Enterprise switching forecasts, AI infrastructure funding, and data security tool sprawl - Week of August 17, 2026

Overview of Recent Activity

Recent coverage focused on enterprise network and security modernization tied to AI workloads. Dell’Oro forecasted higher-speed campus and front-end switching demand driven by AI inference and agentic workflows, while also projecting growth in data center IT semiconductors and the SASE market. On the security side, Cybersecurity Insiders and Netskope described investigation and evidence challenges from fragmented data security tool stacks and reported a Chrome extension behavior update affecting enterprise browsers.

Key Themes and Developments

Technology Releases & Product Enhancements

Nutanix released an open-source Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Nutanix Cloud Platform, designed so AI agents can run authorized automation steps through the Nutanix Prism v4 API Gateway while keeping security controls in place.

Celona introduced Celona Orion, a converged wireless platform that combines private 5G, Wi-Fi, public cellular, and satellite into one fabric for software agents and physical AI systems, with availability beginning in Q4 2026 on a phased basis.

Partnerships & Ecosystem Engagement

Applied Materials said UC Berkeley will join its EPIC Center in Silicon Valley as a research collaborator, placing faculty and students in a shared environment focused on materials and process work related to AI computing, with the facility on track to become operational in 2026.

Carahsoft Technology Corp. announced participation in MESC 2026 in Portland with more than 30 technology partners, and said it and Optum would host a speaking session titled “Medicaid Reimagined: Scaling Trusted AI for 2030.”

Infrastructure, Platform, or Deployment Updates

Micron launched the Micron Ventures Paradigm Fund, a $250 million investment vehicle, expanding Micron Ventures’ total capital commitment to $550 million across model architecture, compute, enterprise applications, and physical AI, including in-memory compute and next-generation networking and data center efficiency.

Dell’Oro forecast that higher-speed ports would account for more than half of Campus Switch revenues by 2029, and projected that more than half of growth in Front-end Data Center Switch sales over the next few years would come from AI-related opportunities, including adoption of 800 Gbps and 1.6 Tbps.

Full Update Index

Dell’Oro Group Projects Higher-Speed Ports to Exceed Half of Campus Switch Revenues by 2029; Cybersecurity Insiders and Netskope outline investigation and evidence impacts of data security tool sprawl; Micron Ventures Launches $250 Million Fund to Invest in the Next Generation of AI; Cerebras Powers Ultrafast Mode in OpenAI API for GPT-5.6 Sol; Carahsoft Technology Corp. to Bring 30+ Partners to MESC 2026 in Portland; Dell’Oro Group Finds Agentic AI and Inference Drive Front-End Switch Growth; Dell’Oro Group forecasts Data Center IT Semiconductors market to reach $1.8 trillion by 2030; Celona introduces Celona Orion to unify wireless networks under one fabric; Netskope details update and uninstall affiliate redirects in AI Sidebar with DeepSeek AI; Cloudera Survey Finds 95% Delayed or Canceled AI Projects Over Governance Issues; UC Berkeley to Collaborate With Applied Materials on EPIC Center; Nutanix Introduces MCP Server for Nutanix Cloud Platform.

1. Dell’Oro Group Projects Higher-Speed Ports to Exceed Half of Campus Switch Revenues by 2029
   Dell’Oro projects higher-speed campus switch ports will make up over half of revenues by 2029.
2. Cybersecurity Insiders and Netskope outline investigation and evidence impacts of data security tool sprawl
   Cybersecurity Insiders and Netskope report that many organizations run 11+ data security tools with fragmented context, slowing investigations and evidence under GDPR timelines.
3. Micron Ventures Launches $250 Million Fund to Invest in the Next Generation of AI
   Micron Technology launched the $250 million Micron Ventures Paradigm Fund to invest across the AI technology stack, targeting shifts from generative models to AI that reasons, acts, and interacts with the physical world. The fund expands Micron Ventures’ capital commitments to $550 million across four domains: model architecture, compute, enterprise applications, and physical AI.
4. Cerebras Powers Ultrafast Mode in OpenAI API for GPT-5.6 Sol
   Cerebras powered Ultrafast mode in the OpenAI API for GPT-5.6 Sol, offering up to 750 output tokens per second in limited preview.
5. Carahsoft Technology Corp. to Bring 30+ Partners to MESC 2026 in Portland
   Carahsoft plans to attend MESC 2026 in Portland with 30+ partners and will join Optum for a session on Medicaid AI scaling.
6. Dell’Oro Group Finds Agentic AI and Inference Drive Front-End Switch Growth
   Dell’Oro Group says agentic AI and inference drive more than half of front-end switch growth and adoption of 800 Gbps and 1.6 Tbps.
7. Dell’Oro Group forecasts Data Center IT Semiconductors market to reach $1.8 trillion by 2030
   Dell’Oro Group forecasts the Data Center IT Semiconductors and Components market will reach $1.8 trillion by 2030.
8. Celona introduces Celona Orion to unify wireless networks under one fabric
   Celona introduced Celona Orion, unifying private 5G, Wi-Fi, public cellular, and satellite into a deterministic secure fabric with Orchestrator AI and phased availability in Q4 2026.
9. Nimble Names Tanya Andreev Kaspin Chief Financial Officer
   Nimble appointed Tanya Andreev Kaspin as CFO as it scales Web Search Agents built for AI agent workflows.
10. Dell’Oro Group Forecasts SASE Market to Reach $24B by 2030
    Dell’Oro forecasts SASE revenue to reach $24B by 2030, driven by SD-WAN recovery and expanded SSE monetization.
11. Dell’Oro Group Reports Open Fronthaul Gains and Cloud RAN Forecast Downturn
    Dell’Oro says Open Fronthaul is set to become the preferred interface while Cloud RAN and multi-vendor RAN follow different adoption paths.
12. Netskope details update and uninstall affiliate redirects in AI Sidebar with DeepSeek AI
    Google removed “AI Sidebar with DeepSeek AI” for scraping AI conversations, then it returned in July 2026 with an update/uninstall affiliate redirect payload.
13. Cloudera Survey Finds 95% Delayed or Canceled AI Projects Over Governance Issues
    Cloudera’s survey found 95% of organizations delayed or canceled AI initiatives due to data governance, compliance, or regulatory challenges.
14. UC Berkeley to Collaborate With Applied Materials on EPIC Center
    Applied Materials said UC Berkeley will join its EPIC Center in Silicon Valley as a research collaborator. EPIC is planned to be operational in 2026.
15. Nutanix Introduces MCP Server for Nutanix Cloud Platform
    Nutanix released an open-source MCP server for Nutanix Cloud Platform, connecting AI tools to NCP via the Prism v4 API Gateway.
16. European Union Artificial Intelligence Act details compliance for AI agents under Article 50
    EU AI Act obligations for AI agents can apply under Article 50 even though “agent” is not in the act, with duties driven by interaction, synthetic content, and model modification status.