Does hardware (still) matter?

TheCUBE Breaking Analysis + upcoming broadcasts [Does hardware (still) matter?]( The ascendancy of cloud and software as a service has shone new light on how organizations think about, pay for and value hardware. Once-sought-after skills for practitioners with expertise in hardware troubleshooting, configuring ports, tuning storage arrays and maximizing server utilization have been superseded by demand for cloud architects, DevOps pros and developers with expertise in microservices, container app development and similar skills. Even Dell Technologies, the largest hardware company in enterprise tech, touts that it has more software engineers than those working in hardware. Is hardware going the way of COBOL? Well, not likely – software has to run on something. But the labor and skills needed to deploy, troubleshoot and manage hardware infrastructure is shifting quite dramatically. At the same time, we’ve seen the value flow also changing in hardware. Once a world dominated by Intel’s x86 processors, value is flowing to alternatives such as Nvidia and Arm-based designs. Moreover, other components such as network interface cards, accelerators and storage controllers are becoming more advanced, integrated and increasingly important. Does it matter? If so, why does it matter and to whom? What does it mean to customers, workloads, original equipment manufacturers and the broader society? In this Breaking Analysis, we try to answer these questions. To do so, we’ve organized a special CUBE Power Panel of industry analysts and experts to address the question: Does hardware (still) matter? Check out [the entire report]( and catch up with all past Breaking Analysis columns on [SiliconANGLE]( and [Wikibon](. You can also [watch Dave’s analysis]( or listen as a [podcast](. [Get the full report here!]( [Top News: Editors' Picks]( [Meta stock soars on improvement in Facebook profit and user growth]( It couldn’t get much worse for Meta Platforms Inc. than when it lost $230 billion in market value in February after reporting its first-ever drop in daily users, and yesterday the Facebook parent actually managed to show surprising improvement, sending its stock soaring in late trading. Meta, which [rebranded]( in October in the hope of leading a virtual reality-fueled metaverse, reported that its [first-quarter]( fell 21%, to $7.5 billion, or $2.72 a share, on a 7% increase in revenue, to $27.9 billion. [Catch up on the Twitter-Musk saga]( After weeks of drama, Twitter Inc.’s board of directors this week [accepted]( Musk’s offer to buy the company. Catch up on every plot twist of this unexpected saga, layered in political undertones, socioeconomic debates and Wall Street repercussions. What it all means for Twitter going forward remains completely speculative. Musk has called himself a “free speech absolutist,” which has provoked concern among many users, and inside Twitter, about how moderation might change once he’s in charge. [theCUBE is live at Dell Tech World 2022!]( The post-VMware world holds significant interest for Dell observers, as simplified capital structure could drive new growth. Join [theCUBE, live at Dell Technologies World]( May 2-5. [Across the InfiniVerse: theCUBE explores Infinidat's new SSAs]( The best data solutions are coveted in the enterprise. Powering those solutions is storage, the crucial computing component tasked to keep pace with today’s sprawling software. Revving up its offerings in scalable, secure storage, Infinidat Ltd. has been on something of a Super Cycle of product announcements, including today’s unveiling of its new InfiniBox SSA II solid state array. Building atop its flagship InfiniBox platform with its first-ever solid state array [launching]( last year, Infinidat is signaling a strong and consistent cadence of product releases. Infinidat signals next chapter “This is a hallmark of successful storage companies,” said [Dave Vellante]( principal analyst at Wikibon, a sister company of SiliconANGLE. Noting the executive changes under CEO Phil Bollinger’s leadership, Infinidat’s recent developments are positioning the company for its next chapter. Joining Vellante in a special segment for theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s livestreaming studio, is Infinidat’s new chief marketing officer [Eric Herzog](. The two discussed the stats behind Infinidat’s latest rollouts, and the role of artificial intelligence in its approach to cyber resilience. [Watch the full episode here]( [Top Stories: Staff Picks]( [EU’s Digital Services Act will force big tech firms to police the internet]( Big tech firms such as Google, Twitter and Meta Platforms will be required to do more to tackle illegal content, or face multibillion-euro fines under new European Union rules agreed to Saturday. The new rules go into effect in 2024 and prohibit advertising aimed at children and ads based on sensitive information such as religion, gender and political opinions.  Social media platforms are further required to enable better flagging methods for unsafe content. Finally, online marketplaces such as Amazon.com will also need to implement similar systems for suspect products, which could be counterfeit clothes or unsafe toys. [Big week for tech earnings as Wall Street volatility continues]( A slowdown in spending on advertising amid the Russian war on Ukraine and an uncertain economy took a toll on Google parent [Alphabet Inc. this week as it reported first-quarter results]( disappointed investors. The one highlight for the quarter was Google Cloud, Alphabet’s cloud computing unit. It saw strong growth as revenue jumped 44%, to $5.8 billion. Other tech firms to hold earnings calls this week include [Microsoft]( [Juniper Networks]( Point Software]( [F5 Networks]( [Qualcomm]( [ServiceNow]( and [Samsung](. Follow SiliconANGLE and theCUBE for earnings coverage and market analysis for the enterprise IT market. [Join theCUBE at Red Hat Summit 2022!]( Red Hat’s vision for the open hybrid cloud will be among the topics discussed as part of coverage by theCUBE, during the [Red Hat Summit]( May 10-11. 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