Top 5 stories of the week: News from Nvidia GTC, Dreamforce and Gartner

Two major industry events for technical decision makers led our coverage this week: Nvidia GTC and Dreamforce. Nvidia introduced several AI-infused updates, with a focus on expanding its technologies to equip enterprises with tools to succeed in the metaverse. Among the top news stories was the release of its first software and infrastructure-as-a-service offering: Nvidia Omniverse Cloud. In addition to that, the technology giant also announced that its partnership with Deloitte is expanding in an effort to accelerate enterprise-level AI adoption to propel innovation of metaverse technologies. 

In a similar vein, at Dreamforce this week, Salesforce introduced a new customer data platform (CDP) to automate and analyze large volumes of customer data in an effort to further support data-driven digital experiences for consumers in a world that is constantly being moved forward by technology. A guest piece for VB, written by Olga Dogadkina at Emperia, looks at the evolution of customer experiences in the metaverse and digital spaces. She notes that while the metaverse and related experiences are yet to be nailed down in many ways, it’s important for brands to begin research and action toward development of these experiences sooner rather than later.

Of course, as new technologies emerge throughout these ecosystems and across industries, security risks will emerge, too. On that note, Gartner’s latest Magic Quadrant for unified endpoint security suggests that consolidation of these tools in tech stacks will be increasingly important for enterprise security teams to keep tabs on endpoint security as they work to proactively protect companies from attacks and vulnerabilities. 

Here’s more from our top five tech stories of the week:

1. Nvidia launches Omniverse cloud services in 100 countries to power the metaverse
   At its GTC event, Nvidia announced its first software- and infrastructure-as-a-service offering — Nvidia Omniverse Cloud — a suite of cloud services for artists, developers and enterprise teams to design, publish, operate and experience metaverse applications anywhere.

   The technology uses the cloud to tap the heavy-duty power of data centers to enable Omniverse tools wherever the users happen to be. The company claims that more than 700 companies and 200,000 people are now using its Omniverse technology.

   Omniverse Cloud is based on the open Universal Scene Description (USD) standard for interoperable 3D assets.

   “The metaverse, the 3D internet, connects virtual 3D worlds described in USD and viewed through a simulation engine,” said Jensen Huang, Nvidia CEO, in a statement. “With Omniverse in the cloud, we can connect teams worldwide to design, build and operate virtual worlds and digital twins.”

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2. Dreamforce 2022: Salesforce debuts Genie CDP to power real-time customer experiences
   This week at its annual Dreamforce conference, Salesforce announced the launch of Genie, a real-time customer data platform (CDP) that can help enterprises deliver improved experiences to their customers.

   The volume of data is increasing rapidly and companies need a way to act on information as soon as it is generated — to acquire new customers, retain them and keep them satisfied. This is where Salesforce’s latest innovation, Genie, comes in.

   “Milliseconds matter for every line of business in every industry in this new world of data-driven digital experiences,” Bret Taylor, co-CEO of Salesforce, said. “That’s why we developed Genie, the most significant innovation in the history of the Salesforce Platform. Genie makes every part of Customer 360 more automated, intelligent, and real time, enabling customer experiences that weren’t possible before and deepening every relationship.”

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3. Unified endpoint management (UEM) tools: What’s new in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant
   Consolidation and its effects on leading unified endpoint management (UEM) vendors’ strategies is a core theme that resonates through Gartner’s latest Magic Quadrant for unified endpoint management tools.

   “If I have five different agents, five different vendors on an endpoint, that’s a lot of overhead support to manage, especially when I have all these exceptional cases like remote users and suppliers. So number one is consolidation,” said Kapil Raina, vice president of zero trust, identity and data security marketing at CrowdStrike.

   There’s ample room for consolidation as the number of security controls per device is increasing, up to an average of 11.7 per device, according to Absolute Software’s 2021 Endpoint Risk Report.

   CISOs look to UEM vendors to provide greater integration and cost savings, another dominant theme of this year’s MQ.

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4. The metaverse: Land of opportunity for retailers
   Although everyone agrees that the metaverse is coming, there’s no broad consensus on what it really is, and how it’s going to work. 

   Consumers may be excited about shopping in the metaverse, but companies still have much to learn about designing appealing virtual retail spaces that consistently lead to sales conversions.

   The metaverse is very much a work in progress, calling for innovative technology, up-to-the-minute data management and analysis, fresh products and a pioneering approach to commerce. Yet even while “everything’s evolving,” metaverse expert Cathy Hackl believes that brands must start building their metaverses now. “If you wait a year and a half or two years to do something, to have a clear strategy,” she cautions, “it might be a little bit too late.”

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5. Nvidia-Deloitte partnership aims to accelerate AI adoption
   Nvidia and Deloitte today announced an expanded alliance at Nvidia’s GTC. This new partnership will help Deloitte customers innovate and expand AI and metaverse services.

   “AI and metaverse technologies are reshaping the foundations of our economy,” Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia, said in a statement. “Together, Nvidia and Deloitte can help enterprises apply AI to create new products and services that reinvent their industries.”

   The “privileged partnership” announced today builds on a two-year Deloitte-Nvidia relationship. Deloitte’s customers will now have access to the Nvidia AI and Nvidia Omniverse enterprise platforms, thus enabling the development, implementation and deployment of cutting-edge tools such as edge AI, speech AI, recommender systems, cybersecurity, chatbots and digital twins.

Originally appeared on: TheSpuzz