Digest from January to December: 2024’s IT News Summed Up

Welcome to our special digest! We'll look back at 2024—a year filled with high-profile breakthroughs, unexpected twists, and transformative changes in the world of technology.

We'll cover AMD’s rise to dominance over Intel in the battle for the processor market, and NVIDIA’s continued leadership in the GPU segment. We'll also highlight Google’s surprising leap with its quantum chip and how the Paris Olympics showed cutting-edge technology in action.

Additionally, we'll explore how AI affects data centers, the chaos triggered by the CrowdStrike bug, and the wave of IT industry layoffs that marked 2024’s restructuring.

Join us as we revisit these pivotal events and their lasting impact on the industry!

Intel, AMD, Ubitium, NVIDIA & Broadcom

Broadcom just reached a major milestone: a trillion-dollar valuation following an impressive financial report. Broadcom's Tomahawk and Jericho networking chips are powering NVIDIA’s GPUs to operate at full speed, highlighting the profound impact artificial intelligence continues to have on the industry.

What’s next on the horizon? Ubitium has introduced a groundbreaking concept with the world's first universal processor based on RISC-V architecture. This innovative chip combines the functions of CPU, GPU, DSP, and FPGA into a single device. The new processor's standout feature is that it eliminates "specialized" cores entirely. Each transistor is capable of performing any task, making it a truly universal solution for computation.

It's expected to hit the market in 2026, and judging by the claims, it may lay the foundation for an entirely new generation of technologies.

Fight for the Processor Market: AMD vs. Intel

AMD holds 24.2% of the server market in 2024, and its share is still growing. The company typically gains momentum after releasing new EPYC processors, especially when its partners launch solutions built on their foundation. So, it's pretty likely that AMD will continue to rise in the coming months.

Intel remains the leader in production volume with a 75.8% share. However, AMD has outperformed its rival in the premium segment by selling pricier processors, which is evident in the company's higher revenue share. A major milestone came in the third quarter of 2024 when AMD's server division revenue surpassed Intel's in the same segment for the first time — $3.549 billion versus $3.3 billion.

Just a heads-up: If you’re interested in comparing processors in practice, is*hosting has launched some great server configurations this year.

• Dedicated server with AMD (Ryzen and EPYC).
• Dedicated server with Intel (Xeon and Core i7).

What's Going on in the GPU Market?

The third quarter of 2024 marked a rare break in the usual growth trend for GPU shipments, a phenomenon last seen in 2018. According to Jon Peddie Research, graphics processing unit (GPU) shipments dropped from 9.5 million in the second quarter to 8.1 million in the third. While shipments have often exceeded 10 million, this quarter fell short. Interestingly, though, overall PC processor shipments saw significant growth.

When it comes to GPUs, NVIDIA is still the market leader. In the third quarter, its market share grew by 2% compared to the previous quarter and 8% compared to last year, now commanding 90% of the market. Meanwhile, Intel and AMD saw their shares decline to 0% and 10%, respectively.

By the way, if you're seeking high-performance servers equipped with a graphic processing unit for AI computing, machine learning, big data, or rendering, our GPU servers are ready to order now.

Which Programming Language Has Taken the Lead in 2024?

Every year, the programming language of the year is awarded to the language that has shown the highest growth in ratings over the past year. In 2024, according to all predictions, Python will receive this honor. This language has shown a rating growth of 10%, which makes it the clear favorite.

Java and JavaScript come in second and third place, with growth of +1.73% and +1.72%, respectively. While these increases are positive, they pale compared to Python's impressive leap in 2024.

Whether Python will remain on the pedestal in the coming years remains to be seen.

What in 2024 Has Come True from the Expectations in the IT Sector?

In last year's New Year's Digest, we highlighted some major events anticipated in 2024. Stable Linux 6.7, Wi-Fi 7, and Windows 12 were all on the radar. So, how did those predictions pan out?

Linus Torvalds continues to meet Linux users’ expectations by consistently delivering new versions of this popular operating system. On December 15, he announced the third release candidate (RC3) for Linux kernel 6.13. Linux kernel 6.13-rc3 brings numerous updates, fixes, and improvements to various subsystems. Users and developers can download Linux kernel 6.13-rc3 from Kernel.org or Linus Torvalds' git tree and are encouraged to report any issues.

The status of Wi-Fi 7, or the IEEE P802.11be™ standard, remains uncertain. The association has released a new standard, IEEE 802.11az, and is still working on IEEE 802.11bd. What we do know is that Wi-Fi 7 is supported by Android 13, Linux 6.2, Windows 11, and later versions of these operating systems.

Although rumors about Windows 12 were encouraging, it didn’t debut in 2024. Instead, Microsoft focused on refining Windows 11, releasing Windows 11 24H2 as its latest major update. Rumors about Windows 12 remain just that — rumors.

Google Created Revolutionary Quantum Chip

In 2024, Google made another breakthrough in quantum technology with the unveiling of its new Willow quantum chip. This development promises to be a major milestone on the road to full-fledged quantum computers, as it addresses the challenging problem of errors caused by the sensitivity of qubits to external influences.

How does the new chip handle these errors?

• The new chip architecture and improved error correction system allowed Willow to overcome the "error correction threshold," This means that errors decrease exponentially as the number of qubits increases.
• While errors cannot be completely eliminated, Google claims Willow can reduce them to almost negligible levels.

To evaluate Willow's capabilities, we used the Random Circuit Sampling (RCS) benchmark, which tests the ability of a quantum computer to perform tasks inaccessible to classical computers. The results are impressive: a task that would take a modern supercomputer 10 septillion years to complete was solved by Willow in just five minutes. To put that in perspective, it’s more time than the age of the universe.

So now the question is: are we truly no longer constrained by the laws of classical physics?

What Technologies Surprised the Olympics in Paris

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games were more than a sporting event—they became a showcase for cutting-edge technology. Organizers demonstrated how digital solutions and artificial intelligence could enhance the experience for athletes, spectators, and the world.

AI systems analyze athletes' performance in real-time, helping them refine their techniques and strategies. Computer vision cameras captured every move, providing detailed data. AI algorithms were employed across various sports to evaluate performance with incredible accuracy to minimize human error.

The most prominent example is Intel's 3D Athlete Tracking (3DAT) system, which tracks athletes’ movements in three dimensions and delivers precise data to improve training and performance.

To reopen the Seine for swimming events, Paris installed IoT sensors to monitor water quality in real time.

These innovations not only made the games more spectacular but also set a new standard for future sporting events. It will be fascinating to see how the 2028 U.S. Olympic Games unfold and what technologies they use.

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Data Centers

Artificial intelligence has become a real driver of change in the data center industry in 2024. While it offers tremendous opportunities, it also places increasing demands on infrastructure.

Training and deploying large language models, computer vision systems, and other algorithms require enormous computing power. Each operation consumes far more energy than traditional IT workloads.

According to an IDC report, AI’s development will drive exponential growth in energy consumption. By 2027, the capacity of AI data centers is expected to grow 40.5% annually, with energy consumption rising 44.7%, reaching 146.2 TWh. This consumption has a significant impact on the environment. Therefore, we recommend choosing data centers that use renewable energy sources (e.g. VPS in Denmark or dedicated servers in the US).

To put this in perspective, global data center energy consumption is projected to double between 2023 and 2028, reaching over 857 TWh. This is roughly equivalent to the annual consumption of an average European country.

IDC also conducted a study to assess the impact of rising electricity prices as data centers become increasingly expensive to operate. For a data center with a 1 MW IT load operating at a PUE of 1.5, energy costs could increase by 20% per year under certain scenarios. However, achieving an additional 10% energy efficiency could result in significant savings. What will happen next? We’ll find out as early as 2025.

Chaos over CrowdStrike: How One Mistake Paralyzed the World

The morning of Friday, July 19, 2024, began with a global technology meltdown. Microsoft systems began to fail en masse across the globe, affecting aviation, healthcare, emergency services, retail, and hospitality. Thousands of companies and millions of users were left completely helpless. This event has been labeled the largest and most devastating IT system failure in history.

The cause was traced to a glitch in the Falcon update for Microsoft Windows servers developed by CrowdStrike, a leading cybersecurity firm. The company later admitted that a bug in its content approval system had slipped through its quality assurance process. Although CrowdStrike quickly released a fix, restoring the system proved slow and difficult in most cases.

According to one estimate, 8.5 million Windows devices were affected!

The airline industry suffered enormous losses. Delta, for example, estimated its losses from canceled flights at $500 million.

Parametrix, a cloud insurance company, estimated that the outage cost U.S. Fortune 500 companies $5.4 billion, with an average loss of $44 million per company.

Despite apologies from CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz and Chief Security Officer Sean Henry, the damage was done. Accusations followed the failures, and the inevitable lawsuits only added to the pressure.

Layoffs in the IT Industry for the Sake of Restructuring and Cost Optimization

The year 2024 has continued the trend of layoffs in the IT industry, primarily due to staffing adjustments following active hiring periods, economic instability, and shifts in corporate strategy amid the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence.

• Google laid off over 1,000 employees in January, primarily from its ad sales division. CEO Sundar Pichai attributed the decision to eliminating redundant management layers and focusing resources on key priorities such as AI.
• Salesforce announced 700 layoffs in January 2024 and another 300 in July, despite a massive workforce reduction in 2023 that cut 10% of its employees.
• Cisco reduced its workforce by 5% (approximately 4,250 employees) in February and an additional 7% in August. These cuts were linked to weak sales, restructuring efforts, and the need to focus on key growth areas.
• In August, Intel announced plans to lay off 15,000 employees to cut costs by over $10 billion by 2025, citing inconsistencies with projected revenue growth.

These layoffs reflect efforts by IT giants to adapt to market challenges, with some focusing on cost-cutting and others rethinking strategic priorities. Unfortunately, the main impact has been on the job market, potentially driving further shifts among professionals in various fields.

Have a great month, and we’ll see you for the next is*hosting digest!