Cloud Unplugged

This week, we delve into the UK government's substantial investment in AI infrastructure and its implications for cloud sovereignty; Is it related to the trump administration, the economy or the AI arms race? We discuss China's unprecedented 631 GB personal data leak and whether it is a honeytrap or negligence. Plus, Wandercraft's latest advancements in robotic exoskeletons and how technology is transforming mobility and rehabilitation.Whether you're deep in tech, cloud services, AI innovation, or market dynamics, this episode delivers sharp analysis, insightful predictions, and essential context to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.Hosts:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanshanks/https://www.linkedin.com/in/lewismarshall/

In this episode, Jon and Lewis cover four wildly different stories, from Warfare to the impact of Trump conspiracies on Datacentres.First up, Microsoft is investing $400 million to turn Switzerland into the next cloud capital. Is it for neutrality, Trump instability syndrome or just demand? Then, we meet a glow-in-the-dark protein made by an AI called ESM3, because why not let machines start designing life?Next, we detour into wartime sci-fi: Ukraine's drone swarm attack: trucks, remote lids, and enough AI autopilot to cause substantial damage. Finally, we finish with Fi, a smart dog collar that integrates with your Apple Watch. Track your dog's steps, sleep, and GPS location. Why? Who knows!All that, plus plenty of opinions, speculation, and the usual unpacking of what is going on in the Cloud, Tech and AI space. 

This week, we dive into OpenAI's $6.5B acquisition of Jony Ive's ‘io' and what it means for the future of AI-native devices. We explore Google's VEO 3 and the deepfake dilemmas it raises, along with Microsoft's Aurora AI and its ability to predict the weather. Plus, Google's new try-on AI lets you see how clothes fit without leaving your house, and in a more random story, it turns out some plants can hear bees to protect their nectar.Whether you're deep in tech, cloud services, AI innovation, or market dynamics, this episode delivers sharp analysis, insightful predictions, and essential context to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.Hosts:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanshanks/https://www.linkedin.com/in/lewismarshall/

In this episode, we dissect industry-shaping stories, debating CoreWeave's $35 billion IPO, AWS Transform: AI for legacy app modernisation, and the exciting intersection of quantum computing and AI and how much Nvidia is investing in the Market - are they becoming the new Microsoft, Apple or Google?Whether you're deep in tech, cloud services, AI innovation, or market dynamics, this episode delivers sharp analysis, insightful predictions, and essential context to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.Hosts:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanshanks/https://www.linkedin.com/in/lewismarshall/

In this 30-minute episode, we investigate how Saudi Arabia is set to become the world's next AI hub. Unravelling the state-backed initiative, HUMAIN, and the billions being channelled into local data-centre capacity with Nvidia and AWS.We also uncover Nvidia's newly open-sourced Isaac GR00T N1 foundation model, trained on vast libraries of human motion-capture, and the impact that is going to have on the robotics industry. When will they be coming for our jobs?Finally, we explore the EnMap satellites now tracking CO₂ and NO₂  and if countries are even paying any attention to climate change. As well as finding out what dolphins think of humans by translating their conversations using Gemma AI.Hosts:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanshanks/https://www.linkedin.com/in/lewismarshall/

In this 30‑minute episode, Jon and Lewis unpick the coordinated ransomware wave that struck Britain's high‑street giants. They trace the attack chain that emptied Co‑op shelves, froze M&S online orders and attempted, but failed, to extort Harrods.Lewis takes a look at Amazon's latest generative‑AI arsenal: Amazon Q's new developer‑first agents, the multimodal Nova Premier family running on Bedrock, and AWS's landmark decision to let any SaaS vendor list in Marketplace regardless of where the software runs, a direct play to become the app store for the whole cloud economy. Finally, they ask whether enterprises can really keep their data out of Google's AI engines.Hosts:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanshanks/https://www.linkedin.com/in/lewismarshall/

In this 30-minute episode, Jon and Lewis delve into the root causes of Europe's recent Spain, France and Portugal blackouts, scrutinising grid-failure reports and probing whether a sophisticated cyber-attack might have been to blame. They then analyse Meta's newly unveiled AI alongside the arrival of Qwen 3 and Google's AgentSpace update, and how Jon progressed with integrating it into Google Drive to streamline internal teams.Next, they unpack NASA's groundbreaking study showing how three massive dams have redistributed Earth's water mass, subtly altering the planet's shape and extending our days. Hosts: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanshanks/https://www.linkedin.com/in/lewismarshall/

In this fact-busting 30-minute episode, Jon and Lewis explore Google's AI AgentSpace technology and how it could let business teams run complete workflows without ever leaving the agent environment. They then test the marketing claims behind Openai's latest model features, before dissecting Oracle's cloud data breach. Finally, they map out the potential impact of the proposed Clean Cloud Act on the energy footprint. Hosts:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanshanks/https://www.linkedin.com/in/lewismarshall/

In this episode of Cloud Unplugged, Jon talks with Thomas Boltze—CTO at Santander's PagoNxt, former CTO of Funding Circle, Agile Coach, and cloud/fintech leader with 15+ years experience—about fixing broken tech teams. They cover rebuilding systems from scratch, cutting through technical debt, and why culture trumps code every time. Lessons from fintech, startups and hard-won engineering battles.Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasboltze/Follow us on social media @cloudunplugged https://www.tiktok.com/@cloudunpluggedhttps://twitter.com/cloud_unpluggedhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/cloud-unplugged-podcast/Listen on All Platforms: https://cloud-unplugged.transistor.fm/Listen on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3y2djXaListen on Apple Podcasts:  https://bit.ly/3mosSFTJon & Jay's start-up: https://www.appvia.io/Hosts:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanshanks/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaykeshur/https://www.linkedin.com/in/lewismarshall/ Podcast sponsor inquires, topic requests: Hello@cloudunplugged.ioWelcome to The Cloud Unplugged Podcast, where hosts Jon Shanks (CEO of a Cloud Platform Engineering and Developer Platform Company), Lewis Marshall (Developer Evangelist, AI enthusiast, and science devotee), and occasionally Jay Keshur (COO, championing business modernisation and transformation) explore the latest in cloud technology.Each week, they investigate developments in AI, data, emerging cloud platforms, and cloud growth, occasionally highlighting the geo-political and global commercial pressures shaping the industry. Drawing on their extensive experience helping customers adopt, scale, and innovate in the cloud (and managing their own Internal Developer Product), Jon, Lewis, and Jay share insights and welcome industry experts to discuss new trends, tackle business challenges, and offer practical solutions.

In this episode of Cloud Unplugged, Lewis and Jon explore the latest in AI and cloud computing, discussing Microsoft's board changes and the evolving AI landscape. They also examine the practical applications of ChatGPT and its impact.Follow us on social media @cloudunplugged https://www.tiktok.com/@UCkCxcw9tJHd_sPtDveunGsQ https://twitter.com/cloud_unpluggedListen on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3y2djXaListen on Apple Podcasts:  https://bit.ly/3mosSFTJon & Jay's start-up: https://www.appvia.io/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanshanks/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaykeshur/ Podcast sponsor inquires, topic requests: Hello@cloudunplugged.ioWelcome to The Cloud Unplugged Podcast, hosted by Jon Shanks (CEO) and Jay Keshur (COO). The two co-founded software company Appvia, and have backgrounds in engineering and platform development, with years of experience using Kubernetes. Here they take a light-hearted look at cloud engineering under the lens of platform teams. Discussing how developers, platform engineers, and businesses can leverage cloud-native software development practices successfully

Follow us on social media @cloudunplugged https://www.tiktok.com/@UCkCxcw9tJHd_sPtDveunGsQ https://twitter.com/cloud_unpluggedListen on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3y2djXaListen on Apple Podcasts:  https://bit.ly/3mosSFTJon & Jay's start-up: https://www.appvia.io/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanshanks/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaykeshur/ Podcast sponsor inquires, topic requests: Hello@cloudunplugged.ioWelcome to The Cloud Unplugged Podcast, hosted by Jon Shanks (CEO) and Jay Keshur (COO). The two co-founded software company Appvia, and have backgrounds in engineering and platform development, with years of experience using Kubernetes. Here they take a light-hearted look at cloud engineering under the lens of platform teams. Discussing how developers, platform engineers, and businesses can leverage cloud-native software development practices successfully

In this episode of Cloud Unplugged, Mark and Lewis join Jon to discuss the challenges of the Gitops model, what's good about it and where it is lacking!Follow us on social media @cloudunplugged https://www.tiktok.com/@UCkCxcw9tJHd_sPtDveunGsQ https://twitter.com/cloud_unpluggedListen on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3y2djXaListen on Apple Podcasts:  https://bit.ly/3mosSFTJon & Jay's start-up: https://www.appvia.io/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanshanks/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaykeshur/ Podcast sponsor inquires, topic requests: Hello@cloudunplugged.ioWelcome to The Cloud Unplugged Podcast, hosted by Jon Shanks (CEO) and Jay Keshur (COO). The two co-founded software company Appvia, and have backgrounds in engineering and platform development, with years of experience using Kubernetes. Here they take a light-hearted look at cloud engineering under the lens of platform teams. Discussing how developers, platform engineers, and businesses can leverage cloud-native software development practices successfully.

In this episode of Cloud Unplugged, Mark and Lewis join Jon in the unknown of Open Source, Cyber Security and the takeover of cars and rogue washing machines!Is Open source a risk for companies to adopt? What assurances are there around it? And What are we doing collectively to help support the maintenance of open-source projects that don't have enough maintainers?Follow us on social media @cloudunplugged https://www.tiktok.com/@UCkCxcw9tJHd_sPtDveunGsQ https://twitter.com/cloud_unpluggedListen on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3y2djXaListen on Apple Podcasts:  https://bit.ly/3mosSFTJon & Jay's start-up: https://www.appvia.io/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanshanks/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaykeshur/ Podcast sponsor inquires, topic requests: Hello@cloudunplugged.ioWelcome to The Cloud Unplugged Podcast, hosted by Jon Shanks (CEO) and Jay Keshur (COO). The two co-founded software company Appvia, and have backgrounds in engineering and platform development, with years of experience using Kubernetes. Here they take a light-hearted look at cloud engineering under the lens of platform teams. Discussing how developers, platform engineers, and businesses can leverage cloud-native software development practices successfully.

Richard Pearson joins The Cloud Unplugged podcast to talk discuss his career journey to become Head of Engineering at Moonpig.We take a look at how he began his career, from studying AI to working for an ISP and now heading up Engineering at Moonpig. We also discuss what the engineering function at Moonpig looks like, how the teams are structured and what technologies are being adopted in AWS.

Jon and Jay sit down to discuss what a program is, what a product is and what the difference between the two is. Are they company-specific and completely unrelated, or, are they reliant on each other? This light-hearted episode covers the ins and outs of products and programs.

Jon and Jay sit down to discuss the importance of consistency when structuring cloud setups.

Jon and Rafe sit down to discuss how things changed for Depop, after the Etsy acquisition, what the CPTO role comprises and when makes sense for an organisation to have one. They also cover how to avoid the pitfalls of measuring engineering productivity.

Dean and Jon discuss Cloud adoption and the trials and tribulations of implementing new technologies while maintaining best practices and not hindering innovation! Dean Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanbryen/

Jon and Idriss sit down to discuss Marks and Spencer's cloud adoption journey, from hosting on-prem to Microsoft Azure. Landing zones and developer self-service were critical to the transformation and modernisation of Marks and Spencer's datacentre exit.

David Heinemeier Hansson, is a Danish programmer, entrepreneur, and author, best known as the creator of web development framework, Ruby on Rails. Co-founder and CTO at Basecamp, a web-based project management tool, David is also recognised for his strong opinions on software development, business practices, and digital privacy. A vocal advocate for sustainable work practices, he has co-authored several books, including "Rework" and "Remote: Office Not Required", challenging traditional notions of the workplace. In this episode of Cloud Unplugged, David shares his opinion on cloud hosting vs. on-prem, or, as he describes it, rent vs buy. David Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-heinemeier-hansson-374b18221/

In this episode of Cloud Unplugged, Jon and author Matthew Skelton discuss the book Team Topologies and the complexities of team management in the modern workplace. Matthew Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewskelton/

Jon and Jay discuss the challenges involved in creating and maintaining culture in the modern workplace.

In this episode of Cloud Unplugged, Jon and Viktor discuss how the role and responsibilities of a platform engineer have developed over time. Viktor Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/viktorfarcic/

In this episode of the Cloud Unplugged podcast, Jon Shanks and Jay Keshur share their thoughts on product management and delivery management. They discuss how these roles contribute to efficient product development and when they become crucial, the challenges and importance of having a clear vision for your product, and how to settle the potential conflicts between these roles.

In this episode of The Cloud Unplugged Podcast, Nicholas Chang, and Steve Nicholl, from Kainos, join Jon to share insights on the challenges of navigating cloud adoption framework, platform engineering, and the significance of collaboration in the industry. They cover keeping up with the rapidly evolving cloud technologies through social networking, choosing the right platform and service for creating applications, and giving autonomy to developers while implementing the necessary guardrails to prevent damage. Nicholas Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-chang-41b83052/ Steve Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-n/

Jon sits down with Chris Stura, Director of Financial Services at PwC. Together, Jon and Chris delve into the realm of cloud computing and software development, highlighting the challenges that businesses in the technology sector face. Gain valuable insights on leveraging technology for business success and the crucial role of integrating technology into effective business strategies. Chris Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-stura-8089249/

In this episode of Cloud Unplugged, Jon sits down with Colin Humphreys, CEO & Co-Founder of Syntasso. The two tackle the confusing jargon prevalent in the cloud industry and its impact on effective communication, they delve into the significance of product management and design as crucial elements of platform engineering, and they relive the challenging times when Dev and Ops used to be separate entities. Colin Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colin-humphreys-80691322/

In this episode of Cloud Unplugged, host Jon is joined by Haseeb Budhani, the Co-founder and CEO of Rafay Systems. Rafay Systems is at the forefront of delivering cloud-native Kubernetes management and operation solutions to corporations and managed services. Jon and Haseeb explore the thought-provoking topic of build vs. buy in the platform engineering world, shedding light on the advantages and challenges associated with this approach. Haseeb Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/budhani/

Jay is joined by Richard Simon, CTO at T-Systems, a business that drives digital transformation for companies by offering integrated end-to-end IT solutions. Jay and Richard discuss the four stages of cloud migration, how to establish a Cloud Centre of Excellence, what polycloud is, and why you need more than a hammer to build a house. Richard Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-simon-0272768a/

In this episode, Jay is accompanied by Charles Humble, the Editor-in-Chief at Container Solutions, a cloud native consultancy. Having the benefit of being a writer in such a technical field, Charles brings a fascinating perspective to cloud discussion. Together, Jay and Charles discuss working remotely in the cloud space, why some companies fail at cloud adoption, and draw parallels between programming and writing. Finally, they wrapped up their discussion by exploring what part AI shall play in the future of technical writing. Charles Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleshumble/

This time on Cloud Unplugged, hosts Jon and Jay are joined by Kaspar von Grünberg, the Founder and CEO of Humanitec. Working as a platform orchestrator, Humanitec is a product that enables companies to build internal developer platforms. In the episode, Jon, Jay and Kaspar discuss what it means to be a platform engineer, if the industry has a measure of what ‘good' looks like, and whether having strong opinions of a platform is a positive or negative thing. Kaspar Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kvgruenberg/

In this episode, Jon and Jay discuss the ideal sizes for platform engineering teams. During the course of their conversation, the pair talk through ways to optimise team size to ensure business efficiency, what an ideal platform team size ratio would be, why some platform teams have become bloated, and hypothesise about the concept of a ‘zero-person' company.

In this episode, Jon and Jay explain how platform engineers can enable developer self-service with existing technologies. They touch on the evolution of self-service, and how cloud technology has made it easier to do well.

Jon and Jay analyse the findings of Puppet's recent report on the state of DevOps and platform engineering. The pair discuss what they thought was lacking from the report, the difference between platform teams and platform engineering teams, and Jon finds an excuse to have a rant about the term 'cognitive load'.

Jon and Jay discuss the best ways to manage and lead platform engineering teams. Sharing what they've learnt from running their own business, Jon and Jay talk through setting objectives and key results (OKRs) that are anchored to business goals, the importance of diversity and collaboration, and secrets to unlocking talent and potential amongst your team.

Jon and Jay tackle the complexities of cloud platform engineering, including cognitive load, the total cost of ownership, public and private cloud, and more. Learn how to save time, money, and effort by taking advantage of cloud services while managing cost and security properly.

This time, Jon and Jay take a deep dive into the security decisions surrounding single and multi-tenancy on Kubernetes cluster architectures. Covering everything from role-based access control to, encrypting secrets stored in the cloud, and process isolation to root read-only file systems.

Jon and Jay get stuck into the concept of single versus multi-tenancy in Kubernetes cluster architectures. They talk through the decision criteria on when to go single tenancy and when to go multi-tenancy, addressing the compromises you may be making when you share infrastructure... and whether Jon can say "Goodbye" in French.

In this episode, Jon and Jay dive into what exactly a cloud strategy is, how it differs from a business plan and how to measure its success.

Jon and Jay dive into what a good developer experience really is, from writing code to troubleshooting.

Jon and Jay discuss what Day 0, 1 and 2 mean in cloud deployment and touch on the role of platform teams and developers during these stages.

Bryan Ross joins Jon on the podcast, discussing the process of building a developer platform in enterprise organisations while ensuring true value is understood and measured.

Richard Smith from Codification.io joins the podcast. He has helped build several enterprise cloud-native platforms, often modernising legacy applications with the Cloud. The key player involved in the DevOps team, and especially during a transformation, there are some everyday struggles. Richard shares the common DevOps struggles that he witnessed with us. Richard Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richwsmith/

You wouldn't build your own car, so why would you build your own platform? Jon and Jay consider the pros and cons of building your own. Spoiler alert: they advise against it. Cloud provides innovation behind the scenes, whereas building your own means you have to hire a team and sink enormous costs before providing any business value.

Jon and Jay discuss models to implement at a non-enterprise level. Looking into squads, chapters, agile delivery teams, platforms, and cloud delivery.

Is there a place for DevOps in a Cloud Native world? What does Cloud Native really mean?

People are the most expensive resource in any organisation. Jon and Jay discuss how much can you outsource/insource while remaining lean and ensuring secure application delivery in the cloud.

On this Episode of Cloud Unplugged, Jon and Jay cover authentication and authorisation best practices, avoiding complications with multiple teams and projects. Topics include the importance of establishing SSO, using a single identity from the get-go and authorising and managing access for various groups across the 3 main cloud vendors.