Software-defined hardware in the age of AI | McKinsey

Over the past two decades, the shift from fixed-function hardware to software-defined hardware has revolutionized industries ranging from networking to mobile communications. With software-defined hardware, developers can improve products and services by continually updating software rather than undertaking more costly and time-consuming hardware upgrades. Devices that were once rigid and task specific are now becoming programmable and flexible, allowing them to handle new tasks and demands. Software-defined hardware first demonstrated its ability to transform entire industries around 2009, when developers introduced software-defined networking (SDN). By decoupling network control from the physical infrastructure, SDN enabled dynamic traffic management and provided more flexibility in network scaling and deployment. Many companies, including Cisco, VMware, and Juniper Networks, have already shifted to SDN in their data centers. In the 2000s, the smartphone revolution brought the benef

Over the past two decades, the shift from fixed-function hardware to software-defined hardware has revolutionized industries ranging from networking to mobile communications. With software-defined hardware, developers can improve products and services by continually updating software rather than undertaking more costly and time-consuming hardware upgrades. Devices that were once rigid and task specific are now becoming programmable and flexible, allowing them to handle new tasks and demands. Software-defined hardware first demonstrated its ability to transform entire industries around 2009, wh