The Cloudcast

AI is either having its 15 minutes of fame, or completely reshaping every aspect of technology (and maybe every aspect of life), right now. How is everyone comprehending this shift? SHOW: 709CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotwCHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"SHOW SPONSORS:Find "Breaking Analysis Podcast with Dave Vellante" on Apple, Google and SpotifyKeep up to data with Enterprise Tech with theCUBEUpland Software: Modern, secure fax solutions for businesses of all sizes.Digital transformation that safeguards sensitive information. Upland Software’s got the goods.SHOW NOTES:AI’s iPhone Moment20 AI Tools to Future-Proof YourselfML Developer ExperienceAI and Enterprise DataGrowth of AI Through a Cloud Lens8 AI Apps built using ChatGPT (and writing no code)Takeaways from The Future of AI in Cerebral ValleyVoice-generation using AI2023 State of AI in ChartsPause Giant AI Experiments: An Open LetterNEW TECHNOLOGY TRENDS USUALLY COME OUT OF DOWNTURNSSaaS came out of the Internet bubble burstCloud came out of the Housing bubble burstAI isn’t new, but usable AI is coming out of COVIDHOW TO MAKE SENSE OF NEW +  CHAOS + UNCERTAINTYThere’s lots of ways to dive in - learn the basics, build some intro applications, etc.Follow the money, and find the fraudsFigure out the ecosystem and how to be involvedFigure out what might be sustainable vs. just being a wrapperDon’t get overwhelmed by everything at once. Pick something that interests you, or applies to your job (or a side hustle)FEEDBACK?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netTwitter: @thecloudcastnet

Jamin Ball (@jaminball, Partner @ Altimeter Capital, author Clouded Judgement) talks about SaaS business models, common SaaS terminology in judging financials, models for multiples, the impact of interest rates, vision vs. productSHOW: 708CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotwNEW TO CLOUD? CHECK OUT - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"SHOW SPONSORS:CloudZero – Cloud Cost Visibility and Savings​​CloudZero provides immediate and ongoing savings with 100% visibility into your total cloud spendDatadog Monitoring: Modern Monitoring and AnalyticsStart monitoring your infrastructure, applications, logs and security in one place with a free 14 day Datadog trial. Listeners of The Cloudcast will also receive a free Datadog T-shirt.SHOW NOTES:Clouded Judgment SubstackBrandon’s SDT PodcastTopic 1 - Welcome to our guest co-host, Brandon Whichard. Jamin, can you give everyone a quick introduction?Topic 2 - We’ve been huge fans of the Clouded Judgment Substack since inception in 2020. We regularly reference it during our weekly cloud news and recommend it as required reading for anyone interested in the business side of SaaS. What motivated you to start the substack?Topic 3 - Can you start with SaaS financial terminology. We hear terms like ARR, customer churn, NTM, EV, LTM, etc. For those new to this, what terms matter the most and why? What picture are you trying to construct about the business from these financial values?Topic 4 -  One of the sections of your newsletter is “multiples”, can you explain what multiples are and why you use Revenue Multiple as a valuation framework? What are the strengths and weaknesses of this framework? What other frameworks could be used?Topic 5 - Everyone is talking about the rise of interest rates, how do interest rates affect multiples and valuation? Why should we care about this? Why should employees at SaaS companies know about this? SaaS business models were on an up and to the right trend for a number of years but we’ve recently seen some ups and downs. What are your thoughts on the current and future state of SaaS as an industry sector?Topic 6 - The newsletter is very focused on financial metrics, how do you as an investor balance these metrics vs. product vision? How much revenue does a company need for this to become value? What metrics should an early startup focus on?FEEDBACK?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netTwitter: @thecloudcastnet

Free is great, until it isn’t. Now that the unicorn buffet of VC funding has less cheap money, expect to see more announcements about free stuff no longer being free.  SHOW: 707CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotwCHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"SHOW SPONSORS:Upland Software: Modern, secure fax solutions for businesses of all sizes.Digital transformation that safeguards sensitive information. Upland Software’s got the goods.Datadog Monitoring: Modern Monitoring and AnalyticsStart monitoring your infrastructure, applications, logs and security in one place with a free 14 day Datadog trial. Listeners of The Cloudcast will also receive a free Datadog T-shirt.Find "Breaking Analysis Podcast with Dave Vellante" on Apple, Google and SpotifyKeep up to data with Enterprise Tech with theCUBESHOW NOTES:A Decade of DockerDocker No Longer Sunsetting the Free Team PlanMinio pulls Weka’s OSS license (and Weka responds)FREE AS IN BEER, FREE AS IN PUPPIES, FREE AS IN LUNCHVendored open source software is free, until it isn’tBE CAREFUL WHEN YOUR DEPENDENCIES ARE BASED ON SOMEONE ELSE’S COSTSIt’s hard to ask for money when something has been free forever. Vendors will screw this up now and into the futureVCs love free marketing, but don’t love on-going costs without returnsSet your expectations right about “free” software. It might change without notice.FEEDBACK?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netTwitter: @thecloudcastnet

Gordon Radlein (@maascamp, Engineering Director at @Datadoghq) talks about the evolution of Open Telemetry (OTel), Logging, Metrics and Observability.  SHOW: 706CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotwNEW TO CLOUD? CHECK OUT - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"SHOW SPONSORS:Solve your IAM mess with Strata's Identity Orchestration platformHave an identity challenge you thought was too big, too complicated, or too expensive to fix? Let us solve it for you! Visit strata.io/cloudcast to share your toughest IAM challenge and receive a set of AirPods ProMake Cloud Native Ubiquitous with Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF)Join the foundation of doers, CNCF is the open source, vendor-neutral hub of cloud native computing, hosting projects like Kubernetes and Prometheus to make cloud native universal and sustainableKubeConEU Virtual Event Registration Code: Please use the code KCEUVCCP, while supplies last.CloudZero – Cloud Cost Visibility and Savings​​CloudZero provides immediate and ongoing savings with 100% visibility into your total cloud spendSHOW NOTES:OpenTelemetry (OSS project)OpenTracing + OpenCensus = Open Telemetry (OTel)What is Open Telemetry?Open Telemetry Slack Channel Components of Open TelemetryOpenTelemetry in DatadogTrace Collection through Open TelemetryTopic 1 - Welcome to the show Gordon. Tell us a bit about your background, and what you’re focused on these days at Datadog?Topic 2 - Let’s start with some basics - help us connect the dots between Telemetry and Logs and Metrics and Observability. And how does the Open Telemetry (OTel) project fit into the bigger picture?Topic 3 - Telemetry has always been a tradeoff between how much data to collect and how much data can be processed. How do you see companies using Telemetry today? Does it usually depend on the company size, or the complexity of the application? Topic 4 - How does Datadog offer Open Telemetry to customers today? Has that evolved over time, as the standard has evolved? Topic 5 - What are some of the new trends happening around Open Telemetry Topic 6 - You’ve been around quite a bit of very large-scale infrastructure in your career. What are some of the tips that you’d give anybody trying to build out or scale their observability environments? FEEDBACK?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netTwitter: @thecloudcastnet

The managers vs. workers leverage pendulum is swinging back again. Will management continue investing in IT Skills, or hollow out the IT future? SHOW: 705CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotwCHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"SHOW SPONSORS:Make Cloud Native Ubiquitous with Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF)Join the foundation of doers, CNCF is the open source, vendor-neutral hub of cloud native computing, hosting projects like Kubernetes and Prometheus to make cloud native universal and sustainableKubeConEU Virtual Event Registration Code: Please use the code KCEUVCCP, while supplies last.CloudZero – Cloud Cost Visibility and Savings​​CloudZero provides immediate and ongoing savings with 100% visibility into your total cloud spendDatadog Kubernetes Solution: Maximum Visibility into Container EnvironmentsStart monitoring the health and performance of your container environment with a free 14 day Datadog trial. Listeners of The Cloudcast will also receive a free Datadog T-shirt.SHOW NOTES:Gartner’s Maverick Research group - Stop investing in IT SkillsStackOverflow’s survey of Emerging TechnologiesAmazon’s head of HR rejects employee petition to work from home“Does IT Matter?” (book, 2004, Nicholas Carr)Hollowing Out (definition)WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND QUIET QUITTING?Economic changes put the leverage back into management’s handsEverything gets re-evaluated when budgets get tightenedManagers look to offload accountability to external sourcesHOW TO COMMUNICATE VALUE vs PRODUCTIVITY vs COST SAVINGSMany companies look at AI as a 1:1 replacement for tasks and people vs. looking at it to augment people. Companies outsourced IT in the late 1990s and early 2000s, hollowing out IT. Will that become a new trend in the 2020s again? Today’s engineers see things like low-code as not being viable, but see AI as being a way to augment their work (not replace it). Do companies know how to determine what isn’t differentiated vs. requiring creativity or can create differentiation? Workers have had quite a bit of freedom of movement for the last 10+ years. Will that continue into the next decade? How much does the remote-work trend impact this?Gartner expects 75% of needed IT roles will go unfulfilled by 2030 (up from 25% in 2023)Big companies (e.g. Amazon)  are pushing back on remote-work demands from workers.FEEDBACK?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netTwitter: @thecloudcastnet

Gleb Budman (@GlebBudman, CEO/Co-Founder of @Backblaze) talks about the evolution of cloud storage, the shift from on-prem to cloud, best practices and the rise of ransomware.SHOW: 704CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotwNEW TO CLOUD? CHECK OUT - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"SHOW SPONSORS:Datadog Synthetic Monitoring: Frontend and Backend Modern MonitoringEnsure frontend issues don’t impair user experience by detecting user-facing issues with API and browser tests with a free 14 day Datadog trial. Listeners of The Cloudcast will also receive a free Datadog T-shirt. Solve your IAM mess with Strata's Identity Orchestration platformHave an identity challenge you thought was too big, too complicated, or too expensive to fix? Let us solve it for you! Visit strata.io/cloudcast to share your toughest IAM challenge and receive a set of AirPods ProMake Cloud Native Ubiquitous with Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF)Join the foundation of doers, CNCF is the open source, vendor-neutral hub of cloud native computing, hosting projects like Kubernetes and Prometheus to make cloud native universal and sustainableKubeConEU Virtual Event Registration Code: Please use the code KCEUVCCP, while supplies last.SHOW NOTES:Backblaze (homepage)B2 Cloud Storage (1/5th the price of AWS S3)Backblaze Blog Questions for Gleb? Topic 1 - Welcome to the show. You started Backblaze in 2007, just a year after AWS S3 launched. What made you decide to start a storage company when EMC, HP and NetApp dominated with big enterprise boxes, and S3 seemed like a weird new thing for Amazon sellers? Topic 2 - Over the last couple of years, it feels like there has been a shift in how companies think about “the cloud”. We’re seeing more specialty clouds. How do you see this trend playing out in the market?Topic 3 - You’ve been through multiple stages of how the cloud has evolved. Where do you see us now in terms of cloud evolution, and what are some of the things you see coming on the horizon?  Topic 4 - Backblaze is well known for disrupting both the cost of cloud storage, but also how storage systems are built. Given today’s economic climate, are you seeing more companies demand more flexibility &/or efficiency on how they store data?  Topic 5 - We continue to see ransomware attacks across all industries. Is this leading companies to rethink their backup and disaster-recovery strategies?Topic 6 - From a storage perspective, do you see bottlenecks emerging about how this appetite for more and more data will eventually run into problems?FEEDBACK?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netTwitter: @thecloudcastnet

March comes in like a lion, but goes out like a lamb. Let’s explore 3 storylines that might have long-ranging implications for cloud. SHOW: 703CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotwCHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"SHOW SPONSORS:Find "Breaking Analysis Podcast with Dave Vellante" on Apple, Google and SpotifyKeep up to data with Enterprise Tech with theCUBECloudZero – Cloud Cost Visibility and Savings​​CloudZero provides immediate and ongoing savings with 100% visibility into your total cloud spendMake Cloud Native Ubiquitous with Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF)Join the foundation of doers, CNCF is the open source, vendor-neutral hub of cloud native computing, hosting projects like Kubernetes and Prometheus to make cloud native universal and sustainableKubeConEU Virtual Event Registration Code: Please use the code KCEUVCCP, while supplies last.SHOW NOTES:Microsoft brings AI-powered Co-pilot to its productivity suiteUS Gov’t looks to secure the cloud (by default)AWS’ hidden anti-competitive move is hidden in plain sightTHERE’S A LOT TO KEEP UP WITH RIGHT NOWAll the good TV shows are coming out with new episodes (many the last season)The banking industry may or may not be very brittle right nowThe weather is getting better - springtime is nearMarchMadness - NCAA Basketball is happeningLEVERAGE, INTEREST RATES, RISK, TIMELINES, COMMUNICATIONS and PANICSMicrosoft bringing AI to productivity tools is going to shift the focus to more strategic thinking, but also being able to know what’s right vs. just “work”Are you spending time thinking about the various ways that you can make this new easy-to-use, non-data-scientists-driven AI work in your environment? The US Gov’t is trying to build a cloud strategy that is security-first. Is that possible? Will this bring up the debate about the cloud as a national utility? Security speed vs. agility speed? Corey Quinn highlights an important aspect of the cloud that isn’t always obvious to people - they leverage their control of the network (inter-region and external) to shape the competitive landscape. FEEDBACK?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netTwitter: @thecloudcastnet

Martina Iglesias Fernández (@martina_if, CTO)  & David Tuite (@dtuite, CEO of @Roadiehq) talk about the rise of Internal Developer Portals, the problems they solve, the creation of Backstage and IDP’s as a SaaS service.SHOW: 702CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotwNEW TO CLOUD? CHECK OUT - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"SHOW SPONSORS:Solve your IAM mess with Strata's Identity Orchestration platformHave an identity challenge you thought was too big, too complicated, or too expensive to fix? Let us solve it for you! Visit strata.io/cloudcast to share your toughest IAM challenge and receive a set of AirPods ProMake Cloud Native Ubiquitous with Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF)Join the foundation of doers, CNCF is the open source, vendor-neutral hub of cloud native computing, hosting projects like Kubernetes and Prometheus to make cloud native universal and sustainableGitOpsCon + CDCon Registration Code: PODCAST10 for 10% offDatadog Kubernetes Solution: Maximum Visibility into Container EnvironmentsStart monitoring the health and performance of your container environment with a free 14 day Datadog trial. Listeners of The Cloudcast will also receive a free Datadog T-shirt.SHOW NOTES:CNCF Backstage ProjectRoadie.io - Backstage as a SaaSCNCF On-Demand Webinar: Driving Adoption of your Backstage IDPTopic 1 - David & Martina, Welcome to the show. Please give everyone a brief introduction and how you got started with Backstage and internal development portals.Topic 2 - Backstage was spun out of Spotify and is now a CNCF project. What problems were developers seeing and what is the origin story of Backstage?Topic 3 - What were the immediate and long term advantages of consolidating the development experience on the Backstage platform?  Topic 4 -  There is always a healthy tension with development platforms. How do you balance between setting standards to consolidate and providing freedom of choice?Topic 5 - One of the common takeaways we have seen recently is that the IDP is the output product of Platform Engineering. Do you agree with this statement and what has your experience shown? Is this more about a set of common standards and automation or about a “product” such as an IDP.Topic 6 - Why does an IDP succeed or fail?Topic 7- Backstage doesn’t have a reputation of being the easiest to configure or operate. Is this where Backstage as a service comes in? What are the advantages and disadvantages to Backstage as a Service?FEEDBACK?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netTwitter: @thecloudcastnet

This past week, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was closed by banking regulators. Let’s understand the basics of how this happened and why it matters to the tech industry. SHOW: 701CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotwCHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"SHOW SPONSORS:CloudZero – Cloud Cost Visibility and Savings​​CloudZero provides immediate and ongoing savings with 100% visibility into your total cloud spendSolve your IAM mess with Strata's Identity Orchestration platformHave an identity challenge you thought was too big, too complicated, or too expensive to fix? Let us solve it for you! Visit strata.io/cloudcast to share your toughest IAM challenge and receive a set of AirPods ProMake Cloud Native Ubiquitous with Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF)Join the foundation of doers, CNCF is the open source, vendor-neutral hub of cloud native computing, hosting projects like Kubernetes and Prometheus to make cloud native universal and sustainableGitOpsCon + CDCon Registration Code: PODCAST10 for 10% offSHOW NOTES:FDIC Creates a Deposit Insurance National Bank of Santa Clara to Protect Insured Depositors of Silicon Valley Bank, Santa Clara, California (March 10)FDIC Update on SVB Bank and Access to Deposits (March 12)Joint Statement by Department of Treasury, Federal Reserve and FDIC (March 12)HOW CAN A BANK WITH SO MUCH MONEY SHUT DOWN?Banks never hold all the money that they have on the books as depositsBanks manage a portfolio of investmentsBanks try and manage the portfolio within certain ratiosBanks have regulationsLEVERAGE, INTEREST RATES, RISK, TIMELINES, COMMUNICATIONS and PANICSBasics Part I - Systems built on Trust, Regulations to Enforce ActionsBasics Part II - What is SVB?, Deposits vs. Investments, Leverage, Interest RatesHigher interest rates increases the risk of existing investmentsValuations vs. Valuations on PaperInsurance, Diversified PortfolioCloud Analogies - Single vs. Multi-Cloud, Shared Resources Risks, Profitability of a Service, Best Practices vs. Practicality, Rising Costs (or Shortages) FEEDBACK?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netTwitter: @thecloudcastnet

James Governor (@monkchips, Co-Founder @Redmonk) talks about Developer experience in 2023. Topics include trends, platforms, languages and culture.SHOW: 700CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotwNEW TO CLOUD? CHECK OUT - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"SHOW SPONSORS:Make Cloud Native Ubiquitous with Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF)Join the foundation of doers, CNCF is the open source, vendor-neutral hub of cloud native computing, hosting projects like Kubernetes and Prometheus to make cloud native universal and sustainableGitOpsCon + CDCon Registration Code: PODCAST10 for 10% offDatadog Security Solution: Modern Monitoring and SecurityStart investigating security threats before it affects your customers with a free 14 day Datadog trial. Listeners of The Cloudcast will also receive a free Datadog T-shirt.Solve your IAM mess with Strata's Identity Orchestration platformHave an identity challenge you thought was too big, too complicated, or too expensive to fix? Let us solve it for you! Visit strata.io/cloudcast to share your toughest IAM challenge and receive a set of AirPods ProSHOW NOTES:Redmonk - The developer focused analyst firm (homepage)Redmonk Programming Language RankingsMonktoberfest - Developer Conference (Portland, ME)Topic 1 - Welcome back to the show. You are a rockstar in the developer world, and maybe unknown in the infrastructure world. Tell us a little bit about your background.Topic 2 - [Developers as a Whole]  In 2023, do you think about developers any differently than you did in 2018 or 2021? Do you think about developers in terms of things they get done, or the types of work they do (front-end, back-end, mobile, data-science, etc.), or something else?Topic 3 - [Trends] What are the big developer-centric trends that you are tracking or really have your interest? AI? Hosting services? Database services? WASM?  Topic 4 - [Platforms]  Will we ever find that PaaS pot-of-golf at the end of the rainbow, or is the dream of platforms just a unicorn? Or do we have to realize that successful platforms are all micro-platforms? Topic 5 - [Languages] Redmonk famously tracks development languages every six months. It feels like there are only two trends - what stays the same, and the language that is the new hotness. Do languages really matter?  Topic 6 - [Culture] Lots of people talk about changing a company’s culture to better serve the needs of developers. Do you have any examples of where that has worked, or best practices? FEEDBACK?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netTwitter: @thecloudcastnet