Startup Forward Inc. today rolled out Forward Predict, software that lets customers model the impact of network changes before changes go live. Rather than a routine feature update in a crowded artificial intelligence networking market, the move signals a broader shift in how networks should be designed, operated and trusted as AI becomes central to enterprise information technology.
Like most vendor event keynotes this year, Michael Dell used his Dell Technologies World 2026 keynote to argue that artificial intelligence has moved beyond experimentation and into the physical, operational core of the enterprise. His central line, “Abundant intelligence is here,” framed the transformation not as another infrastructure refresh cycle but as the start of a new operating model in which intelligence is embedded across factories, hospitals, labs and edge environments.
Nvidia Corp.‘s latest networking innovations meet the needs of a new kind of network that supports the unique demands of artificial intelligence factories. Ethernet is no longer a generic plumbing choice but an enabler of high-performance AI. With today’s unveiling of Multipath Reliable Connection, or MRC, on Spectrum-X Ethernet, Nvidia is pushing Ethernet even deeper into AI-native territory — and doing so in partnership with OpenAI Group PBC and Microsoft Corp.
Extreme Networks Inc. used its Extreme Connect 2026 user conference this week to make a strong case that artificial intelligence-driven networking has finally arrived. Building on Platform ONE, the company rolled out a full-stack vision spanning new Wi-Fi 7 access points, enhanced fabric-ready switching and a second-generation artificial intelligence layer called Agent ONE, designed to act less like a chatbot and more like an operational co-worker for NetOps teams.
Major League Baseball opened the 2026 season with a technological first: the Automated Ball-Strike or ABS Challenge System, powered by T-Mobile’s private 5G network, is now deployed across all 29 U.S. ballparks. While headlines focus on umpire challenges and strike zones, the real story for information technology professionals lies beneath the surface — in the network infrastructure that enables split-second decisions in environments where failure simply isn’t an option.