Supercloud 6: AI and data's future in cloud computing

AI

In an era brimming with massive artificial intelligence models, the key to success lies in the strategic utilization of curated, industry-specific data sets.

These are the game-changers for businesses and consumer apps alike. We’re talking about a colossal endeavor — harnessing this data intelligently demands innovative software, cutting-edge architectures and advanced hardware. 

“We believe today’s so-called modern data stack, as currently envisioned, will be challenged by emerging use cases and artificial intelligence-infused apps that begin to represent the real world, in real time, at massive data scale,” said Dave Vellante, co-founder and chief analyst of theCUBE Research. “To support these new applications, a change in underlying data and data center architectures will be necessary, particularly for exabyte-scale workloads.”

During the Supercloud 6 “AI’s Next Fontier: Data” event, set for March 12, theCUBE Research analysts will talk with industry executives, innovators, technologists, investors and thought leaders about data’s vital role as the driving force propelling AI’s pervasive integration into businesses and everyday existence. They’ll also assess where supercloud fits in.

Find out all you need to know about SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s Supercloud event series at supercloud.world, and watch some key insights about the “rise of the supercloud” below:

Revolutionizing cloud computing: Data stacks propel a unified, AI-enhanced supercloud future

Data stacks are poised to redefine the supercloud, our visionary concept for an integrated, cloud-native application environment spanning multiple clouds and on-site data centers. The contemporary norm of dissociating computing power from storage is poised for evolution. 

This paradigm is expected to shift toward segregating computing from data while simultaneously enabling computing processes to interact with a unified, coherent and modifiable collection of data elements. Furthermore, it’s anticipated that AI will significantly enhance metadata, according to Vellante.

“Our opinion is that AI will be used to enrich metadata to turn strings, such as ASCII code, files, objects and the like, into things that represent real-world capabilities of a business,” he said.

Organizations face a significant hurdle as a result of the scattered nature of their data across various locations, such as the edge, data centers and the cloud. This data includes diverse types, including objects, tables and files, each with distinct formats, unique metadata and often confined in isolated silos. The contemporary data stack is starting to tackle this issue from an infrastructure perspective, as cloud resources offer easier deployment and management solutions.

Furthermore, many data platform companies are now expanding their services to include management of various data types. These include a range of data such as transactional and analytical, structured and unstructured, among others.

“More work must be done to unify data types and metadata to provide access to copilots that will power the future of AI-infused applications at scale that can reliably take action on behalf of humans,” said George Gilbert, senior analyst at theCUBE Research.

What’s next for the AI cloud?

In 2024, as the business landscape undergoes a significant transformation, data demands are expected to reach unprecedented levels. AI will be a double-edged sword, both aiding and impeding the process of data democratization. Navigating this shifting terrain will be make or break for many organizations. 

Data’s central role in shaping next-gen small language models tailored for specific domains and applications is also critical to stay ahead of these evolutionary changes. The success of enterprises and cloud and app providers in the new AI era hinges on the intelligent utilization of data. Who will step up and take the lead in providing the enterprise with the tools needed to harness data effectively, ensuring that those who master its smart application will emerge as leaders?

“With all of the different directions that generative AI, and AI, are going to go in, the key characteristic that people need to have is adaptability,” said Adam Selipsky, chief executive officer of Amazon Web Services Inc., in an exclusive interview with SiliconANGLE. “AI will branch out in various directions, but when it does so simultaneously, being adaptive will be key to who wins.”  

In the competitive landscape of AI and data, progress is being made by companies such as Google LLC and Microsoft Azure, which have had varying degrees of success in penetrating the market. AI has completely turned the tables, according to Jerry Chen, general partner at Greylock Partners.

“Clearly, Amazon, Azure and Google also want to own the AI clouds. I think there’s a race now for which company can add the AI cloud portfolio and win in that market,” he said.

This reflects the shift in the industry’s focus toward AI-driven solutions and the emergence of different cloud paradigms, including AI clouds, edge clouds and classic clouds, such as AWS’. There will also be opportunities for startups in this evolving ecosystem, especially in the software realm, including for training, fine-tuning, running models and building applications.

“I think there’ll be opportunity for startups, not necessarily building systems, because systems are hard to make margin, but software,” Chen said.

TheCUBE event livestream

Don’t miss theCUBE’s coverage of the Supercloud 6 “AI’s Next Frontier: Data” event on March 12. Plus, you can watch theCUBE’s event coverage on-demand after the live event.

How to watch theCUBE interviews

We offer various ways to watch theCUBE’s coverage of the Supercloud 6 “AI’s Next Frontier: Data” event, including theCUBE’s dedicated website and YouTube channel. You can also get all the coverage from this year’s events on SiliconANGLE.

TheCUBE Insights podcast

SiliconANGLE has podcasts available of archived interview sessions, available on iTunes, Stitcher and Spotify, which you can enjoy while on the go.

SiliconANGLE also has analyst deep dives in our Breaking Analysis podcast, available on iTunes, Stitcher and Spotify.

Guests

During the Supercloud 6 “AI’s Next Frontier: Data” event, theCUBE Research analysts will talk with industry executives, innovators, technologists, investors and thought leaders about data and evolving supercloud technology. Stay tuned for our complete guest list.

Image: SiliconANGLE