QLogic also has been part of almost every new-technology consortium of late (see Qlogic Joins Arapahoe ), a mix that may make it harder for investors to discern its direction.
Perhaps because it plays in so many sectors, even when QLogic is ahead in the technology race, it's often eclipsed by a competitor's market share. That's the case in the market for 2-Gbit/s Fibre Channel switches and HBAs. In this market, QLogic is already shipping products, including its 16-port SANbox switch, while competitor Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: BRCD) is still in development on its 2-Gbit/s products (see Is Brocade's SilkWorm Losing the Thread?).
Of course, how much that matters when Brocade still owns nearly 90 percent of the switch market is the question (see Brocade CEO in Tick-Top Form).
Mark Edwards, senior vice president at QLogic, says the company can't do much about stock price and perceptions, other than to build its businesses as best it can. Specifically, that means staying ahead of the curve on technology advancements, even if products aren't yet on the horizon.
"We have to get involved [on new technologies] years ahead of when they get used in the market," Edwards says, explaining his company's widespread participation in connectivity trials (see InfiniBand Steals the Show) and standards bodies (see QLogic Forms 2-Gig FC Group). Edwards stresses the company's commitment to the latter, saying that without standards, the entire SAN industry won't move forward.
To realize the benefits of cloud-native software, an application must actually be cloud-native—designed to run in the cloud, interacting with disaggregated cloud services, fully manageable as code—to deliver the expected benefits.
By combining resources and expertise, the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium will offer a blueprint for how industries can adapt to an AI-dominated future.
IT leaders should heed the guidance of cybersecurity insurance providers who think businesses should prioritize security education, incident preparedness, regular internal audits, and ongoing vulnerability scanning and patching.
