Name: Cloud and AI Integration: Optimizing AI Strategy for Real Impact
Start: 2024-05-15T16:00:00Z
End: 2024-05-15T16:01:00.000Z
Location: BrightTALK
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The rapid adoption of cloud computing has far-reaching effects across the enterprise in terms of application development, IT architecture and platforms, systems and network operations, security needs, and cross-team dynamics. This monthly discussion covers all the factors organizations needs to consider and explores ways that cloud technologies can help them stay ahead of the competition.

The technology sector never slows down and this has been another busy year for the cloud. While some trends have picked up steam, others have died out and still others have emerged as new contenders for 2025 investment. It can be overwhelming to figure out what topics deserve attention and what innovations may just be flash-in-the-pan moments that are forgotten tomorrow. Yet organizations need to make decisions today that will set them up for future success.

To help guide you through the most important takeaways from 2024, here is our final Cloud Cover episode of the year: “Cloud in Review.” Host Jo Peterson and her expert guests will look back on the year’s developments, ups and downs and determine what are the key lessons to take with you into 2025.

Cloud in Review: A Look Back at 2024

Enterprise organizations are increasingly becoming conscious of their environmental footprint, with data centers and computer processing contributing heavily to carbon emissions. Both consumers and corporations are pushing for smarter ways to do business that don’t harm our natural environment, but the path through isn’t always clear – especially when we’re looking at new technologies. The good news is that there are ways to utilize the cloud in a more eco-friendly and carbon intelligent way. Yet not every business is wise to the value of switching to carbon-intelligent computing, or aware of the options available to organizations.

In this session of Cloud Cover, Jo Peterson and a panel of expert guests will chat about the four key reasons why carbon-intelligent computing is a good thing for businesses; why it’s here to stay; and why you should take advantage of these fantastic enhancements for your business.

Tune in to hear the panel discuss:

— The Green Data Center Will Make the Biggest Impact on Electricity Usage
— Clean Energy Is Often More Cost-Efficient Now
— There’s High Demand for This Type of Computing
— Components Are Becoming Much More Energy-Efficient

Carbon Intelligent Cloud: The Benefits of Making the Green Choice

Data lakes and data warehouses have been popular storage choices for years, often working in tandem to better serve enterprises. Where data lakes store raw data in its original form, data warehouses are used for organized data sets. Yet the constant exchange of data between the two silos has led to increased complexity, as well as a greater risk of duplication and data inconsistency. As workloads become increasingly data-heavy, organizations have been in need of a more comprehensive and cost-effective solution. 

Is that solution the data lakehouse? According to a recent Dremio survey of enterprise IT professionals,  data lakehouses are now the primary architecture for delivering analytics, with 65% running a majority of analytics on lakehouses.  Additionally, 81% are using a data lakehouse to support work on AI models and applications, which is a growing area of investment for many orgs.

Tune into this episode of Cloud Cover to hear host Jo Peterson and her expert guests dig into the real value of the data lakehouse. As we move into the era of AI, we’ll explore whether data lakehouses are critical component to:

— Improving AI-driven data management, governance and compliance.
— Increase the ability to data self-service.
— Build and improve AI models and applications.
— Provide more automation and AI-assisted data management.

Moving to the Lakehouse: Is this the Future of Data Architecture?

No matter your industry, protecting your data and operations is paramount. Cloud security is crucial for every organization to protect their cloud environment, but it can be tricky to fully protect yourself in a constantly evolving threat landscape. For true peace of mind, you need to follow best practices and build these into your security protocol. When you follow the best practices, you will not only harden your organization’s cloud security posture but also prevent any possible attack.

So what are the best practices that you can follow in 2024? During this month’s Cloud Cover conversation, we’ll explore 8 of the best strategic practices to get you thinking about properly securing your cloud environment today. 

Jo Peterson and her expert panel will cover:

— Understanding the Shared Responsibility Model 
— Defining Cloud Security Policies 
— Monitoring Misconfigurations
— Managing User Access 
— Utilizing Cloud Intelligence, Threat Hunting, and Forensics 
— Comprehensive Security Posture Visibility 
— Protecting The Containers 
— Incorporating Continuous Cybersecurity Training

The Strategic 8: How to Navigate the Current State of Cloud Security

The name “Supercloud” was always going to attract attention. Coining the term in 2015, Cornell University defined the Supercloud as a cloud architecture that enables application migration as a service across different availability zones or cloud providers. The Supercloud provides interfaces to allocate, migrate, and terminate resources, such as virtual machines and storage, and presents a homogeneous network to tie these resources together. 

Fast forward to 2024 and what was a buzzword has morphed into a next generation collection of tools, as well as other technologies like edge computing. Together, they are moving us closer to this next stage of cloud computing. But will they take us all the way there? Is the Supercloud truly super, or even an improvement on what came before?

Join us in the latest episode of Cloud Cover as Jo Peterson and her expert guests explore the promise of a unified architecture for managing data and services that can float across multiple cloud providers.

Super-Cloud Me: Digging into the Promise of Next-Gen Cloud

Is Cloud automation the new normal in tech in 2024? When done correctly, automation can be a game changer. In the cloud, an automated programmable infrastructure doesn’t just free up employee hours and resources, but makes it possible to respond to dynamic traffic levels and reconfigure networks as needed in the moment. It’s no surprise that infrastructure as code deployment has shaken things up in the cloud space, but this is only the beginning.

Many organizations are struggling under the vast amounts of data they’re trafficking, while still being expected to deliver the latest technology experiences. Network providers are similarly burdened, especially if they are still working with legacy systems and protocols. Could cloud automation and programmable infrastructure be the solution for both these groups? 

Join Jo Peterson and a panel of experts in this latest episode of Cloud Cover, for a detailed discussion that will cover:
— The benefits of cloud automation,
— The difference between cloud automation and orchestration,
— How automation affects security and compliance,
— How cloud automation impacts the role of IT professionals.

Solving Bloated Workloads: Is Automated Programmable Infrastructure the Answer?

It can be tempting to imagine the cloud as a vast single network that is untethered from any physical location. Yet according to Gartner, one of the trends shaping public cloud is the rise of regional and vertical cloud ecosystems and data services.  Driven by factors like geopolitical regulation and industry specific compliance needs, these clouds are on the rise as they serve smaller subsets of people in a more specialized way. 

This trend is at odds with the history of cloud services to date. Previously, cloud evolution has initially stuck with very industry-neutral, horizontal offerings.  However, that picture is changing before our eyes. The future of the cloud looks more like a verticalized array of offerings that focus on industry specific requirements. 

Tune in to the latest episode of Cloud Cover to hear Jo Peterson and her panel of expert guests investigate the growth – and potential – of regional and vertical clouds.

Vertical and Regional Clouds: Why Now and What’s Next?

Edge computing is no new phenomenon. In fact, the origins of edge go back to the 1990s with the creation of the first content delivery network (CDN), which put data collecting nodes closer to end users. But this technology was limited to images and videos, not massive workloads of data. At first glance, it doesn’t seem that Edge would be a good match for current network needs. Yet fast forward to 2024 and some predict mass migration from the cloud to the edge. Why is that?

During this latest episode of Cloud Cover, Jo Peterson and guests will explore that question and some of the up and coming trends around cloud and edge today. Key predictions and discussion points will include:

— Edge Adoption Will Increase as AI Adoption Increases 
— Edge Computing Will Support Sustainable Practices
— Edge Computing Will Drive New Consumer Experiences for Retailers

All Grown Up: Edge Computing Today and its Role in Cloud Workloads

Looking back on last year, there were several notable advances for cloud computing. Yet arguably, the most important cloud computing trend of 2023 wasn’t about technology or architecture. It wasn’t even really a specific practice. Instead, it was about cloud optimization: a strategy that emphasizes cloud cost optimization, workload placement and an interdepartmental approach to cloud utilization. After the initial rush to embrace cloud at every turn, many companies began to realize that they hadn’t been strategic in their implementation. FinOps was the trend that was most likely to play a critical role as individual organizations tried to navigate their cloud environments in a more efficient way.

By the close of 2023, FinOps had exerted major influence on the way many organizations approached cloud computing. A few months into 2024 and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. In this latest episode of Cloud Cover, host Jo Peterson and a panel of experts will take a look back – as well as a look forward – at the FinOps trend.

Cloud FinOps: The Quiet Trend of 2023 That Isn't Going Anywhere

The recent snowball of development in artificial intelligence has led to widespread adoption of the technology. It’s no surprise that we’re now seeing Artificial Intelligence as a Service (AIaaS) enter the market: a cloud-based service offering artificial intelligence (AI) outsourcing. AIaaS is an accessible way to test out AI as it enables individuals and businesses to experiment with AI and even take AI to production for large-scale use cases, with low risk and without a large up-front investment
 
According to Global Market Insights, the AI as a Service market size was valued at $6.4 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 25% between 2023 and 2032. This is partly due to the wealth of new opportunities that AI technology is fuelling; the growing number of innovative startups worldwide is expected to drive the market growth.
 
Join us in this latest episode of Cloud Cover as we explore how AI as a Service is joining the growing list of “as a service” tech solutions that business customers are deploying to:
— increase customer value 
— remain cutting edge and 
— differentiate their products and services in the marketplace.

Deploying "AI as a Service" in Cloud Environments

When it comes to enterprise technology, no company wants to be left behind by its competitors or stuck using outdated software. This may explain the sharp rise in cloud adoption over the past few years – even in cases where it wasn’t the best choice. Now, many organizations are realizing that they may have made a mistake and overcommitted to the cloud. According to Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), 60% of companies have repatriated some workloads from the cloud back on-premises.
 
Repatriation doesn’t mean a company has entirely given up on the cloud. Instead, it’s about determining where digital operations will function best. There are advantages and disadvantages to the cloud, but also to on-premise networks. So what are the factors that organizations should consider when deciding which workload goes where? What are some best practices for the repatriation process?
 
In the first 2024 episode of Cloud Cover, Jo Peterson and her panel of expert guests will focus on factors like cost; data sovereignty and privacy regulations; security; and latency. Additionally, the group will share some best practice advice for organizations considering cloud repatriation.

Public Cloud Repatriation: Which Workload Should Go Where?

At first glance, the cloud seems to show no sign of slowing down. According to Statista research, the worldwide public cloud market reached close to USD$415 billion in 2022, and Gartner forecasts it to grow to $591.8 billion in 2023. Not only are more organizations migrating to cloud architectures, but cloud providers are expanding their offerings: In 2022, Amazon Web Services (AWS) released 3,084 new services and functionalities that year—about 300 more than in 2021.
 
But a closer look at these statistics tells a more complicated story. Despite the continued growth of the public cloud market, the rate of growth slowed for multiple providers in 2022. And even with a rapidly expanding set of functionalities available to them, cloud customers are wary of spending more on cloud services than they already do. Instead, companies are looking for ways to unlock greater cloud value for their spend.

In the final Cloud Cover episode of 2023, Jo Peterson and her guests will explore:
— Shifting from Migration to Innovation
— Tackling the Cost “Double Bubble”
— Tipping the Scales to take advantage of AI

Cloud as a Catalyst: How to be Smart About Cloud Adoption

Cloud computing and artificial intelligence are two sectors that are experiencing explosive growth – and that’s not going to change any time soon. The cloud computing market is projected to double from its current size to $947 billion by 2026, while the AI market is slated to grow more than 5 times to $309 billion in the same period. Organizations know they need to capitalize on these technologies, but figuring out how to do so and how to utilize them in tandem is the question of the moment. Succeed and the possibilities are endless.

Join us as we explore how enterprise leaders are striving to understand how the rapidly expanding field of AI can build a relationship with cloud that spurs even greater innovation

During the panel, we’ll discuss:

— The Applications of AI in Cloud Computing
— Advantages of Deploying AI in Cloud Environments
— The Transformative Nature of Cloud and AI together
— Security Guardrails and Considerations

Cloud and AI: Building a Relationship Between Two Technology Giants

A growing number of companies are turning to edge computing for their organizational needs, with worldwide spending on edge expected to reach $208 billion in 2023, according to IDC. This is an increase of 13.1% over 2022 and IDC has also identified more than 400 named use cases across various industries and domains. It is clear that edge is here to stay and already having a substantial impact on enterprise networks, but not everyone knows how to take full advantage.
 
During this session of “Cloud Cover”, our panel of industry experts will explore market and vertical adoption and drivers for growth, as well as the three edge use cases that will see the largest investments in 2023: content delivery networks, virtual network functions, and multi-access edge computing (MEC). MEC could represent 20% of all edge spend, making it a key focus area. 

In the enterprise space, we’ll explore production asset management, autonomic operations, omni-channel operations, freight monitoring, and augmented customer service agents. We’ll also take a look at AI Edge and how contextualization and  ‘local intelligence’ is being built into edge devices with AI.

Pushing Cloud to the Edge: An End-to-End Exploration of Edge Use Cases

The more popular cloud becomes, the more the industry will try to optimize its use and find new ways to leverage it. Increasingly, organizations are turning their attention to cloud automation, self-service, and service orchestration, which are all trending according to year-over-year benchmarks from IT Ops, DevOps, CloudOps, and DataOps teams. 

The Stonebranch 2023 Global State of IT Automation Report takes this one step further, revealing that cloud automation tops the list of planned automation tool investments for 2023. Meanwhile, self-service automation is booming: 92% of respondents said they’d like to empower end users from data, cloud, dev and LOB teams to execute their own workflows and processes. Additionally, automation has evolved into orchestration, with the majority of report respondents planning to replace or add a new platform to support orchestration. 

In this latest episode of Cloud Cover, our panel will dig into these and other trends in the Cloud Automation space.

Speakers:
Jo Peterson, VP of Cloud & Security Services at Clarify360
David Linthicum, Chief Cloud Strategy Officer at Deloitte Consulting
Matt Douglas, CEO at DIGICZE
Bobby Allen, Group Product Manager - Cloud Runtimes OPM at Google

Key 2023 Trends in Cloud Automation, From Self-Service to Orchestration

The definition of digital transformation is changing. Today, 72% of cloud decision makers view digital transformation as something more than a simple “lift and shift” exercise where systems are moved from data centers to the cloud, according to a Google Cloud Brand Pulse Survey. A majority of enterprises plan to invest in new technology platforms to facilitate innovation change, utilizing cloud in new and exciting ways to achieve next-generation results. 

What will this new digital transformation look like, with the cloud at its center? Almost half of cloud decision makers say that digital transformation means optimizing processes and becoming more operationally agile. Many of these same execs say that there is a focus on improving customer experience. In this latest installment of “Cloud Cover,” our panel of industry experts will break down the ways that cloud will play a role in these technology evolutions.

An Agent for Change: Cloud at the Center of Digital Transformation

Consumers and companies alike are growing more concerned about their environmental impact. As organizations look to strategize long-term, it’s becoming clear that sustainable technology will be a must-have; not a nice-to-have. By 2025, 50% of CIOs will have performance metrics tied to the sustainability of the IT organization. 

Sustainable technology is a framework of digital solutions that can be used to enable ESG outcomes. Digital technologies have the potential to help minimize carbon emissions across the entire digital value chain. When building cloud workloads, the practice of sustainability involves understanding the impacts of the services used, quantifying impacts through the entire workload lifecycle, and applying design principles and best practices to reduce these impacts.

In this latest episode of ‘Cloud Cover,’ our panel will discuss what the future of sustainable cloud could look like and how to get there.

Building for the Future: Sustainable Cloud Technologies

The technology sector is just as driven by trends as any other, with new innovations providing fresh opportunities for companies to get ahead. In a hyper-competitive environment like today, no decision maker wants to miss the boat and fall behind their rivals. The challenge is figuring out where the true value in these tools lies – and how to maximize the impact of these new advances within existing cloud architectures. 

In the current technological landscape, it is AI and automation that are becoming the primary motivations for cloud investments. This is driven mainly by what IT leaders see as the transformative power of these dynamic technologies. As we head into Q2 2024, cloud has become the foundational element in organizational AI strategy. Yet there isn’t really a blueprint for how to do it successfully.

What are the key considerations IT leaders must address when contemplating or optimizing their AI and automation strategies and initiatives?

In today’s session we’ll explore:
— Business and cloud specific goals
— Data quality and availability
— Technology selection
— Outages, scalability, security, and contingency plans
— Talent and expertise
— Ethical and compliance considerations

Cloud and AI Integration: Optimizing AI Strategy for Real Impact

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