Emerging Tech
Avant Communications launched an initiative at its Special Forces Summit to pair technology advisors with vetted professional services firms, initially for Zoom product implementations before expanding to its customer experience portfolio and other technologies. The program aims to remove friction and speed deals, with professional services partners operating as suppliers and paying advisors commissions. This addresses long-standing trust issues between advisors and service firms.
Anthropic and AWS are ramping up efforts to train forward deployed engineers (FDEs) to meet growing demand for AI deployment expertise. Anthropic introduced the Claude Frontier Academy, backed by $100 million, aiming to train 10,000 FDEs by the end of next year, with participants from consulting firms like Accenture, Bain, Capgemini, Deloitte, and McKinsey, as well as Morgan Stanley and Novo Nordisk. AWS announced two technical credentials and three free training pathways for FDEs, following its $1 billion investment in an engineering unit. The FDE model is being adopted across the industry, with Google Cloud, Microsoft, and OpenAI also launching similar initiatives. Gartner estimates only about 2,000 engineers currently qualify as FDEs, while the industry could absorb four times that number.
The rising complexity of AI deployment has given rise to the front-end deployment engineering (FDE) model. Gartner predicts that by the end of 2026, over 85% of technology providers will adopt FDE. Microsoft has invested $2.5 billion, AWS $1 billion, and Google and others are also actively positioning themselves. Enterprises face pressure from CEOs and boards to accelerate deployment and demonstrate returns. Companies like Travelers and Liberty Mutual are pursuing both internal and external efforts, but talent scarcity and cost issues remain challenges.
In a report released on July 1, 2026, Gartner stated that AI agents are threatening traditional pricing and consumption models in enterprise software, predicting that by 2030, up to $234 billion in SaaS spending will be at risk due to agent arbitrage. George Brocklehurst, Vice President at the firm, believes this is not the end of SaaS but a 'transformation,' with IT budgets shifting toward outcome-centric services.
AppViewX has officially launched an upgraded global partner program to address enterprise demands for machine identity, agent identity security, and cryptographic resilience. The program includes new collaboration, co-selling, and accountability guidelines, along with pre-sales enablement courses and a partner portal. Troy Dankworth, the company's Vice President of Channels, emphasized that the program aims to streamline processes, enhance partner profitability, and support partners in bringing unique go-to-market approaches.
As AI workloads accelerate their penetration into enterprise environments, network connectivity is shifting from "bit-byte" transmission to "token-context" distribution. Tech Mahindra executive Manish Mangal pointed out at the Network X Americas conference that existing networks cannot distinguish between token streams from laundry robots and medical emergency robots, and traditional predefined prioritization mechanisms will fail. He suggested replacing traditional latency metrics with "time-to-first-token" and warned that operators and channel partners who merely view AI as a cost-reduction tool will fall behind in the new round of competition.
As businesses increasingly rely on cloud applications, video conferencing, and IoT devices, traditional network infrastructure is becoming inadequate. The eero PoE 7, a Power over Ethernet access point designed for professional installation, integrates tri-band Wi-Fi 7 performance, delivering both power and data over a single Ethernet cable to simplify deployment and enhance coverage flexibility. Each access point supports over 200 devices, covers approximately 2,000 square feet, and features dual 10 GbE ports with wireless speeds up to 3.9 Gbps, effectively alleviating network congestion in high-density environments. The device supports wall and ceiling mounting and, combined with the eero ecosystem and centralized management platform, allows businesses without large IT teams to operate easily. Automatic software updates, security patches, and a three-year warranty further reinforce reliability, while compatibility with Matter, Thread, and Zigbee standards provides a unified entry point for smart device management.
Ramp data shows that Anthropic's Claude models have surpassed OpenAI in enterprise adoption for the first time, with over one-third of enterprises using Claude in April, while OpenAI dropped to 32%. Gartner predicts global AI spending will grow by 47%, with model spending expected to double to $33 billion.
eero releases eero Signal, an automatic cellular backup device for small and medium businesses that seamlessly switches to cellular networks when the primary internet connection fails, reducing the impact of business disruptions. The device is quickly set up via the eero app, supports multi-carrier eSIM, and offers usage-based subscription plans.