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☆ Chasing after a chief AI officer may be a big mistake, says top tech recruiter
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Susan Caminiti | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

As companies race to deploy artificial intelligence in ways that aim to make them better at operating, hiring, and competing, they're also chasing after top AI talent, including filling the position of chief AI officer. A lot of these companies, Doonan said, "can't really articulate what they want, why they want it, and what are the outcomes that they're looking for." "All I could think is that you could change the word 'cowbell' to 'AI,'" Doonan said. Without that understanding, Doonan said companies are going to hire "somebody really senior and they're going to be doing [data] clean-up for the next two years. Of course, that hasn't stopped companies from wanting to add a chief AI officer to their ranks.

Persons: they're, Mike Doonan, Doonan, CNBC's, Jon Fortt, Christopher Walken, that's, hasn't, LinkedIn's, I've Organizations: CNBC Technology, Alteryx's Enterprise

☆ Medium is cutting more than $500K in monthly cloud spend. More companies could follow suit.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It's not just Stubblebine who plans to continue cutting cloud costs. The cloud industry refers to cost-cutting as "cloud optimization." Last year, cloud providers like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft cited cloud optimization as the reason cloud sales growth had slipped to historic lows. As growth has crept back up in recent months, these same companies have declared the days of cloud optimization to be over. But Stubblebine thinks that cloud optimization is part of a broader mentality shift sweeping the pre-IPO startup world.

Persons: —, Tony Stubblebine, What's, Stubblebine, It's, We're, Ellen Thomas Organizations: Service, Business, Barclays, Amazon Web Services, Savings, Microsoft Locations: Snowflake

☆ Here are Friday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Netflix, Shopify, Dell, Microsoft, Meta, Coca-Cola, Amazon & more
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Morgan Stanley reiterates Ford and General Motors at overweight Morgan Stanley remains bullish on both automakers. Loop initiates DoorDash as buy Loop said in its initiation of the stock that it has more earnings potential. We think that years of debate over viability and earnings potential of on-demand gig platforms has been settled." Morgan Stanley upgrades Shopify to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said market share gains are increasing for Shopify. Morgan Stanley reiterates Microsoft at overweight Morgan Stanley said it's bullish heading into earnings next week. "

Persons: Oppenheimer, Morgan Stanley, Ford, Mizuho, Jefferies, Ulta, they've, Riley, we've, Wells, Sunnova, it's, we're, Edward Jones downgrades Hershey, Edward Jones, Hershey, Wolfe, Raymond James downgrades, Raymond James, Dell, Needham, Baird, COLM Organizations: Nvidia, General Motors, GM, Mizuho, Netflix, Bank of America, Lam Research, NOVA, " Bank of America, Meta, JPMorgan, Charlotte, Shopify, RBC, Inspire, Systems, Microsoft, UBS, Columbia Locations: U.S, Charlotte , North Carolina

☆ Copilot dreams and nightmares: Microsoft insiders share what they really think about the company's AI future.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

"Customers trust Microsoft more than OpenAI since they already buy Microsoft's ecosystem," a Microsoft AI researcher told BI. "Almost everyone I know is working on Copilot to a certain extent," the Microsoft AI researcher told BI. "It's too premature to assume this is going to be a race to the bottom on price," another Microsoft executive said. Some Microsoft employees work so closely with OpenAI that they have badges to get into OpenAI's offices, and some OpenAI employees can badge into Microsoft locations. Mistral models will be offered to Microsoft customers along with about 1,600 other models including Cohere and Meta's Llama.

Persons: there's, Morgan Stanley, Satya Nadella, they've, they're, Frank Shaw, Shaw, That's, OpenAI, JPMorgan Chase, It's, Dentsu, Shiva Vannavada, Vannavada, Eric Boyd, Scott, John Montgomery, Asha Sharma, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Microsoft, Business, Enterprise, Walmart, JPMorgan, BI, Google, Dentsu, Product, Technology, Employees, Nvidia, DA Davidson, AI Services, AI Bot, OpenAI Locations: OpenAI, Mistral

☆ 'Machine customers' are already among us, and they number in the billions
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Bob Violino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Gartner forecasts that number will rise to 15 billion by 2028, and the firm's research shows that CEOs estimate 15% to 20% of their revenue will come from machine customers by 2030. Machine customers can receive messages such as advertising, offers, email and information from the surrounding environment, Scheibenreif said. And Italy-based iProd has a platform that can accommodate the requests of machine customers located in a manufacturing environment. How to get ready for machine customersIT executives should put in place a game plan for supporting machine customers now, if they haven't already. CIOs and other technology leaders need to determine how machine customers might change their companies' go-to-market approach.

Persons: They're, Don Scheibenreif, Scheibenreif, iProd, Vishal Gupta, Gupta, Lexmark Organizations: Gartner, Machine, Amazon, Walmart, IT Locations: Italy, Lexmark

☆ Activist Bluebell believes BP is 50% undervalued compared to peers
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Kenneth Squire | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

The company's segments include gas & low-carbon energy, oil production & operations and customers & products. Its gas business includes upstream activities that produce natural gas, integrated gas and power, and gas trading. Its oil production & operations segment comprises upstream activities that produce crude oil, including Bpx Energy. As of Bluebell's October 4, 2023, letter to BP, BP traded on a price-earnings ratio of 6.7 times, a 44% discount to Chevron and ExxonMobil, which on average traded at 12 times. To make it even clearer how the market views BP's strategy, on February 7, 2023, when BP announced its partial retracement from this strategy, BP's share price rose 8% on the day and 17% on the week.

Persons: Giuseppe Bivona, Marco Taricco, Bivona, –, Helge Lund, Bluebell, BP's, Bernard Looney, Shell, Looney's, Looney, Pamela Daley, Solvay, Glencore, Ken Squire Organizations: BP Bunge, Bpx Energy, Castrol, Bluebell Capital Partners, Bluebell Partners, BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Bluebell, International Energy Agency, EV, Exxon, Shell, Mr, Renewables, Power, BP's Board, BlackRock, 13D Locations: bioenergy, Europe, Bluebell, Paris, Bioenergy, United States, U.S

☆ Wall Street analysts touted 5 portfolio stocks this week. Here’s our call on each name
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-27 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

In turn, Wall Street analysts made a slew of bullish calls on five of our portfolio names — all of which report earnings next week SBUX YTD mountain Starbucks (SBUX) year-to-date performance Wall Street's call: Wells Fargo forecasted an improved backdrop for Starbucks. Although the stock's been a portfolio laggard, we're bullish on management's plans to progressively expand margins in the years to come. MSFT YTD mountain Microsoft (MSFT) performance year-to-date Wall Street's call: Morgan Stanley boosted Microsoft's price target to $450 per share from $415, citing the company's strength from generative artificial intelligence efforts. Analysts issued a slew of downbeat calls at the start of 2024, causing the stock to sell off. AMZN YTD mountain Amazon (AMZN) year-to-date performance Wall Street call: Jefferies said Amazon stock has even more room to run after a great 2023.

Persons: Wells Fargo, we're, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, refreshes, Jefferies, AMZN, Twitch, they're, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Brendan Mcdermid Organizations: Dow Jones, Wall Street, Club, Microsoft, Big Tech, Bank of America's, Apple, Analysts, MGM Studios, Management, Bank of America, CNBC, Traders, New York Stock Exchange Locations: Fargo, China, Tuesday's, Copilot, F1Q24E, Thursday's, New York City, U.S

☆ ServiceNow's chief digital information officer on why 2024 is going to be really fun
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-23 | by ( Josée Rose | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The software-as-a-service provider is "aggressively pursuing our ambition to absolutely be an AI-first company," Chris Bedi, the chief digital-information officer at ServiceNow, told Business Insider. "We know we're early innings, especially with gen AI, but we are pushing on it hard." AdvertisementThe challenge that ServiceNow and all companies face is around fast innovation, "but also we take care of governance, safety, and ethics" around AI, Bedi said. We started experimenting and doing stuff with gen AI super early. I would say underestimating how quickly gen AI would progress.

Persons: —, Chris Bedi, Bedi, ServiceNow, they've, It's Organizations: Service, Business Locations: America

☆ Here are 7 portfolio stocks that can benefit from bigger tech budgets in the age of AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-12 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

In aggregate, the survey results point to a 60 to 70 basis point acceleration for IT spending growth in each of the next three years, with cloud spending growth much stronger at 150 to 300 basis points. Cloud and AI A rebound in cloud growth is expected thanks in large part the renewed focus and need to invest in artificial intelligence. In fact, 73% of the CIO respondents said they are "implementing now, plan to implement, or are testing generative AI." As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio.

Persons: Piper Sandler's, Piper, OpenAI, Einstein, Jim Cramer, Jim Cramer's, Jim, Chino Organizations: Microsoft, Web Services, Google, IBM, Oracle, Nvidia, Piper, Broadcom, Marvell Technology, VMWare, Cybersecurity, Palo Alto Networks, Broadcom —, CNBC Locations: Silicon Valley, America

☆ Amazon's cloud sees growth rates slow from 'optimization' as customers keep cutting costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-11 | by ( Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Either way, one thing is certain: Companies are getting serious about cloud spend. And while Wall Street analysts hope the excitement over generative AI will drive customers to spend more money on cloud services next year, it's clear that optimization won't go away. "Cloud spend got big enough at most of the Fortune 500s that it's actually material now," Storment said. Cloud cost-cutting servicesTo save money on cloud services, customers often must first spend money. Customers aren't spending much on generative AI yetEven though "generative AI is the new sexy thing that everyone is exploring," the technology didn't come up in many conversations about budget, Lowell said.

Persons: Adam Selipsky, Werner Vogels, Sid Nag, Gartner, Nag, wasn't, Dave Linthicum, —, Storment, Craig Lowell, Lowell, Linthicum, they're, Bernstein, Mark Schilsky, Ellen Thomas Organizations: Amazon Web, Business, AWS, Wall, Microsoft, Google, Deloitte, FinOps Foundation, Fortune, Venetian Convention, Expo, Companies Locations: Las Vegas, DoiT, ethomas@insider.com

☆ OpenAI Turmoil Leaves Some CIOs Questioning the AI Powerhouse’s Future
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Isabelle Bousquette | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Microsoft said it is hiring Sam Altman to helm a new advanced artificial-intelligence research team, after his bid to return to OpenAI fell apart Sunday. Altman, left, appears onstage with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at OpenAI’s first developer conference, on Nov. 6 in San Francisco. Photo: Barbara Ortutay/Associated PressSome chief information officers are questioning the viability of ChatGPT maker OpenAI following the unexpected ouster of chief executive Sam Altman on Friday, his subsequent hire by Microsoft and an unresolved threat by hundreds of OpenAI workers to quit and follow him there. “Long-term viability of any platform is important when making decisions,” said Todd Florence, chief information officer of Estes Express Lines, a Richmond, Va.-based trucker. “Friday certainly calls that into question in regards to OpenAI.”

Persons: Sam Altman, OpenAI, Altman, Satya Nadella, Barbara Ortutay, “, ”, Todd Florence Organizations: Microsoft, OpenAI’s, Associated Press, OpenAI, Estes Express Locations: San Francisco, Richmond, Va

☆ See questions from Bridgewater's 'Principles' test, which probed employees on arrogance and whether their colleagues would steal
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Take a look at some questions from the exam, published in "The Fund," out Tuesday. Dalio even had a team put together a five-section, closed-book Principles Test that was mandatory for all employees, Copeland wrote. "The Fund" published a handful of questions from the exam. One string of questions asked:"About what percentage of the Bridgewater population would steal if they could get away with it? In 2017, Dalio published his own book chronicling the lessons he learned throughout his career, called "Principles: Life and Work."

Persons: Ray Dalio's Bridgewater, —, Rob Copeland, Ray Dalio, Dalio, Copeland, Bridgewater Organizations: Service, Bridgewater, New York Times, Bridgewater Associates, Investment, LinkedIn Locations: Bridgewater

☆ Pro Take: Companies Emphasize Rapid Return on AI, Tech Investments
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Steven Rosenbush | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Dave Aron, a vice president and fellow in Gartner’s CIO research group, speaks to CIOs at the Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo last month. Photo: Steven Rosenbush/The Wall Street JournalCompanies are placing emphasis on driving a rapid return on their investments in AI and other technologies. Uncertainty across a range of fronts—financial, economic, technological and geopolitical—makes timely return on investment , always a priority, even more important for many companies.

Persons: Dave Aron, CIOs, Steven Rosenbush Organizations: Gartner, Street Journal

☆ Microsoft’s Hotly Anticipated Generative AI Work Assistant Set to Debut
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Isabelle Bousquette | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

“We are using this AI inflection point to redefine our role,” said Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s chief executive, after the company’s recent results. Photo: annegret hilse/ReutersStarting Wednesday, businesses gain access to Microsoft ’s enterprise Copilot, one of the highest-profile AI tools to hit the market. CIOs say they are brushing up on employee training and building business cases to ensure executive buy-in on the tool. Copilot leverages generative AI across the Microsoft 365 suite by doing most things you might ask a business assistant to do, like summarizing video calls, writing draft responses to emails, and transforming Word documents into PowerPoint presentations, said Jared Spataro, corporate vice president of Modern Work and Business Applications at Microsoft.

Persons: ”, Satya Nadella, annegret, Jared Spataro Organizations: Microsoft, Modern

☆ CIOs Assess Whether Microsoft’s AI Copilot Justifies Premium Price
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Isabelle Bousquette | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

“We are using this AI inflection point to redefine our role,” said Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s chief executive, after the company’s recent results. Photo: annegret hilse/ReutersAfter months of speculation about how generative AI might transform business, Microsoft is poised to make its AI Copilot available through its 365 platform, a test of whether CIOs believe the technology will generate enough value to justify a premium price. CIOs say they are eager to test out the AI assistant, even though the cost is a consideration for some. Copilot leverages generative AI across the Microsoft 365 suite by doing most things you might ask a business assistant to do, like summarizing video calls, writing draft responses to emails and transforming Word documents into PowerPoint presentations, said Jared Spataro, corporate vice president of Modern Work and Business Applications at Microsoft.

Persons: ”, Satya Nadella, annegret, CIOs, Jared Spataro Organizations: Microsoft, Modern

☆ How to choose the right 5G infrastructure provider for your business
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Chris Stokel-Walker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

But finding the right infrastructure provider to support your organization can be tricky. But how can you separate the wheat from the chaff and pick the right infrastructure provider for you? "First and foremost, when selecting your 5G infrastructure provider, evaluate the longevity and reliability of their solutions," Vance Tran, a cofounder of the tech-advisory website Pointer Clicker, said. "For enterprise-centric private 5G deployments, it is essential to choose a provider that has considered the nuances of the enterprise world," Parm Sandhu, the vice president of enterprise 5G products and services at NTT Ltd, said. "That means the private 5G must be an extension of the existing LAN."

Persons: —, Fabio Giust, Giust, Vance Tran, Pointer Clicker, Parm Sandhu, Sandhu, downscaling, Alan Jones, you've Organizations: Service, 3GPP, NIST Secure Software, NIST, NTT Ltd Locations: Ireland

☆ Pro Take: Chief Executives Turn to CIOs for Digital Leadership
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Steven Rosenbush | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Gartner’s Don Scheibenreif, right, and Mary Mesaglio discuss the new relationship between artificial intelligence and people at the Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo in Orlando, Fla., on Monday. Photo: Steven Rosenbush / The Wall Street JournalChief information officers have emerged in a stronger position than many experts expected during the past few years because of the forces unleashed by the pandemic and disruptive advances in artificial intelligence. CIOs, who bridge technology and business leadership, are viewed by many chief executives as critical to adopting AI, cloud computing and cybersecurity, all now seen as inseparable from business itself. Increasingly, companies believe they must transform for a new AI era, just as they did to keep pace with mobile computing and the internet.

Persons: Don Scheibenreif, Mary Mesaglio, Steven Rosenbush Organizations: Gartner, Street Locations: Orlando, Fla

☆ CIOs Feel Heat From CEOs on Generative AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Steven Rosenbush | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/cios-feel-heat-from-ceos-on-generative-ai-60fe0175

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ Companies want to spend more on AI to defeat hackers, but there's a catch
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Rachel Curry | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

And there is risk that as AI speeds the development of software, new iterations will roll out so quickly that flaws may be missed. Less panic, more preparednessExperts view cloud migrations and AI as the two biggest threats to an organization's cybersecurity right now. "Every company is going to have to be concerned about how well they're protecting their assets and information as they move to the cloud," Casey said. Casey also recognizes that developers are creating software faster with AI. "If we're developing software faster, we're introducing vulnerabilities faster.

Persons: Mike Scott, CISO, Scott, Andrew Casey, Casey, I've, that's, CISOs, they've Organizations: IBM, Benz, ADP

☆ The inflation threat isn't over yet – and the Fed won't ease up in fighting it overnight, the co-chief investor of the world's largest hedge fund says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The inflation threat isn't over and interest rates won't sink overnight, Bridgewater's co-CIO says. Karen Karniol-Tambour sees little reason for rate cuts with a strong economy and sticky inflation. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. Indeed, the Fed may realize that inflation isn't fading, and markets are pricing in rate cuts that it's uncomfortable making, Karniol-Tambour said. Even so, bond investors are pricing in a "pretty good number of rate cuts" starting next year, Karniol-Tambour said.

Persons: Bridgewater's, Karen Karniol, Tambour, David Rubenstein, Jerome Powell, Ray Dalio, Nir Bar Dea, CIOs, Greg Jensen, Bob Prince Organizations: Service, Bridgewater Associates, Bloomberg Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ JPMorgan says Oracle could have more downside ahead following earnings sell-off
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Oracle could see more pain ahead, even when accounting for Tuesday's slide, according to JPMorgan. Analyst Mark Murphy downgraded the cloud stock to neutral from overweight and cut his price target by $12 to $100. Oracle offered mixed results for its fiscal first quarter Monday, with the company missing consensus expectations of analysts polled by LSEG for revenue despite beating on earnings per share. Oracle now also has raised concerns about its ability to execute on a data center buildout that could hamper cloud growth. And though there's reasons to be excited about AI, he did note a survey of CIOs left "room for improvement."

Persons: Mark Murphy, Murphy, there's, It's, CIOs, There's, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Oracle, JPMorgan, LSEG, Wall

☆ Citi says favorable setup for this Big Tech stock should send it higher in the next 90 days
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

There's a "rich" catalyst path ahead for Microsoft shares, according to Citi. The firm initiated a positive 90-day catalyst watch on Microsoft shares. While the tech giant's stock is up nearly 40% year to date, it has lagged on a relative basis since it issued disappointing quarterly revenue guidance in July. Microsoft shares have declined 5% since, while other shares in its peer group have gained 4.9%. Radke's initial read on fiscal first-quarter earnings is more positive owing to inputs on cloud consumption trends and stabilization in the PC market.

Persons: Tyler Radke, Radke, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Microsoft, Citi, CoPilot

☆ Much of the tech world's climate impact is still being overlooked, and it's accelerating
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( Bob Violino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The environmental impact of IT has been largely overlooked, said Matt Warburton, principal consultant and sustainability lead at IT advisory firm ISG. "IT's environmental impact, as a proportion of the overall business impact, is increasing," Warburton said. "More than half of executives use spreadsheets for some ESG data," Moyer said. "They are generally among the most 'sustainably-savvy' organizations, with ambitious commitments for their own operations and deep expertise in minimizing IT's environmental impact," Warburton said. "If an enterprise has a net zero goal, IT should also have its own net zero goal.

Persons: Matt Warburton, Warburton, Kristin Moyer, Moyer, it's, ESG, It's Organizations: Gartner, Enterprises, Technology, Companies, Fortune

☆ Steven Rosenbush — Bureau Chief at The Wall Street Journal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Steven Rosenbush | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Steven RosenbushSteven Rosenbush is chief of the enterprise technology bureau at WSJ Pro, which focuses on the interplay of business and technology. The group publishes CIO Journal and WSJ Pro Cybersecurity, as well as two weekday newsletters. He’s a frequent speaker at Wall Street Journal conferences and industry events. Steven joined The Wall Street Journal in 2012. He covered telecommunications for USA Today and BusinessWeek magazine, and he’s the author of a book, "Telecom Opportunities for Entrepreneurs."

Persons: Steven Rosenbush Steven Rosenbush, Steven Organizations: WSJ, Wall Street, Institutional Investor, USA, BusinessWeek, Telecom, Entrepreneurs, United Press International Locations: New York, Brussels

Supporters of student debt forgiveness demonstrate outside the U.S. Supreme Court on June 30, 2023, in Washington, DC. Student loan forgiveness is federally tax-free through 2025 because of a provision from the American Rescue Plan of 2021, Biden's $1.9 trillion Covid-19 stimulus package. While the Tax Foundation estimated that seven states could tax student loan forgiveness in August 2022, it's still possible to see legislative changes. "No one wants to be the state that's taxing loan forgiveness," Miller added. While public service loan forgiveness has always been tax-free, the current taxation for income-driven repayment plans is only temporary.

Persons: Olivier Douliery, Biden, Ethan Miller, Miller, it's, Becca Craig, Lee Reams Sr Organizations: U.S, Supreme, AFP, Getty, American, Planning, Progress, D.C, Tax Foundation, Strategic Wealth Locations: Washington ,, Washington, Kansas City , Missouri

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