Five Minute Briefing - Data Center
March 11, 2024
Five Minute Briefing - Data Center: March 11, 2024. Published in conjunction with SHARE Inc., a bi-weekly report geared to the needs of data center professionals.
News Flashes
DC BLOX, a premier provider of secure and reliable data centers and fiber network solutions throughout the Southeast, announced the completed expansion of its Birmingham, Alabama data center. This expansion entails a new data hall design, tailored to meet the burgeoning demand for High-Performance Compute (HPC) applications, and marks a significant milestone in DC BLOX's commitment to foster technological growth and innovation in Birmingham and the surrounding region, according to the company.
To help clients counter threats with earlier and more accurate detection, IBM is announcing new AI-enhanced versions of the IBM FlashCore Module technology available inside new IBM Storage FlashSystem products and a new version of IBM Storage Defender software. These features will help organizations improve their ability to detect and respond to ransomware and other cyberattacks that threaten their data, according to IBM.
IBM debuted the Mainframe Skills Council during this week's SHARE conference in Orlando, providing a forum where global organizations will foster a skilled, diverse, sustainable workforce for the mainframe platform. In addition to IBM, the council includes organizations spanning IBM clients, IBM partners, academia, user groups, non-profits, and open communities that will collaborate to implement mainframe skills development solutions.
IBM is announcing that Mixtral-8x7B—the popular, open source large language model (LLM) developed by Mistral AI—is available on the watsonx AI and Data platform. Now offering an enhanced version of Mixtral-8x7B, this latest delivery of the LLM echoes IBM's commitment to provide the foundational models for its clients to innovate, according to the company.
Think About It
In far too many organizations, processes become automatic. Requests are made, and requests are fulfilled. People wish to please; they like to show how fast they can respond or how agile they are. The same is true when addressing database design. This delivery-focused desire comes from a good place. However, regardless of how well-intended, blindly fulfilling requests is dangerous and harmful to one's overall results. Optimization of processes, especially processes involving database design, should never remove the step where questions are asked and rationale is provided.