IBM Acknowledges That Palantir Technologies Is Winning the Battle for Policeware and Intelware
February 9, 2021
I read “Palantir Surges on Deal to Offer Software through IBM.” Yep, the new IBM has apparently accepted reality: Its i2 Analysts Notebook products aren’t the powerhouses they were when Mike Hunter’s company was the go-to policeware and intelware product.
According to the “real” news outfit Bloomberg:
Palantir Technologies Inc. and International Business Machines Corp.are uniting in a partnership that will dramatically expand the reachof Palantir’s sales force while making IBM’s ownartificial-intelligence software easier for non-technical customers touse…
Why? The write up reveals:
Without providing a time frame, Thomas [IBM wizard] said he expects the partnershipto help boost IBM’s customers using AI to 80% from its current 20%. Palantir Chief Operating Officer Shyam Sankar said the technical fitwith IBM and its reach are part of his company’s long-term effort tofinally ramp sales. In addition to commercial customers, governmentcontracts have surged both in number and size during the pandemic. “This is the biggest [partnership] we’ve announced — expectmore,” Sankar said. He said he expects to triple Palantir’sdirect-sales team to about 100 this year, a significant hike for acompany whose management once prided itself on not employing a singlesalesperson.
A couple of minor points:
- Anyone remember the litigation between Palantir and i2 about intellectual property? Of course not.
- What Palantir executives were named in the i2 litigation? (This is a really good question by the way?)
- Do the Palantir solutions generate really happy licensees?
- How do the former i2 professionals perceive this tie up?
- How will the deal impact Palantir’s present cloud services providers?
These are questions which “real” news entities do not ask or answer.
Stephen E Arnold, February 9, 2021
Post SolarWinds: Let Smart Software Do Security
February 9, 2021
Forty-one percent of IT leaders would suggest cybersecurity pros get their resumes ready, according to a recent survey. ZDNet reports, “AI Set to Replace Humans in Cybersecurity by 2030, Says Trend Micro Survey.” Writer Eileen Brown summarizes:
“[Trend Micro’s] predictions report, Turning the Tide, forecasts that remote and cloud-based systems will be ruthlessly targeted in 2021. The research was compiled from interviews with 500 IT directors and managers, CIOs and CTOs and does not look good for their career prospects. Only 9% of respondents were confident that AI would definitely not replace their job within the next decade. In fact, nearly a third (32%) said they thought the technology would eventually work to completely automate all cybersecurity, with little need for human intervention. Almost one in five (19%) believe that attackers using AI to enhance their arsenal will be commonplace by 2025. Around a quarter (24%) of IT leaders polled also claimed that by 2030, data access will be tied to biometric or DNA data, making unauthorised access impossible. In the shorter term, respondents also predicted the following outcomes would happen by 2025. They predict that most organisations will have significantly reduced investment in property as remote working becomes the norm (22%). Nationwide 5G will have entirely transformed network and security infrastructure (21%), and security will be self-managing and automated using AI (15%). However, attackers using AI to enhance their arsenal will be commonplace (19%).”
Trend Micro’s Bharat Mistry cautions that AI is most valuable when combined with human expertise, suggesting companies not jettison their human resources so readily. Since cyberattacks will continue to be a growing concern, the report recommends companies pay close attention to security best practices and patch management programs. It is also wise to train workers on security for work performed outside the office and the importance of avoiding doing business on personal devices.
Global cybersecurity firm Trend Micro offers protection for its clients’ users, networks, and cloud environments. Founded back in 1988, the company is based in Tokyo.
One question: If flawed humans create the smart security AI, won’t that have the same blindspots?
Cynthia Murrell, February 9, 2021
Oracle: Looking Like an AARP Magazine Cover Shot
February 9, 2021
Oracle used to be a game changing name in the tech industry, but now it has become an industry standard and, for lack of better terms, old. Oracle might be old, but the company continues to release reliable technology. They recently updated Oracle Database 21c to operate on Oracle Cloud. Channel Life comments on the upgrade consisting of over 200 improvements in the article: “Oracle Releases New Version Of Converged Database.”
One of the top new features for the Oracle Database 21c is the availability of the Oracle APEX Application Development. The Oracle APEX combined with Oracle Cloud offers developers a browser-based, low-code cloud environment to create apps. Other new features include native JSON data type representation, immutable blockchain tables, AutoML for in-database machine learning, persistent memory support, in-database javascript, tiger performance graph models, database in-memory automation, and Sharding automation. Sharding automation is a nifty tool that:
“Native Database Sharding delivers hyperscale performance and availability while enabling global enterprises to meet data sovereignty and data privacy regulations. Data shards share no hardware or software and can reside on-premises or in the cloud. To simplify the design and use of sharding, Database 21c includes a Sharding Advisor Tool that assesses a database schema plus its workload characteristics and then provides a sharded database design optimised for performance, scalability, and availability. Backup and Recovery across shards is also automated.”
These updates are great refreshers for the Oracle Database 21c. The only problem with some of these features is that AWS added them a few years ago. Does Oracle stand a chance competing against AWS on a factor other than price?
Whitney Grace, February 9, 2021
US Department of Defense: Procurement Methods Zapped by JEDI
February 5, 2021
I don’t know if the information in this article is 100 percent accurate, but it is an entertaining read. Navigate to “Pentagon May Cancel JEDI Contract and Start Over.” The write up does not mention the SolarWinds’ misstep, but I have heard that some DoD work from home professionals are getting a bit of a tan. Solar radiation can be a problem. The write up states:
The Pentagon could be set to cancel the $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract it awarded to Microsoft in 2019, as a legal battle with Amazon rages on. The cancellation, should it occur, could provide significant financial benefits for AWS, with the cloud provider ready to swoop in. A new memo has revealed the extent of the Pentagon’s frustration with the legal wrangling. In particular, the memo states that, should Amazon’s complaint be upheld, the entire JEDI contract may be abandoned.
Her are the operative words:
$10 billion
Legal battle
Microsoft
Amazon
JEDI
and the biggie frustration.
Amazon arrives at the party without a tan from the SolarWinds. Microsoft may have been singed or hit with some first degree burns. Oracle is a wild card because it may find a way to provide a very competitive option.
Where is the DoD now? Snagged in Covid, wrestling with leadership, adapting to the new administration, working the numbers for the remarkable F 35 alongside figures for A10s and F 15 enhanced models, and the drone of social media and talk about thousands of nano drones descending on a squad in some delightful camping areas.
If the information in the write up is accurate, perhaps a connection with the SolarWinds’ misstep may surface. But for now, its legal hassles and the thrill of many silos of systems.
Stephen E Arnold, February 5, 2021
Algolia: Making Search Smarter But Is This Possible?
February 5, 2021
A retail search startup pins its AI hopes on a recent acquisition, we learn from the write-up at SiliconANGLE, “Algolia Acquires MorphL to Embed AI into its Enterprise Search Tech.” The company is using its new purchase to power Algolia AI. The platform predicts searchers’ intent in order to deliver tailored (aka targeted) search results, even on a user’s first interaction with the software. Writer Mike Wheatley tells us:
“Algolia sells a cloud-based search engine that companies can embed in their sites, cloud services and mobile apps via an application programming interface. Online retailers can use the platform to help shoppers browse their product catalogs, for example. Algolia’s technology is also used by websites such as the open publishing platform Medium and the online learning course provider Coursera. Algolia’s enterprise-focused search technology enables companies to create a customized search bar, with tools such as a sidebar so shoppers can quickly filter goods by price, for example. MorphL is a Romanian startup that has created an AI platform for e-commerce personalization that works by predicting how people are likely to interact with a user interface. Its technology will extend Algolia’s search APIs with recommendations and user behavior models that will make it possible for e-commerce websites and apps to deliver more ‘intent-based experiences.’”
The Google Digital News Initiative funded MorphL’s development. The startup began as an open-source project in 2018 and is based in Bucharest, Romania. Headquartered in San Francisco, Algolia was founded in 2012. MorphL is the company’s second acquisition; it plucked SeaUrchin.IO in 2018.
Will Algolia search be smarter, maybe even cognitive? Worth watching to see how many IQ points are added to Algolia’s results.
Cynthia Murrell, February 5, 2021
Subscriptions Are Dead: Bad News for Substack and Its Truck Load of Competitors
February 3, 2021
I know. I know. I know that “Subscription-Based Pricing Is Dead: Smart SaaS Companies Are Shifting to Usage-Based Models” is talking about cloud service providers. These are the small, emotionally sensitive firms like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and others who struggle to make ends meet each month. The basic idea is that the taxi meter approach to pricing is the future. Hop in the cab, tell the head in the clouds driver your destination, and pay what the meter shows upon arrival. Did your driver crash? Did your driver take you to Sonic Drive In before reversing course and delivering you near your destination? Did your driver like some gig workers driving vehicles for money pull a gun and rob you? No? Lucky you.
The write up states:
Some fear that investors will hate usage-based pricing because customers aren’t locked into a subscription. But, investors actually see it as a sign that customers are seeing value from a product and there’s no shelf-ware. In fact, investors are increasingly rewarding usage-based companies in the market. Usage-based companies are trading at a 50% revenue multiple premium over their peers. Investors especially love how the usage-based pricing model pairs with the land-and-expand business model. And of the IPOs over the last three years, seven of the nine that had the best net dollar retention all have a usage-based model.
To read this article, guess what? You have to pay a subscription fee. I know. I know. Silicon Valley “real” news outfits just emit parental and oracular, consult like statements.
A couple of observations may be warranted:
First, many customers dislike usage based pricing because of surprises when the bill is presented. And, believe me, when the bill is submitted, getting a sensitive firm to alter it can be a time sink hole.
Second, the usage based model was one that was popular among some timesharing companies. Example: The much loved Dialcom or the European Space Agency’s operation decades ago. Why? Surprise fees.
Third, usage based pricing demands convoluted price lists. I assume that you, gentle reader, remember the wonderful days of IBM’s J1, J2, and J3 fee schedules. AT&T had some excellent methods as well. After Judge Green’s break up of Ma Bell, even Baby Bells howled when Bellcore fired off an invoice. Those were the days.
Now, if the write up is correct, the good old days have returned, except at the “real” news outfit making this profound statement.
Stephen E Arnold, February 3, 2021
IBM Watsonizes Blockchain: Cash Sinkhole Grows
February 2, 2021
IBM had big plans to regain its position as the champion of the digital world wide mud wrestling competition. We know that mainframes generate revenue. We know that IBM’s cloud is at least in the game. We know that the cognitive computing marketing hoo hah Watson thing has struggled to climb in the ring. Now we know that the IBM blockchain superstar made it in the ring but tripped over a rope and plunged to the mat. Yep, dazed and confused before landing a punch.
If the information in “IBM Blockchain Is a Shell of Its Former Self After Revenue Misses, Job Cuts: Sources” is accurate, that’s the pickle on top of the IBM disaster burger. The write up asserts from unnamed sources of course:
BM has cut its blockchain team down to almost nothing, according to four people familiar with the situation. Job losses at IBM escalated as the company failed to meet its revenue targets for the once-fêted technology by 90% this year, according to one of the sources. “IBM is doing a major reorganization,” said a source at a startup that has been interviewing former IBM blockchain staffers. “There is not really going to be a blockchain team any longer. Most of the blockchain people at IBM have left.”
The write up noted:
In its recent full-year results statement, IBM as a whole reported revenue fell 6% on an annualized basis. Looking back to its 2017 financial statement, IBM called itself the “blockchain leader for business.” All mention of the technology is now absent from the company’s statements.
IBM, steeped in cognitive computing technology and confidence replied:
“IBM maintains a strong team dedicated to blockchain across the company. We have shifted some resources but remain committed to the technology, blockchain ecosystem and services. We see blockchain as a driver for our cloud business.”
Good to know. What’s Watson say?
Stephen E Arnold, February 2, 2021
The SolarWinds Misstep: Who Else Walked Off the Cliff?
February 2, 2021
“Hack Said to Extend Beyond SolarWinds” is a troubling “real” news story. The idea that bad actors may have gained access to commercial and government servers for more than a year was troubling. According to the write up, the data breach has another dimension:
Close to a third of the victims didn’t run the SolarWinds Corp. software initially considered the main avenue of attack for the hackers…
What was the shared point of vulnerability?
The write up dances around the topic, but DarkCyber believes that Microsoft software is the common factor for the breaches, a fact presented at the end of the article:
Mr. Wales [US government cyber security wizard] said his [Cyber Security and Infrastructure] agency isn’t aware of cloud software other than Microsoft’s targeted in the attack.
The Wall Street Journal article reporting a government official’s public statement is located behind a paywall.
Is Microsoft capable of providing cloud and desktop services which are secure. Will a rock band craft a TikTok video based on a remake of the Platters’ hit song the Great Pretender modified to the Great Defender?
Yes I’m the great defender
Just laughin’ and gay like a clown
I seem to be what I’m not, you see
I’m showing my code like a crown
Pretending that JEDI’s still around.
Apologies to Buck Ram.
Stephen E Arnold, February 2, 2021
Microsoft Security: Perhaps Revenue Does Not Correlate with Providing Security?
February 1, 2021
I want to keep this brief. Microsoft makes money from the sale of security services. “Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella: There Is a Big Crisis Right Now for cybersecurity” reports:
For the first time on Tuesday, Microsoft disclosed revenue from its various security offerings as part of its quarterly earnings — $10 billion over the last 12 months. That amounts to a 40% year-over-year jump in the growing security business, making up roughly 7% of the company’s total revenue for the previous year.
Here’s a fascinating passage:
Microsoft itself was also hacked, though no customer data was breached. A Reuters report indicated that, as part of the hack of the National Telecommunications and Information Agency, Microsoft’s Office 365 software was attacked, allowing the intruders to monitor agency emails for months. Microsoft, however, said at the time that it has identified no vulnerabilities in its cloud or Office software.
Er, what?
I don’t want to rain on this financial parade but The Register, a UK online information service, published “Unsecured Azure Blob Exposed 500,000+ Highly confidential Docs from UK Firm’s CRM Customers.” Furthermore, the Microsoft security services did not spot the SolarWinds’ misstep, which appears to have relied upon Microsoft’s much-loved streaming update service. The euphemism of “supply chain” strikes me as a way to short circuit criticism of a series of technologies which are easily exploited by at least one bad actor involved in the more than 12 month undetected breach of core systems at trivial outfits like US government agencies.
Net net: Generating revenue from security does not correlate with delivering securing or engineering core services to prevent breaches. And what about the failure to detect? Nifty, eh?
The February 9, 2021, DarkCyber video program takes a look at another of Microsoft’s remarkable dance steps related to the SolarWinds’ misstep. Do si do, promenade, and roll away to a half sashay! Ouch. Better watch where you put that expensive shoe.
Stephen E Arnold, February 1, 2021
IBM: Watson, What Is Going On?
January 27, 2021
I want to keep this brief. IBM is a company anchored in the past, and its management is demonstrating that agility, pivoting, buzzwords, and sci-fi technology are not working in the money department. “International Business Machines : IBM Shares Are an Anomaly in a Hot Tech Sector” like hearing Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” in a karaoke bar in Osaka.
Does this sound familiar? It seems as if Market Screener is recycling boilerplate:
The simple answer for IBM’s stock performance? It hasn’t delivered the growth expected of technology companies. Although IBM snapped a 22-quarter streak of falling sales in January 2018, briefly reviving some investors’ hopes for a successful turnaround, it has largely failed to post strong results since then, trailing behind rivals like Amazon and Microsoft in the cloud computing business.
Is it fair to compare IBM with Amazon, Google, or any other digital dervish? No. A more apt comparison should be drawn with other companies anchored in adding machines and mainframes.
If we ask Watson, what do we get?
Answer: A link to a news item about Watson winning jeopardy. Interesting but not what the stakeholders need.
Stephen E Arnold, January 27, 2021
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