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  • European software alternatives for businesses

    European software alternatives for businesses
    2026/03/09
    Finding European software alternatives to standard non European software is flavour of the month this side of the Altlantic. With geopolitical certainties dissolving faster than annual licence renewals, B2B firms are waking up to a question they had conveniently parked for years: just how dependent are they on their current software stack? Salesforce, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, HubSpot — tools so deeply embedded in daily operations that their vulnerability tends to get overlooked. This article doesn’t pretend to hand you a ready-made list of the best European software alternatives; that would be both arrogant and futile. What it does offer is a framework — rational, professional, free of any ideological baggage — to help decision-makers take an honest look at their exposure and find credible ways forward. Keep calm and select new software vendors sort of thing. European software alternatives for businesses European software alternatives are all anyone wants to talk about right now. To cut through the ideological noise, here is a practical methodology and a few things worth watching out for. Image antimuseum.com I put these ideas together ahead of a webinar I’m running on LinkedIn on 12 March, as a way of getting my thoughts in order. None of this is meant as a final word on the subject — more the opening of a conversation that matters to a growing number of professionals who, like the rest of us, are navigating a period of upheaval in which nothing can be taken for granted, software choices included. The 12 March webinar on European software alternatives to Salesforce and HubSpot I’ve made a lot of software choices over the years, and the one thing that has always struck me is just how much methodology matters if you want choices that actually hold up over time. Easier said than done, mind you — there are a great many criteria to weigh up, and some of them are genuinely tricky to pin down. Long-term viability is a good example: normally near the top of any procurement checklist, it takes on a whole different meaning when the possibility of having your access switched off overnight is no longer hypothetical. With European software alternatives, the real question isn’t how to break free from your chains — it’s which new chains you’d rather wear Picking a software suite is never straightforward at the best of times. In the current climate — where the ground can shift completely without a moment’s notice — it demands even more careful thought. Sovereignty, sovereignism, or simply prudence? Let me be clear from the outset: my take here is professional and rational, not political. Politics doesn’t interest me in this context. I have no intention of evaluating software alternatives through any ideological prism — what I’m after is the kind of clear-headed thinking you’d apply to a crisis management scenario. The goal, to borrow the term favoured by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, is to bring an antifragile lens to the question. The scope of European software alternatives My focus has been on MarTech, SalesTech and office productivity tools in the broadest sense — cloud storage and archiving included. The webinar title calls out Salesforce and HubSpot specifically, but as far as I’m concerned the issue runs much deeper than that. The same methodology can easily stretch into more industry-specific territory too, given how thoroughly technology now underpins B2B operations — from the till at your local baker’s or restaurant through to the most complex design and production platforms imaginable. Thinking it through, I also realised you can’t really ignore operating systems. What use is an application that won’t run on your users’ machines — or worse, one that runs perfectly but quietly leaves the door open to security vulnerabilities? Good old Europe — 27 countries, 24 official languages, and 27 different national transpositions of EU law. Would a Hungarian or Czech software vendor actually be safer than an independent American one? When it comes to European software alternatives, that’s still very much an open question… Urgency — dependency and threat assessment The starting point, in my view, is to get a clear picture of how exposed you actually are — both in terms of dependency and of what cybersecurity people would call the “threat level.” Are you locked in, or not? Can you get your data out if you need to? Those are the questions to tackle first. Then comes the threat itself: are you facing something urgent, or is this more a matter of sensible contingency planning? Committing to a software suite is a serious business. Jumping ship to something purely because it comes from a country you currently trust is not a strategy. Take Switzerland — long held up across Western Europe as the gold standard for data privacy. A legislative change currently working its way through the Swiss system has rattled enough cages for several ...
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    9 分
  • AI Job Impact in the US: the Apocalypse Can Wait

    AI Job Impact in the US: the Apocalypse Can Wait
    2026/01/28
    The discourse around the job impact of artificial intelligence (AI) has reached fever pitch. Headlines scream about mass layoffs, and corporate press releases tout AI as the solution to workforce costs. Yet beneath this cacophony of alarm and hype lies a more nuanced reality. J.P. Gownder, Vice President and Principal Analyst on Forrester’s Future of Work team, has spent decades analysing how technology transforms the workplace. His latest report, The Forrester AI Job Impact Forecast for the US 2025-2030, cuts through the noise with empirical rigour. The verdict? The job apocalypse is not upon us, but a measured reckoning is coming. AI Job Impact in the US: Why the Apocalypse Can Wait JP Gownder is adamant: the AI job. apocalypse can wait. At least until 2030. Phew! All images in this post made with a combination of Midjourney, Gemini Nano Banana pro and Adobe Photoshop The Gap Between AI Job Impact Announcements and Reality When Klarna declared it would stop hiring humans, the tech world took notice. The Swedish fintech became a poster child for AI-driven workforce reduction. Yet a closer examination reveals a pattern Gownder has observed across hundreds of enterprise conversations: the disconnect between C-suite proclamations and operational reality. Nine out of ten companies announcing AI layoffs don’t actually have mature AI solutions ready. So most of the layoffs are financially driven and AI is just the scapegoat, at least today — J.P. Gownder, Forrester The phenomenon echoes what happened after IBM Watson’s Jeopardy victory in 2011, when panic about imminent job losses proved premature by half a decade. The mechanics of this gap are straightforward. A CEO announces a 20% workforce reduction with AI backfilling the work. But standing up an AI solution that actually performs those tasks requires 18 to 24 months, “if it works at all.” Meanwhile, the work still needs doing. Gownder has witnessed organisations that fired employees citing AI capabilities, only to quietly hire teams in lower-cost markets weeks later. “They’re firing people because of AI,” he observes, “and then three weeks later they hire a team in India because the labour is so much cheaper.” The AI narrative, in many cases, serves as convenient cover for old-fashioned cost arbitrage. Klarna’s trajectory illustrates this pattern. After aggressively cutting its workforce by 40% and touting an AI chatbot capable of doing the work of 700 customer service agents, the company reversed course. CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski acknowledged that the aggressive automation had resulted in “lower quality” service. The company is now recruiting human customer service agents in an “Uber-type setup.” Understanding the 6% AI Job Impact Forecast Forrester’s forecast projects a 6% net job loss by 2030, roughly 10.4 million positions in the US economy. Half of this impact stems from generative AI; the remainder from automation, physical robotics, and non-generative AI applications. The number may seem modest compared to the apocalyptic predictions circulating in media, but context matters. During the Great Recession of 2008-2009, the United States lost 8.7 million jobs. Those losses, however, were temporary, tied to macroeconomic conditions that eventually reversed. The jobs Forrester forecasts losing are “structurally replaced by machine labour” and may not return. AI impact on Jobs: I would expect to see a lot more freelance and consulting work to be happening, but it doesn’t mean that there won’t be a traditional job track somewhere as well. JP Gownder The methodology behind this figure draws on the O-Net dataset maintained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which catalogues over 800 job categories with detailed information about required skills and tasks. By mapping these against AI’s current and projected capabilities, Gownder and his colleague Michael O’Grady can identify which roles face the highest automation potential. “For jobs that involve skills and tasks that are heavily impacted by AI and automation, we predict more job loss,” Gownder explains. “In job categories that are less impacted, obviously, we would predict less.” Forrester analysed 800 different job types. It seems that Art therapy is the right way to go. The Solow Paradox and AI Productivity Robert Solow’s famous observation that “we see computers everywhere except in the productivity statistics” finds a new iteration in the AI era. The parallel is instructive. It took nearly three decades for the internet’s productivity impact to materialise. E-commerce is only now truly disrupting traditional retail, as evidenced by the shuttering of independent shops from New York to Paris. Could Forrester’s five-year window be too narrow? Gownder acknowledges the limitation inherent in forecasting: “Anything that you forecast beyond five years is effectively an impression.” Yet the pace of technology adoption has accelerated ...
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    28 分
  • AI is not a tool it’s reshaping our society and economy

    AI is not a tool it’s reshaping our society and economy
    2026/01/26
    AI is not a tool, or is it? Reports regarding the impact of AI on jobs, society and businesses are cropping up all over the place at the moment in all corners of the world. Some of these reports are announcing forthcoming revolutions both for societies and our economies whereas others are playing down the impact of artificial intelligence, and reviving the good old Solow aka Productivity paradox (“You can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics”. follow up here and here). As a consequence, it is very hard to make an opinion, let alone advise business people and students alike with regard to what needs to be done in the future. Visionary Marketing has embarked on a mission to try and shed light on this topic in as rational and informed a way as possible. AI is not a tool, or is it? Should AI platforms become tawpayers? The great love affair of French people for taxes will not spare Artificial Intelligence Cavazza surmises. Indeed, according to him, AI is not a tool! A lot of these predictions are guided by ideology. The authors, be they proponents or opponents of AI, have a personal agenda, often political or ideological, and are trying to make facts stick to this agenda. This is not very useful. But others are based on fact and careful analysis. I have decided to focus on two of these reports/predictions. The first one is Fred Cavazza’s analysis of the impact of AI on society and the economy (original post in French), which describes Artificial Intelligence as a source of profound disruption. I have known Fred for years, and I know his deep knowledge of both subjects, which makes his report particularly valuable. With his kind permission, I have translated his piece from French to shed light on this subject. The other report is by Forrester’s JP Gownder, whom I’ll be interviewing soon. I will test Fred’s assumptions on JP and see what he has to say about this idea of disruption by AI. Hopefully, our readers, and especially my students who have a lot of pending questions about this, will be able to separate the wheat from the chaff after these two interviews and podcasts. AI is not a tool, it’s reshaping our society and economy AI can’t be seen as just another technological innovation. By establishing itself as a major driver of productivity, automation and decision-making, it’s fundamentally disrupting the economic and social balance of our society. Whilst the productivity gains brought by AI are already transforming office jobs and creating a chasm between employees who’ve embraced it and those who haven’t, a fundamental question emerges: how do we integrate these synthetic entities into our collective organisations? Between appropriate taxation, legal personality and psychological resistance, there are numerous questions to debate before we can draft a new social contract. AI IS NOT A TOOL — TLDR AI is triggering a disruption of our civilisation, it’s not just another tech breakthrough. It marks our genuine entry into the fourth industrial revolution by offloading, for the first time, human thinking and creativity to machines.AI’s productivity gains are already real and deeply uneven. A growing divide is opening up between workers who can work alongside AI and those stuck with 20th-century methods.AI agents are challenging how white-collar workers create value. Intelligent agents are transforming knowledge work, undermining certain business models and setting the stage for a rapid reshaping of office jobs.Integrating AI requires a new legal and fiscal framework. Like corporate entities, AI agents must be given a status that clarifies their responsibilities and reintegrates their value into the social contract.The socio-economic impacts reach far beyond just employment. AI affects our psychology, culture and demographics, making public debate crucial to head off looming social tensions. AI on the Davos Agenda This week, the world’s leaders are gathered at the Davos Economic Forum, and ecology isn’t on the agenda: AI, Big Tech and Trump Shine Most Brightly at the Davos Show . At Davos, the AI is not a toll debate was all the rage. Cavazza thinks that artificial intelligence will be a major disruptor not just of our exonomies but our societies too. AI is dominating every conversation, with considerations that extend far beyond technology: AI Is Poised to Take Over Language, Law and Religion, Historian Yuval Noah Harari WarnsPalantir CEO says AI to make large-scale immigration obsolete “Artificial intelligence will displace so many jobs that it will eliminate the need for mass immigration” I’m not going to wade into commenting on everyone’s pronouncements, with their more or less biased viewpoints, but what’s certain is that major upheavals are on the horizon: AI and the Next EconomyNearly 80% of people feel unprepared to find a job in 2026The AI revolution is here. Will the economy survive the transition? AI specialists are ...
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    26 分
  • Private Equity Branding Enhances Valuation Through Storytelling

    Private Equity Branding Enhances Valuation Through Storytelling
    2026/01/09
    Private equity branding remains one of the most underestimated levers for value creation in the investment world. While PE firms excel at identifying promising companies and optimising their financial structures, branding is frequently treated as an afterthought, reduced to logos and colour palettes rather than strategic assets. Yet the evidence suggests otherwise: strategic brand investment can dramatically shift market perception and, ultimately, company valuation. Marc Rust, Creative Director and Brand Strategist at Consequently Creative, has spent years demonstrating that branding deserves a seat at the strategy table. His striking claim that he transformed an $80 million company to look like a $120 million company through branding alone captures the essence of what strategic messaging can achieve when properly deployed. How Private Equity Branding Is Transforming Company Valuation With Storytelling The term “branding” itself creates immediate problems in private equity settings. At networking events, Rust finds that mentioning branding triggers what he calls “cognitive disruption” Beyond Logos: Redefining What Branding Actually Means The term “branding” itself creates immediate problems in professional settings. At networking events, Rust finds that mentioning branding triggers what he calls “cognitive disruption” – people immediately think of visual identity work that seems irrelevant to serious investment activities. Many professionals lack any clear definition of what branding encompasses, while others dismiss it as superficial design work. This misconception misses the fundamental truth: branding and messaging represent a powerful force for business growth that should inform strategy from the outset, not be bolted on afterwards as a cosmetic exercise. The real definition of branding, Rust argues, is “what you stand for in the minds of the people that you’re trying to reach, convert, and move into action.” This is not something companies own outright; rather, it is something they can influence through deliberate effort and sustained investment. The critical distinction lies between what companies do and why it matters. Most organisations focus their communications on deliverables and capabilities. Yet answering the question of why it matters opens doors to deeper insight about audience pain points, goals, and outcomes. This shift acknowledges that messaging exists not for the company but for its buyers, requiring communication in their language rather than internal jargon. The Evolution of Private Equity Strategy The private equity landscape has fundamentally changed over the past decade. The old-school approach – acquiring a company, trimming the fat, making it lean and mean, then finding a suitable buyer – no longer resonates with contemporary markets or the talent those markets require. Successful PE firms have embraced a different philosophy: nurturing acquired companies, building genuine value over time, and then pursuing exit strategies that reflect accumulated worth. This evolution makes branding more important than ever because value creation depends on perception as much as operational reality. When thinking about branding in private Equity, most people immediately think of visual identity work. All that seems irrelevant to serious investment activities even though it’s blatantly wrong, Mac Rust believes. Visual made with Midjourney Effective branding requires understanding multiple audiences simultaneously. Internal alignment comes first – the people who build products and deliver services need clarity about what their company stands for, especially during periods of transition. Post-acquisition, this alignment frequently suffers as employees wonder about new leadership, potential job losses, and strategic direction. Consequently Creative addresses this turbulence by bringing teams together to celebrate what they stand for, building stories around acquisition rationale and forward-looking plans grounded in existing strengths rather than imposed transformations. Beyond internal audiences, companies must establish clear market positioning relative to competitors and ecosystem partners. Finally, there are the buyers who will drive revenue growth during the holding period and, ultimately, the acquiring company that represents the exit opportunity. Each audience requires thoughtful attention, and branding provides the framework for addressing all of them coherently while maintaining a consistent core narrative. The Valuation Premium of Strong Brands Buyers demonstrably pay premiums for assets with strong brand equity. Companies that look more upscale and feel right command higher prices regardless of sector. This premium extends across every touchpoint: market presence, customer service quality, sales process sophistication, product presentation, and how offerings are described and positioned. The key lies in making everything about the audience – ...
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    43 分
  • Inside the Ebook Self-Publishing Industry

    Inside the Ebook Self-Publishing Industry
    2025/12/03
    The ebook self-publishing landscape has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past decade. What was once viewed with scepticism by the publishing industry has become a legitimate and often preferred path for authors worldwide. To understand the current state of this evolving market, we spoke with Kris Austin, whose platform Draft2Digital serves over 300,000 authors publishing more than a million titles across global markets. From Oklahoma City, he shared his insights on how independent authors are reshaping the publishing world. Inside the Ebook Self-Publishing Industry With market shares amounting to 40% of sales in the US, ebooks present new opportunities for writers who are able to benefit from self-publishing platforms like Self2digital. Can you introduce Draft2Digital and its mission? Draft2Digital currently serves over 300,000 authors who are independently publishing more than a million titles. We have been operating since 2012, and the industry has changed considerably during that period. Our goal is to help authors achieve their dreams by removing technical barriers and making the publishing process as streamlined and straightforward as possible. What languages and markets do you cover? We have published books in over a hundred languages. While English remains predominant, approximately 15 to 20 percent of sales come from non-English titles, with Spanish and German ranking as the second and third most popular languages. Our distribution reaches 180 countries, and about 40 percent of all sales occur outside the United States. ebook self publishing industry entrepreneur Kris Austin talked to us from Oklahoma City, OK. How has self-publishing evolved since 2012? When we started in 2012, self-publishing was still in its early stages. The real catalyst came in 2007 when Amazon released the Kindle, which sparked the explosion of digital books. Back then, there was significant stigma attached to being an independent author; many felt they were not as credible as traditionally published writers. Today, that perception has completely shifted. Many authors now choose self-publishing as their first option. We also see numerous hybrid authors who move between traditional and independent publishing, depending on their goals. The focus has shifted to the quality of the book and reader demand rather than the publishing model itself. What types of books dominate the ebook market? The majority of our ebooks are genre fiction: romance, fantasy, mysteries, and thrillers. These narrative fiction categories account for approximately 80 percent of ebook sales. Our print-on-demand service shows a different pattern, with roughly 40 percent fiction and 60 percent non-fiction. All these books are intended for consumer readers purchasing for personal enjoyment. Genre fiction (romance, fantasy, mysteries, and thrillers) amounts to approximately 80 percent of ebook sales Wit ebook self-publishing, authors can find readers anywhere in the world without leaving their homes. Image created with Midjourney Is ebook self-publishing viable for image-heavy books like photography? It is possible, though more demanding. Image-heavy books typically require a professional formatter to achieve the desired layout, particularly in digital formats where presentation can be challenging. For print editions, colour printing and layout involve additional complexity compared to text-only publications. What determines success in ebook self-publishing? The most successful authors treat publishing as a business. After creating a book they are proud of, they focus on marketing, discoverability, sales, and distribution. They approach it with an entrepreneurial mindset. However, it can also work as a part-time endeavour, particularly for authors writing series with multiple titles. One advantage of independent publishing is that you do not need a massive readership to succeed. Indie authors typically retain 60 to 80 percent of their sales revenue, allowing them to price competitively and target niche markets effectively. Even with just 2,000 potential readers, if you capture that audience and build loyalty, you can build a sustainable career. Indie authors typically retain 60 to 80 percent of their sales revenue If writing is your dream, ebook self-publishing could make it real draft2digital claims. How does Draft2Digital help authors reach global audiences? First, availability is essential. Authors upload their manuscript in Word format to our website, along with a cover image. I recommend not spending more than 100 dollars on a cover when starting out. Our system converts everything to digital formats and distributes to thousands of stores, including major online retailers, smaller platforms, and libraries across the US, UK, and Australia, typically within a few days. Accurate metadata, including title, description, and category, is crucial for helping readers find your book. What marketing strategies work for unknown authors? ...
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    18 分
  • Web writing : words retain all their magic

    Web writing : words retain all their magic
    2025/10/27
    Whereas artificial intelligence is reinventing Web writing, the written word has never been more valuable. Selim Niederhoffer, a copywriting trainer and bestselling author, has recently been exploring how marketing professionals can still succeed amidst “enshitification“, online influence, and automation. Meet an expert who remains confident in the power of words. Copywriting in the age of AI: why words retain all their magic Niederhoffer is adamant: despite GenAI, the written word retains its magic — image produced with Midjourney Human vs. AI Selim, a seasoned copywriter and author is keen on using what he calls “magic words.” Ask him why and his answer might surprise you in this age of sheer automation. “I’ve already been thinking about magic words for years. I want to dig deeper, show real examples and, most importantly, explain why they actually work.” Pen and paper His approach remains resolutely traditional. “I genuinely work with a pen and paper.” This approach reveals something fundamental about Web writing: it works when you truly understand the psychology behind it, not when you just mechanically apply copywriting techniques. Selim bases his work on well-established principles of persuasion. Selim Niederhoffer still believes in the virtues of word magic in Web writing — image produced with Midjourney “When there’s a principle of persuasion, there’s usually a word that goes with it. Take urgency or scarcity, for example. If something’s rare, that means limited places, running out of stock… that sort of thing. That’s how I build my word cluster. The research then extends to field observation. “I look at what my clients are using, what’s going on at Burger King, McDonald’s, Nike. I check out the major brands too – what they’re doing on YouTube, on LinkedIn.” Eventually, Selim identified 55 magic words but trimmed them down to 50. It’s an approach that perfectly shows what still sets humans apart from machines: the ability to critically analyse and curate with discrimination. However, it’s worth adding nuance. Selim can’t conceal that he genuinely “loves” ChatGPT. As we’ll see later, this raises some legitimate questions. Thank you! the ultimate magic word Among the 50 words he’s analysed, the first is also the simplest: thank you! For Selim, this should be essential for every business. “How many times have you walked out of a shop where the sales assistant just didn’t seem to have noticed you? Whether you bought anything, or didn’t doesn’t make any difference, once the transaction’s done, you’re out the door.” Yet some brands know how to thank their customers. “Nespresso or Apple, for example: the Nespresso employee comes out from behind her counter, she hands you your product. Thank you for your visit. Have a nice day! That’s how it should be.” For Selim, saying “thank you!” is more than just being polite, it’s a way of life. “You can go further: thank you for your visit, thank you for subscribing to the newsletter, thank you for your comment. You need to constantly think in terms of gratitude.” This approach fits into what Gary Vaynerchuk called The Thank You Economy. “We’re in an attention economy,” Selim explains. The stakes are high in Web writing: how do you maintain this human dimension at corporate scale? “For me, the essence of business is that there’s a person in front of you who’s exchanging something with you. That’s really the foundation. But today, how do you keep that at corporate scale?” Data confirms an intuition: gratitude improves customer experience and encourages loyalty. A valuable lesson for all those who practice Web writing and seek to create a lasting connection with their audiences. You need to seek to create a connection with your audiences — image produced with Midjourney AI and Web writing: threat or opportunity? The conversation inevitably turns to artificial intelligence. For Selim, AI is first and foremost an incredible productivity tool. “If I’ve got a newsletter to write, I’ll use AI. Sales pages? AI. The thing is, AI works brilliantly for me. I’ve even become clearer in my writing,” he admits without hesitation. But he’s not entirely starry-eyed about it. He’s identified three major pitfalls that professionals absolutely must avoid. The three pitfalls of AI in copywriting The first pitfall is wordiness. “ChatGPT tends to waffle because it’s been trained on Reddit, Wikipedia, and similar sources. However, in real life, when we write, we cut down to the core, deleting most of what we initially write.”The second limitation is related to syntax. “AI tools have their favourite phrases. It can be a bit clunky. It’s got that ‘ChatGPT-ish’ quality – you know it when you see it. After a while, you can spot AI-written text a mile off.”The third issue, and the most surreptitious one, is lack of personality. “When we just...
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    10 分
  • The Truth About the Environmental Impact of AI

    The Truth About the Environmental Impact of AI
    2025/10/20
    Commentary on the environmental impact of AI often swings wildly between doom-and-gloom catastrophism and blind techno-optimism. But where’s the truth in all this? On July 24, 2025—the symbolic date of Earth Overshoot Day—we sat down with Yves Grandmontagne, founder and editor-in-chief of DCMAG (Data Centre Magazine*), to get his take on AI and its real environmental impact. It is worthy of note that Yves and I explored Silicon Valley’s infrastructure innovators together through extensive press tours some time ago. This provided us with firsthand insight into the tech industry’s approach to these challenges. The current annotated transcript of our interview is a summary of our thorough, nuanced, and let’s admit it, quite lengthy discussion. You are therefore encouraged to treat this article as your starting point for diving deeper into this extremely complex topic. Exploring the Real Environmental Impact of AI What’s the real environmental impact of AI? An employee keeps watch over the cooling units at Orange’s data centre in Val de Rueil in Normandy, France — Photo antimuseum.com * DCMag is only available in French This post summarises what turned out to be an incredibly rich hour-long conversation. The sheer complexity of this topic forced us to dig into multiple technical, economic, and environmental angles—making any kind of comprehensive analysis near inconceivable. Drawing on his deep expertise in the data centre and AI sectors, Yves Grandmontagne gives us some much-needed factual perspective on a debate that’s often polarised between doomsday scenarios and over-the-top techno-optimism. To tackle this properly, we decided to take recent quotes—both positive and negative—and fact-check them with our expert. Yves’s analysis helps us cut through the noise and understand what’s really at stake in this technological breakthrough. Environmental Impact of AI: Reality Check Time TLDR: Environmental Impact of AI The electricity consumption issue is more nuanced than you think* – AI will represent 20-30% of data centre consumption (not twice that number), and only 2-4% of overall electricity consumption Energy efficiency gains are actually remarkable – Over the last decade: number of data centres x2, floor space x4, but energy consumption up only 6%Beware of dubious comparisons – Comparing a ChatGPT query to Google search is methodologically flawed (completely different technologies and services)Water consumption varies massively by geography – Huge issue in the US, but Europe has been using smarter closed-loop systems for agesTech innovations look promising – New technologies (direct liquid cooling, immersion cooling) are slashing water and energy consumptionAI might actually be part of the solution – Can optimise energy mix management and electricity transport, which is currently our main bottleneckLet’s get some perspective here – Data centre impact remains pretty marginal compared to the chemical industry (32% of French energy consumption) or agriculture *All numbers by Yves Grandmontagne at Data Centre Magazine Bottom line: The impact is “real but massively overstated”—we need to put things in context and remain cool and collected. So here are the quotes about the environmental impact of AI that we wanted to fact-check with Yves. Rumours vs Reality: Decoding the Doomsday Predictions Predictions of Booming Electricity Consumption The first claim I put to Yves Grandmontagne was Synth Media’s prediction [Fr] that “AI’s growth could double data centre electricity consumption by 2026.” His response immediately throws cold water on this alarmist take: “It’s absolutely true that AI is rolling out infrastructure at breakneck speed and eating up more space in data centres. Sure, it’s going to significantly bump up their energy consumption—no question about that. But will consumption actually double? I seriously doubt it. AI should account for somewhere between 20 and 30% of global data centre consumption worldwide.” A data centre server rack — photo antimuseum.com AI should account for somewhere between 20 and 30% of global data centre consumption worldwide This reality check reveals something consistent throughout Yves Grandmontagne’s analysis: the absolute need to put numbers in context. The expert points out that this increase is just part of the natural progression tied to our ever-growing digital habits. “What’s driving this consumption increase is our daily usage, whether that’s for work or for personal reasons,” he reminds us, highlighting our collective responsibility in this evolution. It’s a topic we’ve tackled before with a broader focus on digital consumption. The most striking part of his analysis is about the energy efficiency angle. Contrary to popular belief, data centres aren’t following a consumption curve that mirrors data growth. This improving efficiency is something that gets completely overlooked ...
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    23 分
  • Is the AI Bubble About to Burst?

    Is the AI Bubble About to Burst?
    2025/09/30
    Will the AI bubble burst or is GenAI here to stay? The artificial intelligence industry is experiencing unprecedented financial euphoria. Yet, the current situation is very confusing. AI investments are reaching dizzying heights. Let’s mention OpenAI’s $40 billion funding round at $300 billion valuation and Mistral AI’s €1.7 billion funding round. Yet, some commentators are very critical of the situation. For instance, Ed Zitron predicts that the AI bubble will burst in Q4 2025. All this is fueling intense, rather than rational, debate. I wanted to confront these concerns with the expertise of Bernhard Schaffrik, Principal Analyst at Forrester Research. His analysis is insightful and nuanced. In his mind, there will be some sort of correction, but at the same time, GenAI is too popular to disappear. When Will the AI Bubble Burst? Is the AI bubble about to burst or is GenAI here to stay? Forrester’s Schaffrik predicts corrections but says GenAI is too popular to go — photo by Forrester.com Forrester’s Bernhard Schaffrik is recognized as one of the most insightful experts in artificial intelligence. He provides a nuanced analysis that transcends simple financial considerations. His perspective on the AI bubble burst scenario offers first-hand insights for understanding where this transformative technology is truly heading. The AI Bubble: Financial Reality, Technological Continuity The question of a potential AI bubble burst cannot receive a univocal answer. As Bernhard Schaffrik rightfully points out, it all depends on one’s perspective. This duality of vision probably constitutes one of the keys to understanding the current situation and the likelihood of an AI bubble burst. Like us, Schaffrik righfully points out that the main issue with AI is societal and philosophical — image generated with Adobe Firefly “It’s almost impossible to get a one-sentence response from an analyst. Allow me two sentences. Number one is, of course, it always depends on the role or the profile you’re asking. If we are talking about financial investors, then yes, there are strong signals of this being a bubble because there is so much money being pumped into it—more than $120 billion US dollars in capital expenditure on AI infrastructure alone, just by the Magnificent Seven tech providers. So that bubble could burst,” explains Forrester’s expert. This assessment gains particular relevance when considering Google’s $9 billion AI data center investment in Oklahoma for advanced AI training infrastructure. This financial perspective, however, tells only part of the story. Technological adoption follows a different logic from financial markets, as Schaffrik confirmed during our exchange about the AI bubble burst potential. “But now, if you put yourself in the shoes of enterprise decision makers, tech decision makers, also AI users, there are many who would say, ‘I don’t care if that bubble bursts, the technology is there, and it won’t go away.’ “Regardless of the amounts all the financial transactions surrounding the AI industry, people are actually using this technology. And they like what they are seeing. It might not be the disruptive, transformative value some are surmising. It’s probably more incremental than that, but the adoption of that technology is undeniable.” The Revenue Challenge: A $25 Billion Gap to Bridge Fortune’s analysis reveals a concerning gap between current investments and generated revenues. To justify current investments, AI companies would need to generate $40 billion in annual revenue, while they currently produce only $15 to $20 billion. Schaffrik doesn’t believe in an AI bubble burst right now — image made with Adobe Firefly I was wondering whether this $20-25 billion gap could represent a systemic risk that could trigger an AI bubble burst. Schaffrik remains relatively optimistic on this point: “There is still enough money in that market to back these revenue gaps at least for a while. And what I’m also seeing is that especially when it comes to the largest enterpriseson the planet, they are convinced to continue using that software. And if it comes at a premium which is decent, arguably, maybe a couple percentage points higher than what they are paying today for the software, then this seems to be acceptable.” This acceptance of additional costs by large enterprises stems from the incremental value they perceive, even if it hasn’t yet reached the promised transformation level that might prevent an AI bubble burst scenario. LLM Regression: A Warning Signal? A particularly troubling element in the current ecosystem is the recent NewsGuard study revealing that major LLM systems are no longer progressing but regressing, generating more hallucinations and errors. This observation raises fundamental questions about current technology maturity and its impact on AI bubble burst predictions. “I’m not saying that LLMs and generative AI are ...
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