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According to market analyst firm Canalys, enterprise adoption of AI is slowing due to unpredictable and often high costs associated with model inferencing in the cloud. Despite strong growth in cloud infrastructure spending, businesses are increasingly scrutinizing cost-efficiency, with some opting for alternatives to public cloud providers as they grapple with volatile usage-based pricing models. The Register reports: [Canalys] published stats that show businesses spent $90.9 billion globally on infrastructure and platform-as-a-service with the likes of Microsoft, AWS and Google in calendar Q1, up 21 percent year-on-year, as the march of cloud adoption continues. Canalys says that growth came from enterprise users migrating more workloads to the cloud and exploring the use of generative AI, which relies heavily on cloud infrastructure. Yet even as organizations move beyond development and trials to deployment of AI models, a lack of clarity over the ongoing recurring costs of inferencing services is becoming a concern. "Unlike training, which is a one-time investment, inference represents a recurring operational cost, making it a critical constraint on the path to AI commercialization," said Canalys senior director Rachel Brindley. "As AI transitions from research to large-scale deployment, enterprises are increasingly focused on the cost-efficiency of inference, comparing models, cloud platforms, and hardware architectures such as GPUs versus custom accelerators," she added. Canalys researcher Yi Zhang said many AI services follow usage-based pricing models that charge on a per token or API call basis. This makes cost forecasting hard as the use of the services scale up. "When inference costs are volatile or excessively high, enterprises are forced to restrict usage, reduce model complexity, or limit deployment to high-value scenarios," Zhang said. "As a result, the broader potential of AI remains underutilized." [...] According to Canalys, cloud providers are aiming to improve inferencing efficiency via a modernized infrastructure built for AI, and reduce the cost of AI services. The report notes that AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud "continue to dominate the IaaS and PaaS market, accounting for 65 percent of customer spending worldwide." "However, Microsoft and Google are slowly gaining ground on AWS, as its growth rate has slowed to 'only' 17 percent, down from 19 percent in the final quarter of 2024, while the two rivals have maintained growth rates of more than 30 percent."

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An analysis found some paternal-themed bars and treats include almost a week's worth of sugar in a single item.

High heels are de rigueur for many women wanting to look their best - thanks no doubt to the influence of the world of fashion, where teetering stilettos are the norm.

The 32-year-old raised more than £1.5million for Unicef as he battled through an agonising calf injury to deliver the Soccer Aid match ball to Old Trafford ready for the match this Sunday.

Marcus Monzo, 37, admitted that he had been using cannabis 'extensively' which had changed his personality and caused a mental health decline.

The wooden cabin in the remote Welsh mountains was packed with hulking blokes sitting silently on bunks with our kit taking up whatever space was left.

But as dusk falls, the mood is transformed into something rather more sinister. Gangs of masked youths stalk the streets, barricades are set ablaze and the acrid smell of burning tyres fills the air.

Drinks were flowing as the Deputy Prime Minister held court, acting as the DJ playing loud 'house music' while her guests danced the night away.

Eamonn Holmes did not hold back his thoughts on his former colleagues in the TV industry as he branded them 'false'.

Has Meghan's pal been jinxed by the association - at least where her fashion business is concerned?

High-voltage electricity cables have become a major constraint throttling the clean energy transition, with manufacturing facilities booked out for years as demand far exceeds supply capacity. The energy transition, trade barriers, and overdue grid upgrades have turbocharged demand for these highly sophisticated cables that connect wind farms, solar installations, and cross-border power networks. The International Energy Agency estimates that 80 million kilometers of grid infrastructure must be built between now and 2040 to meet clean energy targets -- equivalent to rebuilding the entire existing global grid that took a century to construct, but compressed into just 15 years. Each high-voltage cable requires custom engineering and months-long production in specialized 200-meter towers, with manufacturers reporting that 80-90% of major projects now use high-voltage direct current technology versus traditional alternating current systems.

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The Chancellor is facing a ferocious backlash from her own MPs over plans to trim £5 billion from the benefits bill.

Sam, 32, has insisted there are 'no hard feelings' after his ex-girlfriend Zara McDermott moved on pretty quickly with singer Louis, 33.

When villagers saw people popping in and out of a house in the centre of the pretty Cheshire village of Prestbury last week, they assumed they were all there to undertake renovation work.

You're sitting at your desk, trying to look busy, and your work isn't going well. OK, it's time to double down and try a bit harder... but for some reason your brain fails to ignite.

The United States did not participate in Israel's initial attacks on Iran but it certainly knew they were coming. Donald Trump admitted as much to the US media yesterday morning.

Muhammad Naasir Attaari, 49, was charged with threatening to kill Hamit Coskun after he burned the Muslim holy book outside the Turkish consulate in London on February 13.

John Fazackerley, 60, had flown to Paphos, Cyprus to watch his son Sean marry fiancée Vicky in a long-planned ceremony in May.

Ryan Callaghan, 33, horrifically assaulted the vulnerable women and lived on the coastal path the group had coincidentally decided to walk.

Imagine the surprise, then, for any fan of his who happens to walk past Soho's Hare Krishna HQ. Because there, they will see the actor immersing himself in spiritual rituals and chanting mantras.