store produce for sale. This requires a great deal of storage for active plants, and Nature Fresh Farms has standardized on solid state storage because of the incredible combination of performance and reliability it brings. It wouldn't be possible to process this much data at the edge without advanced SSDs, processors, and servers.Guest: Keith Bradley, Vice President of Information Technology at Nature Fresh FarmsHosts: Stephen Foskett, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the Tech Field Day Event SeriesJeniece Wnorowski, Head of Influencer Marketing at Solidigm Scott Shadley, Leadership Narrative Director and Evangelist at SolidigmFollow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon. Visit the Tech Field Day website for more information on upcoming events. For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to the dedicated website and follow the show on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
At Intel Vision 2025, CEO Lip-Bu Tan emphasized a customer-centric strategy, focusing on advancements in AI PCs, Gaudi 3 accelerators, and the 18A process node. He introduced the concept of “Physical AI,” highlighting Intel's commitment to integrating AI into hardware solutions across various sectors. Tan's leadership aims to position Intel at the forefront of AI-driven innovation by enhancing its product portfolio and foundry capabilities. This and more on the Tech Field Day News Rundown. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open0:45 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown2:01 - Trump Shifts Stance on NVIDIA Chip Ban7:29 - Remember Windows 11 Recall? It's Back!11:31 - Solo.io Adds MCP Gateway to API Platform14:43 - Dell Launches PowerEdge Servers with Intel Xeon 6 Chips20:27 - Google Cloud Paving the Way for AI Transformation from Google Cloud Next26:32 - Intel to Sell off 51% of Altera Chip Business to Silver Lake31:08 - Embracing Physical AI at Intel Vision 202540:50 - The Weeks Ahead42:54 - Thanks for WatchingFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon. #TFDRundown, #cybersecurity, #AI, @TechFieldDay, @NetworkingNerd, @SFoskett, @Intel, @IntelBusiness, @Google, @Broadcom, @VMware, @Checkpoint, @TechstrongIT,
As the use of AI spreads outside the cloud and datacenter, data management and protection has never been more important. This episode of Utilizing Tech, sponsored by Solidigm, features Rick Vanover of Veeam discussing the importance of data protection with hosts Stephen Foskett and Scott Shadley. Data protection for backup and security is familiar in the datacenter but is not always considered at the edge. But as AI and sensors push data to the edge, we have to consider how to protect and manage it. Edge AI systems combine elements of endpoint, datacenter, and cloud technologies and often have limited or intermittent connectivity, creating a differentiated platform that challenges data protection software. Mixing these capabilities to build a useful platform is the key challenge for data protection at the edge. Data protection at the edge is different, with continuity and recovery from outages and attacks more important than long-term preservation of data, and IT pros are beginning to adjust their perspectives on the requirements for these systems as well.Guest:Rick Vanover, Vice President of Product Strategy at VeeamHosts: Stephen Foskett, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the Tech Field Day Event SeriesScott Shadley, Leadership Narrative Director and Evangelist at SolidigmFollow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon. Visit the Tech Field Day website for more information on upcoming events. For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to the dedicated website and follow the show on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
Half a century is a long time for an IT business, and Microsoft is justified in making a lot of noise to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. The celebration brought together three Microsoft CEOs: Gates, Balmer, and Nadella. Microsoft CoPilot isn't quite as old as the company, but it was still at the center of the celebrations. Many Microsoft products have come and gone over fifty years. Is CoPilot going to be one of the keepers? This and more on the Tech Field Day News Rundown. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Welcome to the Rundown1:20 - NVIDIA AI Servers Immune to US Tariffs4:14 - Ivanti Hardware Hacked by Chinese Group7:42 - Oracle Cloud Admits Breach12:07 - Juniper Networks and Palo Alto Products are Being Probed15:55 - IBM launches the AI Mainframe20:05 - HPE Announces Aruba Central VPC Options24:32 - Microsoft Turns Fifty33:09 - The Weeks Ahead35:42 - Thanks for WatchingFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon. #TFDRundown, #Cybersecurity, #AI, #CoPilot, #Mainframe, @Microsoft, @NVIDIA, @Ivanti, @Oracle, @OracleCloud, @JuniperNetworks, @PaloAltoNtwrks, @IBM, @HPE, @NetworkingNerd, @DemitasseNZ, @TechFieldDay, @TheFuturumGroup,
Successful edge infrastructure must be incredibly reliable and adaptable, especially in the AI age. This episode of Utilizing Tech focuses on the ultra-converged infrastructure offering with George Crump of Verge IO joining Jeniece Wnorowski and Stephen Foskett. Edge environments often have a diversity of hardware, especially as nodes are upgraded and replaced, and this can pose serious issues when building reliable infrastructure. The ultra-converged infrastructure concept would allow nearly any hardware to be integrated into a unified platform with simple management and scalability. As AI applications are deployed at the edge, organizations will need this level of integration to ensure they are reliable and secure. As more data is collected, more storage is needed at the edge; this makes it even more important to have advanced storage management for data protection and resilience.This season of Utilizing Tech is presented by Solidigm. For more information on Solidigm, head to their website and learn more about their AI efforts through the dedicated site section. Follow Solidigm on X/Twitter and LinkedIn.Guest: Guest: George Crump, Chief Marketing Officer at Verge.ioHosts: Stephen Foskett, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the Tech Field Day Event SeriesJeniece Wnorowski, Head of Influencer Marketing at Solidigm Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon. Visit the Tech Field Day website for more information on upcoming events. For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to the dedicated website and follow the show on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
During the keynote for Intel VIsion 2025, new CEO Lip-Bu Tan told the attendees about his vision for the return of Intel. He said that intel needs to attract engineering talent, fix the balance sheet issues, and look at manufacturing processes. One of the biggest ways to take care of those last two that was proposed was Intel spinning off non-core business units. He also asked customers to be "brutally honest" with the company going forward. He also reiterated his focus in going to be on engineering talent, either by hiring new engineers or encouraging former Intel employees to return. This and more on the Tech Field Day News Rundown. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day Rundown1:25 - Techstrong.IT Launches7:33 - Check Point Breached10:39 - Broadcom Raises Minimum VMware Core Count15:22 - Google Suggestions Change TLS Certificates19:48 - CoreWeave IPO Cools Down26:43 - Broadcom Debuts Networking Chips for AI Workloads31:06 - Lip-Bu Tan Lays Out Intel Recovery PlansFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon. #TFDRundown, #cybersecurity, #AI, @TechFieldDay, @NetworkingNerd, @SFoskett, @Intel, @IntelBusiness, @Google, @Broadcom, @VMware, @Checkpoint, @TechstrongIT,
Modern AI servers are loaded with GPUs, but spend too much time waiting for data. This episode of Utilizing Tech, focused on AI at the Edge with Solidigm, features Kelley Osburn of Graid Technology discussing the latest in data protection and acceleration with Scott Shadley and Stephen Foskett. As more businesses invest in GPUs to train and deploy AI models, they are discovering how difficult it is to keep these expensive compute clusters fed. GPUs are idled when data retrieval is too slow, and failures or errors could prove catastrophic. Graid not only protects data but also accelerates access, allowing users to achieve the full potential of their AI server investment.Guest: Kelley Osburn, Senior Director of OEM and Channel Business Development at Graid TechnologyHosts: Stephen Foskett, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the Tech Field Day Event SeriesScott Shadley, Leadership Narrative Director and Evangelist at SolidigmFollow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon. Visit the Tech Field Day website for more information on upcoming events. For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to the dedicated website and follow the show on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
For shownotes, head to the episode website postThis week has been a big one for messaging privacy. The news broke on Monday that the Editor-in-Chief for The Atlantic magazine was accidentally added to a Signal group where members of the US government were talking about highly classified military actions. The report kicked off a firestorm of Congressional hearings about the nature of data sharing and privacy for not only government officials but members of the defense and intelligence community. This has also raised questions about the way that those same officials will often circumvent policy to facilitate communications. While the nature of the group and their discussion topic is highly political in nature let's focus on the communications aspect. Why did they use Signal? How can we be sure it's safe? And what does this mean for government agencies that still want to create backdoors into secure protocols? This and more on the Tech Field Day News Rundown. Time Stamps: 1:13 - Employers target engineers with LLM skills4:09 - Google Acquires Wiz for $32 Billion after Previous Offer Falls Through8:33 - AI Applications are putting cloud workloads at risk12:09 - SoftBank to Acquire Ampere16:47 - Cloud FinOps is driving application repatriation23:27 - Dynamo is the NVIDIA operating system for your AI Factory 27:16 - Just How Secure Is Signal?Follow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon. #Rundown, #cybersecurity, #AI, @TechFieldDay, @NetworkingNerd, @DemitasseNZ, @NVIDIA, @Softbank, @Google, @AmpereComputing, @Wiz_io,
IT architecture is evolving rapidly as AI moves to the edge. This season on Utilizing Tech, Stephen Foskett and co-hosts Scott Shadley and Jeniece Wnorowski of Solidigm will explore how next-generation AI infrastructure is revolutionizing industries from healthcare to high-performance computing. With insights from leading companies Verge IO, Graid Technology, and WEKA as well as practitioners like Nature Fresh Farms and Los Alamos Nation Labs, we will show how the latest advancements in storage, data protection, and virtualization that are enabling AI to thrive beyond traditional data centers. Join us every Monday as we bring you expert discussions on the future of edge AI.This season of Utilizing Tech is presented by Solidigm. For more information on Solidigm, head to their website and learn more about their AI efforts through the dedicated site section. Follow Solidigm on X/Twitter and LinkedIn.Hosts: Stephen Foskett, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the Tech Field Day Event SeriesJeniece Wnorowski, Head of Influencer Marketing at Solidigm Scott Shadley, Leadership Narrative Director and Evangelist at SolidigmFollow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon. Visit the Tech Field Day website for more information on upcoming events. For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to the dedicated website and follow the show on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.
Visit Episode Post for Show NotesNVIDIA unveiled new AI-focused chips at its GTC conference, including the Blackwell Ultra series launching this year and the next-gen Vera Rubin GPUs set for 2026. CEO Jensen Huang emphasized the company's shift to an annual release cycle, a departure from its previous biennial schedule. This move reflects NVIDIA's response to the growing AI market and increasing competition. This and more on the Rundown. Episode Time Stamps: 0:00 - Welcome to the Rundown2:29 - Taara Spun Out from Google's Parent Company Alphabet6:41 - Intel Names Lip-Bu Tan as New CEO12:38 - DevOps Gets Empowered by Semaphore Going Open Source16:38 - Microsoft's New Quantum Chip Greeted with Major Skepticism22:04 - Solo.io Launches Kagent for Agentic AI-Driven Cloud Ops25:37 - Amazon, Google, and Meta Nuclear Datacenters by 205029:38 - NVIDIA Reveals Rubin AI and Blackwell Ultra40:58 - The Weeks Ahead44:02 - Thanks for WatchingFollow our hosts Tom Hollingsworth, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Follow Tech Field Day on LinkedIn, on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon. #Rundown, #NVIDIAGTC, #AI, @SFoskett, @DemitasseNZ, @TechFieldDay, @TheFuturumGroup, @TechstrongTV, @Google, @Intel, @IntelBusiness, @NVIDIA, @AWSCloud, @GoogleCloud, @Meta, @Microsoft,
Visit Episode Post for Show NotesWe've spoken at length about the CHIPS Act for the past year or so and you know that we've been big proponents of bringing semiconductor manufacturing back to the US. The latest news from the federal governement isn't so rosy though. According to reports, the current administration is trying to find ways to prevent the funding for the act from being disbursed. Options floated include firing the staff at NIST responsible for sending out the money as well as clawing back the funding for "non-performance" which is the only way for the money to be returned to the government. The news comes as the administration is contemplating tariffs on TSMC even after the announcement of $100 billion in US funding.Time Stamps: 0:00 - Welcome to the Rundown3:26 - VAST Data Business Update9:03 - X Knocked Offline by Dark Storm DDOS13:16 - ASML Opening Chinese Facility18:18 - Druva Powering Enhanced Azure Data Security21:55 - Cerebras Opening New AI Accelerator Datacenters28:20 - Is The CHIPS Act Crushed?41:17 - The Weeks Ahead46:15 - Thanks for WatchingHosts: Tom Hollingsworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/networkingnerd/Stephen Foskett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfoskett/Alastair Cooke: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alastaircooke/Follow Tech Field Day: Website: https://techfieldday.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tech-field-day/X/Twitter: https://x.com/TechFieldDay Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/techfieldday.com #Rundown, #CHIPSAct, #NIST, @VAST_Data, @X, @ASML, @DruvaInc, @CerabrasSystems, @TechFieldDay, @NetworkingNerd, @SFoskett, @TechFieldDayPod, @FuturumGroup, @TechstrongTV,
On this episode of DevOps Dialogues: Insights & Innovations, I am joined by Alan Shimel, CEO and President of TechStrong Group, and Stephen Foskett, President of Tech Field Day, for a discussion on impacts of how CIOs are managing the cost of DevOps. Our conversation covers: Past, present, and future applications 24% of organizations have a desire to release code on an hourly basis, but yet, only 8% are able to do so. Re-internalization of IT and managing the cost