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Tariff uncertainty weighs on networking distributors



“Our information assumes present tariffs and exemptions stay in place by means of the quarter. These embody the next: China at 30%, partially offset by an exemption for semiconductors and sure digital parts; Mexico and Canada at 25% for the parts and merchandise that aren’t eligible for the present exemptions,” Cisco CFO Scott Herron instructed Wall Avenue analysts within the firm’s quarterly earnings report on Might 14.

Presently, Cisco expects little influence from tariffs on metal and aluminum and retaliatory tariffs, Herron mentioned. “We’ll proceed to leverage our world-class provide chain group to assist mitigate the influence,” he mentioned, including that “the flexibleness and agility we’ve got constructed into our operations over the previous few years, the scale and scale of our provide chain, supplies us some distinctive benefits as we help our clients globally.”

“As soon as the tariff state of affairs stabilizes, there [are] steps that we will take to mitigate it, as you’ve seen us do with China from the primary Trump administration. And solely after that may we contemplate worth [increases],” Herron mentioned.

Equally, Excessive Networks famous the altering tariff circumstances throughout its earnings name on April 30.

“The tariff scenario could be very dynamic, I believe, as everyone is aware of and may recognize, and it’s sort of onerous to name. Sure, there was concern initially given the magnitude of tariffs,” mentioned Excessive Networks CEO Ed Meyercord on the earnings name. “The bigger query is, will all the adjustments globally in commerce and tariff coverage have an effect on demand? And that’s onerous to name at this level. And we’re going to carry so far as offering steerage or judgment on that till we’ve got finality come July.”

Monetary information

In the meantime, AI is fueling excessive expectations and influencing investments in enterprise campus and information heart environments.

Microsoft Construct: GitHub Copilot coding agent, Azure AI Foundry updates, help for MCP, and extra


Microsoft Construct kicks off in the present day, and Microsoft began off the occasion by introducing plenty of AI-powered options designed to reinforce the software program improvement expertise.

A brand new coding agent has been added to GitHub Copilot that will get activated when a developer assigns it a GitHub subject or calls it through a immediate in VS Code.  It may possibly help with plenty of duties, together with including options, fixing bugs, extending checks, refactoring code, and enhancing documentation. All the agent’s pull requests require human approval earlier than they run, GitHub confirmed. 

Microsoft additionally introduced Home windows AI Foundry, a platform that helps the AI developer life cycle throughout coaching and inference. Builders will be capable to handle and run open-source LLMs by means of Foundry Native or convey proprietary fashions and convert, fine-tune, and deploy them throughout purchasers and cloud. 

The corporate additionally introduced it will likely be bringing Grok 3 and Grok 3 mini fashions into Azure AI Foundry. At this level, Azure AI Foundry hosts over 1,900 fashions from Microsoft and different companions. 

Enhancements to working with AI brokers

Azure AI Foundry Agent Service is now usually accessible, offering builders with capabilities that may allow them to orchestrate a number of specialised brokers. Plus, the corporate up to date Azure AI Foundry Observability to supply higher metrics on efficiency, high quality, value, and security of AI fashions. 

Microsoft additionally revealed a preview of Microsoft Entra Agent ID, which may routinely assign distinctive identities to AI brokers created in Microsoft Copilot Studio or Azure AI Foundry. 

Subsequent, the corporate introduced Microsoft 365 Copilot Tuning, which permits builders to make use of their very own firm’s information, workflows, and processes to coach fashions and create brokers. It additionally added multi-agent orchestration in Copilot Studio, permitting builders to attach a number of brokers to mix abilities in order that they’ll sort out extra complicated duties. 

Assist for the Mannequin Context Protocol (MCP) was additionally added throughout Microsoft’s platforms and providers, together with GitHub, Copilot Studio, Dynamics 365, Azure AI Foundry, Semantic Kernel, and Home windows 11. Microsoft has formally joined the MCP Steering Committee and introduced two contributions to MCP as properly: an up to date authorization specs and the design for an MCP server registry service that will enable anybody to implement centralized repositories for MCP server entries. 

And eventually, Microsoft introduced a brand new open supply undertaking referred to as NLWeb to assist builders create conversational AI interfaces for his or her web sites utilizing any mannequin or information supply they’d like. NLWeb endpoints additionally act as MCP servers, so builders will be capable to simply make their content material discoverable to AI brokers in the event that they’d like. 

“We envision a world by which brokers function throughout particular person, organizational, staff and end-to-end enterprise contexts,” Frank X. Shaw, chief communications officer at Microsoft, wrote in a weblog submit. “This rising imaginative and prescient of the web is an open agentic internet, the place AI brokers make choices and carry out duties on behalf of customers or organizations. At Microsoft Construct we’re exhibiting the steps we’re taking to make this imaginative and prescient a actuality by means of our platforms, merchandise and infrastructure. We’re placing new fashions and coding brokers within the palms of builders, introducing enterprise-grade brokers, making our platforms like Azure AI Foundry, GitHub and Home windows one of the best locations to construct, embracing open protocols and accelerating scientific discovery with AI, all in order that builders and organizations can go invent the subsequent huge factor.”

Tunable and parabolic piezoelectricity in hafnia below epitaxal pressure – Weblog • by NanoWorld®


Piezoelectrics are a category of useful supplies which were extensively used for software in trendy electro-mechanical and mechatronics applied sciences. *

The signal of longitudinal piezoelectric coefficients is usually constructive however not too long ago a couple of ferroelectrics, resembling ferroelectric polymer poly(vinylidene fluoride) and van der Waals ferroelectric CuInP2S6, had been experimentally discovered to have destructive piezoelectricity.

Within the article “Tunable and parabolic piezoelectricity in hafnia below epitaxial pressure” Hao Cheng, Peijie Jiao, Jian Wang, Mingkai Qing, Yu Deng, Jun-Ming Liu, Laurent Bellaiche, Di Wu and Yurong Yang, utilizing first-principles calculation and measurements, present that the signal of the longitudinal linear piezoelectric coefficient of HfO2 will be tuned from constructive to destructive through epitaxial pressure. *

Nonlinear and even parabolic piezoelectric behaviors are additional discovered at tensile epitaxial pressure. *

This parabolic piezoelectric conduct implies that the polarization decreases when rising the magnitude of both compressive or tensile longitudinal pressure, or, equivalently, that the pressure will increase when rising the magnitude of electrical area being both parallel or antiparallel to the route of polarization. The bizarre piezoelectric results are from the chemical coordination of the energetic oxygen atoms. *

These placing piezoelectric options of constructive and destructive signal, in addition to linear and parabolical behaviors, develop the present information in piezoelectricity and broaden the potential of piezoelectric purposes in direction of electro-mechanical and communications expertise. *

NanoWorld Pt/Ir coated Pointprobe® EFM AFM probes had been used for the pattern characterization by switching spectroscopy PFM measurements.

Switching spectroscopy PFM measurements had been carried out on the naked HZO movie floor at room temperature with Nanoworld Pointprobe® EFM in a commercially accessible atomic power microscope, whereas the LSMO electrode was grounded.

Fig. 5 from Hao Cheng et al. (2024) “Tunable and parabolic piezoelectricity in hafnia under epitaxial strain”: [111]-oriented HZO films grown on (110) LAO substrates with different thicknesses of LSMO buffer layers.a XRD θ-2θ patterns of HZO films deposited on (110)-oriented LAO with 20-, 33-, 66-nm-thick LSMO buffer layers. b PFM phase loops of the HZO films deposited on 20-, 33- and 66-nm-thick LSMO buffered LAO substrates. c–e Reciprocal space mappings around the (310) spot of HZO/LSMO/LAO with c 20-, d 33-, and e 66-nm-thick LSMO buffer layers. NanoWorld Pt/Ir coated Pointprobe® EFM AFM probes the sample characterization by switching spectroscopy PFM measurements.
Fig. 5 from Hao Cheng et al. (2024) “Tunable and parabolic piezoelectricity in hafnia below epitaxial pressure”: [111]-oriented HZO movies grown on (110) LAO substrates with totally different thicknesses of LSMO buffer layers.
a XRD θ-2θ patterns of HZO movies deposited on (110)-oriented LAO with 20-, 33-, 66-nm-thick LSMO buffer layers. b PFM section loops of the HZO movies deposited on 20-, 33- and 66-nm-thick LSMO buffered LAO substrates. c–e Reciprocal house mappings across the (310) spot of HZO/LSMO/LAO with c 20-, d 33-, and e 66-nm-thick LSMO buffer layers.

*Hao Cheng, Peijie Jiao, Jian Wang, Mingkai Qing, Yu Deng, Jun-Ming Liu, Laurent Bellaiche, Di Wu and Yurong Yang
Tunable and parabolic piezoelectricity in hafnia below epitaxial pressure
Nature Communications quantity 15, Article quantity: 394 (2024)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44207-w

Open Entry  The article “ Tunable and parabolic piezoelectricity in hafnia below epitaxial pressure ” by Hao Cheng, Peijie Jiao, Jian Wang, Mingkai Qing, Yu Deng, Jun-Ming Liu, Laurent Bellaiche, Di Wu and Yurong Yang is licensed below a Artistic Commons Attribution 4.0 Worldwide License, which allows use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and replica in any medium or format, so long as you give acceptable credit score to the unique writer(s) and the supply, present a hyperlink to the Artistic Commons license, and point out if adjustments had been made. The pictures or different third get together materials on this article are included within the article’s Artistic Commons license, except indicated in any other case in a credit score line to the fabric. If materials just isn’t included within the article’s Artistic Commons license and your meant use just isn’t permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you have to to acquire permission straight from the copyright holder. To view a duplicate of this license, go to http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Cisco’s Companion Innovation Problem Returns Greater Than Ever


Annually, Cisco’s Companion Innovation Problem jogs my memory of one thing easy however highly effective: our companions aren’t simply constructing options — they’re constructing what’s subsequent.

Immediately, I’m proud to launch the eighth Annual World Companion Innovation Problem — and it’s our greatest, boldest yr but. With almost $1 million in prizes, this yr’s problem displays the exponential tempo of innovation we’ve seen throughout the Cisco ecosystem over the previous 12 months.

Final yr’s winners confirmed us what’s attainable when imaginative and prescient meets execution.

Presidio took the grand prize with their SignBridge answer, delivering real-time American Signal Language interpretation in Webex conferences by a devoted video feed. Utilizing superior diffusion fashions, this answer creates visible representations of spoken content material, fostering inclusivity in workplaces, faculties, and healthcare settings. SignBridge represents the form of forward-thinking innovation that breaks down communication limitations for hundreds of thousands globally.

Madison Applied sciences received the AI Innovation Award with their “Stage Crossing Security with AI” answer, enhancing railway intersection security by Cisco Meraki MV52 cameras, IR1101 Industrial IoT routers, and edge computing. Initially in idea stage when awarded, the funding served as a catalyst for deeper use case validation and commercialization. The answer now gives real-time monitoring and alerts for unsafe circumstances, serving to railway operators meet Australia’s stringent security necessities whereas enhancing operational effectivity.

These are simply two examples of what can occur when Cisco companions take our platform and run with it. And this yr, we’re going even additional.

2025 Award Highlights

  • $250,000 World Grand Prize — the very best ever awarded.
  • The return of the AI Innovation Award ($200K), celebrating real-world functions of synthetic intelligence.
  • Continued concentrate on Partnering for Goal, with $25K awards in numerous classes.

At Cisco, we’ve spent the final yr accelerating our innovation throughout safety, observability, hybrid work, and AI. However we all know that scale and influence occur with our companions. The Companion Innovation Problem exists to spark these breakthroughs, elevate our shared success, and switch concepts into international alternatives.

Submissions are open now and shut September 5, 2025.

Winners might be introduced dwell at Companion Summit 2025 in San Diego. Whether or not you’re already constructing or simply getting began, that is your second. I can’t wait to see what you create.

 

 


We’d love to listen to what you assume. Ask a Query, Remark Under, and Keep Linked with #CiscoPartners on social!

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How AI modifications your multicloud community structure



As enterprises discover ever extra use instances for generative AI (genAI) and agentic AI, their skill to realize optimum enterprise outcomes from these use instances will rely upon the energy of their hybrid multicloud networks.

Sometimes, these workloads demand higher-bandwidth, low-latency connectivity for centralized software supply (LLM improvement), and AI on the edge (inferencing). If IT leaders fail to design a community that may deal with the massive information volumes and distinctive visitors patterns of AI workloads, they danger slowing down their AI initiatives.

The complexity of hybrid multicloud networks

Hybrid multicloud networks have been by no means easy. Connecting and securing disparate environments usually depends on a number of options, a few of that are expensive whereas others lack interoperability and observability. Community groups for years have been combating the battle of making an attempt to scale back connectivity prices with out sacrificing resiliency, safety, and efficiency.

Enter AI, which exacerbates present hybrid multicloud networking challenges, together with:

1. Elevated information gravity

GenAI, for instance, thrives on huge portions of information. AI functions not solely want entry to centralized datasets but in addition generate substantial new information for continuous refinement. The result’s an internet of interdependencies the place information locality and proximity to GPU sources matter as a lot as, if no more than, uncooked capability. Shifting information between clouds and on-premises techniques to assist AI processing provides one other layer of logistical complexity.

2. Latency sensitivity

GenAI workloads, corresponding to real-time inference or retrieval-augmented technology (RAG) techniques, are latency delicate. Whether or not producing text-based buyer assist responses in actual time or delivering details about an account to a salesman throughout a gathering, these workloads go away no room for delays. Edge infrastructure can supply some aid by lowering latency for AI inference, however integrating edge-based AI deployments into an already-fragmented hybrid infrastructure is not any small feat.

3. Skyrocketing prices

Working AI workloads entails scaling GPU and community sources extensively, particularly when coaching or fine-tuning fashions throughout multicloud environments. Greater bandwidth necessities, frequent information transfers, and insufficient routing mechanisms can drive up community prices. On the identical time, overprovisioning bandwidth leads to enterprises paying for companies they don’t use.

4. Safety and compliance challenges

GenAI intensifies issues round information privateness and compliance. Delicate proprietary information should usually be used to coach and refine fashions, and this information sometimes straddles private and non-private cloud environments. This dynamic raises questions on methods to securely deal with and course of information whereas assembly regional regulatory necessities. These dangers are amplified if conventional community administration instruments lack sturdy safety layers.

Future-proofing multicloud networks for genAI

It’s extremely advisable to re-architect hybrid multicloud community to arrange for the rising calls for of genAI. IT leaders ought to take into account deploying software-defined networking platforms to centralize administration and allow seamless orchestration. Organizations also needs to deploy edge infrastructure to ship latency-sensitive AI functions, putting inference and restricted coaching workloads close to customers.

A hybrid strategy, combining personal information repositories for delicate coaching with multicloud flexibility for non-proprietary workloads, gives a sensible path ahead. Partnering with cloud-neutral platforms, corresponding to Equinix, will help enterprises overcome connectivity challenges whereas sustaining safety, scalability, and AI readiness.

GenAI has the potential to revolutionize industries by enhancing buyer experiences, boosting worker productiveness, and streamlining and automating enterprise processes, however provided that enterprises are prepared to handle the brand new calls for AI places on the community . The time to begin is now.

Study constructing a hybrid multicloud networking technique that units you as much as thrive on this new world.