Steven Zolman

Sep. 16,2026 | AI, OpenAI, Anthropic

Anthropic is heading toward the largest IPO in history on a growth curve investors are underwriting....not one the company has guaranteed. Enterprise buyers who've built on Claude are exposed to that gap whether or not they own a share of stock. Anthropic's last private valuation was $965 billion, set in a $65 billion Series H round in May 2026. Six investors have told the Financial Times to expect the company to seek $2 trillion or more when it lists, reportedly as soon as October 2026, which would more than double that mark in a matter of months and surpass SpaceX's record-setting $1.77 trillion June debut as the largest IPO ever ...

Michael Welsh

Aug. 31,2026 | Software, AI

For decades, enterprise software pricing was built around a familiar unit: the human being. Count the employees, identify the users, negotiate the per-seat price and then spend the next three years discovering that 17 percent of those users never logged in. It was not perfect, but at least everyone generally understood what was being purchased. AI agents are beginning to dismantle that model. Unlike a traditional user, an AI agent may complete thousands of actions, interact with multiple systems and operate continuously without taking lunch, vacation or an inexplicable three-hour block marked “focus time.” Vendors are now trying to determine ...

Michael Welsh

Jul. 21,2026 | CIO, AI

Shadow IT is hardly a new problem. Employees have been downloading unapproved applications since someone first realized they could avoid an IT service ticket by entering a credit card number. Generative AI has made the problem faster, easier and considerably more complicated. Today, an employee does not need to implement a major software platform to create a new technology expense or expose company information. They can subscribe to an AI assistant, connect a browser extension, authorize a plug-in or activate an AI feature already embedded in an existing SaaS product. The entire “implementation” might take less time than it takes to find the ...

Michael Welsh

Jun. 30,2026 | Software, Microsoft, AI

For the past several years, the executive conversation around artificial intelligence has been fairly predictable: “We need an AI strategy.” “What are our competitors doing with AI?” “Why aren’t we doing more with AI?” And, inevitably: “Can we add AI to the presentation?” Apparently, no corporate initiative is complete until a small glowing robot has been placed somewhere on Slide 4. But the conversation is changing. The enthusiasm is still there, the investment is certainly still there, and the PowerPoint robots remain gainfully employed. What has changed is the question coming from CFOs, boards and private equity sponsors: Where is the ...

Austin Zolman

May. 29,2026 | AI

Artificial Intelligence was supposed to make businesses more efficient. Instead, for many executives, it currently resembles a very intelligent toddler with access to the corporate credit card. AI initiatives are exploding across enterprises in 2026. Boards want AI. Business units want AI. Vendors definitely want AI. Everyone has a “transformational” roadmap, a usage-based pricing model, and an urgent recommendation that you scale immediately. What nobody seems eager to discuss is the invoice. Across the market, organizations are running into a new reality: AI-driven IT spend is becoming wildly unpredictable. Consumption-based pricing for ...

Michael Welsh

Mar. 31,2026 | AI

Enterprise AI adoption has moved from experimentation to commitment. Organizations are rapidly embedding platforms such as Microsoft Copilot, Salesforce Agentforce, Amazon Bedrock, and Databricks into their core operating environments. The strategic rationale is clear. AI is now viewed as a foundational capability, not an optional add-on. The issue is not whether to invest, but how quickly and at what scale. What is far less clear and increasingly problematic, is how these investments are being priced, structured, and contracted. A Market Without Benchmarks Unlike traditional enterprise software categories, the AI market does not yet have ...

Austin Zolman

Feb. 26,2026 | CFO, Cloud, CIO, Vendor Management, AI, FinOps

The 2026 IT Budget Surge: How to Turn 10%+ Increases into Measurable ROI, Not Vendor Windfalls The consensus with most analyst firms, is that worldwide IT spending is projected to reach $6.15 trillion in 2026, up 10%+ year over year, driven by an 80.8% surge in AI-related spending, a 31.7% jump in data center systems, and acceleration in software spend - projected to grow by over 14% driven by data analytics, cybersecurity, and integration of AI platforms into core business functions. At the enterprise level, 75% of CFOs expect tech budgets to rise, and 48% are planning increases of 10% or more. The largest allocations are going to IT, AI, ...

Tjeerd Edelman

Nov. 26,2025 | Microsoft, AI

What Microsoft Changed and Why It Matters Microsoft has significantly re-engineered its Foundry platform, shifting it from a collection of AI tools into a more unified, production-grade system for enterprise agent deployment. In Microsoft’s own words, agents are evolving into “dynamic collaborators” supported by a “modular, interoperable, and secure agent stack.” This is more than a technical update. It is a strategic reposition. For CIOs, CTOs, and procurement leaders, this matters because Microsoft is clearly signaling its intent: Foundry is becoming the preferred environment where enterprise AI agents will live, operate, and bill from. ...

Fred Teekens

Sep. 29,2025 | Vendor Management, AI

Look, I've seen enough gold rushes in tech to know that AI is the latest nugget luring enterprises into a frenzy. But here's the contrarian truth: without a sheriff in town- meaning smart oversight and negotiation muscle, your AI investments could turn into a ghost town of wasted budgets, security holes, and disappointed stakeholders. This post cuts through the hype, spotlighting how unchecked AI spending is leaving companies high and dry, with operational risks piling up faster than bad debts. We'll arm you with battle-tested strategies to control those costs, minimize risks, and squeeze real value out of your AI plays. Drawing from market ...

Steven Zolman

Jun. 30,2025 | AI, OpenAI

Introduction In the fast-evolving dojo of artificial intelligence (AI), OpenAI stands as a formidable sensei, offering unparalleled large language models (LLMs) and generative AI capabilities that promise to transform enterprises. Yet, like wielding a katana, engaging with OpenAI requires precision, discipline, and mastery. An unmanaged acquisition of this technology can be akin to a novice swinging a samurai sword—resulting in catastrophic financial, technical, and legal wounds that can cripple an organization. With NET(net) as your master sensei, you transform from a vulnerable novice into a strategic samurai, staying in the driver’s seat ...