As day one of the Supercloud 3 event came to a close, it became evident that the supercloud concept is paving the way for a future where accuracy, speed and a strong defense are paramount.

With Supercloud 4 on the horizon in just a few months, dedicated solely to AI, the discussions and insights shared during this event are shaping the landscape of technology.

“The impetus behind supercloud was always to attack complexity,” said Dave Vellante (pictured, right), theCUBE co-founder and industry analyst. “With multicloud complexity, and now with LLMs and of course security, we’re hearing a lot of chaos.”

Vellante was joined by theCUBE co-founder and fellow analyst John Furrier (left) at the Supercloud 3: Security, AI and the Supercloud event, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed the highlights of the conference and explored the changing dynamics of artificial intelligence and security, as well as shed light on the implications for the future.

The changing dynamics of AI and security

The growing importance of AI in the security landscape means that the chaos arising from multicloud complexity, and the evolving security challenges that creates, must be addressed. That chaos can be turned into cash for both attackers and defending companies, leading to substantial growth opportunities, according to Vellante.

Regarding AI, Furrier acknowledged the prevailing skepticism. However, he pointed out that attackers currently hold an advantage, with the consensus leaning in their favor. This observation indicates the urgent need for defenders to catch up and strategically deploy large language models in security applications.

“DevOps principles at that scale need accuracy, the speed of the game, the defense has to be strong … that’s gonna impact the capital markets,” Furrier said. “It’s going to impact growth rates, and it’s also going to impact this platform versus tools.”

Platform vs. tools: Navigating the changing landscape

The changing dynamics in the technology landscape is going to impact the ongoing shift from platforms to tools, capital markets and growth rates. In particular, the conversation around platform vs. tools is gaining momentum and is expected to drive significant mergers and acquisitions in the industry, according to Furrier.

Zero trust and the challenges faced by practitioners in implementing the strategy were also brought up during the conversation. While zero trust is an industry buzzword, Vellante emphasized the need to distinguish marketing noise from practical implementation. For example, Snowflake questioned the integrity of zero trust because of a specific vulnerability, highlighting the complexities involved in achieving complete trustworthiness.

“People are struggling with zero-trust practitioners,” Vellante added. “We heard it today. It’s partial zero trust.”

Looking ahead: Implications for the future

Insights from experts at the conference, including Matthew Prince, chief executive officer of Cloudflare Inc.; Doug Merritt, chairman, CEO and president of Aviatrix Systems Inc.; and Jay Chaudry, chairman and CEO of Zscaler, Inc., showcased a keen understanding of the evolving landscape and provided guidance on positioning oneself favorably amid the rapid transformation driven by AI and supercloud technologies, according to the analysts.

Being on the right side of history is critical in this era of generative AI. The integration of AI and the supercloud wave will lead to unprecedented levels of advancement, catching investors, buyers and businesses off guard if they fail to adapt swiftly, Furrier and Vellante explained. This further highlights the importance of partnerships and the support of industry leaders, such as VMware Inc., Amazon Web Services Inc. and CrowdStrike Holdings Inc., to name a few, which are actively participating in the creation of the supercloud.

Supercloud 3 has set the stage for a transformative era in the security and AI landscape. With the upcoming Supercloud 4 event dedicated solely to AI, the implications for both attackers and defenders can’t be ignored. As the industry navigates the complexities of multicloud environments and incorporates LLMs, accuracy, speed and a strong defense are paramount, theCUBE analysts explained.

“I think it’s an important area to watch. I think the fundamental acceleration of supercloud, as well as the generative AI wave that’s going to just take machine learning from the past decade and put it into a whole other gear, is going to come now in security,” Furrier said.

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Supercloud 3: Security, AI and the Supercloud event:

Photo: SiliconANGLE