In today’s multicloud world, an abstraction layer that resides above and across hyperscale infrastructure is becoming more clearly defined. This layer is the supercloud, and it represents a noteworthy evolution in the future direction of information technology.

“It’s not just about being an IT person with a vendor,” said John Furrier (pictured, left), industry analyst for theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. “This is next-generation IT. Peoples’ careers are going to be involved in supercloud.”

Furrier spoke with theCUBE industry analyst Dave Vellante (right) at the Supercloud 3: Security, AI and the Supercloud event, during the opening keynote session on theCUBE. They discussed key developments in AI, security and the hyperscale cloud market

Rise in enterprise spending interest

Vellante presented data provided by SiliconANGLE’s partner Enterprise Technology Research, which showed a significant rise in spending interest among IT organizations in artificial intelligence. The introduction of ChatGPT by OpenAI LP in December, followed by Microsoft’s integration of it in search, ignited major growth in enterprise focus on generative AI.

“AI bottomed in October of 2022 right before ChatGPT,” said Vellante, in his analysis of the ETR data. “OpenAI is top of mind for everybody, as is Microsoft. Normally, adoption and spending come way after the hype. I’ve never seen this before. It’s like a gold rush.”

ETR’s AI spending data is indicative of enterprise interest in adoption of new technologies, such as generative AI, at cloud scale. This is fueling interest in supercloud as well, according to Furrier, as companies seek to strengthen multicloud environments.

“The confluence of next-generation cloud scale and AI have hit a grow curve,” he said. “You have a perfect storm of innovation. This is the supercloud. It’s going to be very interesting to see how this takes off.”

As it grows in popularity, AI’s influential role is also raising questions around how it will be used by both attackers and defenders of network infrastructure. There are already signs that threat actors are beginning to leverage generative AI tools to enhance more sophisticated attacks, and this is leading analysts to look for indications that organizations will use the technology for defense purposes as well.

“There are other forms of AI that security companies and networking companies are applying,” Vellante said. “Are organizations going to use generative AI to defend? It’s hard; it’s been a difficult journey. Will AI make it easier?”

The rapid growth of generative AI is also impacting market positioning among the hyperscalers. In addition to integrating ChatGPT into its Bing search engine, Microsoft also recently became a major investor in OpenAI.

“The equation has now changed, Microsoft basically cut the line with the OpenAI deal,” Vellante said. “The hyperscalers have all dominated in the AI conversation, and they’ve put a lot of investment in there. There are really interesting changing dynamics on the chessboard.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Supercloud 3: Security, AI and the Supercloud event.

Photo: SiliconANGLE