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For all the new investors that emerged in 2020 with their pandemic bankrolls and had a two-year free-for-all making money without really trying, 2022 has surely been a comeuppance. While most of the gamblers in the meme stock crowd have been pushed to the sidelines, either temporarily or for good, real investors are staring at account statements and are stunned at the carnage. They likely are wondering what to do now.

Technology dominates the American economy. While the sector is taking it in the chin now, it will be back. When it does return, it could dominate a market rally later this year or in 2023. While there is a good chance the market decline is not over, it likely is closer to the end than the beginning. Now might be a good time to nibble at some of the top stocks in the sector, especially if they pay a solid dividend.

We screened our 24/7 Wall St. technology research database looking for blue chip companies that pay a dependable dividend that have extremely high bounce-back potential. The following eight stocks hit our screens. While all are rated Buy by top Wall Street firms, it is important to remember that no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision.

Investors who are more conservative may want to consider this mega-cap tech leader, which recently posted outstanding results. Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) designs, manufactures and sells internet protocol (IP) based networking products and services related to the communications and information technology industry worldwide.

The company provides switching products, including fixed-configuration and modular switches, and storage products that provide connectivity to end users, workstations, IP phones, wireless access points and servers, as well as next-generation network routing products that interconnect public and private wireline and mobile networks for mobile, data, voice and video applications.

Its cybersecurity products deliver clients the scope, scale and capabilities to keep up with the complexity and volume of threats. Putting security above everything helps corporations innovate while keeping their assets safe.

Shareholders receive a 3.84% dividend. Evercore ISI has its target price for Cisco Systems stock set at $56. The consensus target is $54.78. Thursday's $40.61 closing share price was almost 4% higher on the day.

This company continues to be a huge player in the fiber optic world. Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) is a technology pioneer that manufactures LCD glass for flat-panel displays for multiple product lines.

Telecommunications (30% of sales) produces optical fiber and cable, component hardware and equipment, and photonic components for the telecommunications, CATV and networking industry. In addition, the company’s Environmental Technologies division (12% of sales) produces specialized glass, glass ceramic and polymer-based products for the automotive industry.

Investors receive a 3.61% dividend. UBS's $40 price target compares to the $38.72 consensus target for Corning stock. The shares closed on Thursday at $30.58.

This high-quality company pays a solid dividend and its shares have been hit hard. Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL) designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells and supports information technology (IT) hardware, software and services solutions worldwide. It operates through three segments.

Infrastructure Solutions Group provides traditional and next-generation storage solutions, and rack, blade, tower and hyperscale servers. It also offers networking products and services that help its business customers to transform and modernize their infrastructure, mobilize and enrich end-user experiences and accelerate business applications and processes. It also offers attached software and peripherals, as well as support and deployment, configuration and extended warranty services.

Dell's The Client Solutions Group offers desktops, notebooks and workstations; displays and projectors; attached and third-party software and peripherals; as well as support and deployment, configuration and extended warranty services.

The VMware segment supports customers in the areas of hybrid and multi-cloud, modern applications, networking, security and digital workspaces, helping customers to manage IT resources across private clouds and complex multi-cloud, multi-device environments.

Dell also provides information security and cloud software and infrastructure-as-a-service solutions that enable customers to migrate, run, and manage mission-critical applications in cloud-based IT environments.

The dividend yield is 3.83%. The Credit Suisse price target is $60, while the consensus target is $55.21. The final Dell Technologies stock trade for Thursday was almost 4% higher at $34.99.

Legendary investor Warren Buffett stunned Wall Street earlier this year when Berkshire Hathaway reported a purchase of 121 million shares of the venerable tech giant. HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) provides personal computing and other access devices, imaging and printing products and related technologies, solutions and services in the United States and internationally. It serves individual consumers, small and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including customers in the government, health and education sectors.

HP's Personal Systems segment offers commercial and consumer desktop and notebook personal computers, workstations, thin clients, commercial mobility devices, retail point-of-sale systems, displays and other related accessories, software, support and services. The Printing segment provides consumer and commercial printer hardware, supplies, solutions and services, as well as scanning devices. And the Corporate Investments segment includes HP Labs and business incubation projects.

HP stock investors receive a 4.04% dividend. The $33 Credit Suisse target price is higher than the $30.49 consensus target. The stock closed 5% higher on Thursday at $26.02.

This blue chip giant offers investors an incredibly solid entry point, a massive dividend and a degree of safety for investors who are more conservative. International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) provides integrated solutions and services worldwide through these four business segments.

The Software segment offers hybrid cloud platform and software solutions, such as Red Hat, an enterprise open-source solutions; software for business automation, AIOps and management, integration, and application servers; data and artificial intelligence solutions; and security software and services for threat, data and identity. This segment also provides transaction processing software that supports clients' mission-critical and on-premise workloads in banking, airlines and retail industries.

The Consulting segment offers business transformation services, including strategy, business process design and operations, data and analytics, and system integration services; technology consulting services; and application and cloud platform services.

The Infrastructure segment provides on-premises and cloud-based server and storage solutions for its clients' mission-critical and regulated workloads; and support services and solutions for hybrid cloud infrastructure, as well as remanufacturing and remarketing services for used equipment.

The Financing segment offers lease, installment payment, loan financing and short-term working capital financing services.

IBM's second-quarter revenue of $15.5 billion was up sharply from a year ago and topped the consensus forecast. Profits also were ahead of analysts’ expectations.

Shareholders receive a 5.60% dividend. IBM stock has a $155 price target at BofA Securities. That is well above the $141.56 consensus target and Thursday’s closing print of $121.79, which was up close to 4% on the day.

This is another familiar name that could offer among the best total return potential. Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) designs, develops and sells network products and services worldwide. The company offers various routing products, such as ACX series universal access routers to deploy new high-bandwidth services; MX series Ethernet routers that function as a universal edge platform; PTX series packet transport routers; and NorthStar controllers.

Juniper Networks also provides switching products, including EX series Ethernet switches to address the access, aggregation and core layer switching requirements of micro branch, branch office, and campus environments; QFX series of core, spine and top-of-rack data center switches; and Juniper access points, which provide wireless access and performance.

In addition, the company offers security products including SRX series services gateways for the data center; Branch SRX family provides an integrated firewall and next-generation firewall; virtual firewall that delivers various features of physical firewalls; and advanced malware protection, a cloud-based service and Juniper ATP.

Juniper Networks stock comes with a 3.25% dividend. Wells Fargo's $32 price target is shy of the $32.71 consensus target. The shares closed at $26.32 on Thursday.

This is a conservative way for investors to participate in the massive cloud growth, and the company posted stellar second-quarter results. Microsoft Inc. (NASDAQ: MSFT) manufactures, licenses and supports a wide range of software products. The company has transformed its business model from a component-driven model (personal computer, server) to one driven by the need for cloud capacity.

Many Wall Street analysts agree that Microsoft has become a clear number two in the public or hyper-scale cloud infrastructure market with Azure, which is the company’s cloud computing platform offerings, and which continues growing at triple-digit levels. Some have flagged Azure as the biggest rival to Amazon's AWS service.

Some analysts maintain that Microsoft is discounting Azure for large enterprises, so that Azure may be cheaper than AWS for larger users. The cloud was big in exact earnings reports and will remain a growing part of the software giant's earnings profile.

Investors receive a 1.20% dividend. The Jefferies team has a conservative $275 price target, compared with the $329.56 consensus target. Microsoft stock closed on Thursday at $234.24.

This top software stock has backed up recently and is offering an attractive entry point. Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) develops, manufactures, markets, sells, hosts and supports database and middleware software, application software, cloud infrastructure, hardware systems and related services worldwide.

The company licenses its Oracle Database software to customers, which is designed to enable reliable and secure storage, retrieval and manipulation of various forms of data. Its Oracle Fusion Middleware software aims to build, deploy, secure, access and integrate business applications, as well as automate their business processes.

Oracle recently announced that it would acquire Cerner, a leading provider of digital information systems used within hospitals and health systems to enable medical professionals to deliver better healthcare to individual patients and communities. The all-cash tender offer has approximately $28.3 billion in equity value.

The company pays a 2.05% dividend. The J.P. Morgan price objective is $84, though Oracle stock has a consensus target of $87.89. On Thursday, the closing share price was $65.20.

We avoided semiconductor stocks for the time being, as the new government restrictions on sales to Chinese companies could be putting a big dent in sales. While we are not ready to nibble in that space, we will be closely watching third-quarter results of the top names. The software, networking and information technology leaders we did focus on could be the first to take off when the selling reverses.

Originally posted at 24/7 Wall St.

The MarketWatch News Department was not involved in the creation of this content.

Oct 07, 2022 (Heraldkeepers) -- The Data Center Networking Equipment market report 2022-2028 offers an in-depth study of market growth factors, future evaluation, country-level analysis, market distribution, and competitive landscape study of significant industry players. Every segment of the global Industry is extensively assessed in the research report. The segment analysis offers critical opportunities available in the global Data Center Networking Equipment market through leading segments.

The MarketWatch News Department was not involved in the creation of this content.

Dell Technologies is doubling down on zero-trust security with a reference model that is touted to help enterprises implement the security model effectively.

Speaking at a virtual briefing with Asia-Pacific media, Dell’s global chief technology officer John Roese said the model is part of the company’s approach towards a modern security strategy, starting with having a foundation of trust.

“Every IT outcome is based on consuming technology from someone. It turns out that knowing who that someone is, how they built that product, how it got to you and whether it was compromised, is extremely important,” he said.

To that, Roese noted Dell’s investment in building one of the world’s largest and most robust supply chains, along with products that embed deep levels of security. Hardware roots of trust and attestation, as well as failsafe mechanisms are also part of the company’s product development efforts, he added.

The second aspect of Dell’s approach is the zero-trust architecture itself, which will enable organisations to guard against threat actors more effectively than traditional perimeter and product-led security approaches, Roese said.

“And so, we are investing heavily across the entire portfolio in our services offerings and in our ecosystem with one view, that is, to accelerate and simplify the adoption of zero trust by enterprises,” he added.

The third and last aspect is cyber recovery, which is “based on the truth that there is no such thing as absolute security”, Roese said.

Noting that there are no security technologies or architectures that don’t fail and that there’s always room for human error and misconfigurations, Roese said organisations must have an answer when things go south.

“We are now in an era where it is incredibly important to have in every IT architecture a cyber recovery capability because of the significant risk that you could be breached and having that kind of capability allows you to survive and recover from it,” he said.

ISV partner ecosystem to simplify the deployment of software and applications at the manufacturing edge

Pro

Image: Stockfresh

In association with Dell Technologies

Dell Technologies introduces Project Frontier, which will deliver an edge operations software platform, integrated with Dell’s edge portfolio, for customers to more securely manage and orchestrate edge applications and infrastructure for deployments at global scale.

The complexities of edge operations – in locations from manufacturing floors and retail stores to remote wind turbines – are growing as more organisations want to manage and secure data at the source but have limited IT support to do it. According to a 2022 IDC survey, 42% of businesses say the most challenging aspect of edge deployments is putting together an entire edge solution. With the amount of data generated growing nine times annually and expected to reach 221 exabytes by 2026, organisations need a simple and effective way to manage and secure the diverse ecosystem of edge technologies.

“We’re seeing exponential growth in applications running at the edge, making edge the next frontier of business transformation – where devices, infrastructure and data come together to deliver real-time insights at scale,” said Gil Shneorson, senior vice president of edge solutions, Dell Technologies. “With this growth, comes complexity. It’s not feasible to have IT staff deployed at every edge location. Our decades of edge experience combined with our new solutions help customers simplify their edge and streamline their data to gain insights ranging from factory safety and the speed and precision of patient care in hospitals, while providing more choice in how they realize their edge and multicloud technologies.”

Dell’s Project Frontier to more securely scale edge operations for any enterprise use case

With the Project Frontier edge operations software platform, customers can expect:

• Their choice of software applications, IoT frameworks, operational technologies (OT), multicloud environments and future technologies supported by an open design that will consolidate existing and new enterprise edge use cases.
• Zero Trust-enabled security protection across edge applications, data and infrastructure, from design to deployment, backed by end-to-end supply chain security measures.
• Greater efficiency and reliability of end-to-end edge operations with centralized management, zero-touch deployment and secure device onboarding.
• Minimal need for IT expertise in the field with automation to streamline edge deployments and operations across potentially thousands of edge locations.
• Integration of edge compute and storage hardware with workloads for ease of serviceability and increased security.
• Global planning and support services across 170 countries to help design edge deployments and create a roadmap for scaling customers’ edge infrastructure to meet new demand.

As an example, Dell Technologies is one of the world’s leading technology manufacturers and manages one of the largest global supply chains. Dell plans to deploy the edge platform to deliver increased production line efficiencies by simplifying operations, securely connecting critical data from the production floor to IT infrastructure and enabling real-time reporting of automation data. Additionally, with the Dell Edge Design Program, Dell is collaborating with customers to help design and shape the development of Project Frontier to meet their specific needs. 

“IDC sees a wide range of locations where modern edge workloads will be deployed, and it is critical that these environments are highly resilient and can operate with limited human intervention,” said Jennifer Cooke, IDC research director for Edge Strategies. “Dell’s efforts with its Project Frontier look to be a strong step forward in realizing an architecture to address these needs and help customers streamline their edge operations.”

“Dell Technologies and Atos have long worked together to deliver more value to businesses by helping them realize the full potential of their data,” said Arnaud Langer, global edge and IoT senior product director, Atos. “We look forward to collaborating on new edge innovations that can help organisations significantly simplify and secure their edge while improving business outcomes.”

Innovations across Dell infrastructure and end user portfolio simplify edge deployments

As Project Frontier comes to life, Dell is expanding its current edge portfolio to help businesses scale and manage their edge deployments.

• Edge analytics and operations: Manufacturers can remove complexities and streamline how they deploy edge applications with an enhanced Dell Validated Design for Manufacturing Edge. The solution now includes new Dell-validated partner applications to support advanced edge use cases and Improve factory processes and efficiencies, while reducing waste and raw materials usage for more sustainable operations. For example, Claroty provides asset discovery, network protection, threat detection and vulnerability and risk management for cyber-physical systems. Cognex machine vision helps Improve manufacturing quality and performance by eliminating defects, verifying assembly and tracking information during the production process. Telit automates data collection and management from sensors, devices, machines and factories with its IoT platform. XMPro creates composable digital twins of factory operations to help manufacturers save time and materials during the factory operating process. Manufacturers can respond quickly to changes in demand and enable reconfigurable production lines with Dell’s private 5G capability.

• Edge compute and analytics: The Dell PowerEdge XR4000 is the shortest depth server in the Dell PowerEdge family at about the size of a shoebox. The XR4000 is 60% shorter than traditional data center servers, and its multiple mounting options allow it to be installed in a rack, on walls or ceilings, saving valuable floor space. The multi-node, 2U chassis server can survive unpredictable conditions like heat waves or falls. While small, the XR4000 is a high-performance server capable of supporting a wide range of edge workloads and is designed with Intel Xeon D processors with multi-operating system as well as optional GPU support. The XR4000 is available with the Dell Validated Design for Manufacturing Edge and powers new Dell VxRail rugged modular nodes, delivering high performance and scalability in high latency, low bandwidth locations.

• Edge data collection: Built to withstand the most demanding edge locations, the Dell Latitude 7230 Rugged Extreme Tablet is the industry’s lightest, most powerful, 12” fully-rugged tablet. Designed to operate in extreme cold and hot environments, this tablet is rated for maximum protection against dust, dirt and water – ideal for first responders and outdoor environments. New Wi-Fi 6E capability with dual-band support provides more reliable connectivity, 12^th Gen Intel Core processors deliver powerful performance, and optional integrated features, such as a barcode scanner, GPS module and smartcard reader, increase productivity in the field. The tablet is made to be viewed in the brightest, harshest lighting with the largest screen-area for a 12” fully-rugged, military-grade tablet.

Availability

• Project Frontier’s edge software platform will be available in 2023.
• Dell Validated Design for Manufacturing Edge enhancements will be available globally in early 2023.
• Dell PowerEdge XR4000, also available with Dell OEM customisable options, will be available globally in December 2022.
• Dell Latitude 7230 Rugged Extreme Tablets will be available globally by end of 2022.

How do you know if you’re getting zero trust right? While many organizations have invested in purpose-built zero-trust security products, controlling user access isn’t just about deploying a software solution, but actively managing user access to data wherever it lives in the environment.

This involves building new controls and procedures from scratch. It’s a challenge that Dell Technologies recognizes and aims to address with a new solution. 

Today, Dell announced the Zero Trust Center of Excellence in partnership with CyberPoint international and the Maryland Innovation Security Institute. The center will open in Spring 2023 at DreamPort in at the U.S. Cyber Commands innovation center. 

The center will provide enterprises with a secure data center to validate zero-trust use cases and assess the maturity of their zero-trust strategies. 

Helping sluggish zero-trust adoption 

Dell’s announcement comes as more organizations are running into roadblocks with their zero-trust strategies. 

While Okta finds that the number of companies with a zero-trust initiative already underway more than doubled from 24% in 2021 to 55% in 2022, other research indicates only 21% of organizations have adopted zero trust as a foundational model across the enterprise. 

Dell’s new service will provide organizations with a space to test the implementation of zero trust as a foundational model, so they can build a true zero-trust strategy from scratch, that’s designed to support a multicloud environment. 

“In a multicloud world, an organization’s cybersecurity strategy must transcend its infrastructure and extend to its applications and data,” said John Roese, Global CTO of Dell Technologies. “We believe a zero-trust strategy is the best path forward. Dell has the proven IT and security foundation, technology integration experience, and extensive global partner ecosystem to help simplify customers’ cybersecurity transformations.”

More broadly, the new center has the capacity to help accelerate the development of new zero-trust solutions that enterprises can leverage to protect their environments against identity-based threats. 

It’s worth noting that the center will also complement Dell Cybersecurity Advisory Services’ zero-trust service, which provides organizations with a roadmap to zero trust based on their existing security assets. 

The zero-trust market 

As identity-based threats continue to rise, the zero-trust market continues to pick up steam, with researchers expecting the market to grow from a value of $27.4 billion in 2022 to $60.7 billion by 2027. 

CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks are leading in defining the space, offering solutions for zero-trust network access (ZTNA) for continuously verifying user access in real-time.

CrowdStrike reports $1.45 billion in revenue for the full fiscal year 2022, while Palo Alto Networks announced total revenue for the fourth quarter of 2022 of $1.6 billion. 

At this stage, Dell is playing more of a backseat role in the zero-trust market, opting to provide organizations with guidance and support from the Zero Trust Center of Excellence, and Dell Cybersecurity Advisory Services. It hopes to help orgs learn how they can Improve their own zero-trust strategies rather than offering a particular software solution. 

Dell Technologies has announced Project Frontier. The software platform was designed to help companies gain more control over edge computing environments.

Dell Technologies sees edge computing as a key solution for businesses that want to gain a competitive advantage. The new Project Frontier platform allows organizations to securely manage edge infrastructures and applications at scale.

With the platform, Dell Technologies aims to eliminate all complexity surrounding edge computing. By facilitating management from a central location and environment, administrators no longer need to be present at edge locations.

Frontier

Companies deploying Frontier gain a centralized operations center for their entire edge environment, be it regional or global. The platform makes it possible to securely onboard new applications and devices anywhere within the edge environment, including the appropriate network, compute and storage functionality.

The open software platform allows customers to add their own mix of applications, IoT frameworks, OT solutions, multicloud environments and other technologies. Frontier’s open design makes it suitable for existing and new use cases for edge computing.

In terms of security, Frontier applies Zero Trust to edge applications, data and underlying infrastructure. The Zero Trust architecture is applied throughout the entire structure of the edge infrastructure in question, from development environments to large-scale deployments. The software platform also features end-to-end security for the underlying chain.

The platform’s centralized management ensures greater efficiency and reliability for all operations within the edge environment, Dell Technologies said. The platform also eliminates the need for onsite IT expertise. Automation helps streamline edge deployment operations for up to thousands of locations.

In addition, the integration of edge computing and storage hardware provides maintenance capabilities and increased security. Dell experts in 170 countries worldwide offer planning and support services. The partners help customers design their edge deployments and establish roadmaps for scaling infrastructure to meet demands from end users.

Solutions and dedicated hardware

Project Frontier is supported by a range of tools and hardware. Within the framework, Dell Technologies offers a Dell Validated Design for Manufacturing Edge Solution. The solution is similar to a blueprint for edge deployments in manufacturing environments. The solution provides access to Dell-validated partner applications, including solutions for network security and digital twins.

On the hardware front, Frontier is supported by the Dell PowerEdge XR4000, among other systems. According to the tech giant, the XR4000 is one of the most compact servers it has ever sold. The server is 60 percent shorter than traditional datacenter servers, its size comparable to a shoebox.

The PowerEdge XR4000 comes in two flavours: a wide version that can be rack-mounted, and a compact version that can be mounted on room walls and ceilings. Furthermore, the server’s slots are expandable and capable of withstanding extreme weather conditions.

Under the hood, you’ll find Intel Xeon D processors and the necessary GPUs for edge workloads. The server also powers the new Dell VxRail rugged modular nodes for high performance and scalability in high latency, low bandwidth locations.

Furthermore, employees can use Project Frontier at edge locations with the new Latitude 7230 Rugged Extreme Tablet. The tablet is protected against dust, water and extreme temperatures in the harshest environments.

Dell XPS 13 (2022): Two minute review

The Dell XPS 13 (2022) has huge shoes to fill, but while it does what it sets out to do very well, there are going to be those who are going to be sorely disappointed by some of the changes Dell makes to the XPS 13 (2022), and some of these are going to be absolute deal breakers.

But the XPS 13 (2022) deserves to be judged on its own merits, rather than solely in comparison to the Dell XPS 13 (Late 2020), this model's immediate predecessor. This is especially the case since that model is arguably the best laptop in its class.