Plain Virtualization

Data & AI Strategy Garbage in, AI out. Why 60% of AI projects are set to fail. And what you can do to be in the 40% that succeed. ⏱ 5 min read Artificial Intelligence Data Management NetApp Enterprise AI Personal views disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are entirely my own and do not represent the views, positions, or official communications of my employer or any organisation I am affiliated with. References to third-party products and companies are based on publicly available information and my personal professional observations. Bad data doesn’t get better when processed. It just gets more elaborate — and at Agentic AI scale, it multiplies. At NetApp Insight 2025, this image was paired with a Gartner prediction that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since. 60% of AI projects will be abandoned through 2026 due to lack...

Recently I met with a customer who was genuinely frustrated. Their monitoring tools were showing massive, unexplained spikes in utilization across their storage controllers. Naturally, the immediate assumption was that the hardware was failing or undersized. They were ready to throw more money at a storage "problem" that didn't actually exist. It wasn't until we sat down in person and I dug into their VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure)  environment that the truth came out. The hardware was fine; the best practices  were missing. As Solution Architects and Consultants, our job isn't just to sell boxes—it’s to educate. We need to ensure customers don't misidentify software misconfigurations as hardware limitations. In the world of VDI, performance is often a matter of "prudent design" rather than just "faster disks." The "Storm" Before the Calm: Managing the Boot Storm Think of your VDI environment like a highway at ru...

Disclaimer as always: Opinions all solely my own. The storage industry is entering a phase that feels uncomfortably familiar: constrained supply, rising prices, and vendors tightening control over how customers consume technology. Two seemingly separate forces are converging to reshape IT decision-making: The NAND flash supply crunch and price escalation Post-acquisition licensing shifts following Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware Together, they signal a transition from a buyer’s market to a seller-advantaged landscape —one where hesitation, legacy assumptions, and slow procurement cycles can carry real financial and operational penalties.

Customers are no longer asking if you can deliver; they are asking how you secure the components to do so. In coming months, we are likely to see the following requirements become standard: Proof of Component Allocation: Buyers are demanding evidence that the vendor has a direct "Line of Sight" to the silicon. This is where software-only vendors struggle; they can only provide a quote from an OEM, whereas a hardware-owning vendor can provide a production slot. Price Lock Guarantees: Given the 90% surge in DRAM prices, RFPs now frequently include clauses requiring price protection for 6 to 12 months. Vendors who buy through a middleman (OEM) often cannot commit to this, as they have no control over the OEM’s sudden price adjustments. Alternative Component Validation: Customers are asking for pre-validated designs that use multiple types of flash or memory modules. If a specific module hits a shortage, can the vendor pivot without requiring a 3-month re-certification process...

In my years transitioning from the virtualization front lines at VMware to my current role at NetApp, I’ve seen my share of "once-in-a-generation" market shifts. But the current landscape of 2026 is truly unprecedented. As reported by The Wall Street Journal , we are witnessing a "permanent reallocation" of manufacturing capacity toward AI, triggering a memory-chip shortage that industry veterans call the "craziest time ever". For architects and IT leaders, this isn't just about rising costs; it's a fundamental challenge to how we design for resilience and delivery. The 2026 Context: A Market in "Hyper-Bull" Phase The data is stark. Prices for memory surged 50% in late 2025, but that was just the preamble. According to the latest TrendForce projections , contract prices for conventional server DRAM are set to skyrocket by 90% to 95% in Q1 2026 alone. We aren’t just looking at budget adjustments; we are witnessing a complete decoupling ...

The discussion on moving to an alternative hypervisor due to Broadcom acquisition of VMware has been a popular topic mainly due to the cost increase of the licenses required to run VMware software. But let's be honest, there are applications that works only on VMware due to certification or qualification. There are still a bulk of workloads that doesn't requires and this is where an alternative is helpful to drive the cost down. Even if you have managed to assess and decided on the alternative choice (whatever that is), there are just one important cost that many has overlook and it is the most important. That is migration cost from VMware data format to your alternative data format. There many paid software for such requirements which are not free and generally price per VM or by the amount of data capacity. They are reliable but purchasing the additional cost for a one time use might not be as viable, not to mention the professional service cost needed on top of that. This ta...