business history. Highlights 00:14 — Now, any question about this greatest growth market the world has ever known was blown away last week, when Microsoft reported its fiscal Q4 earnings. And I think Microsoft's Q4 results have to be regarded as the greatest quarterly results of any company in any industry of all time. 00:40 — Now, I cannot say that I have done a rigorous analysis of every quarterly report from every company in every industry there's ever been. But I will be wide open to hearing...
Aug 04, 2025•6 min•Ep. 518
Welcome to the Cloud Wars Minute — your daily cloud news and commentary show. Each episode provides insights and perspectives around the “reimagination machine” that is the cloud. In today’s Cloud Wars Minute, I explore the fierce competition among tech giants to attract the brightest minds in AI as the race for dominance ramps up a gear. Highlights 00:03 — As the battle for AI dominance among the Cloud Wars Top 10 heats up, the race for talent has escalated. The latest executive to switch sides...
Aug 01, 2025•2 min•Ep. 517
In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I share how IBM has built a $7.5 billion GenAI business in just 18 months, transforming everything from mainframes to consulting under the bold leadership of CEO Arvind Krishna . Highlights 00:13 — IBM last week reported its Q2 numbers. Very impressive. I thought one of the most interesting points was that in just 18 months, IBM has built up a GenAI business with a revenue run rate of $7.5 billion. And that GenAI impact is cutting across IBM's entire, huge product p...
Jul 31, 2025•5 min•Ep. 516
Bonnie Tinder is the founder and CEO of Raven Intelligence, an independent B2B peer review site that amplifies the voice of the customer. She focuses on software customers, consulting partners, and software vendors, and helps identify the best partners for their needs. In this episode, she joins Bob Evans to talk about the shifting landscape of enterprise consulting, the rise of AI-driven delivery models, and what these changes mean for both firms and customers navigating digital transformation....
Jul 30, 2025•20 min•Ep. 515
In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I spotlight a powerful joint message from two of Europe’s top tech CEOs, Siemens CEO Roland Busch and SAP CEO Christian Klein, who are urging the European Union to reconsider its AI legislation. Highlights 00:03 — The CEOs of Siemens and SAP have urged the EU to reconsider its AI legislation, expressing concerns that the current law hinders innovation. SAP CEO Christian Klein and Siemens CEO Roland Busch are advocating for a new regulatory framework that supports AI...
Jul 30, 2025•2 min•Ep. 514
Kim Lynch is the Executive Vice President of Government, Defense, and Intelligence, Oracle. She and Bob Evans sit down to discuss how public sector organizations are accelerating digital transformation with AI , cloud, and secure infrastructure. They explore critical challenges like regulatory compliance , procurement complexity, and legacy system modernization, as well as the growing need for scalable, mission-ready solutions. Kim also introduces Oracle’s Defense Ecosystem initiative. Oracle's ...
Jul 29, 2025•21 min•Ep. 512
In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I spotlight the 30% surge in $20M+ customers as proof of ServiceNow’s enterprise momentum. Highlights 00:48 — Let me briefly touch on some of the key numbers from ServiceNow in Q2. So, the top line there: Subscription revenue was up 22.5% to $3.11 billion. Big jump in total RPO, or Remaining Performance Obligation , up 29% to almost $24 billion. I want to point out, too, the subscription revenue growth in Q2 — 22.5% — that’s a big jump from the Q1 growth rate of 19....
Jul 29, 2025•5 min•Ep. 513
In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I break down Google Cloud’s explosive Q2 performance — including a 32% revenue jump, a $106 billion backlog, and a surge in billion-dollar deals. Highlights 00:14 — We saw a great re-acceleration by Google Cloud. In Q2, it recorded great numbers across the board. I think what this shows is that large enterprises are buying fully into the Google Cloud value proposition. It's made huge strides there. These are AI- hungry customers who realize they've got potentially a...
Jul 28, 2025•6 min•Ep. 511
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Jul 25, 2025•5 min•Ep. 509
Welcome to the Cloud Wars Minute — your daily cloud news and commentary show. Each episode provides insights and perspectives around the “reimagination machine” that is the cloud. In today’s Cloud Wars Minute, I take a closer look at SAP’s Q2 cloud performance—24% revenue growth and a 22% rise in current cloud backlog—slower than past quarters, but still dramatically outpacing rivals like Highlights 00:13 — One of the leaders in the Cloud Wars Top 10 , SAP, has been the fastest-growing enterpris...
Jul 24, 2025•5 min•Ep. 508
In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I explore how Microsoft is helping Thailand modernize its legal system using AI and cloud technologies to support its bid for OECD membership. Highlights 00:03 — Microsoft is helping to transform Thailand's legal system using AI and cloud technologies. The company is working closely with the Office of the Council of State. This effort is a critical part of the country's ambition to join the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD. 00:30 — At ...
Jul 23, 2025•2 min•Ep. 507
Highlights 00:14 — Later today, we will hear from SAP about its Q2 financial results. So the cloud revenue for the past six quarters: 24%, 25%, 27%, 20%, 27%, 27%. I’m projecting 27% for Q2. It's even been stronger in its cloud backlog numbers: 27%, 28%, 29%, up to 32% in the giant Q4 numbers, 28% in Q1. I’m projecting the backlog will go up 29% for Q2. 01:34 — Three months ago, after SAP released its Q1 numbers, CEO Christian Klein did an interview with Bloomberg TV, and he said something that ...
Jul 22, 2025•4 min•Ep. 506
Oracle, Microsoft, AWS, and Google Cloud. Oracle is the newest member of that elite club and recently claimed that none of the others can match them in the cloud. This is a timely topic, as business leaders accelerate their move into the cloud to harness AI and innovation. 01:00 — Recently Oracle Cloud Infrastructure's President Clay Magouyrk stated that Oracle is the only hyperscaler able to deliver more than 200 cloud and AI services across every deployment model. Google Cloud said it's no lon...
Jul 21, 2025•3 min•Ep. 505
Highlights 00:03 — Oracle shares jumped 4% following news that the company is poised to sign a massive cloud deal expected to generate $30 billion annually, starting in fiscal year 2028. It's a potential game-changer for the company's revenue and growth. The announcement of the deal has already been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 00:31 — Oracle's cloud business has received a substantial boost of late. Last year, my colleague Bob Evans highlighted a significant milestone that...
Jul 18, 2025•2 min•Ep. 504
closely with the U.K. government, which feels it's got a lot of "ball-and-chain technology" hampering the ability of its employees but also governments themselves to move into the future and deliver greater service to their constituents. It is looking to cut expenses via modern technology by up to $50 billion, and it's enlisted Google Cloud's help to do that. 01:25 — At the Imperial War Museum, it's undertaken a project to use AI and cloud technologies to preserve 20,000 hours of oral conversati...
Jul 17, 2025•5 min•Ep. 503
In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I explore Amazon’s massive new AI infrastructure project, Project Rainier, built for Anthropic and the largest-ever deployment of Trainium2 chips by Annapurna Labs. Highlights 00:03 — AWS is building a colossal supercomputing cluster for Anthropic, a company that has received a total of $8 billion in backing from Amazon. Project Rainier is spread across multiple U.S. sites and uses hundreds of thousands of Annapurna Labs Trainium2 accelerators, and is set to launch ...
Jul 16, 2025•2 min•Ep. 502
In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I analyze the recent Microsoft layoffs. Highlights 00:14 — It's an ugly part of the free-market capitalism world, but what is inevitable in some ways — is layoffs. In the first six months of this year, Microsoft has laid off 15,000 people. I think we need to look at this as part of the new normal. It's an unfortunate consequence of the AI revolution and the incredible benefits and growth that it’s going to drive. 01:08 — I think we've seen a lot of people say, “Oh, ...
Jul 15, 2025•5 min•Ep. 501
In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I take a look at what the Oracle-AWS collaboration means for the future of multi-cloud innovation and customer value. Highlights 00:22 — I think we can say now there’s romance in the cloud. Oracle and AWS are doing things in a collaborative way that they've never done before. The customers are swooning over this cloud romance. This is all built around the Oracle Database @AWS, part of a multi-cloud deal. 01:09 — This inclusion now, in addition to the heavy competiti...
Jul 14, 2025•4 min•Ep. 500
In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I explore how ServiceNow and Nicus Software are teaming up to deliver a financial intelligence layer that helps enterprises optimize their cloud, AI, and IT spending by unifying data across finance , IT, and business units. Highlights 00:08 — ServiceNow is working with a partner, Nicus, to deliver a financial intelligence layer for enterprise tech. Interesting angle here: It's trying not just to consolidate the numbers, but to go beyond that. It involves multiple pa...
Jul 11, 2025•4 min•Ep. 499
In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I look at the ongoing relevance and success of so-called "legacy" organizations in the Cloud Wars Top 10. Highlights 00:16 — Now interesting to see across the 10 companies in the Cloud Wars Top 10 , we've got four that would fall under the sort of goofy legacy title. They've been around about half a century or more. And then we've got six companies that we referred to as cloud native. Interesting to see that right now the Cloud and AI revolution is fully underway. 0...
Jul 10, 2025•5 min•Ep. 498
In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I take a look at how SAP is advancing its sustainability agenda by becoming its own test subject. Highlights 00:03 — SAP has announced that it's utilizing its own sustainability software to further the company's sustainability goals by acting as the ultimate test subject. Its pushing the boundaries of its sustainability offerings while also addressing common customer challenges such as mass data management, compliance , and analysis. 01:05 — Solutions include tools ...
Jul 09, 2025•2 min•Ep. 497
Bonnie Tinder is the founder and CEO of Raven Intelligence, an independent B2B peer review site that amplifies the voice of the customer. She focuses on software customers, consulting partners, and software vendors and helps identify the best partners for their needs. In this episode, Bonnie shares insights from a recent Salesforce event, exploring how AI agents , data clouds, and robotics are reshaping customer experience, software implementation, and enterprise transformation. Episode 52 | AI ...
Jul 03, 2025•30 min•Ep. 490
Ajay Patel is the General Manager of Apptio and IBM IT automation. He and Kieron Allen sat down to talk about how enterprises are transitioning from AI experimentation to real business impact. They explored key challenges like cost transparency, governance, and data readiness, as well as the rise of agentic AI to automate workflows at scale. Ajay also introduced Apptio’s new AI TCO and Usage tool, designed to help CIOs and CFOs measure and optimize AI investments. Smart Spending on AI The Big Th...
Jul 02, 2025•9 min•Ep. 493
Welcome to the Cloud Wars Minute — your daily cloud news and commentary show. Each episode provides insights and perspectives around the “reimagination machine” that is the cloud. In today’s Cloud Wars Minute, I dive into Slack’s bold move to restrict API access to bulk data exports, effectively blocking the use of its platform data for LLM training and signaling a strategic pivot toward proprietary AI control and heightened data security Highlights 00:03 — Salesforce has changed the API Terms o...
Jul 02, 2025•2 min•Ep. 494
In this episode of the Office of the CFO Podcast, John Siefert hosts Rob Ashe , VP of North America, SignUp Software , and Blaine Grzegorek , Senior Solution Architect, Sikich , for a conversation on the benefits of partnering with ISVs, top considerations when selecting an ISV, and the impact of AI agents. Key Takeaways: Risks of building your own solutions: One major risk that's becoming more prominent is having the expertise in-house to build custom solutions. Another hurdle is the upfront co...
Jul 01, 2025•20 min•Ep. 492
In today’s Cloud Wars Minute, I break down the latest growth rankings among the top 10 cloud providers, highlight Google Cloud’s continued lead, and show how legacy giants like Oracle and SAP are rapidly transforming into cloud powerhouses. Highlights 00:15 — I wanted to share with you the latest numbers for the Cloud Wars Growth Chart, where we take a look at the growth rates of the Cloud Wars Top 10 companies. Google Cloud holds on to the number one spot. But SAP and Oracle are breathing down ...
Jul 01, 2025•5 min•Ep. 491
Balazs Molnar, CEO and co-founder of Rabbit, chats with Kieron Allen about the evolving challenges of cloud cost management and how engineering teams have become central to tackling them. He explains why traditional FinOps tools fall short, how Rabbit dives below the surface to uncover hidden waste (especially in platforms like BigQuery) and why automation is essential for real savings. Optimizing Cloud with Rabbit The Big Themes: Cloud Costs Take Center Stage : Companies are no longer asking, "...
Jun 19, 2025•20 min•Ep. 489
Assist, Accelerate, Transform The Big Themes: Workday’s Agent System of Record : Workday's Agent System of Record manages the emerging digital agent ecosystem. It provides structure and governance to what could otherwise become a chaotic sprawl of AI agents . By embedding agent management into existing organizational hierarchies, Workday ensures that agents become a structured extension of the workforce rather than a disconnected experiment. Shift Toward Role-Based Agents : Workday is designing ...
May 27, 2025•17 min•Ep. 487
The Big Themes: SAP’s Flywheel Strategy: SAP introduced a compelling flywheel model that integrates applications, data, and AI to drive enterprise momentum. The idea is that integrated applications generate structured data, which then feeds a robust AI layer. As these layers build on one another, they create a self-reinforcing cycle of productivity, insight, and innovation—a flywheel effect. Unlike Microsoft and ServiceNow, which predict the collapse of applications in favor of agents, SAP asser...
May 22, 2025•20 min•Ep. 488
Parisa Tabriz is vice president and general manager for Google Chrome, the world’s leading browser platform. She leads efforts to make Chrome a secure and essential enterprise workspace, integrating AI and advanced cybersecurity to meet evolving business needs. In this episode, Parisa joins Bob to explore how Chrome is redefining the browser as a productivity and security platform, the role of AI in enterprise protection, and what’s next for Chrome’s innovations. Chrome at Google Cloud Next The ...
May 14, 2025•15 min•Ep. 484
