Cloud Computing Insider

Big Tech says it's "backup," "sync," and "convenience"—but what happens when your computer quietly starts moving your personal files into the cloud by default? In this episode, David Linthicum breaks down a growing industry pattern: technology providers designing defaults that automatically capture your data, route it into their storage platforms, and make that choice feel inevitable. We start with the Microsoft Windows 11 upgrade experience, where many users discover Desktop, Documents, and Pictures being pushed into OneDrive through folder redirection and persistent prompts—often without a clear, informed decision at setup. From there, we connect the dots to Apple's iCloud, where "it just works" can also mean "it just uploads," and to Google's Drive-first ecosystem that normalizes cloud storage as the primary home for files. Finally, we revisit AWS and the long-running idea that computing is something you rent—not own—turning the PC into a subscription and your data into recurring revenue. This isn't an anti-cloud rant: cloud storage can be genuinely useful. The issue is default capture, confusing consent, lock-in economics, and the shrinking space for truly local-first computing. If your files are your property, why do vendors treat them like a product funnel?

Serverless is marketed as "no servers, no ops, just code"—but that convenience hides a deeper tradeoff: long-term freedom. In this video, I break down how platforms like AWS Lambda, Google Cloud Functions, and Firebase quietly lock you into a single provider, not through the language you write in. Still, through the glue you adopt: event formats, IAM models, triggers, logging, deployment pipelines, and tightly coupled managed services.   We'll look at where lock-in really lives architecturally, why leaning hard into proprietary auth, queues, databases, and logging can turn your system into a beautiful cage, and how to avoid that without giving up the speed that makes serverless attractive in the first place. You'll learn practical patterns like hexagonal/onion architecture, keeping business logic pure and side-effect-free, pushing cloud-specifics to the edges, and wrapping provider APIs behind your own interfaces for storage, messaging, and identity. I'll also cover strategies for keeping your data portable and planning for the day you might need to change clouds—or run on bare metal.   Serverless isn't the enemy. Blind trust is. Use the cloud's superpowers, but design as if you'll have to leave.

Cloud providers are quietly rebuilding their platforms around generative AI—and dragging you along for the ride. In this episode of Cloud Computing Insider, Dave breaks down how AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud are shifting from general‑purpose cloud to AI‑native cloud, where everything is optimized (and monetized) around GPUs, proprietary models, and tightly integrated AI services. We'll look at why this is happening now, how it shows up in your architecture and your bill, and why "AI‑ready" often really means "AI‑locked‑in." From exploding inference costs to agentic AI baked into workflows, you'll see how the defaults are being stacked in the providers' favor. But this isn't just a rant—we'll also explore your options. Do you lean into the hyperscalers' AI platforms, or start carving out room for AltClouds like private, sovereign, and MSP‑run clouds that aren't rebuilding everything around AI? How do you keep data, models, and architecture portable enough that you still have real choices in three years? If you care about cloud costs, control, and long‑term flexibility, this is the AI/cloud conversation you actually need to hear.

Cloud Centers of Excellence were supposed to save your cloud strategy—yet in most enterprises, they've become the single biggest bottleneck. In this video, David Linthicum takes a brutally honest look at why so many CCoEs have devolved into "Cloud Centers of No," strangling innovation while pretending to provide governance. We'll dissect how these committees burn time, money, and engineering talent with endless review boards, PDFs, and politics, all while claiming to be "best practice."   But this isn't just a rant; it's a blueprint. David lays out exactly how to blow up the gatekeeper model and rebuild your CCoE as a lean, product-focused cloud platform team that developers actually want to use. You'll learn how to replace manual approvals with automated guardrails, static standards with living golden paths, and ivory-tower architects with embedded, hands-on experts. If you suspect your CCoE is more theater than value, this video will give you the language, arguments, and patterns to force a reset—and turn cloud governance from a tax into a competitive advantage.  

In his "Cloud Computing Year in Review," David Linthicum offers a clear, opinionated look at how the cloud landscape has actually changed versus what was just hype. He situates these developments within the broader history of cloud, showing which "new" ideas are actually rediscoveries of long standing architectural principles. He walks through the major trends of the year – from the rise of multi cloud and FinOps to the deep integration of AI, data, and cloud native architectures – and explains what they mean in practical terms for enterprises. Rather than simply listing technologies, Linthicum focuses on business impact: cost optimization, complexity management, governance, and the ongoing struggle to modernize legacy systems. He highlights where cloud providers delivered real innovation, where they fell short, and how issues like security, resilience, and skills gaps shaped real world adoption. Throughout, his tone is pragmatic and slightly skeptical, cutting through marketing buzz to emphasize architecture, operations, and value realization. The review closes by outlining what IT leaders should carry into the coming year: a stronger focus on measurable outcomes, smarter use of multi cloud, tighter alignment between cloud strategy and data/AI strategy, and a renewed emphasis on talent and culture as key enablers of successful cloud transformation. Since you didn't specify a particular year, this is written to fit his typical annual "year in review" style. Would you like me to tailor this to a specific year or adjust the tone for an academic or professional audience?

This video takes a hard look at the messy truth behind agentic AI in the enterprise — and why it feels like someone is lying to you. On one side, big tech vendors, cloud providers, and global consultancies are screaming that "2025 is the year of the AI agent," boasting about customers "deploying thousands of agents" across customer service, IT operations, and back‑office functions with massive efficiency gains. On the other side, independent analysts and people actually building this stuff say most organizations are still stuck in early pilots, that real value is limited to a narrow set of tightly scoped workflows, and that a lot of what's sold as "agents" is just old automation with an LLM slapped on the front. In this video, I unpack those two conflicting narratives, show where each one is coming from, and explain why the hype machine has such a strong incentive to tell you the revolution is already here. We'll talk about agent washing, the lack of standards, and the very real risk of a trust crash between enterprises and their technology providers. If you're tired of being sold a future as if it's already reality, this one's for you.

In this compelling video conversation, David Linthicum sits down with Sebastian Mondragon, CEO of Particula Tech, to explore the practical journey of repatriating enterprise workloads from public clouds back to on-premises or hybrid environments. With candor and technical depth, Sebastian shares his firsthand experience leading AI-driven businesses through the complexities of cloud repatriation—highlighting why it's not just a cost-saving measure, but a strategic move toward control, scalability, and compliance. Viewers gain actionable insights as Sebastian breaks down the challenges organizations often encounter in public cloud settings, from ongoing operational expenses to rigid infrastructure limitations and increasing scrutiny around data sovereignty. He details the systematic approach his team used to identify which workloads truly benefit from cloud versus which are more efficient and secure in-house. Throughout the discussion, Sebastian and David tackle the nuances of migration planning, risk management, and performance optimization. They emphasize the importance of understanding core business needs and the limitations of "one-size-fits-all" cloud solutions. The conversation also highlights how explainability and transparency—key values at Particula Tech—inform every decision. This video is essential viewing for IT leaders considering their own repatriation projects or aiming to make more informed decisions in their cloud strategies.  

Step into the heart of cloud computing as industry legend David Linthicum takes the hot seat on a special Q&A episode of The Cloud Computing Insider podcast. In this no-holds-barred session, David pulls back the curtain on the biggest myths, challenges, and game-changing trends that are shaping the cloud landscape today. Listeners submitted their most pressing—and sometimes controversial—questions, and David doesn't shy away from any of them. Whether it's cloud migration headaches, the real impact of AI on cloud strategies, security nightmares, or vendor lock-in fears, David tackles it all with his signature candor, humor, and deep expertise. This episode is a must-watch for IT leaders, cloud architects, and anyone who refuses to settle for buzzwords and wants real, unfiltered insights. Expect straight talk, surprising revelations, and actionable advice you won't find anywhere else. Whether you're just starting your cloud journey or are a seasoned pro looking for a fresh perspective, David's answers will challenge the status quo and leave you rethinking your approach to the cloud. Don't miss this rare opportunity to hear David Linthicum answer your questions—raw, real, and relevant—on The Cloud Computing Insider.  

Aggressively pursuing GPU adoption—whether in the cloud or on-premises—often leads organizations straight into costly traps. A surprising amount of infrastructure is chronically overprovisioned, with organizations buying or renting more GPU power than they'll ever use "just in case." This overkill results in idle or underutilized GPUs that drain budgets, mirroring the same wasteful patterns in both environments. Most enterprise workloads don't even need GPU acceleration, but the current industry hype pushes adoption far beyond what actual business goals require. Making matters worse, soaring GPU prices aren't delivering transformative returns for mainstream use, meaning costs rise faster than the benefits. The common claim that cloud pay-as-you-go solves utilization issues is misleading: many companies simply leave pricey instances running, wasting just as much as they do on underused hardware racks. Only persistent, compute-intensive tasks like AI/ML training truly justify ongoing GPU investment. The bottom line: Regardless of environment, only strong governance, real-time observability, and right-sized, hybrid strategies truly control spend and prevent waste. Without tight oversight, both clouds and datacenters fall victim to the same needless overspending.

In this video, I'm going to unpack what I see as the bad side of AWS's latest AI push at re:Invent—specifically around agents and mega‑scale infrastructure.   You'll hear a lot of polished narratives about "frontier agents," AgentCore, and AI Factories as if they're turnkey answers to every enterprise AI problem. I'm going to challenge that. To me, much of this feels like a rushed, "me too" sprint into the agentic hype cycle—an attempt to keep up with the fast followers rather than a confident, opinionated vision from the market leader. And when AWS looks reactive, it looks weaker than it actually is.   We'll talk about where branded agents like Kiro, the Security Agent, and the DevOps Agent risk becoming keynote theater instead of durable tools. We'll dig into why AgentCore may be more abstraction tax than simplification. And we'll look at AI Factories and ask whether most enterprises are really ready to run their own mini‑AWS in a basement. If you're trying to separate signal from marketing noise, stay with me.  

Cloud computing has transformed the technology landscape, turning from a buzzword into a strategic necessity across industries. Yet, for those just beginning their careers—or even seasoned professionals seeking to reinvent themselves—the path forward is more complex than ever. The days of simply learning how to spin up a server or migrate workloads are long gone. Today, the pace of innovation, the breadth of services, and the need for alignment with business strategy mean the cloud is about much more than technology—it's about vision, adaptability, and impact.   If I were starting my cloud career over today, I wouldn't just focus on mastering platforms or passing exams. I'd be looking at bigger, strategic moves: crafting architectures that fuel business growth, advocating for real transformation, mastering cloud economics, and keeping pace with relentless change. The industry now prizes thought leadership, business understanding, and the ability to connect technology to outcomes that really matter. In this video, I'll walk you through the seven most important things I would do differently to thrive from day one—drawing from three decades in the industry and a front-row seat to the cloud's ongoing evolution. Get ready for honest advice, strategic insights, and a candid roadmap for success.  

Michigan isn't just flirting with bad tech policy—it's toying with breaking the basic security plumbing of the modern internet. Wrapped in "protect the children" branding, new proposals in Lansing would effectively ban or heavily restrict VPNs by forcing ISPs and websites to detect and block encrypted tunnels for Michigan users. On paper, it's about stopping teens from bypassing age‑verification for porn. In practice, it's a direct collision with how real‑world IT, cloud, and remote work actually function. VPNs are not a fringe tool for hiding adult content; they're the standard way businesses, schools, hospitals, banks, and governments protect data in transit and stay compliant with federal security rules. If Michigan normalizes breaking or banning VPNs, it's not just attacking privacy—it's attacking the same encryption that secures medical records, payroll, critical infrastructure, and every remote login you make from home. That leaves companies and institutions facing an impossible choice: weaken their security to satisfy a state law, or stay secure and become potential criminals. And if lawmakers push ahead anyway, they shouldn't be surprised when data centers, jobs, and serious cloud operations quietly leave Michigan behind.

Step into the boardroom of the future. In this special episode, authors Meredith Stein and David Linthicum sit down to unpack their groundbreaking new book, Unlocking the Power of the Cloud: Governance, Artificial Intelligence, Risk Management, Value. They reveal why "the cloud revolution is reshaping the foundation of business" and why "the old playbook is obsolete"—and, more importantly, how leaders can finally get their hands on the new playbook for governing in the age of cloud and AI. You'll hear Meredith and Dave break down how cloud computing and AI are fundamentally disrupting corporate governance, risk, and compliance—and how a well-designed cloud governance ecosystem can accelerate innovation rather than constrain it. They explore the critical intersection where cloud infrastructure meets AI deployment, and show how forward-looking organizations are harnessing that convergence for real competitive advantage, not just cost savings. Along the way, they explain how to manage risks that didn't even exist five years ago and turn compliance from a cost center into a strategic differentiator. Whether you're a CEO, board member, CIO, security leader, auditor, or risk professional, this conversation is a wake-up call: your competitors are already moving. The question isn't whether you'll adapt to the cloud and AI era—it's whether you'll lead.

The reliability of the internet's backbone services is often taken for granted—until a sudden outage disrupts the global flow of information. Cloudflare, known for its robust web infrastructure solutions and security features, stands as one of the key pillars that keep millions of websites and digital services running smoothly. On the morning of the recent outage, a surprising chain reaction exposed how deeply interconnected, and vulnerable, today's digital ecosystem can be. From major platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), League of Legends, and Canva to services that monitor internet health, the effects were immediate and far-reaching.   This incident highlighted not only the essential nature of providers like Cloudflare but also the risks of an over-centralized internet. When a single point of failure cascades across continents, businesses and users alike are left to reassess their dependence on core infrastructure companies. Factors such as coincidental maintenance and the temporary suspension of key services like WARP in London suggest that complex dependencies and layered vulnerabilities remain a pressing challenge. As the dust settles, the outage offers a clear call to action: enterprises must prioritize redundancy, robust disaster recovery planning, and proactive risk management to build a truly resilient digital future.

The AWS outage in October 2025 has reignited concerns about the financial impact of cloud service disruptions and intensified debate over who carries the burden of resulting losses. As businesses grappled with widespread downtime, lost sales, and customer dissatisfaction, the spotlight turned to liability and recovery. Most standard service level agreements (SLAs) with leading cloud providers like AWS sharply limit liability, offering only service credits—rather than cash—to compensate for outages. These credits typically fall far short of covering actual losses or reputational damage. In the aftermath, many organizations are closely examining their contracts and discovering they bear most responsibility for indirect or consequential losses. While cyber insurance or business interruption policies can provide some relief, these are not comprehensive solutions. Only a minority of large enterprises manage to negotiate customized terms that include more favorable compensation or financial remedies, and even these often exclude force majeure events such as natural disasters. The shared responsibility model in the cloud space means businesses must proactively assess risk and develop contingency plans. The October 2025 AWS outage underscores the urgent need for robust business continuity strategies, rapid incident response, and clear customer communication to reduce the financial impact of inevitable, large-scale cloud service disruptions.

In this episode of The Cloud Computing Insider, David Linthicum takes you inside the bold predictions he made about the cloud that most experts dismissed—and how each one has become reality. From skyrocketing cloud costs and the rise of multicloud to the surprising comeback of private clouds, David unpacks what he saw coming before anyone else. Discover why PaaS stumbled, why the metaverse fizzled, and how Covid-19 fueled a cloud boom. If you want to understand where cloud computing is headed—and learn from the industry's most accurate forecast record—this episode is a must-watch for anyone in tech.

In this video, David Linthicum examines the notable silence from major consulting firms and technology leaders in the aftermath of the recent AWS and Microsoft outages. With so many businesses relying on cloud infrastructure, why are the loudest voices in technology holding their tongues during crises that impact everyone? David explores the underlying business realities: strategic partnerships, financial dependencies, and the self-preserving interests that discourage public commentary from major firms. He explains how silent alliances and backchannel deals shield consulting firms from conflict but ultimately keep clients and the broader tech community in the dark about critical resiliency issues.   David argues there's an ethical obligation for these industry leaders to address the risks—not just behind closed doors with select clients, but transparently and publicly, for the good of all organizations that depend on the cloud. If the biggest names aren't willing to advocate for better solutions in the open, who will? Viewers will come away with a deeper understanding of the intersection between business interests, cloud dependencies, and the moral responsibility to speak up when technology failures threaten entire economies.

For years, the world's biggest consulting firms have promised to usher in an age of AI-powered business transformation. But behind the glossy sales decks and polished prototypes, a harsh reality has emerged: most consulting-led AI projects are missing the mark. Executives are routinely dazzled with demos and sophisticated jargon—but left with little to show for massive investments. The core issue? Large consultancies routinely push technology-first solutions without deeply engaging with a client's actual business challenges. Cookie-cutter approaches, misaligned incentives, and a focus on upselling the latest AI tools lead to projects that impress on the surface yet fail to deliver lasting impact. Instead of enabling true change, these projects often stall in pilot mode or solve problems that weren't priorities in the first place. The real fix is simple but radical: consulting needs to ditch the hype, listen to business leaders, and deliver solutions rooted in real business value—not just trending tech. In this video, we pull back the curtain on how big consulting is sabotaging enterprise AI and what organizations must demand to ensure their AI investments pay off.

On October 29, 2025, one of the most disruptive tech failures in recent memory paralyzed vast swaths of the internet as Microsoft's cloud empire crashed in spectacular fashion. The outage, triggered by a single misstep in Azure Front Door's configuration, instantly severed access to Microsoft 365, Azure, Xbox Live, and countless apps for millions worldwide. Fortune 500 giants like Starbucks, Costco, Kroger, and Alaska Airlines saw their digital operations grind to a halt, leaving businesses scrambling and consumers locked out. For eight tense hours, vital communication, collaboration, and e-commerce systems were disabled, exposing just how fragile and over-reliant our world has become on centralized cloud platforms. As Microsoft engineers raced to reverse the error and stop the bleeding, the incident signaled an urgent wake-up call. The outage raised tough questions about the risks of single-vendor dependencies, the complexity of global cloud control planes, and the real cost of cloud convenience. As services slowly recovered, the lesson echoed across boardrooms and server rooms alike: the world's IT backbone is more brittle—and more interconnected—than anyone wants to believe. Organizations must rethink their approach or risk repeating this digital catastrophe.

For years, large consulting firms have been at the forefront of enterprise cloud transformations—yet, as David Linthicum reveals, this has often led to more setbacks than successes. Drawing from his experience as a former Chief Cloud Strategy Officer at Deloitte, owner of two consulting firms, and cloud project auditor, David exposes the hidden dangers lurking in big consulting engagements. Too often, embedded consultancies prioritize partnerships and kickbacks with major cloud providers over your actual business outcomes, locking organizations into opaque contracts, secretive processes, and proprietary "accelerators" designed to entrench their control. David shares a blueprint for reclaiming your cloud strategy: demanding transparency about vendor partnerships, tying consultant payments directly to tangible business value, insisting on knowledge transfer, and ending procurements that increase dependency on outside firms. He stresses the urgent need to review existing contracts, halt new engagements that undermine your leverage, and set metrics that ensure your cloud investment delivers real results. This video empowers leaders to take back ownership, ensure true business alignment, and build in-house cloud competency. If you're tired of seeing more harm than good from large consulting engagements, this is your call to action.