Brian Hopkins

San Diego

Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research

Brian Hopkins is a VP and Principal Analyst for Forrester Research. He covers emerging technology and trends, big data and quantum computing for CIOs.

Articles

Forrester’s Top 10 Emerging Technologies For 2025: Automation Evolves, Robots Rise, And Synthetic Data Steps Forward

1 week ago | forrester.com | Brian Hopkins

Emerging technology isn’t just speeding up — it’s splintering into newer, riskier, and more powerful directions. Last year, in our top 10 emerging technologies list, we split generative AI into two: one track for language, one for visual content. That split still holds for the 2025 list, but the timelines are shifting. Generative AI for language is here now, while generative AI for visual content will eventually transform digital experiences — just not overnight.
Unveiling AI Risks In The Software Supply Chain

4 weeks ago | forrester.com | Linda Ivy-Rosser |Janet Farrar Worthington |Dario Maisto |Brian Hopkins

In the age of intelligent automation, enterprise business applications (EBAs) are increasingly embedding and integrating sophisticated AI agents to drive efficiency, insights, and innovation. These modern EBAs, designed for composability and flexibility, boast a modular architecture built upon a complex software supply chain.
The Tech Execs Guide To Decoding Cybersecurity Vendor Performance

1 month ago | forrester.com | Dario Maisto |Brian Hopkins

Forrester analyzed the earnings calls of the ten largest cybersecurity vendors by market cap, and identified key trends for technology executives (Forrester clients can read here). Earnings calls provide you with valuable insight for into your vendors’ strategic performance – you need strong partners who are not only financially resilient, but have a clear strategy for how their portfolio will deal with upcoming tech, economic and threat challenges.
Key Takeaways From The Forrester Wave™: DMA Platforms Q2 2025

1 month ago | forrester.com | Noel Yuhanna |Brian Hopkins |Sam Higgins

I’m excited to announce the release of our latest Forrester DMA Platforms Wave, Q2 2025. This edition evaluated the 11 most significant Data Management and Analytics (DMA) platform vendors, providing a comprehensive view of a market undergoing rapid transformation. Over the past decade, we’ve consistently published the DMA Wave, tracking the evolution of the space and offering guidance to enterprises navigating their data strategy. However, this year’s evaluation reflects a notable shift.
Sovereign AI: NexGen Cloud Gets Funds For Its Infrastructure In Europe

1 month ago | forrester.com | Dario Maisto |Brian Hopkins |Sam Higgins

Cloud vendors are focusing on bringing AI solutions to their customers in ways that address sovereignty concerns rising from the mounting geopolitical instability globally. Just in the first two weeks of April, we have seen this at KubeCon Europe 2025 and at Google Cloud Next 2025 in Las Vegas. In this context, the UK-based GPU cloud services startup NexGen Cloud has recently secured $45 million of Series A funding to bolster its AI infrastructure platform for European enterprises.
XR Steps Back, AI Steps Up: The Shake-Up In Our 2025 Emerging Technologies

1 month ago | forrester.com | Brian Hopkins |Dario Maisto |Sam Higgins

Our report, “The Top 10 Emerging Technologies In 2025,” drops April 29, and this year’s list features big changes. Two longtime list members are stepping back, and two fast-moving entrants will be moving onto the list — including one surprise that wasn’t even on our radar last year until we did the research. These shifts reflect more than changing buzz.
The AI Effect: Pervasive, Promising, and Pressing

1 month ago | forrester.com | Brian Hopkins

AI is now embedded across nearly every domain of business and life. I starting to call this phenomenon the AI effect: the rapid spread of AI into everything, everywhere. It’s a shift that is both promising and pressing — exciting in potential, but overwhelming in pace. Clients are increasingly anxious to know what the future holds. Specifically, leaders are asking AI value questions: Are we investing wisely? Are we getting value? How do we measure ROI?
The Sudden Silobreaker: GenAI Converges Search Experiences And Disciplines

1 month ago | forrester.com | Nikhil Lai |Brian Hopkins |Steven Casey

GenAI Mirrors Search ExperiencesBecause of genAI, all search experiences are increasingly conversational, assistive, and agentic. Consequently, distinctions between search experiences disappear. Perplexity and Rufus, Amazon’s shopping assistant, both leverage genAI-integrated search, blurring the line between search engine and site search experiences. Like Rufus, Perplexity’s shopping assistant rapidly summarizes reviews, compares features, and requires only one click to buy.
Fujitsu Steps Onto The Global Quantum Computing Stage

1 month ago | forrester.com | Brian Hopkins |Brent Ellis |Colleen Fazio

A Comprehensive Portfolio Of InnovationFujitsu is embracing an all-in strategy in quantum computing — investing across a broad portfolio that includes superconducting and diamond spin qubits, open-source software development, quantum simulation, and a hybrid quantum-classical computing architecture. While most vendors focus on one or two of these elements, Fujitsu is working across all of them in its quest for a place on the world stage.
IBM's Acquisition of DataStax: A Major Boost for Its AI Data Platform

2 months ago | forrester.com | Noel Yuhanna |Kim Herrington |Brian Hopkins

IBM has announced its intent to acquire DataStax, a leading data platform provider. This strategic acquisition significantly boosts IBM’s AI data platform by integrating advanced vector capabilities critical for powering RAG applications. It positions IBM to help businesses leverage value from vast volumes of unstructured data, an area where IBM lacks a strong foothold.