The Cloudcast

In a thrilling recap of 2025, key highlights include GCP's impressive comeback and Oracle's unexpected success in AI deals. Discussions on data sovereignty reveal its prominence this year, while the impact of outages and resilience tradeoffs are examined. The rise of NeoClouds brings a fresh perspective on AI-driven GPU farms, prompting predictions of consolidation ahead. Notably, debates over cloud strategies come to a head, with bold rankings and forecasts for AWS, Azure, and GCP's future roles in the cloud landscape.

Delve into the intriguing world of AI expert agents, exploring the challenges of training them in specialized domains like accounting and law. Discover the nuances of teaching these agents through case studies and handling ethical dilemmas. The discussion navigates who will benefit from these advancements and how such agents might compare in cost to human experts. Plus, hear about the potential for agents to build memory and experience while protecting client privacy, and ponder which domains may see the first full automation.

Dan McConnell, Senior VP of Product Management at Hitachi Vantara, delves into the critical evolution of enterprise infrastructure in response to AI's challenges. He explains how AI workloads differ fundamentally from traditional ones and highlights the limitations of existing cloud environments. Dan discusses pressure points organizations face and common misconceptions about preparing for AI. He also outlines the perks of unified data platforms and shares insights on Hitachi's role in meeting growing infrastructure demands, emphasizing the importance of integrated systems for analytics.

The discussion dives into the evolution of Platform as a Service (PaaS) in the wake of AI advancements. Explore how new tools could abstract development and focus on business logic. Historical constraints like language lock-in are analyzed, alongside the potential for templates to ensure reliability and compliance. Imagine AI agents interpreting business plans and standard integrations. The concept of a 'business PaaS' adds another layer, suggesting a marketplace for innovative startups and operational roles. It's a fascinating look at the future of digital infrastructure!

Dive into the world of AI and cloud trends as hosts discuss the reality behind AGI promises and the churn in talent. A major Cloudflare outage highlights vulnerabilities in large systems, while the retirement of NGINX Ingress raises sustainability concerns in open source. There's a reality check on AI's growth narrative, with insights on how companies will monetize and the potential of behavioral advertising as the leading revenue model. Plus, explore Jeff Bezos' Project Prometheus and its implications for physical AI and robotics.

This Thanksgiving-themed conversation dives into exciting tech innovations. Personal health journeys highlight weight loss amidst industry stress. The birthday celebration of ChatGPT sparks reflection on its transformative impact. Listeners learn about the convenience of iPhone's SMS code autofill feature and the rise of no-code platforms empowering non-programmers. The discussion also covers emerging cloud provider competition and alternatives to NVIDIA in AI hardware. Finally, advancements in wearables like fitness trackers and AirPods enhance health tech experiences.

Evan Kaplan, CEO of InfluxData and a leader in open-source time series technologies, dives deep into the world of Physical AI. He contrasts this with generative AI, emphasizing the need for deterministic systems and high-resolution data. Kaplan explains the efficiency of time series databases and how they outperform traditional databases. He also discusses the trade-offs between data resolution and cost, and why real-time processing is crucial for applications in edge computing. Expect fascinating analogies with satellites and autonomous vehicles!

NVIDIA has once again posted record earnings, but the future depends on various external factors. The discussion delves into metrics to monitor, including customer revenues and alternative competition. Insights into data center growth and energy needs highlight the infrastructure challenges ahead. A financial analysis reveals how cash flow might tackle bottlenecks. With multiple alternatives vying for attention, the conversation also examines how these developments shape the AI landscape. It's a deep dive into NVIDIA's influence and the industry's evolving dynamics.

Rohan Sathe, CEO and Co-Founder of Nightfall AI, shares his insights on the alarming rise of Shadow AI, where employees unknowingly expose sensitive data through AI tools. He highlights the differences between Shadow AI and traditional Shadow IT, emphasizing the rapid adoption of AI by workers. Rohan discusses the evolution of data loss prevention with AI technology, the importance of real-time monitoring, and the need for organizations to educate and implement controls against these risks. He also addresses the growing implications of agentic AI on data security.

The discussion dives into whether AI funding is rational or irrational, exploring the complexities behind investment numbers. It examines how rapid AI changes challenge interpretation for non-tech audiences. The podcast highlights the concentration of market gains among a few dominant companies and investigates how to effectively measure AI's impact on productivity and workforce displacement. Additionally, it questions the ability of infrastructure to keep pace with AI demands and considers the risks associated with aggressive AI scalability.