Moor Insights & Strategy Weekly Update Ending August 6, 2021

By Patrick Moorhead - August 10, 2021

I hope you all had a great week!

Last week, Melody attended American Banker: How one of America's oldest banks is reshaping experiences in the digital age. Overall, public tech events are down as the world takes off for august.

This week, I will be speaking at AWS-HCL Cloud event and attending an Oracle Live event with Matt. I will be attending Samsung Galaxy Unpacked with Anshel.

Our MI&S team published 24 deliverables:

9 (Forbes and eWEEK) columns
9 MI&S blogs
5 podcasts
1 research papers

The press quoted us with 12 citations. Journalists wanted to hear about Fintech, Google, Marvell, NXP, Sony and storage.

Quick Insights:

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

Finally, there is now an A.I. patent database called the Artificial Intelligence Patent Dataset (AIPD). Last month, OCE released an A.I. patent database. The data is in two data files. The first file contains patents issued between 1976 and 2020 and pre-grant publications (PGPubs), published through 2020. The latter includes one or more of several A.I. technology components (including machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, speech, knowledge processing, A.I. hardware, evolutionary computation, and planning and control). The second data file contains the patent documents used to train the ML models. The dataset can be found at Artificial Intelligence Patent Dataset.
IBM recently announced CodeFlare. It is an A.I. tool that simplifies the integration, scaling, and acceleration of complex multi-step analytics and machine learning pipelines on the hybrid multi-cloud. To create a machine learning model today, DevOps must firsts train and optimize the model. This is a multi-step process that requires the scientist to do feature extraction and model optimization. CodeFlare simplifies this process by using a pipeline to integrate, parallelize and share data. The objective is to unify pipeline workflows across multiple platforms without requiring data scientists to learn a new workflow language. CodeFlare runs on IBM's new serverless platform. With CodeFlare, users can deploy it just about anywhere using the benefits of serverless data. It also can provide adapters to event-triggers (such as the arrival of a new file) and load and partition data from a wide range of sources, such as cloud object storage, data lakes, and distributed filesystems. CodeFlare looks as though it will save numerous hours in the data center plus save the researcher a ton of time.
Bloomberg has reported that the U.K. may block NVIDIA's $40 billion acquisition of Arm. The hesitancy is supposed because of national security concerns, although I doubt that is the real reason. There is a report being pre-pa to prepare a report on whether the deal is anti-competitive. The U.K. is under pressure from many NVIDIA international competitors not to sell Arm to them. Competitors have also offered to invest in Arm.

AR/VR (Anshel Sag)

No update

Carrier/Wireless (Will Townsend)

Rakuten announced its intent to acquire Open RAN solution provider Altiostar this week. On the surface, the nearly $1B price tag does not make sense. Other operators are licensing Open RAN platforms and embracing telco cloud scalability with Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. I also believe that Altiostar will have limited marketability with other mobile network operators after the acquisition is complete.

Datacenter:

Storage- (Steve McDowell)
- It's been a great year for storage companies, between the bounce-back we're seeing with enterprise storage and the increased demand generated from the Chia storage-centric crypto-currency miners. It seems like the momentum continues, as Western Digital delivers a beat-the-street quarter of $4.9B, up 15% y/y. The story isn't the 15% bump, but that its profits were up 216%(!) y/y and, interestingly, that it's hard-drive sales outstripped flash memory for the first time in recent memory. Much of the hard-drive sales were driven by W.D.'s new 18 T.B. disks, which accounted for almost half of its capacity sales. The other notable part of W.D.'s quarter is that the bulk of its revenue growth was in the enterprise sector, not client. That's a different story than we've seen in more recent quarters.
- We've been talking about DPUs, those smart accelerated adapter cards that offload critical processing from server CPUs, quite a bit this year. Every major silicon player seems to have a toe in the DPU waters, while a growing number of startups are playing in the space. Notable this week is DPU startup Pensando just added $35M in funding to its already-announced $145M C-round, bringing its overall take to $313M. Beyond the money, the story is all about who is investing. Pensando has taken money from both Ericsson & Qualcomm during this round.
- Every time I'm asked about disruption in the storage space, I point to VAST Data. Last month the company added former CIA CTO Gus Hunt to its federal systems board. This past week VAST announced that it closed a $10M deal with the U.S. Department of Defense. That's a solid vote of confidence in its technology and tells us that VAST has something that its competitors don't. Keep watching these guys. They're just getting started.
Networking- (Will Townsend)
- Juniper Networks is strengthening its security architecture with the recent announcement of Cloud Workload Protection (CWP). The solution is a lightweight agent designed to protect applications and workloads both on-premises and in the cloud at a high level. CWP also incorporates zero trust micro-segmentation to prevent lateral movement across networks and integrates with the company's virtualized firewalls. I believe the announcement brings added depth to Juniper's data center architecture.
Server- (Matt Kimball)
- No update

FinTech (Melody Brue)

No update

IIoT and IoT (Bill Curtis)

No update

Personal Computing/ Collaboration (Anshel Sag)

No update

Quantum Computing (Paul Smith-Goodson)

Usually, quantum news is about how many qubits are available for computation. Now researchers in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria are going for the claim of how small the computer is. Although the machine has 24 qubits, a respectable number, the record is for the physical size. The team used trapped calcium ions to be a machine that takes up two spaces of rack size. The team says that the modular system has high mechanical stability, easily replaceable parts, and minimal requirements for system maintenance. They say that trained non-specialists can operate the system and that it could also be used by people worldwide via cloud-based quantum computing. They also say they can accommodate up to 50 calcium ions in the trap. That would also be a record.
Rigetti Computing has been very quiet over the past two years. During that time, it declined my request to discuss with CEO & founder, Chad Rigetti claiming they didn't want to discuss finances. Now it claims it will release a new quantum chip this year with 80 qubits.
It claims it is the world's first multi-chip quantum processor which incorporates a proprietary modular architecture that solves some of the key scaling challenges associated with fault-tolerant quantum computers. As for me, I'll wait and see what they have.
In April, IBM installed its first system outside of the U.S. in Germany. In July, IBM installed another Quantum System One at the IBM Shin-Kawasaki facility. The University of Tokyo will manage it. With over 20 quantum computers in the U.S., it looks like IBM is gearing up for an international push.
PsiQuantum is on the move. It just raised $450 million in Series D funding led by funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, along with participation from insiders including Baillie Gifford and M12 – Microsoft's venture fund – and new investors, including Blackbird Ventures and Temasek. That brings PsiQuantum funding to date to $665 million. It uses photonics and has been testing large chips fabricated by Global Foundries. See my earlier Forbes article about its progress: Last Week's Big Technology Reveal: PsiQuantum's Previously Secret Q1 Photonic Quantum Computer With GlobalFoundries.

Security (Will Townsend)

During Black Hat 2021 U.S., I had the opportunity to speak to Airgap Networks, a relatively new entrant into the cybersecurity market. The company focuses on ransomware attacks to address what it perceives as fundamental networking infrastructure flaws. Airgap aims to solve these challenges by ringfencing every endpoint, applying multi-factor authentication everywhere, and delivering a rapid, targeted response with its Ransomware Kill Switch feature. I believe that this capability is potentially a game-changer if it delivers on its promise of networked device scalability.

Podcasts:

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

The G2 on 5G Podcast - Episode 62 - August 6, 2021
- Rakuten announces its intent to acquire Open RAN player Altiostar - is it a smart move?
- T-Mobile Makes New 5G Use Cases Real With Sarcos Robotics and Fisk University's V.R. Cadaver Lab powered by Victory X.R. and HTC Vive with 5G
- Huawei invests $100M in Asian Pacific startups - could it be a diversification strategy on the heels of its recent earnings dip?
- Google Announces Tensor SoC for Pixel, dropping Qualcomm but no mention of 5G or who might supply modems?
- Will's recap of his conversation this week with OnGo Alliance/ CBRS
- International 5G Update: Chinese Operators have deployed 961,000 5G base stations and 365 million 5G-connected devices (22.8%), South Korea hits 16.48 million 5G subscribers or 23% total market penetration

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

Dell Technologies APEX & the as-a-service Market
- What's motivating the increasing adoption of as-a-service?
- Delivering a 'cloud-like experience, where outcomes out-weigh technology.
- What is Dell APEX?
- Dell is Delivering Software and Services on a scale not seen from Dell before
- APEX and Equinix
- Is there a strong vertical pull for APEX?
- How does Edge fit into this model?
- Partner-centric engagement
- AI/ML and APEX
- What's Dell's Long-Term Vision in this space?
- What does As-a-Service mean to I.T.?

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

Let Me Repeat: Chips Are Strategic
- Google Using Own Tensor Chips in Pixel 6
- Marvell Buys Innovium
- NVIDIA Base Command Goes GA
- Plus Demonstrates L4 Truck on a Highway $HCIC
- Qualcomm Makes Bid for Veoneer ADAS Company
- Intel IDM 2.0 Update

Moor Insights & Strategy Podcast

FinTech Friday Ep #4
- BNPL Gets Squared Up
- "You Don't Know Jack"
- Topic: Super Apps
- Acronym of the Week: KYC (Know Your Customer)

Press Citations:

Fintech / American Banker https://www.americanbanker.com/payments/leaders/incumbents-and-fintechs-collaborate-or-compete (Melody Brue)
Google, AI / FierceElectronics https://www.fierceelectronics.com/electronics/how-tensor-soc-for-pixel-matters-to-google-and-ai
Google / Corinspired https://corinspired.com/google-pixel-6-will-be-powered-by-a-custom-chip-called-tensor/ (Anshel Sag)
Google / FierceWireless https://www.fiercewireless.com/tech/does-google-s-move-signal-negative-tide-for-qualcomm (Anshel Sag)
Google / Wired https://www.wired.com/story/google-tensor-pixel-6-pro/ (Anshel Sag)
Marvell / RCRWireless https://www.rcrwireless.com/20210805/telco-cloud/marvell-looks-to-grow-cloud-data-center-business-with-innovium-acquisition
Marvell / Fiercetelecom https://www.fiercetelecom.com/telecom/marvell-ramps-cloud-play-1-1b-innovium-acquisition
NXP / Marketplace https://www.marketplace.org/2021/08/02/what-this-dutch-semiconductor-company-could-tell-you-about-the-car-market/ (Anshel Sag)
Sony, PS5 / Tomsguide https://www.tomsguide.com/news/ps5-restocks-could-get-obscenely-difficult-once-october-arrives-heres-why (Anshel Sag)
Sony, PS5 / The-Sun https://www.the-sun.com/tech/3395592/ps5-stock-panic-experts-console-impossible/ (Anshel Sag)
Sony, PS5 / Autobala https://autobala.com/finding-ps5-inventory-will-soon-be-difficult-thats-why/125285/ (Anshel Sag)
Storage / TheRegister https://www.theregister.com/2021/08/02/midrange_storage_regcast/ (Steve McDowell)

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

HP Reverb G2 Omnicept
TCL 20 Pro 5G
Xilinx Kria KV260 Vision AI Kit

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

August 2021
- Vendor event, August 10 (Patrick Moorhead, Matt Kimball)
- Samsung Galaxy Unpacked, August 11 (Patrick Moorhead, Anshel Sag)
- AWS-HCL Cloud event, speaking, August 12 (Patrick Moorhead)
- Semiconductor company architecture day, August 17 (Patrick Moorhead, Anshel Sag)
- Hot Chips, Aug 22-24 (Steve McDowell)
- Big 5G Event – August 31-September 3 (Will Townsend)
September 2021
- Five9 CX Summit, September 1-2 (Patrick Moorhead)
- Open RAN Forum – September 14 (Will Townsend)
- Nutanix .NEXT, Sept 20-23 (Matt Kimball)
- Storage Develop Conference, Sept 28-29 (Steve McDowell)
October 2021
- Box Analyst Summit, October 6 (Patrick Moorhead)
- VMWorld, October 5-7 (Matt Kimball, Steve McDowell, Patrick Moorhead, Will Townsend)
- NAB 2021, October 10-13, Las Vegas, in person (Steve McDowell)
- Nutanix .NEXT, October 12-14 (Matt Kimball, Steve McDowell)
- Dell Tech Summit, October 12-14 (Patrick Moorhead)
- Google Cloud Next 21, October 12-14 (Matt Kimball, Will Townsend, Patrick Moorhead)
- Brooklyn 5G Summit – October 18-19 (virtual) (Will Townsend)
- IEEE Quantum Week Oct 18-22 (Paul Smith-Goodson)
- NetApp Insight, October 20 (Steve McDowell)
- Energy Drone & Robotics Summit, October 25-27 (Steve McDowell)
- REMOVE AT&T Business Summit, Dallas, October 25-27 (Steve McDowell)
- IntelON and Analyst event, San Francisco, Oct 26-28 (Paul Smith-Goodson, Patrick Moorhead)
- MWC Los Angeles – October 26-28 (Will Townsend)
November
- MVNO World Berlin – November 2-3 (in person) (Will Townsend)
- Nokia GAF – November 15-18 (Will Townsend)
- Lenovo Advisory Council, November 16-18 (Patrick Moorhead)
- 5G Techritory Latvia – November 22-25 (in person) (Will Townsend)
- AWS ReInvent – November 29-December 5 (Will Townsend)

The Team

Analysts, Analysts In-Residence, Contributors

Patrick Moorhead, Founder, President, Principal Analyst; Broad technology coverage plus deep insights into Cloud & SaaS, Personal Computing, Semiconductors, Automotive
Bill Curtis, Analyst In-Residence, IIoT, and Deep IoT Technology
Matt Kimball, Senior Analyst, Datacenter Servers, CI, and HCI
Melody Brue, Senior Analyst, Financial Tech
Steve McDowell, Senior Analyst, Datacenter Storage, and Storage Technologies
Anshel Sag, Senior Analyst; V.R., P.C. Gaming, Mobile Platforms
Paul Smith-Goodson, Senior Analyst; Machine Learning, A.I. and Quantum Computing
Will Townsend, Senior Analyst; Security, Carrier Services, Networking
Chris Wilder, Contributor, Security
OPEN, Smart Home

Operations

Dan Pickens, Business Director
Paula Moorhead, Marketing Director, Website, and Social Media
Walker Pickens, Media Relations, and Writer
Zane Pickett, Office Manager, A.P., AR, travel, writer
Lee LeClercq Williams, Business Associate
Jacob Freyman, Writer, and Researcher

Patrick Moorhead

+ posts

Patrick founded the firm based on his real-world world technology experiences with the understanding of what he wasn’t getting from analysts and consultants. Ten years later, Patrick is ranked #1 among technology industry analysts in terms of “power” (ARInsights) in “press citations” (Apollo Research). Moorhead is a contributor at Forbes and frequently appears on CNBC. He is a broad-based analyst covering a wide variety of topics including the cloud, enterprise SaaS, collaboration, client computing, and semiconductors. He has 30 years of experience including 15 years of executive experience at high tech companies (NCR, AT&T, Compaq, now HP, and AMD) leading strategy, product management, product marketing, and corporate marketing, including three industry board appointments.