Episode 238, this episode aired on October 28, 2024
Analyst(s): Daniel Newman, Patrick Moorhead
In this episode of The Six Five Podcast, Patrick Moorhead and Daniel Newman discuss Qualcomm, IBM, SAP, ServiceNow, and NVIDIA’s latest innovations and strategic moves. From Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit to IBM’s new AI models and SAP’s cloud-driven ERP solutions, the episode highlights how these companies are leading in AI and transforming enterprise technology. Their insights demonstrate the growing importance of AI, cloud computing, and data management in reshaping business infrastructure.
What Are Covered in This Episode:
- New advancements in the Snapdragon 8 Elite, automotive market growth, and the company’s AI-focused strategy.
- Shifting from IT service management to building a data-centric platform with AI-driven agents and strategic partnerships.
- Introduction of enterprise-focused AI models optimized for efficiency and business-specific applications.
- Details on resolving a design flaw, high demand from hyperscalers, and the impact on the AI hardware market.
- SAP’s growth in cloud contracts, integration of AI into ERP, and data-driven approach to support enterprise insights.
Access the video link of the October 28, 2024, Six Five episode here.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit: A Push for Diversification and AI
Qualcomm has historically dominated mobile technology, but it’s now expanding its footprint in automotive and PC markets. At its recent Snapdragon Summit, Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Elite, equipped with second-generation Oryon cores, showcasing advancements in high-performance, low-power designs.
Qualcomm’s latest mobile chipset competes directly with Apple, achieving benchmark results that surpass Apple in multi-threaded processing while matching single-threaded performance. This marks a significant achievement in mobile chip design, positioning Qualcomm as a top contender in the premium mobile and PC market.
Qualcomm’s automotive strategy is another area of focus. Its $50 billion backlog, driven by automotive contracts, highlights its successful diversification strategy. Qualcomm’s approach is unique: it allows clients to choose integrated or modular solutions, spanning communications, in-cockpit entertainment, and ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems). This flexibility is core to Qualcomm’s success, providing automotive clients with tailored options to meet diverse technological needs.
Qualcomm’s CEO, Cristiano Amon, also emphasized AI as a core part of Qualcomm’s future. The company is heavily investing in on-device AI, aiming to power a seamless transition between devices, whether in smartphones, PCs, or vehicles. This AI-first approach aligns with Qualcomm’s broader goal of platform consistency, a strategy that allows clients to scale AI across various sectors. However, Qualcomm faces challenges in the form of a licensing dispute with Arm, which could affect its AI advancements. While both parties are expected to reach an agreement, the case underscores the importance of robust legal strategies in Qualcomm’s journey.
ServiceNow: Building the AI Transaction Layer for Enterprise
ServiceNow’s recent earnings report showcases impressive growth, highlighting its emergence as a data platform and AI leader. With partnerships across major firms such as Databricks, Snowflake, and NVIDIA, ServiceNow’s shift from IT service management to an AI-enabled data management platform illustrates the company’s ability to expand its enterprise solutions.
CEO Bill McDermott has spearheaded this transformation, focusing on creating an “AI transaction layer” that can seamlessly integrate across various enterprise platforms. By building out AI-powered agents, ServiceNow aims to simplify data management, enabling organizations to gain actionable insights with minimal complexity. This goal reflects McDermott’s vision to move past traditional enterprise applications and adopt an agent-based approach, potentially replacing legacy interfaces.
While the transition to an AI-driven, agent-based model is ongoing, ServiceNow’s recent growth and strategic partnerships indicate that it is well positioned to capitalize on this shift, especially as more organizations embrace integrated data solutions.
IBM Granite 3.0: AI for the Enterprise
IBM’s latest earnings report reflects steady progress despite challenges in consulting. IBM’s Granite 3.0 models are a highlight, showcasing the company’s commitment to developing enterprise-focused AI. Unlike consumer models, Granite 3.0 is optimized for business applications, offering high-performance AI with a focus on accuracy and efficiency. IBM’s models require less computational power, reducing costs and making them accessible to a broader range of enterprise clients.
Granite 3.0 includes specialized models such as Guardian for AI guardrails and a mixture of expert (MOE) models designed for ultra-low latency in CPU deployment. These models are specifically tailored to provide actionable business insights rather than general-purpose AI. IBM’s approach combines high-fidelity data management with efficient model deployment, making it a viable option for companies that prioritize security, compliance, and performance over broader AI capabilities.
IBM’s expertise in data governance and enterprise applications makes Granite 3.0 a compelling choice for businesses looking to implement AI without excessive overhead. Despite some hurdles in consulting, IBM’s targeted approach positions it as a strong competitor to hyperscalers such as NVIDIA for companies seeking cost-effective AI solutions.
NVIDIA: Fixing the Blackwell Design Flaw and Leading in AI Hardware
NVIDIA recently addressed a design flaw in its Blackwell GPU, an issue CEO Jensen Huang clarified was entirely internal and unrelated to TSMC’s manufacturing process. NVIDIA’s quick resolution underscores its commitment to quality and continued leadership in AI infrastructure. High demand for Blackwell GPUs from companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta highlights NVIDIA’s dominance in the AI hardware market.
The Blackwell line’s supply is booked for the next year, underscoring NVIDIA’s importance as a core technology provider to hyperscalers and large enterprises. Despite the setback, NVIDIA’s strong supply chain and high demand ensure its resilience. As NVIDIA scales production, it’s poised to maintain its market lead, providing critical infrastructure to support the rapid adoption of AI across sectors.
SAP’s Cloud Growth and Data-Driven AI Strategy
SAP’s recent earnings report is another example of strong growth in cloud computing. With 30% of new cloud contracts now including AI, SAP is moving toward integrating AI within its enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions. By transitioning to cloud-based ERP, SAP is better positioned to leverage its extensive business data sets for AI-driven insights and automation.
SAP’s data-centric strategy differentiates it from other ERP providers, enabling the company to support more intelligent, efficient decision-making. With decades of data on transactions, inventory, supply chains, and more, SAP’s cloud-based ERP offers a solid foundation for AI applications. This emphasis on data aligns SAP with companies such as IBM and ServiceNow, which also focus on AI-driven enterprise solutions.
Tech Giants Shaping the AI-Driven Future of Enterprise
Qualcomm, IBM, SAP, ServiceNow, and NVIDIA are all adopting unique strategies to lead in their respective fields. Qualcomm’s AI-powered hardware, IBM’s enterprise-focused models, ServiceNow’s agent-driven platform, and SAP’s data-centric ERP reflect a common theme: AI is reshaping business infrastructure.
While each company brings a different approach, their shared focus on AI, cloud computing, and data integration indicates a convergence of enterprise technology. Partnerships and strategic collaborations are also essential, with companies like Qualcomm and IBM finding common ground with software-driven firms like ServiceNow and SAP. As the tech industry develops, these companies’ innovations promise to drive the next wave of digital transformation, from enhanced data management to advanced AI applications in hardware and enterprise software.
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Disclosure: The Futurum Group is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of The Futurum Group as a whole.
Other insights from The Futurum Group:
Talking Qualcomm, Arm & Qualcomm, SAP, IBM, ServiceNow, NVIDIA
IBM Q3 FY 2024 Earnings Deliver Strong Software Growth
Cisco Ups the AI Ante Launching New Plug-and-Play Solutions with NVIDIA
Author Information
Daniel is the CEO of The Futurum Group. Living his life at the intersection of people and technology, Daniel works with the world’s largest technology brands exploring Digital Transformation and how it is influencing the enterprise.
From the leading edge of AI to global technology policy, Daniel makes the connections between business, people and tech that are required for companies to benefit most from their technology investments. Daniel is a top 5 globally ranked industry analyst and his ideas are regularly cited or shared in television appearances by CNBC, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal and hundreds of other sites around the world.
A 7x Best-Selling Author including his most recent book “Human/Machine.” Daniel is also a Forbes and MarketWatch (Dow Jones) contributor.
An MBA and Former Graduate Adjunct Faculty, Daniel is an Austin Texas transplant after 40 years in Chicago. His speaking takes him around the world each year as he shares his vision of the role technology will play in our future.
Six Five Media is a joint venture of two top-ranked analyst firms, The Futurum Group and Moor Insights & Strategy. Six Five provides high-quality, insightful, and credible analyses of the tech landscape in video format. Our team of analysts sit with the world’s most respected leaders and professionals to discuss all things technology with a focus on digital transformation and innovation.
