The content team at Channel Partners tracks stories of interest to the technology advisor and wider channel communities. Anyone selling communication and connectivity solutions will want to stay abreast of these developing stories or catch up on ones they have missed. All links are valid as of July 15.
IBM Shares Plunge as Software Deals Take Back Seat in AI Race
IBM said customers shifted spending to secure supply-constrained infrastructure, delaying mainframe and software deals. The earnings warning kicked off IBM’s largest single-day stock selloff. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna blamed poor sales of IBM’s z17 mainframe and associated software as customers instead added infrastructure for AI. “We did not adapt and move quickly enough, and numerous large deals failed to close on the timelines we expected, driving the majority of our shortfall,” Krishna wrote in a letter to investors. Read the Data Center Knowledge story.
Cybersecurity is Rewriting the Technology Advisor Playbook
AI security fears and booming MSSP sales are pulling technology advisors into cybersecurity, as telco-focused holdouts weigh whether to jump in. Read the Channel Dive story.
AI Power Crunch Forces Data Centers Into Unconventional Places
As AI drives a massive surge in computing demand, the data center industry is beginning to explore unconventional locations, including distributed AI servers installed in homes to underwater facilities cooled by seawater and even orbital data centers powered by solar energy. Read the Fierce Network story.
FCC Adopts ‘Assembly Line Mindset’ to Halve Satellite Approval Times
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr claims the agency has slashed its satellite approval times in half as it prepares for a flurry of applications. Speaking on Bloomberg TV, Carr said the agency would previously get “two to three” applications per year, with it opting for what he described as “bespoke, individualized, custom reviews.” Carr said the FCC was now “fundamentally changing” to an “assembly line mindset” to make approvals faster in order to meet potential influxes of “thousands or hundreds-of-thousands of applications.” Read the SDxCentral story.
Microsoft Moves Azure IP Co-sell to Marketplace-First Model
Microsoft is moving Azure IP co-selling to a cloud marketplace-first model, the company said in a partner update. Over the next year, qualified independent software vendors will shift from self-reporting Azure infrastructure services usage to selling SaaS solutions directly through Microsoft Marketplace. Read the Channel Dive story.
Verizon Reportedly Plans New Round Of Layoffs
Verizon is expected to brief staff and officially announce a new wave of employee layoffs Thursday morning, according to an exclusive report by Barron's. Although an employee confirmed the upcoming cuts, the precise number of impacted workers remains unverified. Read the Stocktwits story on Yahoo Finance.
Analysis: Starlink Helps Close the U.S. Digital Divide
Players in the broadband industry are concerned about the impact that SpaceX’s Starlink could have on their businesses. Recently, New Street Research (NSR), working with Recon Analytics’ data, found that SpaceX’s Starlink continues to get close to half of its gross adds from small rural broadband providers and customers that are new to broadband. Read the Fierce Network story.
Can Network Sharing Rescue 6G?
Telcos spend heavily to eliminate costs yet cling to facilities-based competition. Ahead of 6G, embracing network sharing may be a survival move. Read the Light Reading story.
Even with Higher-Capacity V3, Starlink 'Best Suited to Low-Density Markets'
SpaceX is targeting July 16 as the next possible test flight for Starship, a massive rocket that is critical to the eventual widescale launch and deployment of the larger and higher-capacity V3 Starlink satellites. That upcoming test will carry "next-generation V3 satellites for the first time," SpaceX explained. As part of this initial test, Starship is expected to deploy 20 such satellites that will attempt to connect to the larger Starlink constellation via high-capacity lasers. But they won't stay up there for long, as they will reenter the atmosphere 20 minutes after deployment and "demise" (burn up). Read the Light Reading story.
Trace3 Says AI's Production Gap is Not a Technology Problem
Enterprise AI is running into a problem many organizations did not fully model during the pilot phase: value is not scaling at the same pace as adoption. BCG found that only 5% of companies worldwide are consistently generating substantial AI value, while 35% are beginning to scale AI and generate value, leaving most organizations still working to turn investment into measurable results. For Trace3, a leading IT and AI solutions provider, the next AI challenge is not whether the technology can work in a controlled environment, but whether organizations can profit once it reaches production. Read the Trace3 press release.
Securing AI Meeting Assistants: What IT Leaders Need to Know
AI meeting assistants have gained traction as workers use the tools to accelerate workflows and improve productivity. The meeting ends, and the AI assistant automatically sends the transcript and summary. That's a departure from the days when any post-meeting information was shared as long videos and transcript files over email. Read the TechTarget story.