Enterprise software at scale: risk, governance, stability
This article examines the increasing centrality of risk, governance, and stability in enterprise software decisions at scale. It argues that scaling software does not dilute risk but concentrates or redistributes it, focusing on how ERP implementation structures, vendor instability, and AI governance influence project outcomes. The piece highlights that the margin for error in enterprise decision-making is shrinking, making early structural choices disproportionately important.
The role of AI and humanics in training healthcare professionals
This article discusses the integration of AI and humanics in healthcare education to prepare future professionals. It emphasizes the need for technological, data, and human literacy, asserting that human connection and empathy are crucial alongside technological advancements. Fairleigh Dickinson University's approach, focusing on five pillars of humanics, aims to create a healthcare workforce that balances AI's power with strong human grounding.
Experts share practices to overcome AI data readiness
This article discusses the critical importance of data readiness for successful AI implementation. Experts emphasize that while organizations have vast amounts of data, many struggle with its quality, accessibility, and consistency, hindering AI initiatives. The piece outlines key steps for organizations to achieve AI data readiness, including establishing strong data governance, prioritizing metadata management, and continuous data quality monitoring.
6 reasons enterprise AI adoption starts small
Enterprise AI adoption typically begins with small, tightly defined use cases rather than widespread transformations due to challenges in integration, data readiness, governance, and architectural constraints. Organizations find success by embedding AI into existing workflows to improve specific tasks, allowing them to measure ROI and establish governance models incrementally. This approach acknowledges that while AI capabilities are rapidly advancing, enterprise readiness and the orchestration layer for scaling AI across complex systems are still emerging.
UMMC closes clinics amid ransomware attack
The University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) has temporarily closed clinics and enacted downtime procedures due to a ransomware attack that began on Thursday morning. Hospitals remain open with clinicians using manual methods, and UMMC is working with the FBI and cybersecurity experts to assess the damage and determine next steps, expecting a multi-day event.
News brief: Nation-state hackers active on the global stage
Nation-state hackers are escalating cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure globally, as highlighted by a recent IBM report indicating 70% of 2024 attacks involved such infrastructure. The news brief details several recent incidents, including attacks on the U.S. defense industrial base, newly identified hacking groups exploiting OT environments, a campaign against Singapore's telcos, a breach of Senegal's biometric database, and zero-day exploits in Ivanti Endpoint Manager Mobile. These events underscore the urgent need for robust cybersecurity measures to protect critical systems and safeguard data.
35 AI content generators to explore in 2026
This article explores 35 AI content generators available in 2026, categorizing them by the type of content they produce, such as written, image, music, audio, and code. It highlights how generative AI, particularly since the debut of ChatGPT, has transformed content creation across various business and personal uses. The article details specific tools within each category, noting their functionalities, underlying technologies, and typical applications, while also touching upon the broader impact and increasing adoption of AI in content generation.
Merck, Mayo Clinic launch AI-driven drug discovery partnership
Merck and Mayo Clinic have formed a partnership to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) with patient data to accelerate drug discovery and development. The collaboration combines Merck's AI research capabilities with Mayo Clinic Platform's infrastructure and extensive clinical datasets, targeting early research decisions in therapeutic areas like gastroenterology, dermatology, and neurology. This move reflects a broader industry trend, with other major pharmaceutical companies also increasing their investments in AI for drug discovery.
Optimize AI Models to Generate More Bang for Your Buck
To maximize return on investment, businesses need to optimize their AI models to align with specific business goals, provide valuable insights, and deliver positive financial returns. The article details various optimization techniques such as retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), compression (pruning, quantization), retraining, rehosting and redeploying, and filtering input/output. It also highlights best practices for AI model optimization, including choosing the right technique, ensuring adequate technical resources, supporting experimentation, and defining processes for regular model assessment.
Lilly's Zepbound–Taltz combo wins again in obesity, psoriasis study
Eli Lilly's Zepbound, an obesity drug, combined with its autoimmune drug Taltz, has shown promising results in a late-stage psoriasis study for patients with co-occurring obesity or overweight. The study, Together-PsO, revealed significantly better outcomes for patients on the combo therapy compared to Taltz alone, with many achieving complete skin clearance and substantial weight loss. These findings suggest a potential expanded approval for Zepbound into the immunology space and highlight the benefit of addressing both psoriasis and obesity simultaneously.
Apple Watch could miss hypertension diagnoses in seniors
New research indicates that the Apple Watch's hypertension notification feature may miss diagnoses in older adults, who are at a higher risk for the condition, and also shows variations in alert accuracy across different racial and ethnic groups. While the feature can increase the probability of identifying hypertension, a significant proportion of undiagnosed individuals may still not receive an alert. Researchers emphasize that the smartwatch feature should supplement, not replace, standard blood pressure screening methods.
5 pillars of an agentic AI strategy
Agentic AI is transforming business processes by enabling systems to plan, decide, and act with limited human intervention, moving beyond traditional copilots. CIOs need a strategic approach to deploy this technology safely and effectively, focusing on identifying key use cases, ensuring data readiness, planning infrastructure, selecting vendors, and establishing robust governance. This structured strategy helps manage risks, scale operations, and integrate AI as a "digital worker" across the enterprise.
ThoughtSpot boosts agentic push with Analyst Studio update
ThoughtSpot has enhanced its Analyst Studio with a new update, furthering its transformation into an agentic data platform. Key additions include SpotCache for cost management, a data preparation agent for natural language tasks, and a native spreadsheet interface, emphasizing data readiness for AI and cost predictability. This move broadens ThoughtSpot's offerings beyond analytics into data management, distinguishing it from competitors through its unique agentic data prep capabilities.
73% of patients ask docs for health info, while only 16% ask AI
A recent Gallup report indicates that most U.S. adults, about 73%, still prefer to seek medical information from their doctors or other healthcare professionals, despite the growing availability of AI chatbots in healthcare. Only 16% of patients currently use AI chatbots for health advice. While some patient subgroups are starting to integrate other sources like health-related podcasts and social media, the report emphasizes that doctors remain the most trusted source of medical information.
Streaming specialist Redpanda adds governance to AI suite
Redpanda has launched new features in its Agentic Data Plane (ADP) to provide a unified governance layer for managing connections between agents and data sources, addressing critical needs for enterprise AI. These new features, including AI Gateway, AI observability via OpenTelemetry Protocol (OTLP), and enhanced security controls, allow customers to ensure agents act in accordance with policies and regulatory requirements. This move aims to differentiate Redpanda from competitors like Confluent by shifting its focus from just data piping to providing dedicated AI governance infrastructure.
CISO's guide to demonstrating cyber resilience
This article outlines how Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) can demonstrate their organization's cyber resilience to stakeholders, customers, and regulators. It details various activities such as embedding cybersecurity in governance, integrating risk management, adopting frameworks, validating resilience with independent evaluations, showcasing incident response capabilities, using performance metrics, and committing to continuous improvement and clear communication. The goal is to build trust and prove a company's dedication to protecting data and complying with cybersecurity standards.
Salesforce's acquisition of Cimulate to boost AI shopping
Salesforce is acquiring Cimulate to enhance its Agentforce Commerce platform with advanced AI capabilities, particularly in intent-driven shopping experiences and AI-powered search. Cimulate's technology, including its CommerceGPT LLM-based operating system, aims to improve product recommendations and content optimization, addressing the shift from traditional website clicks to AI summaries in online shopping. This acquisition is expected to bolster Salesforce's offerings in an evolving e-commerce landscape, including the potential for autonomous shopping agents in B2B transactions.
Graphwise aims to boost AI accuracy with GraphRAG launch
Graphwise has launched GraphRAG, a new feature designed to improve the accuracy and reliability of AI outputs by integrating knowledge graphs into retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines. This aims to address the limitations of standard RAG systems that often fail to provide sufficient context, leading to many AI initiatives stalled at the pilot stage. GraphRAG utilizes a semantic layer and various search methods to ground AI responses in verifiable enterprise facts and complex relationships, offering features like a Semantic Metadata Control Plane, explainability panels, and a low-code interface.
AI failure examples: What real-world breakdowns teach CIOs
This article discusses common AI failure examples such as hallucinations, bias, automation misfires, model drift, and integration issues, emphasizing that these often surface during deployment rather than pilot phases. It highlights the importance of robust governance, data quality, and human oversight for CIOs to prevent legal, financial, and reputational risks associated with AI systems. The author advises CIOs to treat AI as an ongoing capability requiring continuous monitoring and cross-functional accountability to ensure value delivery.
Can AI save the storage admin?
AI is becoming crucial in mitigating the complexities of storage management, intensified by the surge in data from private AI initiatives. Many enterprise storage vendors are integrating AI capabilities into their management tools to automate tasks, optimize performance, and address compliance, offering significant time savings for storage administrators. Evaluating these AI features is now a priority for storage buyers to ensure efficient data stewardship.
5 ways to achieve rapid IT incident resolution
Rapid IT incident resolution is crucial for modern organizations to avoid negative impacts on revenue, customer interaction, brand trust, security, and compliance. This article outlines five key strategies for achieving this: establishing unified dashboards, adding automation, defining clear escalation procedures, maintaining strong documentation, and implementing intelligent incident prioritization. By focusing on these areas, IT leaders can transform incident response into a strategic business capability.
SurrealDB raises $23M, launches update to fuel agentic AI
SurrealDB, a multimodel database vendor, has secured an additional $23 million in funding, nearly doubling its total Series A to $44 million. Concurrently, the company launched version 3.0 of its platform, featuring enhanced vector storage and indexing to unify various data models for AI development. This funding and platform update arrive as the company focuses on providing a crucial layer for enterprise AI workflows, especially in agentic AI.
18 Data Science Tools to Consider Using in 2026
This article identifies 18 top data science tools for 2026, detailing their features, capabilities, and uses to help organizations choose the right technologies for their analytics needs. The tools range from open-source programming languages and libraries like Python, R, Apache Spark, and NumPy to commercial software suites such as IBM SPSS, Matlab, and SAS. The list, compiled by TechTarget editors with market analysis from Forrester and Gartner, covers various aspects of data science, including processing, visualization, machine learning, and statistical analysis.
CISO's guide: How to prevent business email compromise
This article provides a CISO's guide to understanding and preventing Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks. It explains what BEC is, how these highly targeted attacks operate through stages like reconnaissance and social engineering, and the severe financial impact they can have on organizations. The guide outlines key preventive measures, including strengthening email security, implementing email authentication protocols, fortifying user access, monitoring activity, and conducting ongoing cybersecurity awareness training for employees.
How to cut data loss risks when employees leave
Employee departures, whether voluntary or involuntary, significantly increase the risk of data loss for organizations. Malicious insider attacks and even accidental data exfiltration can be costly, with financial gain, espionage, and anger often motivating breaches. Implementing a strong Data Loss Prevention (DLP) program, including data classification, continuous monitoring, access controls, and a thorough offboarding process, is crucial to mitigate these risks and protect company assets.
Texas attorney general launches investigation into Conduent breach
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas and Conduent Business Services following a cyberattack and data breach at payments contractor Conduent. The breach, which occurred between October 2024 and January 2025, affected millions of individuals, including 4 million Texans, across several states and various healthcare organizations. Paxton is demanding documents and information to determine if corners were cut and to prevent future breaches, emphasizing the importance of protecting private health information.
News brief: 6 Microsoft zero days and a warning from CISA
This news brief highlights critical cybersecurity updates, including Microsoft patching six actively exploited zero-day vulnerabilities and CISA's directive for federal agencies to remove unsupported network edge devices due to "imminent threat." It also draws attention to a cyberattack on Poland's energy grid to warn U.S. critical infrastructure operators about the dangers of vulnerable OT environments. These developments underscore the increasing urgency for organizations to maintain strong patch management practices and enhance defenses against sophisticated cyberthreats.
IBM FlashSystem adds 105 TB modules with agentic AI smarts
IBM has updated its FlashSystem line of all-flash arrays, introducing new high-capacity flash modules and AI-driven data placement capabilities. The refresh includes three new FlashSystem arrays (5600, 7600, 9600) and the FlashSystem.ai management software, which leverages AI agents for ransomware detection, automated recovery, and performance tuning. IBM's custom 105 TB FlashCore Modules, which integrate FPGAs, differentiate its approach by offering deep-seated security and a direct answer to the global memory shortage, competing with companies like Pure Storage and Dell.
ASU's CISO: AI craze is a strategic opportunity for security
Arizona State University CISO Lester Godsey argues that the current enthusiasm for AI presents a strategic opportunity for cybersecurity leaders to address long-standing security challenges. ASU is leveraging AI to enhance data classification, data loss prevention, and identity and access management, which in turn strengthens the security and governance of its in-house AI platform. Godsey also highlighted the creation of a custom cybersecurity AI agent at ASU to monitor other AI agents, ensuring they operate within secure parameters and mitigate risks like overprivileged, rogue AI.
AI deployments gone wrong: The fallout and lessons learned
This article examines the common reasons behind AI implementation failures, which range from misaligned business goals and lack of trust to weak change management. It highlights high-profile examples like Taco Bell's automated drive-thru orders and McDonald's hiring platform, detailing their financial and reputational impacts. The piece emphasizes the importance of clear business objectives, robust governance, comprehensive testing, and human oversight to ensure successful AI deployments.
How CIOs can tackle subscription sprawl and costs
Subscription sprawl, driven by SaaS growth and AI-based pricing, is causing unpredictable costs and increased risks for organizations. CIOs need to implement strategic subscription management by centralizing visibility, tracking usage and renewals, and aligning contracts with business value to regain control. This proactive approach helps mitigate financial drain, security vulnerabilities, and architectural rigidity associated with unmanaged subscriptions.
How business leaders can prepare for quantum-AI integration
The integration of quantum computing and AI (QAI) offers significant advancements in computational power, energy sustainability, and cybersecurity, necessitating strategic preparation from business leaders. QAI can optimize IT and business processes, reduce AI deployment costs, and enhance security protocols, though it requires substantial initial investment, specialized expertise, and extensive research. Businesses should conduct feasibility analyses, launch pilot projects, collaborate with academic institutions, and focus on workforce development to successfully implement QAI.
Viking Therapeutics pushes GLP-1/GIP obesity pill to phase 3
Viking Therapeutics is advancing its oral GLP-1/GIP receptor dual agonist, VK2736, into phase 3 testing for obesity later this year after positive mid-stage results showed significant weight loss. The company also plans to move the subcutaneous version of VK2736 through its phase 3 Vanquish program. With no approved products or revenue yet, the successful advancement of VK2736 is critical to Viking's growth strategy.
Forces influencing enterprise software control and oversight
This article examines three forces affecting enterprise software control and oversight: emerging enforcement friction due to centralized control across fragmented systems, lack of visibility keeping pace with enforcement, and increasing difficulty in auditing and explaining controls, especially with the integration of automation and AI. It highlights how these forces make consistent policy application, transparency, and accountability challenging in modern interconnected enterprise environments.
SmarterMail facing widespread attacks targeting critical flaws
SmarterMail, a business email and collaboration server, is currently facing widespread attacks exploiting critical vulnerabilities, including an authentication bypass (CVE-2026-23760) and a missing authentication remote code execution flaw (CVE-2026-24423). A China-linked threat actor, Storm 2603, has been observed deploying Warlock ransomware using these vulnerabilities, and the activity persists consistently during weekdays. SmarterTools, the parent company, confirmed a breach of its own network due to an unpatched server and has released builds 9518 and 9526 to address these issues.
Rising AI software costs put CFOs in the middle: Tropic
The rising costs of AI software, termed the "AI tax," are presenting challenges for CFOs, with prices increasing by 20% to 37% across vendors, according to Tropic. Many software providers are bundling AI features into existing solutions without offering opt-out choices, leading to forced upgrades and higher costs that are often disconnected from perceived value. While CFOs are open to AI experimentation, they need earlier visibility into these pricing changes and feature integrations to strategize effectively and balance innovation with risk management.
How data center cooling could become more manageable
Data center cooling is a critical and challenging aspect of facility management, but new innovations are making it more efficient and sustainable. Companies like Prime Data Centers are using closed-loop air and liquid cooling, while Karman Industries has introduced a carbon dioxide-based system that reduces energy use and physical footprint. Nvidia's latest server racks also promise increased performance with less demanding cooling requirements, contributing to more manageable data center operations.
9 ways to ensure regulatory compliance in cloud storage
This article outlines nine essential steps for organizations to ensure regulatory compliance in cloud storage as it becomes a critical IT leadership priority in 2026. It emphasizes understanding specific regulations, choosing compliant cloud providers, and implementing technical and policy-based controls like encryption, access management, data classification, and continuous review. The author, Damon Garn, stresses that a proactive approach to cloud compliance can turn it into a competitive advantage, fostering trust and resilience while avoiding penalties.
How CISOs can balance AI innovation and security risk
CISOs face the challenge of leveraging AI's powerful benefits for cybersecurity while mitigating its inherent risks, a decision critical for an organization's security posture and resilience. The article delves into practical risks introduced by AI, such as model and data security and adversarial threats, alongside its benefits in areas like threat detection and security automation. It also outlines a structured approach for CISOs to evaluate AI use cases and deploy AI securely within their organizations.
SaaS shared responsibility model: What vendors don't cover
Organizations commonly misunderstand the shared responsibility model in SaaS, leading to inadequate data backup and recovery. While SaaS providers handle platform availability and infrastructure security, customers are solely responsible for data protection, including backup, recovery testing, retention, and compliance. This misconception has resulted in significant data loss incidents, regulatory exposure, and operational disruptions for businesses relying on cloud services without independent backup strategies.
Differentiation, profitability prospects key to digital health market success
The digital health market is expected to stabilize and grow, with experts emphasizing differentiation, integration, evaluation, and clear paths to profitability for companies to succeed. Despite fierce competition and uneven funding, AI integration and focused strategies can help digital health companies thrive by addressing patient and physician needs and demonstrating tangible ROI. These factors are crucial for scaling operations and securing financial success in an evolving market.
Pressure points affecting enterprise software decisions
As enterprise environments become increasingly interconnected, new pressures are emerging in software decision-making, particularly concerning sequencing, adjustment, and reactivity. Decisions that were once independent are now interlocked, with platform selections heavily influencing subsequent choices and requiring significant coordination and adaptation. This shift demands a more deliberate, rather than reactive, approach to avoid increased resource consumption and limited value realization.
Cisco G300 AI network chip, AgenticOps parry Broadcom, HPE
Cisco has introduced its G300 AI networking chip and new Nexus 9000 and 8000 switches, including liquid-cooled N9364-SG3 and 8132 models, to compete with solutions from HPE and Broadcom in the rapidly growing AI networking infrastructure market. The G300 chip offers 102.4 Tbps performance and in-place programmability to extend infrastructure life, while expanded AgenticOps features in Nexus One OS aim to enhance AI for infrastructure through autonomous troubleshooting and continuous optimization. Cisco's strategy targets rising enterprise AI spending, emphasizing vendor diversity and a comprehensive approach that includes AI security and advanced data management.
McLaren Health agrees to $14M settlement over two data breaches
McLaren Health Care has agreed to a $14 million settlement to resolve a class-action lawsuit stemming from two data breaches in 2023 and 2024. These breaches, involving ransomware attacks by ALPHV/BlackCat and Inc Ransom, potentially compromised the data of over 3.2 million individuals. The settlement provides up to $5,000 for documented losses, a pro rata cash payment, and one year of credit monitoring for affected class members, with McLaren also pledging to enhance its security program.
AI fueled massive surge in fraud losses last year, study finds
A recent study by fraud detection company Pindrop found that AI-driven fraud surged by 1,210% last year among its major U.S. customers, leading to estimated combined losses of $1 billion. Generative AI and deepfake tools are enabling fraudsters to scale and enhance their attacks, shifting fraud from manual to automated and making scams faster, cheaper, and harder to detect, particularly in real-time decision-making scenarios like contact centers. This trend is corroborated by Trustpair, which reported that nearly three-quarters of U.S. companies experienced an increase in AI-powered fraud attempts and many finance leaders consider it a major challenge.
New Sequoia Project guidance takes aim at state-level patient consent challenges
The Sequoia Project has released new guidance documents addressing patient consent challenges and aiming to align state and federal standards for sensitive health data. The publications emphasize the need for technical standardization to apply privacy protections consistently and reliably, proposing automated and computable consent systems. This initiative seeks to bridge the gap between varying state and federal health data laws and improve data-sharing practices while maintaining privacy.
Interoperability woes still plague healthcare in 2026. Here's what to do about it.
Healthcare continues to struggle with interoperability in 2026, posing significant challenges for implementing new technologies like AI and achieving a holistic view of patient care. Experts suggest strategies to overcome these issues, including improving data quality at the source, connecting to health information exchanges (HIEs), and widely adopting industry standards such as FHIR and USCDI. These efforts aim to bridge data silos, enhance data access for clinicians, and ensure that technological advancements benefit all communities, not just the affluent.
Employee health plan costs eat up 10% of wages
The average American family spends 10.1% of their paycheck on employer-sponsored health insurance premiums and deductibles, according to new Commonwealth Fund data, indicating a growing healthcare affordability crisis impacting the middle class. This financial strain, particularly in certain states and for individual plans with high deductibles, can lead to delayed care and medical debt. The article suggests that solutions will require collaborative efforts from Congress, employers, insurers, and healthcare providers to address underlying healthcare cost growth and improve affordability.
Standard for AI-based patient communication launches
A new operational standard called the AI Care Standard has been launched by health system, patient safety, and technology leaders. This standard provides guidelines for safe and responsible patient-facing AI tools, addressing the current lack of standardized safety guidance for AI-generated patient communication. It includes 10 core pillars focusing on safety, equity, governance, and real-world usability, and is accompanied by an Evaluation Framework to help healthcare organizations assess their AI tools.
AstraZeneca's GLP-1 pill succeeds in two mid-stage trials
AstraZeneca is advancing its oral GLP-1 drug, elecoglipron, into late-stage testing after positive results from two mid-stage studies in adults with obesity and type 2 diabetes. The Vista trial showed success in weight loss, and the Solstice study met its primary endpoint for HbA1c reduction. Full results are expected at the American Diabetes Association scientific sessions in June, and AstraZeneca plans to explore further applications of elecoglipron, potentially alongside its SGLT2 inhibitor Farxiga.
