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Arm's Expansion into Merchant Silicon with the Introduction of Its AGI Server CPU Brings Opportunity and Risk

Jim Hines, Jeff Janukowicz, Phil Solis — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Arm's introduction of the Arm AGI CPU for agentic AI infrastructure marks a fundamental shift in the company's business model, and it extends Arm's addressable market into server CPU silicon at a time when the rise of agentic and inference workloads is poised to drive rapid growth in spending on server infrastructure. Arm has built its success by providing innovative IP to customer partners with whom it had no intention of competing. The company is betting that its own silicon will gain share without compromising this arrangement, though history says this could be treacherous (other component suppliers and semiconductor vendors have tried and failed). Arm will need to carefully manage the risk of alienating customers while also providing differentiated value via its own merchant silicon.

Ecolab’s Acquisition of CoolIT Signals the Industrialization of Liquid Cooling in AI Data Centers

Olga Yashkova — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMT

On March 20, 2026, Ecolab announced a definitive agreement to acquire CoolIT Systems for $4.75 billion. The transaction reflects a broader shift in how data center cooling is designed, delivered, and monetized. Direct-to-chip liquid cooling, previously deployed in targeted high-density environments, is increasingly becoming a foundational element of AI infrastructure. By combining CoolIT’s hardware portfolio (including cooling distribution units (CDUs), cold plates, and manifolds) with Ecolab’s capabilities in water chemistry, treatment, monitoring, and global service delivery, the combined entity is positioned to deliver an integrated “site-to-chip” cooling platform.

IDC Survey: European IoT Connectivity: Requirements, Provider Choices, and Cross‑Border Needs

John Gole — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Survey document summarizes findings related to internet of things (IoT) connectivity from IDC's European 5G and IoT Survey (November 2025). It highlights the usage of mobile networks for IoT connectivity and what European enterprises expect from connectivity providers.

Mobile and LPWAN connectivity have become foundational, with 61% already using cellular‑based IoT and 36% planning to adopt it. As organizations expand internationally, Global mobile virtual network operator (MVNOs) emerge as the most preferred providers, followed by Tier 1 international mobile network operator (MNOs), reflecting demand for flexible global coverage and simplified contracting.

Key cross‑border challenges include contract complexity, coverage consistency, and data localization requirements. Edge computing adoption is rising, supporting low‑latency and autonomous use cases, while eSIM uptake is accelerating, with half of eSIM‑familiar organizations already deploying it and over 90% of enterprises reporting data sovereignty requirements that shape provider selection.

Oracle Introduces Private Agent Factory for Data-Centric Agentic AI Workflows

Devin Pratt — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMT

GTC 2026: Networking for NVIDIA’s AI-Ready Infrastructure ('AI Factories') – Highlighting Codesign, Scale, and Traditional Networking Differences

Paul Nicholson — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Agents as Apps: Oracle’s Fusion Agentic Applications & Agentic Application’s Builder and Tools

Mickey North Rizza — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMT

On March 24, 2026 Oracle made several announcements:

Oracle announced a new class of enterprise applications powered by coordinated teams of specialized AI agents that are outcome-driven, proactive and reasoning based, and engineered for enterprise execution. These new agents are built on Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications and called Fusion Agentic Applications.

Oracle also announced its expansion of AI Agent Studio for Fusion Applications with Agentic Applications Builder and new Intelligent Workflow Tools. This latest release includes a new agentic applications builder as well as new capabilities that support workflow orchestration, content intelligence, contextual memory, and ROI measurement.

From Promise to Impact: Scaling Enterprise AI for Measurable Business Outcomes in the Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa

Melih Murat — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMT

IDC Directions Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa 2026 took place February 10 in Dubai. Technology suppliers were convened to discuss the key technology trends and predictions that will shape 2026 and beyond.

The event provided perspective on how organizations in the Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa (META) can move beyond experimentation toward enterprise-wide value creation. AI is widely recognized as strategic, but many organizations struggle with unrealistic expectations, siloed operations, fragmented tools, and limited skills. Critically, 60% of META organizations are not measuring the success of their AI initiatives, limiting their ability to scale effectively.

The session positioned agentic AI as the next phase of transformation, enabled by process automation, AI assistants, copilots, advisors, and intelligent agents. It emphasized that achieving meaningful ROI requires a platform-led approach to managing agent life cycle, governance, and interoperability at scale. The presentation concluded with practical guidance on prioritizing high-impact use cases and aligning AI investments with measurable business outcomes.

IDC Survey: 2025 Enterprise Communications Survey — Enterprise Managed Networking Services Trends

Courtney Munroe — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMT

The IDC Survey provides key trends on the adoption of managed services by enterprises in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Managed security, managed WAN, and managed Wi-Fi continue to be key priorities for outsourcing to third-party providers. Companies look to cloud providers and services companies for guidance, but telecom operators are key partners.

IDC's 2026 NVIDIA GTC Roundup

Linn Huang — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMT

From March 16 to 19,San Jose, California, played host to NVIDIA's GTC showcase. The event brought together developers, engineers, and other IT professionals to explore the latest and greatest in AI and accelerated compute.

NTT DATA Horizons Innovation Summit and Analyst Forum: AI-First, Full-Stack Digital Services Transformation

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Market Perspective provides IDC's views, learnings, perspectives, and advice from NTT DATA's Analyst Forum held February 5–6, 2026, in Frisco, Texas. It summarizes several keynote and presentation sessions where IDC heard from multiple speakers. The event started with keynotes from CEO Abhijit Dubey, who provided an overview session on NTT DATA and its AI strategy, and was complemented with a series of in-depth sessions led by NTT DATA executives and client representatives.

"AI is advancing fast and, in many cases, faster than enterprises can adapt. As enterprises grapple with the pace of technology change, IDC sees opportunities for service providers to help organizations transform and adopt AI. While opportunities will likely emerge and potential for new services growth is high, IDC sees disruption affecting how service providers will deliver as well as how they'll need to adapt. Providers will not only need to devise ways to harness and operationalize AI to enhance productivity but also do so without sacrificing growth at the expense of traditional services," explains Pete Marston, senior research director, Worldwide Intelligent Application Services at IDC.