The Cloudcast

Manzi Mirza, Co-founder and CEO of Krogl, transitioned from government research to tech giants like Splunk and Databricks. He explores how AI is reshaping cybersecurity, leading organizations to recognize it as a top concern. Manzi uses an 'Iron Man suit' analogy for Krogl, showing how it enhances security analysts' efficiency. He discusses the importance of knowledge graphs versus traditional models and emphasizes automating alert investigations while maintaining human oversight for critical decisions in security.

Dive into the complexities of AI economics as soaring investments clash with poor profitability. Discover how NVIDIA's dominance in GPUs shapes market dynamics and keeps prices high amidst supply constraints. Explore the rising costs of tokens in generative AI and how they threaten traditional SaaS models. Oracle's AI deals raise eyebrows with questions about profit margins, while potential rising consumer prices could create an AI divide. This discussion unpacks the pressing risks and future signals in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.

Animesh Koratana, CEO and Founder of PlayerZero, dives into the transformative role of agentic AI in software quality assurance. He explains predictive software quality and its importance in the age of AI-generated code. Animesh shares insights on agentic code simulation, highlighting its ability to proactively prevent problems rather than reactively debug. He also discusses how this innovation democratizes software quality beyond engineering teams, making it a critical tool for various departments.

Three years post-ChatGPT, the Enterprise AI landscape reveals fascinating insights. Only 5% of large firms have a solid AI strategy, while 10% allocate significant budget to signal their AI readiness. However, a staggering 85% remain uncertain about their focus areas. The conversation also uncovers the challenges of measuring ROI and the demand for simpler AI tools. There's a growing interest in private AI, yet access to necessary resources is limited. Overall, the complexity of existing systems is slowing down broad adoption.

Alan Lefort, CEO and co-founder of StrongestLayer, dives into the evolving landscape of phishing security. He reveals how traditional defenses falter against AI-powered attacks, which utilize perfect mimicry and personalized tactics. Alan discusses the multimodal approach to phishing, likening it to marketing strategies, making scams increasingly hard to detect. He introduces the TRACE architecture, emphasizing the need for LLM reasoning at the core of detection systems, moving from reactive patterns to proactive threat identification.

Explore the intriguing possibility of hyperscale cloud providers acquiring SaaS companies to create bundled offerings. The discussion delves into the trade-offs between investing in AI versus expanding into SaaS. Can large providers integrate new acquisitions without overshadowing their AI ambitions? The strategy of targeting verticals like financial services for SaaS bundling opens up new revenue paths. As the competition heats up, what might this mean for the future of cloud investments?

In this insightful discussion, Brandon Whichard, a cloud news commentator and host of Software Defined Talk, joins Brian Gracely to delve into the biggest trends in AI and cloud for September 2025. They explore the monumental Oracle-OpenAI deal and its market ramifications. The duo debates whether the AI funding frenzy is rational or irrational and examines what drives real demand for AI solutions. Additionally, they discuss the competitive landscape shaped by Nvidia and Intel, alongside Anthropic's challenges in gaining media attention.

AI is in a puzzling transitional phase, drawing parallels to the awkwardness of teenage years. The rapid consumer adoption contrasts with unclear ROI for businesses. Experts reflect on the divergent views about AI's future, while the lack of rational discourse leaves many companies confused. In this climate, job market uncertainty looms large, as promises of AI lead to layoffs. As industries cycle through fads and persistent technologies, the emergence of impactful use-cases remains uncertain, raising questions about what shapes AI's evolution.

In this discussion, Stephan Donze, Founder and CEO of AODocs, dives into the enterprise unstructured data crisis, revealing that a staggering 80% of corporate data remains untapped. He explains how AI agents can revolutionize document workflows while ensuring trust and compliance. Stephan contrasts traditional document management with agentic AI, showcasing productivity enhancements for repetitive tasks. He also highlights the risks of AI-driven search and emphasizes the importance of data integrity and governance in cloud-native environments.

Smart individuals experience a love-hate relationship with AI, influenced by their interactions rather than just their intelligence. The discussion reveals how math and data science elites are making significant financial gains through AI funding, often leaving others in their wake. Additionally, senior domain experts are increasingly viewing generative AI as a tool that enhances productivity, likening it to augmented interns, while the quest for a breakthrough AI application continues to evolve.