Cloud Wars Live with Bob Evans

In today’s Cloud Wars Minute, I break down Palantir’s breathtaking Q4 results and why its customer-first AI approach is a wake-up call for the entire enterprise software industry.Highlights00:06 — Several companies in the Cloud Wars Top 10 have been rolling out their numbers for Q4 and for year 2025, the numbers from Palantir, expected to be pretty good. They're absolutely stunning. Total revenue growth for Q4 was up 73% and their guidance for Q1 indicates more of the same. They are guiding to 73% revenue growth for the quarter we're currently in.00:54 — The numbers are just absolutely extraordinary, I think, breathtaking. There's no talk from Palantir that you hear from so many other enterprise software companies: "Oh, it's a challenging macroeconomic environment. There's global uncertainty, there's budget pressures on." Palantir just doesn't talk about that.01:39 — Palantir comes in and says, "What are you trying to achieve? What are your business outcomes? Let's start there, and then we'll back up, use some of the existing software we have, or some variations combinations of it, what we're doing and with partners, it is the way of the future."02:27 — Now let me just step away from Q4 a second and go to the full year. For the full year, revenue is up 56%. So, that means that throughout 2025 the growth rate for Palantir is accelerating significantly. Generally, we would see this flipped, where a company grew very fast in the first few quarters, but understandably slowed down as the revenue basis got bigger.04:10 — They don't fall into the trap of having to engage with customers based on categories or boxes or buckets of industry terms created by the big analyst firms ... They do not go down that path. They say each customer's problems are unique. The capabilities that we bring are unique. The engagement model is unique, and the outcomes we want to work with are different here.04:49 — So I think that behind these breathtaking numbers there's a wake-up call for all of the big enterprise software companies, right? What got us here will not get us there? And I think Palantir is offering to everybody an example of the new type of thinking technology and engagement models that are going to be required here into the AI economy. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

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.