Digital Transformation

Durham, N.C. – September 30, 2026 -- Sixty-three percent of U.S. adults said they would or might let an AI shopping assistant choose brands on their behalf if it consistently saved them 20% on purchases, according to a nationwide survey of 2,000 Americans conducted by Talker Research on behalf of payments platform Spreedly.

The findings arrive as AI shopping agents, including Meta's newly launched Muse, expand from product discovery into checkout, intensifying scrutiny over how much purchasing authority consumers will cede to automated systems.

Younger consumers show the weakest brand loyalty against AI-driven savings

Thirty-four percent of Gen Z and 30% of Millennials said they would abandon brand loyalty if an AI assistant consistently found the best products at the lowest prices. Among parents with children under five, 60% said they would let AI select brands for a consistent 20% savings.

Santa Barbara, Calif. – September 30, 2026 -- Sidero Labs launched Talos Director, a single management platform positioned as a direct alternative to VMware for enterprises migrating virtual machines and Kubernetes clusters off legacy virtualization stacks. The platform is now in Limited Availability, with general availability planned for January 2027.

Talos Director runs VMs and Kubernetes on one immutable operating system

Built on Talos Linux and the Talos Hypervisor, Talos Director unifies management of virtual machines, Kubernetes clusters, storage and networking under a single declarative, immutable configuration model. The company says this eliminates the configuration drift that typically affects traditional data center environments.

Cleveland – September 30, 2026 -- Park Place Technologies has launched ParkView Asset Intelligence, an AI-powered platform that assigns every server, storage, network and security device a lifecycle health score from 0 to 100, giving IT managers OEM-level visibility to decide whether to refresh, repair or retire equipment.

Platform draws on 35 years of service data across nearly one million assets

Each score combines three data streams: Park Place's own hardware maintenance records spanning more than 35 years and roughly one million serviced assets across every major manufacturer, regional spare-parts availability, and a customer's own asset performance and service history. CEO Chris Adams said a device scoring 66 carries a different risk profile once IT teams see that comparable devices in the same model family average 92.

New York – September 30, 2026 -- ProphetX, described as America's first federally regulated sports-native prediction market, has signed a technology partnership with Plaee to give distribution operators a single integration point into its CFTC-regulated exchange, avoiding custom builds for each new partner.

Plaee's stack bundles trading, CRM and compliance access for operators

Through the deal, operators connect to ProphetX via Plaee's Prediction Trader, a white-label trading interface, and PlaeeOS, a CRM, personalization and monetization engine. Plaee says the setup lets operators add prediction markets to an existing product line or launch a standalone distribution channel within weeks using their current teams, rather than building exchange connectivity, liquidity access and regulatory infrastructure themselves.

Boston – – September 30, 2026 -- HFS Research has retired its flagship Horizons provider assessment and replaced it with HFS Services-as-SoftwareTM (SaS) Star Ratings, a scoring system built entirely on more than 400 enterprise client evaluations with zero vendor input and no analyst scoring.

The shift ends a model in which provider rankings were assembled from vendor briefings, RFI responses, and vendor-selected references before being scored by analysts. Under SaS Stars, providers cannot submit scoring inputs, buy inclusion, or select client references; only current enterprise clients who own or govern an engagement and have at least 12 months of experience with it are eligible to rate a provider.

Cleveland – September 30, 2026 -- Arrowfly has launched AI for Engineers, a year-round platform combining a dedicated news desk, an annual conference, original research, and an advisory board for engineers applying artificial intelligence across design, manufacturing, robotics, medtech, and energy work.

Arrowfly taps a 2.1 million-reader network to anchor the new initiative

The program draws on Arrowfly's more than 20 flagship engineering brands, which collectively reach 2.1 million verified industry readers, 29 million website visitors, 1.6 million email subscribers, and generate 202 million monthly impressions. More than 30,000 engineering and technical professionals have already engaged with AI-related webinars, newsletters, and editorial content across Arrowfly's engineering portfolio.

Delray Beach, Fla. – September 30, 2026 -- The global in-flight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) market is set to grow from $9.50 billion in 2026 to $13.20 billion by 2031, a 6.8% compound annual growth rate, according to a new forecast from MarketsandMarkets.

Airlines accelerate WiFi and streaming upgrades to meet passenger demand

Rising passenger expectations for connected air travel are driving airlines to replace legacy in-flight entertainment equipment with satellite-based and hybrid connectivity systems. Increasing use of personal devices and demand for reliable in-flight internet are pushing carriers toward cloud-based platforms and personalized digital services, alongside onboard retail and advertising offerings.

Brisbane – September 30, 2026 -- The EATP Pegasus long endurance drone completed a nearly two-hour test flight covering more than 75 kilometres on a single Li-S Energy lithium sulfur battery pack, landing safely with battery capacity to spare.

Pegasus battery delivers 80% more range than comparable lithium polymer packs

On a same cell weight basis, Li-S Energy's 382 Wh lithium sulfur battery packs delivered 80% more range and flight time than an equivalent high-performance professional lithium polymer UAV battery pack, according to the company. The twin-motor, five-metre wingspan aircraft combines V-TOL Aerospace's airframe and power systems, Li-S Energy's battery packs and battery management system, and a perovskite solar array fabricated by Halocell Energy.

Troy, Michigan and Chicago – September 30, 2026 -- Virtus Solis Technologies and Brae Systems have closed a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement for space-based solar power, marking the world's first commercial orbital solar PPA and a multi-billion-dollar lifetime contract commitment.

Virtus Solis will deliver 100 MW of continuous orbital solar power to Brae's subsea GPU infrastructure

Under the deal, Virtus Solis will supply 100 MW of 24/7 baseload solar power, equivalent to 876,000 MWh annually, transmitted via a dedicated receiving station to be built in Illinois. Brae holds an option to expand capacity to 250 MW, or 2.19 million MWh annually, within three years of initial commercial operations.

San Jose – September 30, 2026 -- AppZen has launched Autonomous Cards, an AI agent layer that automates compliance, monitoring and spend intelligence for enterprise corporate card programs, as commercial card volume in the U.S. hit $2.23 trillion in 2024, up 4.5% year-over-year, according to the Nilson Report.

AppZen deploys AI agents to process transactions without replacing existing card infrastructure

Autonomous Cards connects directly to companies' existing purchasing, virtual, fleet, ghost, and lodge card programs, keeping current banks and issuers intact while adding a unified AI and compliance layer. The system continuously monitors eligible transactions, using card data, merchant details, Level 3 detail, supporting documents and company policy to determine what was purchased and whether it complies with internal rules.