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AI Agents: What Are They, and How Will They Impact the AI PC Space in 2025?
Over the past several quarters, OEMs have focused on incorporating local AI-powered features into their new PC releases, with initial neural processing unit (NPU)-enabled use cases leveraging AI to further enhance collaboration experiences and extend battery life. However, AI agents take the NPU’s functionality a step further, combining the capabilities of large language models (LLMs) with other resources to partially or fully automate a wide range of tasks, including responding to emails, booking hotel stays, or opening and closing IT help desk tickets.
AI Buzz Sparks IT Infrastructure Shifts, but Privacy and Strategic Challenges Are Impacting Adoption
The industry enthusiasm surrounding AI has quickly led to shifts in organizations’ strategic priorities and expected investments such as demand for servers. Despite the hype, few organizations have operationalized GenAI to date. Instead, most are focused on overcoming initial barriers to adoption, including understanding the business implications of this new technology frontier.
GenAI, IT Modernization and Strategic M&A Drive Infrastructure as a Service and Platform as a Service Growth
Top hyperscalers Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft are capturing legacy Oracle and SAP workloads as customers continue to migrate to the cloud to not only outsource their IT operations but also drive lasting business value. Though the geopolitical outlook is increasingly uncertain, we expect customers will continue to prioritize more traditional “lift and shift” migrations, and steps vendors are taking to deliver more integrated solutions could help.
Harnessing AI and Automation in Business Process Outsourcing to Drive Growth Amid Shifting Buyer Priorities
Vendors’ business process outsourcing (BPO) businesses continue to benefit from the ongoing shift in buyer priorities from innovation and growth toward business resiliency and optimization. Buyers are investing in automating business processes to free up costs, providing pathways to growth for vendors with AI-powered and platform-based offerings.
Emerging Consultancy Trends: Talent Management and Innovation in the Spotlight
Technology continues to threaten the nature of consulting engagements, requiring consultancies to showcase value and deliver on outcomes. Greater investment in talent frameworks, structure and skill will equip staff to lead client discussions and effectively leverage technology to assist workflows. Partnerships remain a core piece of the technology integration, bringing in new expertise and go-to-market opportunities that enable consultancies to meet a wider variety of client needs. Client retention remains a priority across consultancies but will require the firms to effectively deliver value through services.
Federal IT Spending Will Remain Robust in FFY25 Amid AI Prioritization
Since coming into office, the Biden administration has fueled an unprecedented federal IT bull market. While the White House’s proposed federal civilian technology budget of $75.1 billion for federal fiscal year 2025 (FFY25) is the smallest increase in several years (up less than 1% compared to $74.5 billion in FFY24), it is still an increase of more than 14% from $65.8 billion in FFY23, and up 25% from $60.1 billion in FFY21, the last year of the prior administration. FFY25 has started with a continuing resolution (CR), as have most of the last several fiscal year. The impact of the latest CR on the largest federal systems integrators may be limited to shorter-cycle programs in their order books, but some disruptions to larger, longer-term engagements are not out of the question.
Meet MAMAA: The Top 5 Hyperscalers Shaping the Future of Digital Ecosystems
TBR research shows only the Tier 1 hyperscalers can transcend most, if not all, of the major lifestyle categories to provide a seamless end-to-end ecosystem experience, touching all aspects of people’s lives, primarily due to their scale and access to resources.
Growing Infrastructure as a Service Commitments and Competitive Dynamics
Market leaders Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft have highlighted that customers are signing larger cloud contracts with longer terms. At least in the case of AWS, customers are increasingly applying their cloud credits toward one- or three-year subscription offerings like Savings Plans and Reserved Instances.
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Layoffs, AI and Optimization: Exploring Top Trends of the Chaotic Digital Landscape
/by Patrick Heffernan, Practice Manager and Principal AnalystAn exploration of the top trends generating excessive confusion and fear in a macroeconomic climate that has already been befouled by inflation smog and a potential debt default: tech sector layoffs, generative AI and digital optimization.
PTC Liveworx Showcases Evolving Alliances and Trends in Partnering
/by Patrick Heffernan, Practice Manager and Principal AnalystA look at the three alliances trends noted during PTX Liveworx in Boston: Selling, trust and engineering DNA
SoftwareOne Acquires Beniva in ServiceNow Expansion Play
/by Bozhidar Hristov, Principal AnalystIn a discussion with TBR, SoftwareOne’s regional vice president & transformation leader, explained that the acquisition of Beniva would help SoftwareOne move more expansively into the ServiceNow space, but in a manner that plays to two of SoftwareOne’s strengths: value-added software reselling and ITAM services.
What Is Driving Wireless Revenue Growth for U.S. Operators?
/by Steve Vachon, Senior AnalystDespite the relatively mature smartphone market, the majority of U.S. telecom operators were able to sustain year-to-year wireless revenue growth in 4Q22. Though inflation is limiting discretionary spending, operators are withstanding these pressures as wireless connectivity remains essential to most consumer and business customers. However, operators are being impacted by certain customers seeking lower-priced service plans to accommodate their tighter budgets, which is spurring operators to introduce new entry-level service plans, such as Verizon’s Welcome Unlimited plan.
Why Federal IT Contractors and Commercial Tech Firms Need to Align
/by TBRIn this month’s Gimme 3, Patrick chats with TBR Federal IT Services lead and Senior Analyst John Caucis on the U.S. federal IT operations and alliance activity of market newcomers Accenture, CGI and IBM
How Important Are Vendor Ecosystems in Network Services Deployment, and How Are They Evolving?
/by TBRFor prime contractors, managing an ecosystem of subcontractors is a constant challenge. These challenges are prompting vendors to reevaluate their subcontractor ecosystem strategies, driving change in the makeup of subcontractor ecosystems as well as the approaches used to manage partners
Changes in MI/CI Observed by TBR
/by TBRThe biggest change for CI/MI (competitive intelligence/market intelligence) in 2023 is the intensification of the “do more for less” mandate. Doing more for less has always been part and parcel of the CI/MI experience, but it’s particularly true in 2023.
Comcast Business Showcases Significant Progression Toward Becoming a Leading Global Provider of Secure Networking Solutions at 2023 Analyst Conference
/by Steve Vachon, Senior AnalystThe 2023 Comcast Business Analyst Conference highlighted Comcast’s evolution from primarily serving local small businesses with traditional connectivity solutions during its infancy to its current ambition of competing as a leading global provider of secure networking solutions, supported by the Masergy acquisition and Comcast Business’ burgeoning enterprise business.
What’s Next for Innovation and Transformation Centers?
/by TBRLearn how vendors are handling investments in innovation and transformation centers amid macroeconomic volatility and buyers reassessing their budget priorities
Top 10 Impacts for CI & MI Teams in 2023
/by adminIn February of 2023 TBR surveyed its clean service teams on the state of competitive and market intelligence in 2023. One megatrend stood out in those results — change. In this blog post, we address the megatrend of change and dive into 10 subtopics that standout.