Cloud Wars Live with Bob Evans

Key TakeawaysAI's progress: Wiese expresses excitement to return to the event after a year to hear real case studies on how people have embraced AI, especially appreciating the human and change‑management side of this transformational journey. Specifically, she's eager to learn where organizations have tested, scaled, or faced pushback over the past 12 months, noting that adopting AI is an ongoing, iterative process.Curating the agenda: "I think my number one view of all of the submissions was around innovation," notes Wiese, who played a role as a Programming Committee Board member, selecting sessions for the 2026 AI Agent & Copilot Summit agenda. In her process, she looked for examples of where organizations have truly innovated with this technology. "I want honest, too. You know, 'this is what we tried. It didn't work, but we came back at it, here's how'".AI's impact on women in tech: On Thursday, March 19, Wiese will lead a Fireside Chat around her new book, "You're on Mute." The book explores whether AI has actually helped women enter and thrive in the tech industry amid persistent adoption and trust gaps. Through stories from contributors, it examines AI’s impact on leveling the playing field and encourages more women to see AI as a path into tech.Event expectations: The real power of conferences and events comes from being together, notes Wiese. With the lineup of speakers, she believes attendees will gain access to candid insights and meaningful peer connections. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I discuss Christian Klein's plan for SAP's continued success.Highlights00:00 — Hello, my friends. Welcome back to Cloud Wars Minute, where 2026 is off to a racing start here into the AI economy. And I wanted to talk today a little bit about the results for Q4 and full-year 2025 from SAP, which is now number four on the Cloud Wars Top 10, moved up from the number five spot earlier this month.00:37 —So let’s focus on the strength that’s going on here, and why customers are reacting to the dynamics in enterprise apps and agents and AI and data marketplaces — not just apps anymore. I think SAP wrapped up a very strong Q4. CEO Christian Klein laid out a 5-point growth plan for 2026 and beyond. Before we get to that, here are my choices for the key numbers from the SAP Q4 earnings results.01:15 — First of all, most important, total cloud backlog was up 30% to about $88 billion — very, very strong momentum going into the future. This is similar to what other companies call their RPO, remaining performance obligation. This is contracted business, locked in, but not yet recognized as revenue. Cloud revenue was up 26% for the year to $24.2 billion, so across the board, doing great.01:57 — Within that, the Cloud ERP Suite was up 32% to $20.8 billion, and the closer-in current cloud backlog up 25% to $24.2 billion. Based on those strong numbers, Christian Klein revealed a 5-point growth plan. He said these backlog deals go out up to four years, and often customers add more. This gives SAP’s on-prem customers confidence as they move to the cloud.03:03 — Klein said when customers migrate to the cloud, SAP often gets a two- to three-times boost in revenue as customers add more applications. He also cited a booming mid-market ecosystem through partners.03:53 — Finally, he said the most strategic parts of future growth will be Business AI and the Business Data Cloud. In Q4, 90% of SAP’s 50 largest deals included one or both. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

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In today’s Cloud Wars Minute, I dig into Microsoft’s fiscal Q2 results, unpacking the headline RPO surge, the OpenAI effect, and what the numbers really say about future demand.Highlights00:10 — Want to talk about Microsoft's fiscal Q2, numbers that came out yesterday. That's for the three months ended, December 31 and there was some remarkable numbers in there, but we're going to dig into those a little. They're still remarkable, but they need to be understood in a deeper context, and I want to share that today.00:28 — So, the big number that jumped out to me very good, Q2 Microsoft Cloud revenue growth overall. But the big number that jumped out to me was for their Q2 RPO, remaining performance obligation, which is future contracted business not yet recognized as revenue. So, it's a look into the future the pipeline and customer demand for that.00:51 — Microsoft said their RPO for Q2 jumped 110% to $625 billion an enormous number that's even larger than Oracle, which in the past couple quarters, has leapfrogged Microsoft as the RPO leader. But now it's back to Microsoft. Now, that 110% includes an enormous deal, a commitment from OpenAI. I if we take that out the OpenAI commitment then the RPO growth from all of Microsoft's other customers grew 28%.01:29 — I'm not saying this try to undercut a tremendous performance by Microsoft. They earned that OpenAI deal. It's great. And hey, 281 billion is 281 billion, but this reflects a little bit of a different tone to that enormous number. Looking back the other direction, so not into the future with RPO, but the past three months, cloud revenue was up 26% to $51.5 billion.02:34 — Now the RPO totals, I mentioned, $625 billion. Microsoft said that 45% of that 625 billion, that equates to about $281 billion is from an a commitment for OpenAI for future cloud and AI infrastructure services.04:19 — Late last year, OpenAI signed a $38 billion deal with AWS. And there are not many $38 billion deals in any industry, of any kind, anywhere. It's only in the cloud — this greatest growth market the world has ever known — that you can look at a $38 billion deal and say, "Wow, that's 1/10 the size of these other deals with AWS competitors, Microsoft and Oracle." Visit Cloud Wars for more.

In this episode of the AI Agent & Copilot Podcast, John Siefert is joined by Shawn Dorward, Vice President at sa.global and a second-year leader on the Programming Committee Board. Together, they explore how the AI landscape has evolved from curiosity to execution, what made the 2026 AI Agent & Copilot Summit NA speaker selection process so competitive, and how leadership, creativity, and intentional AI adoption are shaping the future of enterprise innovation.Key Takeaways• Creativity without constraints: Dorward says that AI removes many historical limitations, forcing leaders to think without predefined rules. The most compelling session proposals challenged conventional narratives, offering unconventional ideas that expanded what attendees believed was possible. This creative freedom is essential as organizations explore entirely new operating models enabled by AI.• Intentional AI wins: Both speakers stress that success won’t come from using AI everywhere, but from using it intentionally. Knowing when not to apply AI is just as important as knowing when to deploy it. Organizations that align AI usage with clear business goals will outperform those chasing technology for its own sake.• Leadership must evolve: AI-driven enterprises demand a new kind of leadership — one that blends technical understanding with human judgment, ethics, and change management.That kind of leadership, not technology, will ultimately differentiate organizations in an agentic world. “What everybody doesn’t have is the same leadership," he says. "The human element, the people element is what will separate people organizations.” Visit Cloud Wars for more.

In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I compare how AWS, Microsoft, Google Cloud, and Oracle are competing in the sovereign cloud race.Highlights00:03 — AWS has announced the general availability of the AWS European Sovereign Cloud. This new, independent cloud service is located solely within the EU’s borders, ensuring that it’s separate from other AWS regions. Ultimately, the European Sovereign Cloud enables companies to comply with the EU’s sovereignty requirements without sacrificing any of the power of AWS infrastructure.00:55 — AWS is not alone in the Cloud Wars Top 10 in offering sovereign cloud capabilities to the European market. Microsoft provides the Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty through localized frameworks. Google Cloud, through local partnerships, has also developed sovereign-focused solutions. And Oracle has introduced the Oracle EU Sovereign Cloud Regions.01:24 — It appears there is space for all of these competitors, because the market is demanding this sovereignty more than ever. Now, originally, this movement towards sovereign cloud solutions in Europe was stimulated by the EU’s tough stance on data protection.02:03 — However, as we enter a period of increased global instability, these sovereign services may take on further significance by enabling companies to operate more independently, and by that, I mean in geographies of their choice. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I debunk the myth that legacy vendors like Oracle, Microsoft, and SAP can’t thrive in the cloud and AI era.Highlights00:10 — I want to talk about why Oracle, Microsoft, and SAP are thriving and being leaders in the industry in both cloud and AI. Why is this happening? Especially because, if you look back, we kept hearing this conventional wisdom that the legacy vendors were going to be just blown away, wiped out by these new cloud-native companies and startups, right?00:42 — That the traditional companies here — the fifty-somethings — Oracle, Microsoft, SAP, IBM, and others, were just too old. They were fuddy-duddies. They couldn’t make the turn. They didn’t get cloud. They didn’t understand it, and these hotshot new companies were just going to blow them away.01:36 — We see these companies not just holding their own, but actually being pioneers. Oracle, now number two on the Cloud Wars Top 10; Microsoft, number three; SAP, number four. They’re doing the AI economy as well, and a big part of that is tied directly to the fact that these companies have all been around for almost 50 years or more.02:22 —Oracle, 49 years. Microsoft, 51 years. SAP, 54 years. They’re wearing those sort of Boomer ages as badges of honor, and doing incredibly well in the marketplace here because they’re able to use their expertise with every sort of technology ever invented.03:04 — One of the ways that conventional wisdom in this business plays out is this notion of a zero-sum game, where there’s a limited, finite supply of assets or resources or market share — total addressable market. I mean, that’s just absolutely absurd.04:15 — This is not a zero-sum game, and these so-called experts who try to preach that and guide decision-making based on that just don’t get it. They’re applying a model that fits some other industries that certainly does not here, and it’s actually quite harmful to follow that. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

Key TakeawaysWhat to expect in 2026: The industry has moved from its previous point in the "hype cycle" into a more realistic phase, where limitations of AI and agents are clearer, and new methodologies are needed to extract real business value. Robinson adds that this year’s AI Agent & Copilot Summit serves as an important refresh to share what’s been learned, preview what’s coming, and features an exceptionally strong lineup of Microsoft AI leaders.Session selection process: Robinson, who serves on the event's Programming Committee Board, describes what he was looking for when selecting sessions: a balance of technical depth with business context, so attendees understand foundational concepts before advancing into more complex topics. The goal was to ensure attendees walk away with both the “cool” innovations and the practical know‑how needed to apply AI effectively without creating business issues.2026 sessions: Robinson details the five sessions he'll be leading, including:"From Future Proof to Future Agile," on March 18"Copilot Studio 101 & Implementation Guide," on March 18"Child Agents, Instructions, and Descriptions: A New Way of Building," on March 18"Update to Understanding Component Collections Vs Multi-Agent," on March 19"Multi-Agent AI Systems with Microsoft Foundry, Copilot Studio, Fabric, Microsoft Agent Framework," on March 19He adds that "I would love to get your insights [on] where you're having problems, challenges you're seeing... so that'll just be additional value-add on top of these great learnings in the masterclass."Final thoughts: Robinson encourages attendees to fully engage with the event’s intimate, community‑focused format, noting that “these speakers are going to be available to you, so take the opportunity to interact with them.” He emphasizes following the full education track for maximum value and making time for social events to connect, learn, and share insights. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I spotlight why SAP’s AI and data strategy is changing the enterprise game.Highlights00:02 — We’ve got more changes to dig into here on the Cloud Wars Top 10, as we saw SAP soar up to number four. SAP had held the number five spot for a couple of years now, and moved up to number four. All those companies in the enterprise application space now have morphed into applications, agents, AI, and data companies, not just simple application companies anymore.00:42 — So, in this fast-changing environment, SAP has really stood out by dramatically outgrowing its other very, very capable competitors. I call these four pieces of the SAP portfolio the Four Horsemen of Business Transformation. So, those include Business Suite, Business AI, the Business Data Cloud, and the Business Technology Platform.01:40 — So, for SAP, its growth rate in its most recent quarter is 27%, and its cloud revenue is $6.14 billion. Microsoft came in second place with its Dynamics 365 enterprise apps, up 18%. SAP grew 50% faster. Workday, 14.6%, $2.24 billion. Oracle, overall apps were up 11%, $3.9 billion.02:50 — So, healthcare lagging there for Oracle, and then Salesforce, the biggest at $10.3 billion, but grew 8.6%. SAP grew about three times faster, which is a 200% differential there. What's interesting about this is business leaders looking to expand what they're doing with enterprise applications, especially to help transform their businesses, to get into the AI economy.03:45 — So, in a wide-open field with lots of choices, terrific competition, SAP stands out as the high-growth leader. Now, it’s a little clunky to say enterprise apps, AI, agentic, and data, so if anybody comes up with a real code name for this, let me know. We’ll see what happens there, and if you come up with a great name for it, you get a Cloud Wars beer mug. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I dive into the key innovations behind Salesforce’s push toward the agentic AI enterprise.Highlights00:12 —Salesforce has introduced its Spring ’26 release, which will become available to customers on February 23. Salesforce Workspace, Salesforce's solution for unifying sellers and agents, is described as an intelligent hub. The solution acts as a single place for sellers to review agent performance, activity, and other analytics.00:50 — It carries out a wide range of tasks, such as anticipating customer issues, enabling self-service resolution, and conducting issue analysis. Finally, Agentforce Builder provides organizations with a dedicated facility for building, testing, and refining agents in a single, conversational workspace.01:41 — Here's my key takeaway: these new and enhanced features collectively push toward Salesforce's vision for the AI agentic enterprise, a place where humans and AI agents work collaboratively. What Salesforce is doing with its latest release is unifying the critical elements that will enable this vision. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

forced Microsoft out of the #1 spot in the Cloud Wars Top 10.Highlights00:03 — Going to go a little more deeply into the shuffles in the Cloud Wars Top 10, some big shake-ups here. Companies moving up and down. Microsoft, former number one, drops down to number three. Google Cloud, up to number one, Oracle to number two.00:25 — I want to talk today about my main reasons for moving Microsoft down from number one to number three. The Microsoft tumble here is really centered on its deep cybersecurity flaws that were exposed about 18-24 months ago. The range and scope of these cybersecurity shortcomings and weaknesses outweigh the extraordinary financial revenue and commercial success.01:38 — The significance of these cyber business shortcomings really came out about just over a year ago, when simultaneously both CEO Satya Nadella and Charlie Bell, who's Executive Vice President of Microsoft's Security business, both came out with public documents outlining how they were going in tandem to totally overhaul Microsoft's cybersecurity business, top to bottom.02:44 — This came out only after a government watchdog had very publicly flagged these shortcomings that Microsoft had and the results, the disastrous results, that led to some issues in China and some exposures of valuable information and more after that. I covered this extensively through the middle of 2024 and later throughout the year,04:18 — Microsoft has always said — Nadella has so frequently said — "Cybersecurity is our number one priority." Well, it's easy to say that. Apparently, it's very hard to do that and to live it. And this also then speaks to a lot of the questions I get about, "How do you do these rankings?" I take into account here the customer value that's being created.05:35 — It's a remarkable time here. And, I just want to emphasize Microsoft's commercial success. Revenue growth has been remarkable. It's by far the biggest cloud company in the world. Its growth rates have been remarkable. Its RPO numbers are great, but this cybersecurity failing just absolutely knocks them out of the running to be the top dog here. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

Bob Evans speaks with Jaison Correya, CEO of CLOUDVICE, in a special Cloud Wars Live episode focused on the real-world evolution of AI. Fresh off CLOUDVICE’s win of the 2025 Oracle North America Technology and Cloud AI Innovation Partner Award, Correya explains the purpose-driven innovation behind the company’s CORX platform. The discussion explores how AI, cloud, blockchain, and robotics converge to move intelligence beyond insights into action.From Data to ActionThe Big Themes:AI Must Drive Action: Jaison Correya makes clear that AI’s value is limited if it stops at analysis. While AI can generate insights and recommendations, it does not create impact unless it is connected to execution. CLOUDVICE’s approach focuses on enabling AI to act in the real world through orchestration with cloud platforms, blockchain security, and robotics. This shift moves AI from theoretical intelligence to operational autonomy.CORX Enables Convergence: CORX is positioned as the platform where multiple technologies converge into a single operational system. Correya describes CORX as the place where AI thinks, cloud scales, blockchain verifies, and robotics acts. Rather than treating these capabilities as separate tools, CLOUDVICE integrates them to eliminate fragmentation. This convergence allows organizations to securely scale AI while ensuring verification, governance, and execution remain tightly connected across digital and physical environments.Endless Automation Replaces Rules: Correya introduces “endless automation” as a new model that goes beyond static, rule-based workflows. Instead of relying on predefined scripts, CORX enables AI systems that reason, learn, and act as new data nodes are introduced. This allows automation to continuously evolve without constant reprogramming. For enterprises and public sector organizations, this means greater flexibility, efficiency, and resilience as conditions and requirements change.The Big Quote: “AI by itself can produce results, it can analyze and recommend, but it cannot scale securely without a proper cloud platform.”Learn more about CLOUDVICE and Jaison Correya:Connect with Jaison Correya on LinkedIn and learn about CLOUDVICE. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

In this episode of the AI Agent & Copilot Podcast, John Siefert, CEO of Dynamic Communities, is joined by Crystal Ahrens, Vice President of Solution Delivery and System Architecture at The Heico Companies LLC. Together, they explore how enterprises are moving beyond AI experimentation into real production outcomes, drawing on lessons from implementing agents and Copilot at scale. The conversation also previews what attendees can expect at the 2026 AI Agent & Copilot Summit NA, including real-world use cases, master classes, and community-driven insights.Key TakeawaysFrom readiness to productivity: Many organizations underestimate the effort required to prepare data and systems for agentic AI. The Summit addresses this gap by showcasing companies that have moved from AI readiness to AI productivity. “Everybody’s dipping their toes in AI. Everybody’s heard of it. But getting AI productive is not that easy to do. Here, we’re going to hear the real stories — how you get there and the major pitfalls.”Master classes reveal the real costs: One standout element of the Summit is its master class format, which goes beyond high-level vision to expose real operational details. These sessions openly address run costs, staffing models, and the balance between human and AI labor. Rather than positioning AI as a replacement for people, speakers show how AI augments human intelligence and accelerates outcomes.Human intelligence amplified by AI: AI doesn’t just automate tasks, it makes people more effective. Ahrens shares examples where Copilot and agentic AI dramatically reduce manual effort in financial analysis, help desk operations, and portfolio management. By handling exceptions, querying data, and surfacing insights faster, AI allows teams to focus on higher-value work. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I explore how AI and healthcare are intersecting at an unprecedented pace.Highlights00:14 — Discoveries in healthcare are coming at an unprecedented pace. Capabilities have never been greater, and new methods of consulting with and treating patients are consistently emerging. However, all of this progress brings with it a significant administrative burden, because the more variables you introduce, the more complexity arises.00:34 — The key to unraveling this complexity and alleviating the burden on healthcare professionals is AI. Microsoft has announced that Anthropic has added tools, connectors, and skills to Claude in Microsoft Foundry. These new capabilities enable healthcare and life sciences organizations to leverage advanced reasoning, agentic workflows, and model intelligence.01:30 — Claude for Healthcare provides domain-specific tools and resources to support both medical and operational workflows, covering a wide range of use cases such as patient care, triage, coordination, and claims processing. Claude for Life Sciences helps accelerate research and development by connecting to scientific platforms and enabling the generation of high-quality protocol materials with far greater ease.02:23 — It's important to note that these services are delivered through Foundry, which benefits from a secure, enterprise-ready foundation provided by Microsoft Azure. This enables companies to scale their capabilities securely and compliantly. AI is most powerful and impactful when next-generation models like Claude are paired with infrastructure such as Foundry. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

In this Cloud Wars Special Report, Bob Evans sits down with Mike Sicilia, CEO of Oracle, to discuss Oracle’s rise to the number-two position on the Cloud Wars Top 10. Their conversation explores why customers are increasingly gravitating toward Oracle, how AI embedded across infrastructure and applications is accelerating time to value, and why openness, multi-cloud flexibility, and data gravity are reshaping enterprise decision-making.Oracle AI Strategy and ProductsThe Big Themes:AI Built In, Not Bolted On: Oracle’s momentum is rooted in embedding AI directly into its database, data platform, infrastructure, and applications rather than layering it on later. This architectural decision enables customers to train models, run inference, and deploy intelligent applications faster and more reliably. AI is foundational across ERP, retail merchandising, healthcare, and industry solutions. By integrating AI at every layer, Oracle reduces friction, accelerates adoption, and delivers immediate business value, helping customers move beyond experimentation into production-scale AI initiatives with confidence and speed.AI Changes Customer Engagement Models: The traditional technology upgrade cycle has been replaced by continuous, iterative innovation. With quarterly Fusion updates delivering hundreds of new AI-enabled features automatically, customers see constant improvements without added cost or disruption. Sicilia noted that AI data platforms and agent-building tools now enable daily innovation.Scale, Responsibility, and Customer Trust: With more than half a trillion dollars in contractual commitments, Oracle’s leadership views execution and trust as paramount. Sicilia says that Oracle’s decades-long experience running no-fail, mission-critical systems uniquely positions it for the AI Era. Customer success, support, and operational alignment have been restructured around an “AI-first, service-first” mindset.The Big Quote: “Very quick time to value has a lot to do with data gravity, and we are the custodians of the data. We are, in fact, the creators of a lot of the data from our applications.”"More from Oracle:Learn about Oracle and AI or OCI for AI. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

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 highlight Oracle's rise to #2 in the Cloud Wars Top 10 rankings, driven by AI-led innovation and rapid cloud growth.Highlights00:06 — Oracle has surged from #3 to #2 in the Cloud Wars Top 10, driven by its focus on data as the foundation for AI innovation. Co-CEOs Mike Sicilia and Clay Magouyrk are leading Oracle during a period of strong momentum, with the company leapfrogging Microsoft in cloud and AI influence.01:27 — Oracle is embedding AI deeply across its entire product portfolio, from cloud infrastructure and applications to databases, rather than adding it on later. This approach is fueling rapid growth and helping customers adopt AI faster, more easily, and at lower cost.02:20 — Oracle’s co-CEOs, Mike Sicilia and Clay Magouyrk, face the unprecedented challenge of executing against a $523 billion backlog while continuing to drive innovation and strong customer engagement. Despite being smaller than major competitors, Oracle’s rapid AI-driven innovation has enabled it to surpass both AWS and Microsoft in cloud influence.04:19 — The new co-CEOs are balancing rapid innovation with the challenge of executing a massive backlog, including but not limited to the $300 billion OpenAI deal. Drawing on deep internal and cloud infrastructure experience, Sicilia and Magouyrk are positioning Oracle for its next phase of growth.Check out my full interview with Mike Sicilia here. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

In this episode of the AI Agent & Copilot Podcast, John Siefert, President and Founder of AIAC, sits down with Seth Bacon, Director of Innovation at RSM, to explore how organizations can move beyond AI hype and into real, measurable value. Their conversation dives into practical adoption, industry-specific use cases, and what attendees can expect from the 2026 AI Agent & Copilot Summit NA, where real-world outcomes, not proofs of concept, take center stage.Key TakeawaysIndustry-specific use cases: Bacon highlights that outcomes, data sets, and success metrics differ dramatically between sectors like manufacturing, retail, and professional services. By showcasing real industry accelerators, the summit helps attendees see what’s possible within their own vertical while also learning from how other industries solve similar problems using the same technologies.Accessible depth for every role: The summit is intentionally designed to support a wide range of maturity levels. Bacon notes that some attendees are just learning how to write better prompts, while others are orchestrating complex, multi-platform agentic systems.The power of in-person connection: While sessions provide structured learning, both speakers agree that the most impactful moments often happen outside the rooms. Bacon emphasizes that hallway conversations, meals, and informal networking create lasting relationships that extend well beyond the event. These connections give attendees trusted peers to call months later when challenges arise, making the summit not just a learning experience, but a long-term support network. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

In today’s Cloud Wars Minute, I break down how Google’s new Gemini 3 Flash delivers near-real-time AI performance with the speed, scale, and cost efficiency enterprises need as AI moves from Q&A to action.Highlights00:03 — Google has expanded its Gemini 3 model family with the introduction of Gemini 3 Flash, a model designed for speed without sacrificing quality. Gemini 3 Flash enables organizations to process data close to real time, and it's incredibly efficient, combining enhanced speed with better price performance, with this speed comes scalability.00:48 — Ultimately, Gemini 3 Flash enables multimodal processing, which means it can build applications that analyze video and extract data in near real time. Gemini 3 Flash addresses the demand for AI-driven coding and supports the development of more autonomous AI ecosystems at scale, all in a cost effective manner.01:14 — It delivers incredibly low latency, providing near real time experiences, which contrasts with many existing other large language models that often suffer from delays. Speed-optimized models like Gemini 3 Flash are becoming essential as the AI Revolution transitions from the Q&A to one of action.01:40 — Customers now demand capabilities that drive live applications and assist users in real time. This is particularly important considering predicted growth of autonomous AI agents. Now beyond this, as users become more accustomed to AI, they expect multimodality. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I spotlight Thomas Kurian’s game-changing customer strategy at Google Cloud.Highlights00:03 — We’ve got a new number one on the Cloud Wars Top 10. That’s Google Cloud. They’ve leapfrogged Microsoft, and Oracle has moved up to the number two spot, with Microsoft coming in at number three. This is reflective of a very, very different business environment that we’re facing here at the beginning of the AI Economy.00:37 — I had the chance to speak with Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian. The big point that Kurian made is you’ve got to understand the customer. But, you’ve got here a world-class technology company that, before Kurian’s arrival in 2019, had as its sole focus: make world-class technology and the world will beat a path to our door.02:15 — As I said, Google Cloud has leapfrogged Microsoft to the number one spot on the Cloud Wars Top 10. The big thing is this customer understanding. And Kurian, in our video interview, describes a number of scenarios across industries, across domains, and how Google Cloud ties that all together for customer success going forward.03:38 — I’ve had lots of lively discussions with people who believe that because Microsoft and AWS have more revenue than either Google Cloud or Oracle, therefore those are the dominant players. There’s market presence on one hand, and then there’s this key thing which is: How do you help customers build their futures rather than just perfecting what they’ve already done in the past?04:15 — And I want to just say congratulations to everyone at Google Cloud for a monumental ascent — from number nine back in 2017, when I started the Cloud Wars Top 10, to number one. And overtaking Microsoft was an extraordinary feat, and that is driven by what customers want, not by internal tech-industry Silicon Valley metrics.Check out my full conversation with Thomas Kurian here. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

Bob Evans sits down with Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, following Google Cloud’s rise to the #1 position on the Cloud Wars Top 10. Their conversation explores how Google Cloud’s customer-first philosophy, deep industry specialization, and long-term AI investments have reshaped its trajectory. Kurian shares how disciplined portfolio choices, partner ecosystems, and applied AI are helping customers innovate for the future rather than reinforce the past.Customer-Led Cloud StrategyThe Big Themes:Customer-Driven Strategy Wins: Google Cloud’s ascent to the top spot is rooted in a consistent formula: deeply understanding customer problems and applying technology in distinctive, practical ways. The company’s direction has always been shaped by what customers actually need, not internal agendas. This mindset extends across product design, go-to-market execution, and partner alignment. By accepting that only customers can ultimately “say no,” Google Cloud has maintained focus and avoided distractions.Industry Specialization as a Differentiator: Early recognition that industries have fundamentally different needs led Google Cloud to build specialized expertise by vertical. Rather than offering generic solutions, the company invested in industry-aligned product teams, domain-specific capabilities, and tailored go-to-market motions. This approach allows customers to adopt cloud and AI faster, without reinventing best practices.Full-Stack AI, Built Over Time: Google Cloud’s AI strategy spans custom silicon (TPUs), infrastructure, models, platforms, and now agents. Kurian says that this wasn’t a sudden pivot—it’s the result of years of sustained investment, even when AI wasn’t fashionable. With Gemini positioned as a leading model, Google Cloud now supports both first-party and third-party models, giving customers flexibility. This layered approach allows enterprises to innovate at their own pace.The Big Quote: “If you want to adopt a technology successfully, you need to pick a few important projects and do them well, rather than spraying on a lot of little projects.”Learn more about Google Cloud and Thomas Kurian:Check out the Google Cloud blog and Thomas Kurian. Visit Cloud Wars for more.