Simfoni, the next-generation digital solutions provider for procurement intelligence, eSourcing and tail spend management, announced that it has acquired Michigan-based Xeeva, a fellow leader in AI-powered spend management and procurement technology solutions. This will be Simfoni's second strategic acquisition in 2022, as the company continues to leverage synergistic opportunities to deepen its solution and support competencies, accelerate growth, and solidify market dominance in indirect (tail spend) management and AI-driven spend analytics and eSourcing solutions. This acquisition marks another significant milestone for Simfoni whose goal is to deliver best-in-class, composable, spend management solutions on a global scale. Over the last year, Simfoni has been the recipient of a litany of industry awards and acknowledgements which have further strengthened its global positioning as a recognized market leader in tail spend management. It is anticipated that this latest acquisition will fortify Simfoni's place as one of the top 10 procurement technology providers, globally. Simfoni's innovative Composable Procurement approach combined with its deep domain expertise has collectively provided the company with a competitive edge as procurement teams look outside traditional solutions to achieve superior spend visibility and automation.

New data from Synergy Research Group shows that Q1 enterprise spending on cloud infrastructure services was approaching $53 billion. That is up 34% from the first quarter of 2021, making it the eleventh time in twelve quarters that the year-on-year growth rate has been in the 34-40% range. As the vibrant cloud market continues to grow rapidly, Amazon continues to lead with its worldwide market share remaining at 33%. For the third consecutive quarter its annual growth came in above the growth of the overall market. Meanwhile Microsoft continues to gain almost two percentage points of market share per year while Google's annual market share gain is approaching one percentage point.

Behavox, which provides a suite of security products that help compliance, HR, and security teams protect their company and colleagues from business risk, announced that it has launched its next-generation compliance solution, Behavox Quantum. On July 19th, Behavox will host a conference "AI in Compliance and Security" to formally introduce Behavox Quantum to clients and the artificial intelligence community. This leap in AI and machine learning has a brand new, state-of-the-art AI execution engine and a brand-new AI architecture. "The objective benchmarking of Behavox Quantum puts it unequivocally in a league of its own, the market leader from day one." "This solution is the culmination of our efforts over the last three years, and leverages technology that wasn't available until 2021," says Chief Customer Intelligence Officer Fahreen Kurji.

The Artificial Intelligence in Livestock Farming market analysis focuses on a comprehensive examination of the PESTEL and the industry's overall trends throughout the anticipated period. In the Artificial Intelligence in Livestock Farming area, the report offers essential findings as well as examples of advice and emerging industry advancements, aiding market leaders in implementing unique methods to attract client purchases. This market research report also offers thorough information on global trends that are relevant to the primary areas of the research report. When companies are positioned based on their managerial skills and a product portfolio, the market obtains a strategic viewpoint. The global Artificial Intelligence in Livestock Farming market analysis contains comparative market information as well as a detailed examination of regional findings.

We are excited to bring Transform 2022 back in-person July 19 and virtually July 20 - 28. Join AI and data leaders for insightful talks and exciting networking opportunities. The past 12 months have taught us that the metaverse is regarded by many as the next major frontier for tech. The furor caused by Facebook's conspicuous rebranding to Meta has shown that the 21st century's biggest technological space race will be fought on the battlegrounds of Wall Street -- but the stock market has also helped to identify some of the forgotten players that will be integral to the mechanics of this brave new world. The race for the metaverse is a unique prospect for the 21st century, primarily because there is little understanding of what such a revolutionary mixed reality digital space will actually look like in practice -- or how businesses will be looking to capitalize on the new technology. So, who will succeed in profiting the most from the metaverse?

Artificial intelligence as a Service (AIaaS), refers to pre-trained computer learning algorithms, natural language processing (NLP), and robotic process automation (RPA) in the cloud to automate business operations. It is very similar to software-as-a-service (SaaS). AIaaS is a service that allows businesses to access AI models, without the need for advanced AI programming skills. This blog lists the expected growth figures for the AI business, including the deployment model, end-user application, verticals, and geography. Companies will not be able to build their own AI solutions for these small services.

It is better to launch products off a leaner base and, should a bank seek an acquirer, a lower cost base would also help strengthen valuations. While the jury is still out on whether the current market uncertainty will result in an imminent recession or a prolonged period of slow growth, the fact is that growth has slowed. As growth is unlikely to quicken in the medium term, we have, without question, entered the late cycle. Compounding this situation is the continued threat posed by fintechs and big technology companies, as they take stakes in banking businesses. The call to action is urgent: whether a bank is a leader and seeks to "protect" returns or is one of the underperformers looking to turn the business around and push returns above the cost of equity, the time for bold and critical moves is now.

You might recall around the end of 2016, when seemingly overnight, the business media went from never having talked about artificial intelligence in business to ubiquitous coverage of its applications in marketing. A small Israeli-born artificial intelligence company named Albert had suddenly emerged as a driving force behind this conversation, getting in before Salesforce had a chance to utter the word "Einstein" at its annual Dreamforce conference and AI was still a sparkle in Oracle's eye. Behind Albert was New York City-based PR and Communications agency Channel V Media. I spoke with Kieran Powell, partner at Channel V Media, about how Channel V Media has carved out a niche by focusing on companies' narratives as a first step to transforming them into vocal market influencers. Gary Drenik: How can the messages a company puts out into the market have such a large influence on its standing in its industry?

If you want to be successful in retail, you have to use technology at an early stage and put the customer at the center of all decisions. The digitization and technical progress, especially artificial intelligence (AI), are changing retail market in numerous industrial sectors, including tech, agriculture, studios, product testing, inspection, certification, insurance, and most important, retail. Customers are buying more and more online instead of from traditional stores, having a presence across all relevant sales channels has long been part of everyday life, and innovative business models are becoming increasingly popular. AI enables business models that were barely conceivable just a few years ago. Retail companies should use the changes strategically to get as close as possible to their customers. As a 2019 survey by EY and Microsoft shows, the gap between companies that embrace AI and those that are hesitant is widening.

Artificial intelligence will likely reshape the world in the coming decades. Autonomous machines will be able to hear, see, learn, think, and make decisions. This will drive productivity and innovation across virtually every industry, from retail and robotics to marketing and mobility. From an investor's perspective, these technologies will also create incredible wealth. In fact, research from Ark Invest indicates that AI will add $30 trillion to global equity by 2037.