Governance and data quality consultant Agile Lab ran a data management survey at Big Data London in September 2024. It revealed the majority of UK organizations are being held back by their data management tools. Findings include:
- Despite 85 percent highlighting a data management strategy as important to their business, only 22 percent believe their organization can leverage data insights effectively.
- Almost 60 percent think the biggest impediment to data management is poor quality data.
- Many believed that data management challenges were having a negative effect on the quality of decision-making, making it slow (72.8 percent) and less strategic (53.6 percent).
- Organisations are using a variety of data management tools, with the most popular being data quality tools (59.9 percent), governance (58.8 percent), and integration (52.2 percent).
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Micron’s Crucial business unit launched its DDR5 CUDIMM DRAM and CSODIMM DRAM memory for desktops and laptops, respectively. While DDR5 offers fast speeds, scaling challenges have made it difficult to deliver DDR performance increases while ensuring reliable high speeds, especially when combining high bandwidth with large capacity. Representing an evolution of traditional UDIMMs, the new category of CUDIMMs and CSODIMMs feature a clock driver directly on the memory module to ensure fast, stable speeds. While most systems today rely on the clock from the CPU, Micron has directly integrated the clock driver into the memory module to conquer electrical challenges at the root and ensure enhanced signal integrity at 6400 MT/s, making memory faster and more stable.
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Databricks has launched Databricks Apps to build data and AI applications faster and securely. It will be available in Public Preview on AWS and Azure. Use cases include data visualisation, AI applications, self-service analytics, and data quality monitoring. It incorporates AI components, enabling developers to call specific AI models when they need more flexibility, and has built-in governance with Unity Catalog, and secure user authentication through OIDC/OAuth 2.0 and SSO.
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DataStax announced its AI Platform, built with NVIDIA AI that reduces AI development time by 60 percent through integrating DataStax’ AI platform with NVIDIA AI Enterprise, giving enterprises an offering for all parts of the AI development and production lifecycle – from data ingestion and retrieval to application development to deployment and ongoing AI training. Key components:
- DataStax Langflow platform, including an application development environment that eases application development through a visual interface that simplifies creating and understanding complex logic flows.
- NeMo Retriever: Enable organizations to seamlessly connect custom models to diverse business data and deliver highly accurate responses. This is crucial for companies’ AI applications to have the context of their enterprise systems and data in order to provide the most relevant results.
- Multimodal PDF Data Extraction: A blueprint that enables ingestion of unstructured and complex enterprise data sources such as PDFs to be ready for use for AI applications using retrieval-augmented generation (RAG).
- NeMo Curator: Data-curation tool that helps developers create large, high-quality datasets for pretraining or fine-tuning LLMs or embedding models.
- NeMo Customizer: Scalable microservice that simplifies fine tuning and alignment of LLMs for domain-specific use cases- reduces companies dependencies on off-the-shelf broad LLMs.
- NeMo Evaluator: Automates evaluation of customer generative AI models and LLMs for accuracy.
- NeMo Guardrails: Add programmable guardrails to LLM-based conversational applications.
- NIM Agent Blueprints: A catalog of pretrained, customizable AI workflows that equip developers with a full suite of software for building and deploying generative AI applications for canonical use cases, such as customer service avatars, retrieval-augmented generation, and drug discovery virtual screening.
- DataStax Data Management: DataStax delivers vector search, flexible hybrid search, knowledge graph and Graph RAG, real-time AI analytics, streaming, pub/sub, and a linearly scalable NoSQL store. Available as cloud-native (DataStax Astra), or self-managed (DataStax Hyper-Converged Database/HCD).
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A Hammerspace “State of the Next Data Cycle: How do you GPU?” report looked into the current landscape of enterprise AI and GPU utilization, based on an analysis of nearly 17,000 digital conversations among approximately 200 industry leaders and executives across platforms including LinkedIn, Twitter, Reddit, GitHub and Discord. It found:
- Public conversations about AI have surged 383 percent since 2022
- 60 percent of those analyzed focused on thought leadership, while only 33 percent focused on innovation
- 59 percent of innovation-related discussions focus on enhancing productivity
- Only 18 percent of innovation conversations are dedicated to achieving better AI outcomes
- Ethics accounts for one-third of AI discussions, with 51 percent of the ethics conversations concerning policy and best practices
Despite significant investments in AI infrastructure, including enormous investments in powerful GPU chips, companies have struggled to put them to use on AI workloads and used them on other better-understood use cases. The purchased GPUs initially intended for AI projects are also being used for a wide variety of applications, including expediting existing big data and analytics projects. Use-cases span industries including big tech, scientific research, and media and entertainment. Download the full report here.
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SaaS data protector HYCU is partnering managed tech services company Blue Mantis (cloud migration, cloud cost optimization (FinOps), and security operations). The two will help Blue Mantis clients using AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, and an array of SaaS platforms, to instantly identify and backup their cloud and SaaS applications, determine vulnerabilities and remediate compliance gaps. In Q4 Blue Mantis will offer a free version of HYCU R-Graph, a SaaS visualization offering for data protection that helps visualize a company’s entire data estate, including on-premises, cloud, and SaaS applications and data. Blue Mantis plans to bring a HYCU Managed Backup Services Offering to market in 2025.
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Jackrabbit Labs announced it will launch CXL (Compute Express Link) support with Kubernetes. CRO Rick Vasquez blog there is now a way to use CXL with Kubernetes with no code changes and no special flavors of the linux kernel or the Kubernetes distribution you use. Jackrabbit Labs will introduce the most advanced way to schedule pods that allows systems to leverage memory from a far memory pool dynamically to provision pods and even clean up after when those pods are shut down or re-scheduled. Pods can be scheduled on worker nodes that have exhausted memory without having to reschedule pods to free up local memory on any number of worker nodes in a Kubernetes cluster. See its demo in the CMS section of the OCP Innovation Village.
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Mirantis says it will be the first to deliver fully supported OpenStack “Caracal“ (2024.1), a major release with several enhancements particularly benefiting AI, high-performance computing (HPC), and users looking for alternatives to VMware. It introduces the Skip Level Upgrade Release Process (SLURP), which allows users to skip interim versions when upgrading—streamlining transitions from earlier releases like Antelope. Management features in Mirantis OpenStack for Kubernetes (MOSK) eliminate the need for separate configuration tools like Ansible or Salt, and enabling automated, centralized GitOps-style infrastructure management. The vendor claims that when applied in a cloud of several hundred hypervisors, the new system can save operations teams weeks of work.
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Cloud file services supplier Nasuni has achieved AWS manufacturing and industrial competency. It says achieving this differentiates Nasuni as an AWS Partner Network (APN) member that provides specialised unstructured data management and hybrid cloud services designed to help enterprises adopt, develop, and deploy complex projects on AWS. Nasuni currently works with large global manufacturers such as Movado, AIXTRON, Western Digital, and Jakob Mueller.
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Rambus announced the first complete memory interface chipsets for Gen5 DDR5 RDIMMs and next-generation DDR5 Multiplexed Rank Dual Inline Memory Modules (MRDIMMs). These will extend DDR5 performance with “unparalleled bandwidth and memory capacity for compute-intensive data center and AI workloads”. The new chips include a Gen5 Registering Clock Driver (RCD), enabling RDIMMs operating at 8000 MT/s. There is a Multiplexed Registering Clock Driver (MRCD) and Multiplexed Data Buffer (MDB), enabling upcoming MRDIMMs running at speeds up to 12,800 MT/s by doubling the bandwidth of the DIMM beyond the native DRAM device speed. Plus a second-generation server Power Management IC (PMIC5030) designed for both DDR5 RDIMM 8000 and MRDIMM 12800, providing ultra-high current at low voltage to support higher speeds and more DRAM and logic chips per module.
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Mainframe software modernizer Rocket Software announced GenAI functionality with new and enhanced products in its Hybrid Cloud solution suite:
- Rocket Content Smart Chat: a conversational AI interface for sensitive document access and querying.
- Rocket Enterprise Suite: AI natural language assistant to facilitate code analysis and accelerate mainframe application modernization and cloud transitions.
- Rocket Visual COBOL: AI natural language assistant to simplify COBOL code understanding, modernize applications, and ensure seamless integration with hybrid cloud environments.
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Samsung Electronics has developed the industry’s first 24-gigabit (Gb) graphics double data rate (GDDR7) DRAM for data centers and AI workstations, extending beyond trad applications of graphics DRAM in gaming consoles and autonomous driving. The 24Gb GDDR7 DRAM has performance of up to 42.5 40Gbps, a 25 percent improvement from its previous version, and reduced power consumption, leading to a 30 percent improvement in power efficiency. It uses 5th-generation 10-nanometer-class DRAM, enabling increased cell density by 50 percent while maintaining same package size as its predecessor. Validation in next-gen AI computing systems from major GPU customers will begin this year.
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StreamNative, a cloud-native data streaming company founded by the original creators of Apache Pulsar, announced a managed Apache Flink BYOC product offering will be available to StreamNative customers in private preview. The offering is powered by Ververica, the original creators of Apache Flink. Businesses around the world have used Pulsar or Kafka with Flink, and this new managed service provides more simplicity when deploying real-time applications in the cloud.
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Enterprise data management supplier Syniti reported its highest Q3 revenue in its history, along with record services revenue and cloud annual recurring revenue (ARR). Revenue growth was driven by software renewals with clients in aerospace and defence, manufacturing, life sciences and oil & gas; also new clients kicking off business transformation projects and current clients extending data projects. Syniti added 13 significant new logos, including two Global 2000 organisations and market leaders in food & beverage, consumer products and manufacturing; the company has added 35 major new clients to its customer roster in 2024.
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Data warehouser Teradata is integrating Nvidia NeMo and NIM microservices into its Vantage product to support the development of foundation and customized large language models (LLMs), agentic workflows and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) applications. Customers can also deploy their own custom models through Nvidia AI Enterprise, an end-to-end software platform that offers enterprise-grade security, support and stability, to drive ROI from generative AI use cases. In addition to multiple Nvidia software integrations, Teradata’s platform will offer Nvidia accelerated computing infrastructure.
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Teradata announced new capabilities for VantageCloud Lake, a cloud-native data analytics and management offering and ClearScape Analytics, a suite of analytics tools integrated within Teradata Vantage. This makes it possible for businesses to implement and see immediate ROI from Gen AI use cases. Through adding bring-your-own LLM (BYO-LLM), businesses can take advantage of small or mid-sized open LLMs, and bring the LLMs to the data. This minimises data movement and maximises security, privacy and trust.
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A Wharton and GBK Collective study on Gen AI called Growing Up: Navigating Gen AI’s Early Years, based on a survey with 600 senior leaders from top U.S. enterprises, each with sales over $50 million). It shows just how rapidly Gen AI adoption and use cases are accelerating. Key Findings:
- 90 percent of leaders agree AI enhances employee skills, while concerns about job replacement have eased, dropping from 75 percent to 72 percent.
- Nearly three in four leaders (72 percent) report using Gen AI weekly, up from 37 percent in 2023.
- Gen AI adoption in Marketing and Sales tripled. Usage in Operations, HR, and Procurement doubled.
- AI spending has increased by 130 percent, with 3 in 4 planning further investment in 2025.
