Podcasts about Azure

In the changing landscape of AI data infrastructure, F5 and MinIO are partnering on a solution that brings together the best of each company. This solution bookends the AI stack—it uses F5 for reliable, secure, and observable data delivery and MinIO’s AIStor for storage of all data types. The goal is to help organizations be... Read more »

In the changing landscape of AI data infrastructure, F5 and MinIO are partnering on a solution that brings together the best of each company. This solution bookends the AI stack—it uses F5 for reliable, secure, and observable data delivery and MinIO’s AIStor for storage of all data types. The goal is to help organizations be... Read more »

What are common mistakes folks are making with their Azure tenant(s)? While at the Kansas City Developers Conference, Richard chatted with Scott Sauber to run down his top ten list of issues he checks on for all his customers using Azure. From tenant ownership to naming conventions, policies, identities, and cost controls - there are a lot of things you can do to make your Azure experience more reliable, cost-effective, and efficient. Check out the links for more details on each of the potential issues!LinksAzure Service GroupsAzure Naming ConventionsAzure Naming ToolAzure Tagging StrategyAzure PolicyManaged IdentitiesDefaultAzureCredentialTLS in Azure App ServiceSSL LabsFederated Identity CredentialsBudgets and Cost AlertsAzure ReservationsAzure Savings PlanRecorded August 14, 2025

Send us a textWhat happens when three major cloud providers each reimagine network design from scratch? You get three completely different approaches to solving the same fundamental problem.The foundation of cloud networking begins with the virtual containers that hold your resources: AWS's Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs), Azure's Virtual Networks (VNets), and Google Cloud's VPCs (yes, the same name, very different implementation). While they all serve the same basic purpose—providing logical isolation for your workloads—their design philosophies reveal profound differences in how each provider expects you to architect your solutions.AWS took the explicit control approach. When you create subnets within an AWS VPC, you must assign each to a specific Availability Zone. This creates a vertical architecture pattern where you're deliberately placing resources in specific physical locations and designing resilience across those boundaries. Network engineers often find this intuitive because it matches traditional fault domain thinking. However, this design means you must account for cross-AZ data transfer costs and explicit resiliency patterns.Azure flipped the script with their horizontal approach. By default, subnets span across all AZs in a region, with Microsoft's automation handling the resilience for you. This "let us handle the complexity" philosophy makes initial deployment simpler but provides less granular control. Meanwhile, Google Cloud went global, allowing a single VPC to span regions worldwide—an approach that simplifies global connectivity but introduces new challenges for security segmentation.These architectural differences aren't merely academic—they fundamentally change how you design for resilience, manage costs, and implement security. The cloud introduced "toll booth" pricing for data movement, where crossing availability zones or regions incurs charges that didn't exist in traditional data centers. Understanding these nuances is crucial whether you're migrating existing networks or designing new ones.Want to dive deeper into cloud networking concepts? Let us know what topics you'd like us to cover next as we explore how traditional networking skills translate to the cloud world.Purchase Chris and Tim's new book on AWS Cloud Networking: https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Advanced-Networking-Certification-certification/dp/1835080839/ Check out the Fortnightly Cloud Networking Newshttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1fkBWCGwXDUX9OfZ9_MvSVup8tJJzJeqrauaE6VPT2b0/Visit our website and subscribe: https://www.cables2clouds.com/Follow us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/cables2clouds.comFollow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@cables2clouds/Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cables2cloudsMerch Store: https://store.cables2clouds.com/Join the Discord Study group: https://artofneteng.com/iaatj

In the changing landscape of AI data infrastructure, F5 and MinIO are partnering on a solution that brings together the best of each company. This solution bookends the AI stack—it uses F5 for reliable, secure, and observable data delivery and MinIO’s AIStor for storage of all data types. The goal is to help organizations be... Read more »

Join us on an all new special adventure as the Jaxton 5 take on a special quest from the Weed Wizard himself, Azure the Great. Are these adventurers up for this joint venture or will the stakes be too high?   Cast: Gary Eoff - Game Master Gary Garcia - Oogie Phillip De Leon - Jaxton Keith Thomason - Sha Grin John Blizzard - Lavinia Klint Georgeson - Phyrra   Music: Alternative Therapy from Gates of Delirium by Midnight Syndicate (https://www.midnightsyndicate.com/product/gates-of-delirium/)   Dark Discovery from Gates of Delirium by Midnight Syndicate (https://www.midnightsyndicate.com/product/gates-of-delirium/)   Unrest in the East Wing from Gates of Delirium by Midnight Syndicate (https://www.midnightsyndicate.com/product/gates-of-delirium/)     Ambiance: Sword Coast Soundscapes (http://www.youtube.com/swordcoastsoundscapes)   Want your own candle for your own CandleQwest adventure? Visit https://candleqwest.com/ and be sure to use code DBTS at checkout for 5% off!   Need some snacks to enhance your gaming session? Check out the D&D Adventures Rations Pack from Mythical Meats! https://shop.mythicalmeats.com/products/dungeons-dragons-variety-pack?sca_ref=7946851.eGmnnJQVAwIneaihttps://ntsdgaming.com?sca_ref=6402987.ZaeDIC1rRt

### About the episode:Join Nataraj as he interviews Matt DeBergalis, CEO of Apollo GraphQL, about the evolution of GraphQL from an open-source project to a product company. Matt shares insights on building and scaling APIs, the challenges of transitioning open-source tech into a viable business, and how AI is reshaping API development. Discover how Apollo is helping companies of all sizes leverage GraphQL to build agentic experiences and modernize their API strategies.### What you'll learn- Understand the journey of GraphQL from open source to a product-driven company.- Explore the challenges of adopting and scaling GraphQL in enterprise environments.- Discover how GraphQL simplifies complex data combinations with its declarative language.- Learn how Apollo GraphQL helps companies accelerate the development of robust APIs.- Examine the role of GraphQL in building modern agentic experiences powered by AI.- Understand how to balance short-term shipping pressures with long-term architectural considerations.- Identify when GraphQL makes sense for a company based on its API size and consumption needs.- Discover how AI is driving increased API consumption and transforming user interfaces.### About the Guest and Host:Guest Name: Matt DeBergalis is the Co-founder and CEO of Apollo GraphQL, previously CTO and Co-founder at Meteor Development Group.Connect with Guest:→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debergalis/→ Website: https://www.apollographql.com/Nataraj: Host of the Startup Project podcast, Senior PM at Azure & Investor.→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natarajsindam/→ Twitter: https://x.com/natarajsindam→ Substack: ⁠https://startupproject.substack.com/⁠→ Website: ⁠⁠⁠https://thestartupproject.io⁠⁠⁠### In this episode, we cover(00:01) Introduction to Matt DeBergalis and Apollo GraphQL(00:37) Matt's journey and the origins of Apollo GraphQL(03:24) The transition from open source to a company(05:02) GraphQL as a client-focused API technology(07:22) Meta's approach to open source technologies(10:11) Challenges of converting open source to a business(13:11) Balancing shipping speed with architectural considerations(15:52) The risk of adopting the wrong technology(19:13) The evolution of full-stack development(23:57) When does adopting GraphQL make sense?(26:45) Apollo's customer scale and focus(31:48) Acquiring customers and marketing to developers(33:52) Matt's transition from CTO to CEO(37:02) Apollo's sales motion and target audience(40:24) Matt's thoughts on AI and its impact(47:12) How AI is changing business metricsDon't forget to subscribe and leave us a review/comment on YouTube Apple Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.#GraphQL #ApolloGraphQL #API #OpenSource #Enterprise #AI #AgenticAI #APIDevelopment #Startup #Technology #SoftwareDevelopment #GraphQLAdoption #Kubernetes #React #FullStack #DataAnalytics #Innovation #DigitalTransformation #TechStrategy #Podcast

In this episode of Shoujo Sundae, Chika, Giana, and Hemlocke Springs discuss episodes one through three of Nina the Starry Bride! In episode one, Nina is bought by a golden-eyed Prince named Azure to become an imposter of his late sister, the princess Alisha. In episode two, Prince Muhulum uses Nina's help to try and learn Azure's weakness, but he ends up saving the two of them from a well. In episode three, Nina seeks help from the former king in order to assure Azure's safety. Nina and Azure's bond deepens, and she learns something shocking about who he truly is.Grab your spoon, and let's dig in!Follow our wonderful guest, Hemlocke Springs!https://linktr.ee/hemlockesprings EPISODE 1[0:55] About Hemlocke Springs[20:09] Soft Serve Summary[20:51] Sprinkles on Top[23:57] Floats Your Boat[29:05] Banana Split[35:11] Rocky Road[39:09] Nuts[44:57] Hot Fudge[52:12] I Scream, You Scream[30:46] Cherry on TopEPISODE 2[58:27] Soft Serve Summary[33:16] Sprinkles on Top[1:01:06] Floats Your Boat[1:09:24] Banana Split[1:15:39] Rocky Road[1:17:51] Nuts[1:19:03] Hot Fudge/I Scream, You Scream[1:23:50] Cherry on TopEPISODE 3[1:25:58] Soft Serve Summary[1:26:18] Sprinkles on Top[1:31:04] Floats Your Boat[1:49:57] Banana Split[1:53:38] Rocky Road[1:56:27] Nuts[2:01:31] Hot Fudge[2:03:09] I Scream, You Scream[2:06:31] Cherry on TopAbout Shoujo Sundae:Shoujo Sundae is a podcast safe haven for fans that are in love with shoujo anime and manga. Hosted by Giana Luna and Chika Supreme, Shoujo Sundae aims to review and reflect on shoujo properties that deserve more attention than what they currently receive. Giana Luna is a podcaster by moonlight and a musician by daylight.Chika Supreme is a podcaster by moonlight and a social media manager by daylight.Find Shoujo Sundae wherever you listen to your podcasts: https://pod.link/1634859352If you enjoyed this episode, SHARE it with a friend and RATE/REVIEW it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!Connect with Giana, Chika, and Shoujo Sundae!Visit our website: http://shoujosundae.com Pledge on Patreon: https://patreon.com/shoujosundae Shoujo Sundae's Social Media: https://linktr.ee/shoujosundaeSend us an email: shoujosundaepodcast@gmail.comFollow Giana Luna on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/gianaluna.bsky.social Follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giana_luna_ Follow Chika Supreme on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/chika.shoujosundae.com Follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chikasupreme A breakdown of the Shoujo Sundae segments:-A Soft Serve Summary (episode/film recap)-Sprinkles on Top (symbolism in the media)-Floats Your Boat (enjoyed moments)-Banana Split (split opinion or confusing moments)-Rocky Road (sad moments)-Nuts (shocking moments)-Hot Fudge (hot takes or angry rants)-I Scream, You Scream (disliked moments)- Cherry on Top (favorite moment)

Janvi Bhagchandani is an AWS Community Builder and an AWS Cloud Captian! In this episode she talks about personal branding and self-marketing within the AWS ecosystem while covering aspects like credentials as social proof, visible expertise, community recognition, and other psychological marketing angles that tie these elements together in the AWS context. 00:00 - Intro 05:43 - Cloud Credibility 07:46 - Authority Bias 16:01 - The 7-38-55 Rule 23:09 - The Primacy Effect 34:45 - The Reciprocity Principle 40:57 - Liking Principle 53:00 - Q&A How to find Janvi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janvi-bhagchandani-b58853256/

Send us a textOn this Beyond the Walls edition of Understanding Israel Palestine, Jeremy Rothe-Kushel proposes an evolving Beyond the Walls edition mission statement, covers the news and speaks with Harry Davies — Guardian investigations correspondent — about his investigations along with colleagues like Yuval Abraham — at +972 & Local Call — into the major project & contract by Israeli Military Intelligence Unit 8200 with Microsoft's Azure Cloud Servers in Europe to bulk collect Palestinians' communications of all sorts in order to mass surveil & target.———-Harry Davies:https://www.theguardian.com/profile/harry-davieshttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/06/microsoft-israeli-military-palestinian-phone-calls-cloudhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/10/activists-in-netherlands-protest-on-roof-of-microsoft-site-storing-israeli-military-datahttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/15/microsoft-launches-inquiry-claims-israel-used-tech-mass-surveillance-palestiniansYuval Abraham:https://www.972mag.com/writer/yuval-abraham/https://www.972mag.com/microsoft-8200-intelligence-surveillance-cloud-azure/https://gijn.org/stories/investigating-israel-war-972-local-call/News Stories:1) https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-west-bank-e1-settlements-8a713939ee6f6552381246dacc8a13012) https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-calls-up-tens-thousands-reservists-before-new-gaza-offensive-2025-08-20/https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2024/8/19/israeli-attacks-kill-35-palestinians-in-gaza3) https://zeteo.com/p/second-most-powerful-house-democrat-gaza-genocide4) https://www.icij.org/investigations/cyprus-confidential/predator-spyware-firm-intellexa-resurgent-after-u-s-sanctions/https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_815) https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/senior-israel-national-cyber-directorate-official-arrested-suspicion-paedophiliaIf you are interested in future access to further Beyond the Walls edition archives, extended episodes and more, you can sign up for the Beyond the Walls archive/newsletter here:https://beyondthewalls.substack.com

In this unplanned and unfiltered conversation, we dive deep into network automation realities with Ivan Pepelnjak, networking’s long standing and independent voice from ipSpace.net. We explore why automation projects fail, dissect the tooling landscape (Ansible vs. Terraform vs. Python), and discuss the cultural barriers preventing enterprises from modernizing their networks. Ivan delivers hard truths about... Read more »

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A group of current and former Microsoft employees briefly occupied part of the company’s Redmond campus yesterday to protest the relationship between the tech giant and Israel’s military. The protest was led by a group called No Azure for Apartheid. Their name refers to a cloud computing service that has been contracted for use by Israel’s government. The demonstration follows recent reporting that Israel uses Azure as a mass surveillance tool against Palestinians, one that has shaped military operations in Gaza. Yesterday’s protest is the latest action taken by Microsoft employees in speaking out about the company’s business practices. Guest: Todd Bishop, co-founder of GeekWire Relevant Links: Geekwire: Protesters set up temporary encampment at Microsoft to pressure company on Israel contracts Geekwire: Microsoft launches formal review into alleged use of its Azure cloud in Palestinian surveillance Geekwire: Inside the Microsoft protests: Fired engineer speaks out on Palestine, Israel, AI, and big tech Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bret discusses exciting news about Swarm being maintained until 2030.

00:08 — Harry Davies is an Investigations correspondent for the Guardian. 00:33 — Hillary Ronen, is an author of the report and a former San Francisco District 9 Supervisor and Local Progress member. The report was a collaboration between Local Progress Impact Lab and AI Now Institute. The post Israel Partners with Microsoft's Azure to Store Surveillance Data on Palestinians; Plus, Former SF Supervisor Authors Report on AI Use in Local Government appeared first on KPFA.

In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I explored why the groundbreaking Oracle–Google Cloud partnership around Gemini AI marks a bold new era for multi-cloud collaboration.Highlights00:14 — It's a brilliant move by Oracle and Google Cloud to form a partnership where Gemini AI is now available on the Oracle Cloud. Gemini on OCI is pretty wild. Both Oracle and Google compete viciously against each other. At the same time, they're both customer-centric enough to say: " ... in this other area, we're going to create new and significant value for customers."01:52 — Too often, I think tech vendors get into this mindset of: "Well, they're a competitor, so I'm not going to do anything with them — even if that might make life better for customers."I think those days are over. That's why I feel this is truly transformative.02:08 — Both executives from Google Cloud and Oracle spoke in great detail about how this partnership will make life easier for customers. They also talked about how this reflects their new philosophy: "We've got to be open. We've got to give choice — regardless of where it comes from."03:05 — Beyond Oracle and Google Cloud, I'd love to see AWS do some things with competitors. Microsoft has done some of this, but I think there's still room for all these companies to do more. It's the best of both worlds for customers: being able to get combinations of technologies and vendor capabilities rolled into single packages.03:41 — You're going to have both Google Cloud and Oracle salespeople now able to sell Gemini on Oracle Cloud. Just like about a year ago with the multi-cloud agreements — where Oracle Database became available on Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud — those hard and fast walls that used to separate vendors from ever cooperating are coming down. And they're coming down quickly.04:12 — What we see here is that tech vendors have to be not only world-class in the technology they're developing, but also in how they're willing to go to market in unprecedented ways to drive new and significant value for customers. That's going to be one of the primary yardsticks by which vendors are measured — not just by the power of their technology. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

Michael Fass, co-founder and CEO of Slide, discusses the company's focused approach to backup solutions for Managed Service Providers (MSPs). Unlike many companies that aim to be all-encompassing platforms, Slide is dedicated solely to being the best backup provider in the market. Fass emphasizes the importance of understanding the unique needs of MSPs, who protect data across various environments, including on-premise servers and cloud services like Azure and Google Drive. This commitment to specialization is a strategic choice to avoid the pitfalls of being a "jack of all trades, master of none."Fass shares insights from his previous experience at Datto, where he served as Chief People Officer and General Counsel. He highlights the significance of maintaining high expectations and creating a strong partnership with MSPs. By offering direct-to-tech support and flexible month-to-month pricing, Slide aims to foster trust and empower its partners. Fass believes that these choices, while bold, are essential for building a sustainable and effective business model that prioritizes quality service over short-term profits.The conversation also touches on the evolving landscape of the managed services industry, particularly the impact of private equity investments and the increasing complexity of technology for small to medium businesses. Fass argues that despite the advancements in technology, the need for skilled IT professionals remains critical. He asserts that MSPs play a vital role in helping businesses navigate these complexities, and as such, the demand for their services is only expected to grow.Looking ahead, Fass expresses confidence in Slide's potential to become a global leader in backup solutions for MSPs. He acknowledges the challenges posed by industry consolidation but believes that new companies like Slide, which prioritize quality and partner relationships, will thrive. As he prepares for future discussions, Fass emphasizes the importance of measuring success by Slide's ability to lead the market in backup services, reinforcing the company's commitment to its mission. All our Sponsors: https://businessof.tech/sponsors/ Do you want the show on your podcast app or the written versions of the stories? Subscribe to the Business of Tech: https://www.businessof.tech/subscribe/Looking for a link from the stories? The entire script of the show, with links to articles, are posted in each story on https://www.businessof.tech/ Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/mspradio/ Want to be a guest on Business of Tech: Daily 10-Minute IT Services Insights? Send Dave Sobel a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/businessoftech Want our stuff? Cool Merch? Wear “Why Do We Care?” - Visit https://mspradio.myspreadshop.com Follow us on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28908079/YouTube: https://youtube.com/mspradio/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mspradionews/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mspradio/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@businessoftechBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/businessof.tech

Unlock the secrets to revolutionizing your sales strategy with the power of AI! Join us as we sit down with Drew Regan, Global Leader, CRM Modernization & AI Solutions at Microsoft, who brings fresh insights from his recent move from Salesforce. Discover how AI is not just a buzzword but the backbone of a seamless, efficient work environment, helping businesses consolidate data and obliterate silos. With Microsoft's cutting-edge applications like Azure, Outlook, and Dynamics, you'll learn how to harness AI for dynamic, streamlined processes that transform mundane tasks into strategic opportunities. Say goodbye to the drudgery of manual data entry and hello to a new era of CRM efficiency. We tackle the common frustrations of sales professionals burdened by traditional CRM systems and unveil how AI and automation, through platforms like Microsoft's Dynamics 365 and Salesforce, are game changers. Imagine freeing up valuable time to focus on building customer relationships instead of logging information. Our conversation underscores the value of a unified platform that eliminates complexity and boosts productivity, all while keeping the focus on what truly matters—driving business success through meaningful customer interactions. As we explore the future of AI in sales, witness firsthand the immense potential of AI-driven tools like Microsoft's Copilot and Dynamics. These technologies drastically cut down the time and effort needed for tasks like preparing QBR presentations, empowering sales teams to prioritize strategic deals. From enhancing decision-making with precise data analytics to automating routine tasks, AI is reshaping modern business practices. You'll hear real-world examples of how AI optimizes field service operations and meeting preparations, paving the way for a more productive and successful future. Don't miss out on learning how AI is not just a tool but a strategic partner in revolutionizing your sales processes. Drew Regan is a Global Leader and Principal Business Program Manager based in Charleston, South Carolina, guiding organizations of all sizes to modernize CRM with an AI-first approach across all stakeholders. With a strategic mindset and passion for innovation, Drew helps businesses transform with speed to stay ahead of the competition and drive measurable impact by deploying productivity and automation across their entire operation. As a strategic and trusted partner, Drew leads customers through the AI-driven shift from legacy CRM systems to modern, intelligent enterprise platforms, enabling smarter engagement and scalable growth. His programmatic approach, collaborative leadership, and results-oriented mindset empower teams and customers to thrive in today's dynamic digital landscape.   Quotes: "AI isn't just a buzzword—it's becoming the backbone of a seamless and efficient work environment, helping businesses obliterate silos and consolidate data."  "With Microsoft's cutting-edge applications like Azure, Outlook, and Dynamics, AI is transforming mundane tasks into strategic opportunities, paving the way for modern sales success."  "Say goodbye to the drudgery of manual data entry and hello to a new era of CRM efficiency where AI and automation become game changers."  "The true power of AI lies in its ability to automate routine tasks, allowing sales teams to focus on what truly matters—building meaningful customer relationships and driving business success."    Links:  Drew's LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/drew-regan-01272b7/ Microsoft - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/ Find this episode and all other Sales Lead Dog episodes at https://empellorcrm.com/salesleaddog/ 

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In this special episode, I sat down with my dear friend Carolyn Thomas from Homesteading Family, right in her Idaho home! We're pulling back the curtain on what life looks like on a mature homestead.  After over two decades each of growing food, raising animals, and running busy households, we're sharing what we've let go of, what we're leaning into, and how we're building homesteads that truly work for our families and seasons of life. From letting go of burnout and fussy crops to rethinking dairy animals, planning for grown kids, and producing more animal feed right on the land. This is a real, refreshing conversation you won't want to miss. For more information and any links mentioned in today's podcast, visit https://melissaknorris.com/477 This podcast is sponsored by Azure Standard. For first-time Azure customers, you can get 15% off your first order of $100 or more by using coupon code "MELISSA15" at checkout: https://melissaknorris.com/azure-standard

In this episode we talk to AWS Hero Brian Hough: Vibe Coding with GenAI is fast and fun — until your app has to actually work in production. That's when reality hits: fragile APIs, missing auth, surprise AWS bills, strict constraints, and no clear path to scale. In this Dev Chat, I'll share what it takes to evolve from AI-generated MVPs to real-world, production-ready apps for millions of users. We'll talk infrastructure as code, scaling APIs, adding observability, and building systems that don't break under pressure. If you've used GenAI tools like Amazon Q, Bedrock, or your favorite code copilot, this session will help you ship faster and smarter. 00:00 - Intro 15:43 - Why Vibe Coding Isn't Enough 17:10 - The vibe coded initial app 18:30 - What could possibly go wrong? 24:42 - (Agenda) How we're going to fix the vibe coded app 27:55 - Fixing our vibe code workflow 29:06 - The Architecture 31:29 - Our Toolkit & Fixing all the things! 55:17 - The repo to play along at home! 55:23 - Q&A How to find Brian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianhhough/ https://brianhhough.com/ Brian's links: https://github.com/BrianHHough/aws-summit-2025

Austin Lyons says the Mag 7 continue to dominate market leadership, though it's becoming more fragmented. As companies like Apple (AAPL) and Tesla (TSLA) play catch up, Austin poses the question to investors, "is there anywhere else that's better to put your money in the A.I. trade?" While he like Apple's tech ecosystem and Tesla's future prospects, he favors Microsoft (MSFT) currently as Azure cloud growth accelerates. On the chip trade, he talks about Intel (INTC) "getting back to their roots" and AMD Inc.'s (AMD) recent comeback as both companies vie for a piece of Nvidia's (NVDA) market share.

 In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I unpack the strategy behind Microsoft's $368B in contracted cloud business and Q4 surge.Highlights00:39— CEO Satya Nadella explained what was behind this huge growth in Microsoft's Azure revenue in Q4, which ended June 30. Overall cloud revenue for the quarter was up 27% to $46.7 billion. This is the first time it's ever released any revenue figures for Azure.01:14 — Azure was up — I think it was 34% — to more than $75 billion. So, I divided four into 75, got almost $19 billion. It said it was “more than,” so I'm going to go with Q4 Azure revenue of $19 billion. And in Q4, it grew 39%. So 34% Azure growth for the year, spiking in Q4 to 39%. And its RPO (remaining performance obligation) was up an astonishing 37% to $368 billion.02:09 — Nadella pointed to, first, classic migrations from on-prem to the cloud. He cited an enormous initiative that Microsoft undertook with SAP to move Nestlé's huge SAP estate from on-prem to the cloud. He talked about cloud-native applications scaling very rapidly.03:16 — And third, he talked about AI workloads: the investments that Microsoft is making and the progress it is making on building out its infrastructure for Azure to be able to handle all of this new and rising demand. And he bristled a little bit at the notion that some other hyperscalers are doing more in the way of data centers and regions and gigawatt capacity and data center capacity04:22 — So again, an extraordinary quarter there from Microsoft Azure, sort of at the heart of so much of this. We'll have a lot more detail on this in an article that we'll be posting later this morning on Cloud Wars. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

In the first episode of Occupied Tech, a new podcast brought to you by Tech for Palestine in collaboration with Palestine Deep Dive, Paul Biggar speaks to Hossam Nasr – a former Microsoft employee who was fired in 2024 after organising a vigil for Palestinians killed in Gaza. Nasr exposes the company's major role in Israel's genocide and apartheid and discusses efforts to organise workers and activists to resist its complicity. No Azure for Apartheid (Noaa) is a worker-led group of tech workers within Microsoft, co-founded by Nasr. Its members are committed to exposing the complicity of specific technologies, including Microsoft's AI software Azure. _________________________ Occupied Tech In each episode, Paul Biggar introduces a new guest to break down the mechanics of the tech industry and how it powers Israel's genocide, apartheid and occupation – looking at the companies, investors and individuals behind it. And most importantly, spotlighting the people resisting this oppression. _________________________ Episode 1. Microsoft: Powering Israel's Genocide? Nasr exposes the company's major role in Israel's genocide and apartheid and discusses efforts to organise workers and activists to resist its complicity through the organisation he co-founded No Azure for Apartheid (Noaa). Noaa is a worker-led group of tech workers within Microsoft. Its members are committed to exposing the complicity of specific technologies, including Microsoft's AI software Azure. More than just a profit-seeking organisation, Nasr identifies Microsoft as a genocidal digital weapons manufacturer – as the most trusted tech provider for the Israeli government and military, Nasr explains how Microsoft aids Israel's combat and intelligence activities, storing illegally collected data to surveil Palestinians and more. Episode 1. was recorded back in June 2025, but new revelations reported recently in The Guardian also expose how Microsoft Azure servers in Europe have been storing ‘a million calls an hour' in an expansive Israeli surveillance operation against Palestinians – data used by Israel to conduct lethal strikes in its ongoing genocide on Gaza. _________________________ Support Palestine Deep Dive from as little as £1 per moth: https://www.palestinedeepdive.com/support _________________________ Hossam Nasr is an Egyptian software engineer and an alumnus of Harvard's Computer Science programme. He is a former Microsoft employee and co-founder of No Azure for Apartheid, a movement of Microsoft workers demanding that Microsoft end its direct and indirect complicity in Israeli apartheid and genocide. https://www.noazureforapartheid.com Paul Biggar is the founder of Tech For Palestine, a coalition of thousands of founders, engineers, product marketers, investors and other professionals who are working in support of Palestinian liberation. He is an Irish software engineer who founded the unicorn company CircleCI in 2011, before being fired from its board in 2023 for support of Palestine. https://www.techforpalestine.org

Developers Rizel Scarlett and Ian Douglas join Ned and Kyler to talk about building an AI agent. Rizel and Ian work at Block, where they’re part of a team building an agent called Goose. They talk about what the agent does, building challenges, observability, and more. They also dive into topics such as how using AI... Read more »

Developers Rizel Scarlett and Ian Douglas join Ned and Kyler to talk about building an AI agent. Rizel and Ian work at Block, where they’re part of a team building an agent called Goose. They talk about what the agent does, building challenges, observability, and more. They also dive into topics such as how using AI... Read more »

Join Brian and Scott Dunn as they unpack what “buy-in” actually means and what it takes to move from surface-level support to genuine commitment in this episode of the Agile Mentors Podcast. Overview In this episode of the Agile Mentors Podcast, Brian is joined once again by Scott Dunn to tackle a listener-chosen topic: how to get real buy-in for Agile initiatives, especially when shifting from a non-Scrum environment. They explore why buy-in isn’t about enthusiastic cheerleading or deep Agile knowledge, but about leaders and teams aligning on desired outcomes. From the cost of performative support to the emotional side of change, Brian and Scott share practical strategies for securing support at all levels of the organization. Along the way, they dive into influence tactics, the importance of shared purpose, and how co-creation—not compliance—drives lasting change. Whether you're guiding a large transformation or simply trying to influence up, this episode will help you rethink how to earn trust, build alignment, and inspire meaningful momentum. References and resources mentioned in the show: Scott Dunn Elements of Agile Assessment Subscribe to the Agile Mentors Podcast Want to get involved? This show is designed for you, and we’d love your input. Enjoyed what you heard today? Please leave a rating and a review. It really helps, and we read every single one. Got an Agile subject you’d like us to discuss or a question that needs an answer? Share your thoughts with us at podcast@mountaingoatsoftware.com This episode’s presenters are: Brian Milner is SVP of coaching and training at Mountain Goat Software. He's passionate about making a difference in people's day-to-day work, influenced by his own experience of transitioning to Scrum and seeing improvements in work/life balance, honesty, respect, and the quality of work. Scott Dunn is a Certified Enterprise Coach and Scrum Trainer with over 20 years of experience coaching and training companies like NASA, EMC/Dell Technologies, Yahoo!, Technicolor, and eBay to transition to an agile approach using Scrum. Auto-generated Transcript: Brian Milner (00:01) Welcome in Agile Mentors. We're back for another episode of the Agile Mentors podcast. I'm with you as always, Brian Milner. And I also have with me today someone that you probably know pretty well because he took over this podcast for about a month there. Mr. Scott Dunn is with us. Welcome in, Scott. Scott Dunn (00:19) Hey, thanks Brian. Yes, that podcast takeover was a lot of fun. So thank you for that opportunity. That was a hoot. Had a great time. Brian Milner (00:25) Absolutely. Well, I don't think I publicly thanked you for that. just ⁓ a public thanks. Scott Dunn (00:28) No, you didn't. No, not even an email. Not even a Slack message. Brian Milner (00:33) Well, very public thanks to you for doing that. Those episodes were great. I enjoyed them and it was fun to be a listener. It was fun to listen to it and just kind of hear the conversations and be a fly on the wall for those. So thanks again for doing that. Scott Dunn (00:47) Yeah. Yeah. It's a real treat. Brian Milner (00:48) We're having Scott on we kind of ran an experiment on this one because we were Scott was teaching a class for mountain goat and We thought maybe we'll just see what the class thinks so we pulled the class to see what topic do you want us to talk about and We thought we'd just go with the winner the winner that came out of that class was how to get buy-in How do you get buy-in in a? move from a non-scrum place to a Scrum kind of way of working. How do you get buy-in in the organization and buy-in from others? So when I was thinking about this as a topic, I think the first thing that popped in my head Scott about this was What do we mean by buy-in? So what does that mean to you? Scott Dunn (01:33) Right. So sometimes what I'm hearing is people saying like, buy in, you know, they, I would hear a common complaint, like they don't get it. They don't understand. don't, for me, buy in isn't that they need to understand agile or scrum and these types of things and how it works. Buy in is they get, they give their support kind of regardless. So my favorite example of that is walking into, this is a multi vendor effort we're doing on a Salesforce implementation. And we'd asked for the VP of the whole thing to come down and say some words before we had our first retrospective. You can imagine it's going to be kind of heated with different vendors trying to make each other look bad or whatever. And he'd said, yes. So we're coming down into this, you know, big high stakes meeting. And I just remember him saying, you know, I'm so excited to be doing this for you all. It's great. And he kind of falls in and looks at me says, what am I doing again? Cause he didn't, he didn't know, he didn't know what a retrospective was. He just knew he was asked to come and do something around that. And to me, Brian, Brian Milner (02:21) Ha Scott Dunn (02:28) That's fine. He's showing up. He's letting everyone know this way of working is important. It's important to me. It's important to success. And he probably couldn't tell you any of the meetings or artifacts or anything in scrum, right? But that's still what we need. Brian Milner (02:39) So. Yeah, I think that's a good way to think about it because I think a lot of people sometimes think of buy-in, like everyone's clapping and waving scrum flags around and all that stuff. And I don't think that's really buy-in. I think it's just the willingness to honestly try it, to give it a shot and be open about what would work and what doesn't work. The opposite of that is the resistance, know, of just being resistant to it and saying, I'm gonna put up hurdles and walls in the way of this being successful. That's, think, what needs to be avoided. Scott Dunn (03:18) Right, right. think that some of what was helped is to give them the, for me, the mindset of their buy-in isn't about doing things right. They're not saying, we're really wanted. We really want a new process. We were getting asked to come in because they're not getting the results they want. So buy-in for me from their perspective is how to help get the results that they're looking for. And they'll support us to get those results. So I don't talk to them about some of the aspects of an empirical process or any of that. I sort of say, you in order to get things faster or in order to improve quality, right? And that's how they get behind that. I think sometimes people are preaching some of the process part, even if they could understand that's not really what they're about. But I think they even struggle to understand what we're talking about. So yeah, it's hard for them to get behind and support us when they're not tracking. They simply know there's a pain point we're having. Can we talk about that and how to get what we need and what do you need from me to get that? Great. But I think we We can do ourselves a favor by helping point to the same target, make sure we're aligned with the same target they want. And maybe they'll give us more support if they feel like, yeah, you're tracking with me. I want to come in talk about, you know, more collaboration. Like we already have enough meetings. That's what, that's what I heard. Right. But I'll come and talk about faster time to market. Well, yeah, now they're interested in talking about what they need to do, you know, that I'm asking them to get behind that. I think that's fair. Brian Milner (04:28) Right. Yeah, I think there's also an element there, because I know we're both kind of fans of and users of kind of the path to agility framework from our friend David Hawks. And I love the part of that that's trying to establish the motivation, the purpose from the outset to try to say, What's the thing we hope to get out of this? And I think that's really crucial in getting buy-in that you can't just tell people, hey, we're gonna be a Scrum organization now. Why? Because I tell you that's what we're gonna do, because we're gonna check off the box and say that we're now Scrum. That's not motivating to anyone. if I can say, no, we're gonna... go through this change because here's the end result. Here's what we're trying to get to. Here's what we think will be better. If I can lay that out, then I've got a purpose behind it. And now I have motivation to go forward with this difficult change and learning what's expected of me and all that stuff. But if that's not done, I feel like that's a crucial misstep in that. Scott Dunn (05:44) Yeah, I wanted to add to that, that that point about the clarity of the goals is really something that has sticking power. And we had a client, I came and was working with him this year that he had remembered from the last year as the CTO. He's remembering from last year that we had done that same exercise or what are the goals that leadership has. And he remembered it was quality and customer satisfaction. That had been over a year since we had done that, but that not only stuck with him, but we came back to the group and kind of had a fun poll. Like, everyone remember? They remembered. And so every time we're having a decision we're trying to make about should it be this way or that way on the process, the different, were doing the race, the matrix work, et cetera, people kept coming back to, well, is that going to help us in terms of quality? Is that going to help us in terms of customer staff? We're not going into the nuts and bolts of Scrum or these other approaches. It's simply what's the business goal. will that help us hit the goal? And when the leader hears you using their language that they get, like that's my goal, they're feeling like, okay, whatever you need to do, sounds like you understand what I'm after, right? It's really powerful. But I like that you mentioned that, because when we go through that exercise, always super clear, we don't get confused. Times when we lead with, especially on the executives trying to lead with explaining Scrum, you can tell sometimes they're not really tracking or they're following along, okay, so what's the point? Brian Milner (06:59) Yeah. Scott Dunn (06:59) Yeah, you start off with what's their goals. They're like, great, this is exactly what I want to talk about. And then, Hey, you're not doing the things you need to do to hit those goals. Oh, okay. What are they? I mean, I remember one time a couple of years back, literally when the coach was presenting the results of that assessment towards their goals, they cut them off in the middle of his presentation. Just says, well, why, why is it, you why is that red? Why are we not hitting the goal? What do need to do? And they just started solving the problem right then he couldn't even finish his presentation. Talk about getting support. And he had been there six years saying, Brian Milner (07:23) Wow. Scott Dunn (07:27) Scott, they're not gonna buy into doing this transformation team and the scrum work. He couldn't even finish, I think, a couple of slides and they gave him everything he wanted, right? Powerful, powerful. Brian Milner (07:36) Yeah. Yeah. I think that's a good point. I also think one of the reasons that there's, you know, and that kind of parallels it. One of the reasons there's a lack of buy-in in general is that it's sort of targeted to just one area. You know, like this is a team thing. The teams are going to get trained, but the leaders have no idea really what's going on. They're kind of separated off from this. And I think that's a big part of the problem as well is you get buy-in when they see the leaders have bought in. So are the leaders bought in? Are the leaders on board with this? If they're not, then the rest of the group isn't going to be bought in either. Scott Dunn (08:18) People are smart. They're watching which way the wind's blowing. to be honest, Brian, I'd love to hear your thoughts. I tell people, I don't even care if they genuinely believe in that or not. If they're getting behind it because that's the way the politics are going, hey, they're getting out of the way. We're getting things done. Fine by me. Right. So partly when we're getting that by now, so make sure leaders, are you communicating this clearly? Because some of your people are either not on board or they're kind of waiting to see, this a fad or is this going to blow over? I need you to really communicate that clearly, et cetera, to see if people are get on board with that or not. Or, and on the other side, if I feel like some of these folks are not on board and I do feel like I have leadership support, I need to escalate that pretty quickly and make sure you understand, know, because they might get mad at you or me for talking about scrum and changing things. I'm like, I didn't knock down the door and come in myself. I was asked to come in here by someone who has authority. So maybe you need to clarify that with them, whether we're doing this or not. But don't get mad at me. Brian Milner (09:04) Right. Scott Dunn (09:11) So I will check them on that and clarify with the leadership to say, let's make sure your people are in alignment as well. If we do have that buy-in for sure. Brian Milner (09:20) Yeah. I saw another kind of quote about this that really got my brain working a little bit. Cause it was talking about the cost of fake buy-in and it was, it was kind of saying, you know, performative buy-in might actually, you know, it was asking the question, is performative buy-in worse than just outright resistance? And I don't know. Let me ask you that. What do you think? Do you think performative buy-in is worse than just someone who's resistant? Scott Dunn (09:28) Interesting. Yeah. As someone that just gave an example of performative buy-in. So if you would ask me a week ago, I might have gave a different answer, but someone was talking about this is a wildly different aspect of this, but you did ask me to join. So you get what you get. ⁓ They're talking about the difference of discrimination in the US versus South Africa. And they said, what's the difference? And they said in South Africa, it was blatant. no, you're a person of color. You cannot buy property here. That's how it is. Here, it's more like Brian Milner (09:59) You Scott Dunn (10:14) Yeah, we're looking at your loan application and I don't know if you can buy in this way. So it's subtle. And this person actually said, I'll take the outright blatant discrimination of South Africa, where at least you know what the issue is versus the subtle one. So maybe to that point with what you're saying, maybe it is better to have outright resistance and then say, well, at least I know who's on board or not. Rather than the person says they're on board, but every time they're in a meeting, they come out meeting and we don't get the decisions made we need. That's funny. Brian Milner (10:39) Yeah. Yeah. When I read this and started to think about it, I kind of had that same conclusion that like when someone's being outright resistant, yeah, it's an obstacle, but it's honest. And, you know, I'd rather have the honesty because they're trying to, they're still acting their way because they have a belief that their way is the right way to do it. And so they're throwing up a resistance because they're honestly resistant to it. Whereas someone who just sort of nods in meetings and claps along and, know, oh yeah, sure, great. But then they're kind of in the quiet, you know, behind the scenes and the hallway conversations. That's insidious. That's something that I can't really deal with. And it's like, you know, let's have the discussion. Let's talk about it. And, you know, if you win, then great. Why not have the courage to just have the conversation and see which idea wins? Scott Dunn (11:39) Right. on that note, think for everyone's sake, Brian, if we could be honest for a moment, not that we haven't been honest in these other podcasts, but in this, in this moment, we're really going to be honest. Would you, would, do you feel at times that our culture, our company cultures actually teach people to do just what you said to not be honest, but then like be like, you know, politically savvy, don't say what you really think, but then you're going to kind of be subversive and undermine that thing. And I've dealt with that so many times, I'll show up to a meeting like, I would have swore we were on board. had that one-on-one and now you're not saying in the meeting that you go on board with that. So people might've gotten coached. It's actually not safe to be honest and have good clear spirited debate because there's a price to pay if they do that. And they maybe 10 years in corporate can kind of teach you don't be honest or they're trying to read the tea leaves about what you think it's going to be. And so, yeah, I definitely would rather take it. Maybe it's part of the mindset of trying to really check, you know, where people are at. If I go back to my early days of coaching, those one-on-ones of having the level of honesty to really know where people are at. That was, think, some of the power. And I think some of that came from genuinely caring about the people, wanting them to succeed, wanting them win, even if it wasn't going to be at this company because of all the change or whatever. I did feel people felt like I really was open and honest with them and transparent and had their back. I would hear some real things about how they really felt because they didn't feel like there was a payback for that. And that allowed me to actually say, well, you know what, if you're really not on board, let's see what we can do as far as another opportunity. Maybe it's a positional switch we can do or whatever that was. Because I mean, this did affect people's jobs in some ways. And I think maybe if I don't have those one-on-ones, they're probably just going to give lip service because they don't know if anyone there really has their back in a turbulent time of change. AI is a great example of that, right? Hey, we want to move forward with AI. Well, what's the impact of my job if we do? But no one's really talking about that, right? It's all positive and all that. So I think people are trying to read that too. But you bring up a good point. I think I would take the direct as long as they feel like they can safely be open and honest. Brian Milner (13:31) Yeah. Yeah, well, even that question, right? What effect is AI gonna have on my job? And the honest answer I think that someone has to give right now is, don't know. I feel like I understand what it is today, but I don't know that that's gonna be the same way tomorrow because this technology changes so fast, so I can't promise anything. But here's what it is today and this is the paradigm we're trying to live in. So I think that there's an honesty component there that you've got a mirror to say, hey, I'm going to be honest with you. You be honest with me about this. And we'll be upfront with each other as we make our way through this. yeah, so yeah, think that kind of being honest and taking that approach, I think, is the right way to go. I also think that being kind of a reverting back before you get into things like, here's what a Scrum Master is, here's what a product owner is. You've got to start with the basics and mindset kind of culture things. You have to start with transparency, inspection, adaptation. That's really the way to go. And if we buy into those sorts of things initially, then we can start to say, well, here's a practice that supports that. Now you understand why we're doing this practice because it does this thing. Without it, it's just sort of one of those things of do as I tell you, you know, and that doesn't get buy-in. We've got to see the why behind it. Scott Dunn (14:48) Yes. Yeah, I think so. That's a great point. I was just making a note because sometimes we come in about agile. Some of the folks when I'm sharing this, it's maybe is new to them that I try to really present it. I want what you want. So even down to the words and then I kind of map back to that. So for example, if if we have quality problems now, I might believe in say an agile practice like mob programming, but I don't want to bring up like, hey, we should try mobbing. because it's cool or because you know, whatever, they don't care about that. But oh, they have a quality concern. Hey, boss, I've been thinking about, you know, these quality issues. I got an idea that I think it really could help with quality. But if I was to ask you, Brian, is is Bobby gonna, does Bobby help with quality? Does Bobby help me with, you know, cross training and tearing down knowledge silos and sharing learning? And I think, well, it does a lot of things, I pitch it towards what management wants. So agile as a means to an end. So I want what you want. And if I can't get that clarity that I want what you want, I need to be listening more because if I feel like I come to them talking, I've seen from my own experience, I come talking about better collaboration. That's not what's on their mind. I'm literally losing credit with them because they're like, why are you bringing this up? Like this isn't even our concern right now. Right. So I'm losing trust. I'm losing political capital. So I listen intently what their concerns are, the things I think that are important or that can get that. Then I'm going to pitch it. I'm going to pitch it in that language even like, you know, that what these are the things that would help on. I want what you want. Brian Milner (16:00) Yeah. Scott Dunn (16:18) the sport, I'll even research stuff to find out. So maybe I gave an example recently, when I was a manager for a web development, team that they wanted bigger monitors, of course, and I couldn't get approval for the bigger monitors. so I went and researched, I knew that always we had pressure to deliver more. I researched until I found somewhere someone had to study the show that larger monitors help productivity. And then I brought that to him and like, Hey, I'm looking for ways to improve the team productivity. I think I found something. What is it Scott? Brian Milner (16:30) Mm-hmm. Scott Dunn (16:46) Well, larger monitors, you can tell us, Smollick, really? You've been asking for this for months. I said, no, there's a study that proves it. Now he approved it right then. But partly I wonder, Brian, is I was also giving him air cover for when he gets flack from the other departments. Why does Scott's team get the special monitors? Well, it improves productivity. And right. He's got a reason now. Otherwise, it looks like maybe he's just playing favorites or something else. Right. We're all watching costs. So I will do the research to say, hey, I want what you want. I'll go and I'll go and dig it up. Brian Milner (17:04) Yeah. Scott Dunn (17:13) Someone somewhere must've said it's gonna help. So I'll bring that to them. It ⁓ worked. Brian Milner (17:17) Yeah. Yeah, I think you're right. you're giving him the why behind it. You're telling him, hey, here's something that's in. It's the old outcome argument that the outcome from having larger monitors is this, that we have this productivity. I know you want greater productivity, so here's a means to do that. And I think that's kind of the way that this, you in a nutshell, what we're trying to say here is, you know, I can't go into a company, your boss comes into your company tomorrow and says, hey everyone, we're switching to pens that write in green ink, because we're a green ink company. We just, we want to be known as the green ink company from now on, because it's better. So everyone, make sure you switch to green ink. I mean, they do it. But there's a difference between compliance and real commitment. ⁓ And that's the difference, I think, is, all right, you wanted to switch to green ink, but why? What's the point behind it? I'll do it, but I'll be committed to it if you tell me, well, studies show that when people read in green ink. I mean, that kind of thing can make an impact. But otherwise, it's like you're Scott Dunn (18:08) Yes. ⁓ Absolutely. Brian Milner (18:31) It's almost like an insult to the intelligence of someone, you know, to say, we're going to do this crazy new thing called a standup, you know, or daily scrum or whatever. And well, why are we doing that? I don't know. Cause right. That they tell us that's what we're supposed to do. Well, we have to stand up for a meeting. Why are we standing up? Why aren't we just sitting down? It's more comfortable. I don't know, but that's what you do in a daily scrum is you stand up. Right. I mean, it's, it's, it's that kind of a thing that I think. Scott Dunn (18:34) yeah. Yeah. I don't know. Brian Milner (18:58) if you don't lay the groundwork of here's why, then they're gonna just react with the way that you would switch to green ink. ⁓ Scott Dunn (19:05) I love that example. love that. And we've all been there, right? When someone says, why would we do this? I'm like, I actually don't know. It's a terrible feeling. I don't know. We go through all this effort to do just that. And you mentioned that compliance, compliance will never have their heart and soul and energy into this. So think that that's a big deal for them as well. When leaders are, we had something happen where it's a large financial institution and their data engineering group. Brian Milner (19:11) You're right. Yeah. Scott Dunn (19:33) You're like, yeah, AI is not really, you know, for us, not important to us. Which is interesting, right? Then the next week, like that, the head of that group, their boss's boss says, we need to be using, AI. Well, guess who makes it announced at the very next week. We need to get going with AI, So some of this is like, look, if they're pushing those things, we also want to make sure that they're in a position to look good for their bosses, those types of things. Right? So one, you know, giving them air cover, but two, listen to the winds of those things. If we make them successful, I mean, this is old school, right? Make your boss look good. My goodness. If they feel like that's happening, then you're going to get a lot more support. And this is a good example of a radical change for a whole data engineering team, just because the boss's boss says so. So now we're going to do it. I think looking for even those opportunities and following through on what that might be bringing them ideas that make them look good and generating that as well. I love the green ink one. just now it makes me want to be that we're the green ink company. You're we're going to be known for this. Brian Milner (20:23) Yeah. Scott Dunn (20:29) ⁓ But why? Brian Milner (20:30) Yeah. I think it's also kind of important that you acknowledge that there is an emotional impact here. And this gets into kind of the idea of the whole Satir model of change and that kind of thing. And so I think maybe part of the equation of getting buy-in is really comprehending and understanding that you're not going to get buy-in right away. ⁓ Scott Dunn (20:56) Hmm. Brian Milner (20:57) you know, there's going to be chaos and resistance. There's going to be a point where people are going to be resistant to it. And if you do the rest of it well, then that they'll turn that corner. But what makes them turn that corner is, is that they're connected to the purpose behind it. And so if you're, if you're going to try to implement this, if you're to try to do a change, and just expect it's gonna be, know, hunky dory from day one, you're fooling yourself. Humans don't take to change well. It's got an emotional aspect to it. I love the way David Hawks used to always say this. You know, I knew how to be a hero the old way, and I have no idea how to be a hero in this new thing. So I don't feel comfortable with this change because I don't know how to win. Scott Dunn (21:41) So true. Brian Milner (21:47) And I think that is a really accurate reflection of that emotional kind of impact of it. Everyone wants to do their job well and be seen as a smart person at work and everything else. And I knew how to do that before, but now I don't know how. And so I'm afraid I'm gonna look bad. Scott Dunn (22:02) Right? And I think that lack of awareness or knowledge is some of the things that we're asking them to do. Like you said, uncomfortable or new doesn't feel good. And we kind of think that, oh, if I don't feel good, this must be bad. It's just uncomfortable. But I think I love what you're saying. We can map it out and say, by the way, it's going to look like this as we go through that. And that hero part, a lot of our management, like 90 % of the management is going to be in that, you what we call expert or achiever. Like they're the smartest ones in the room, or they're ones that coordinate everything and they know who to talk to. you're trying to introduce something to someone who thinks they already know all the things. So how we're presenting that to them, including the fact that they're human too, right? They're gonna feel some things and maybe uncomfortable. It wouldn't hurt to explain a bit more, even if they're not gonna necessarily admit it, but like, hey, it's gonna feel different. The people might push back on this. So even when you're first beginning that, it reminded me of how I just knew I'd need to ask my boss like five times. Look, lots of people are asking him for stuff. They're partly just going by the simplest way of Who keeps coming to my office the most? And maybe on time five, like, wow, Scott, this sounds like a problem. Well, yeah, I've been here five times. Because they're kind of waiting, like, is it really a problem or do you just come in once or twice? So repeating that and then maybe framing it to say, and doing the change looks like this and that, giving them information so they don't have to admit that they don't know if they're priding themselves on knowing all the things. I really think that's a great addition to that. The Satir change model, knowing that it's going to get uncomfortable. I've seen execs jettison this just because people are bothered or upset or they're uncomfortable. So therefore this must be a bad idea. So I think we can do ourselves a favor by explaining a little bit like it's going to look like this moving forward as far as their support. Some people may not like it and here's why, but here's how I would answer those people. Like you're literally feeding them the responses. And I'll also do the get behind the expert and say, well, this is, this is what Harvard business review says, or this is what this expert says. You might be surprised because Again, back to them being experts, if you ask them what they think they know about Agile, I might have mentioned before, they score themselves on average about 8.5 out of 10. But their people would score them about 4.5 out of 10, right? It was what I've seen when I did the study, the surveys. So they think they know, so they're not gonna admit they don't know, but go ahead and give them the information they wish. If you know they don't know, I like what you're saying, kind of shrink the chain so they can understand, it's gonna look like this and feel like this. People might ask this way. But here's how I'd respond to them. know, remember this is where, you know, 90 % of the companies are doing X, Y, and Z. So they have backing. They can answer to the people. We kind of set them up for success. Otherwise that satiric change curve is going to hit them. They won't have answers. That feels really awkward. This must be a bad idea. And they're going to undo what you just asked for. Right. I've seen that happen. You just got approval and then a week or two later it got put on hold or undone. Brian Milner (24:44) Yeah, no, I agree. one of the areas, one of the other kind of things that I found in thinking about this in advance was a quote that was from the five dysfunctions of a team book that we all talk about quite a bit. But there's a quote from that that says, people don't weigh in, they won't buy in. And I love that. And I thought, you know, that really is a good point that there, it's not about Scott Dunn (25:00) Woo! Brian Milner (25:08) people need to feel like they're co-creating with you. And to do that, you need to be able to listen to them. If they don't feel like they have a voice, mean, put yourself in their shoes. If you felt like there was a big change happening and you had no say in it, that would feel pretty oppressive. But if they felt like they're building the change with you, then I think then that's what kind of can turn people around and say, no, I have a say in this, I'm a part of this. and I get to shape a little bit about what this is going to look like. They're going to shape it a lot. I mean, that's part of just the Azure way of working is that, hey, we're going to individualize this for this company, for this team. It has to fit here. And the more we can help people see, no, you're a co-creator in this. You're not just being told, but you're going to shape this with us. Scott Dunn (25:54) Right? Even with the leadership, I mean, it's easy. think everyone listening would agree. If you look at the common leaders, that's, even the, let's say director level and above personality types, right? For, for disc, it's going to be a high D for a strange pattern would be like command, um, computing values framework. They're going to be blue, get results, make it happen. But we need it to be, we need to be their decision for some of these folks. So when I would come to one of my bosses and say, I think we should do X every time he'd say like, yeah, let me think about. I'll get back to you. I kept thinking like, I don't understand because these are my people. I thought you trusted me. I realized, it has to be his decision. So part of what you're saying is invite him into the solution. So then I'd say, hey, we've got three options, good, better, best. What do you think we should do? Or I'd say, hey, I've done all the research, option A looks great, option B looks terrible. What do you think we should do? I mean, I try to simplify it. I tried to make it obvious, but I couldn't tell him I need to do X or we need this from you. It needed to be his input and to decide. Brian Milner (26:44) Right. Scott Dunn (26:51) once I framed it that way, he agreed every single time. I simply frame it, put it right in front of him so it's kind of an obvious decision, but I had to let him have that voice to decide. I'm really glad you brought that up. That one literally went from zero to 100 % if I changed my approach of how I had addressed it to let him be the one to decide and weigh in on that. Or even pitch it as a sales. Hey, I think it'd be great to move forward. What would that look like to you? Well, now he's talking about moving that change forward. without even realizing it, because you said to move forward, what would we need to do? And now he is co-creating, but it's already a yes, right? But by default, a little bit of sales, a little bit of sales effort there. Brian Milner (27:24) Yeah. Yeah, no, that's a, that's a good example. And that's a good example, I think for like the scrum masters listening and other people out here that are, feel like, you know, I'm not the leader in the organization. I'm not way up here and I can't, you know, have my decisions trickle down to other people, but, you know, kind of the, influencing up kind of mentality there. Yeah. It might sound like a little bit of a trick, but you know, if you can help. the boss co-create with you, right? Here's the problem. I've done some research. Here's some solutions. How would this look for you? Or what do you think of these options? Which one do you think sounds best? If I'm a boss and someone comes to me and says that I've researched this, here's the solutions that are possible. Which one do you think sounds best? That's really a service to me because you've just done a lot of work for me and I know that I'm doing my job by making the decision, but you've presented it and now I don't have to do anything but make the call. Yeah. Scott Dunn (28:24) Yeah, yeah. Simplify the decision-making or frame the decision-making is, think we might actually be kind of, I don't want to say teasing. I just hear some feedback from people at times like, leadership's was like, bright, shiny squirrel, right? And they get frustrated. But in some ways I'm thinking, well, at least someone in the org is decisive. I'll take that. But we can help them leverage that decisive trait they have. Brian Milner (28:43) Yeah. Scott Dunn (28:48) But for the good, instead of these random crazy things, you know, when the leader's like, I love Agile, I can change my mind all the time. We can, we can, we can guide them to better decision-making too. I love the influence both up and down what you're saying the Scrum Master can do. I think we miss, that we all have that ability to try to influence decision-making and shape some of this. Maybe there's more agency than we realized, I think for some of these folks, Scrum Masters, product owners, cetera, that you might be surprised. Like run an experiment, try some of these things out that we're talking about and see for yourself. I mean, all these personality types are different and your orgs are different. I totally understand that. Do something, inspect and adapt and see what you get. might, cause once you strike gold, you're like, you know, you're set on getting influence and buy-in from folks. It's really powerful network. Cause we don't need to give you a title or change the org chart in order to have results happen with you involved if you're that kind of a person. And I think you can really write your ticket in your career if you're able to do that soft skill of influence and buy-in up and down. It's great. Brian Milner (29:43) Yeah, yeah, that's awesome. Well, I hope that for at least the people that were in your class, this is is hit it right on the nail on the head for what it is they were they were thinking this would be about. But I think this is good. I think this is a good conversation and it's important, I think at all levels, because there's you know, this this affects us whether we're doing a massive transformation in an organization or Scott Dunn (29:51) Yeah. Brian Milner (30:06) We're just trying to influence up a tiny bit, you know, the food chain. Scott Dunn (30:10) Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I hope that for the folks who were in that class, you better let us know if that was it. If anyone else is interested in other things, absolutely. We love hearing what your what those topics would be and bring on the right people. I will say that Brian, you brought in so many different voices. It's really, really great. So again, influence us. You can practice what we're talking about by putting those ideas up there. Other folks that we'd love to hear, because I love the the slated speakers you brought in. Brian's been really awesome. Thanks for this opportunity. Brian Milner (30:34) Thank you. Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for coming on again, Scott.

Developers Rizel Scarlett and Ian Douglas join Ned and Kyler to talk about building an AI agent. Rizel and Ian work at Block, where they’re part of a team building an agent called Goose. They talk about what the agent does, building challenges, observability, and more. They also dive into topics such as how using AI... Read more »

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud dominate the infrastructure-as-a-service market, controlling 71% of the market share. This concentration is driven by the rapid growth of artificial intelligence, with global cloud spending projected to exceed $700 billion in 2025. The economic impact of AI is significant, as evidenced by Microsoft reaching a $4 trillion valuation, largely due to investments in AI infrastructure. However, this boom has created challenges for recent computer science graduates, who are struggling to find jobs in a tech industry that is increasingly adopting AI tools while simultaneously laying off employees.The job market for young tech workers is deteriorating, with unemployment rates for those aged 20 to 30 rising sharply. Economists warn of a potential "jobless recovery" for white-collar roles, as AI continues to replace routine jobs. The share of tech jobs peaked in late 2022 but has since declined, leaving graduates questioning the reliability of traditional pathways into tech careers. This shift highlights the need for companies to reassess their hiring practices and adapt to the changing landscape influenced by AI.In a concerning development, researchers have identified vulnerabilities in Google's Gemini AI Assistant that could allow attackers to hijack smart devices through manipulated calendar invites. These vulnerabilities pose significant risks as AI becomes more integrated into everyday applications. Although Google has addressed these issues, the potential for exploitation raises alarms about the security of AI systems and the importance of implementing strict controls and user training to mitigate risks.The recent launch of GPT-5 by OpenAI has sparked disappointment among users, leading to a petition for a return to the previous model. Many users feel that GPT-5 does not offer substantial improvements over its predecessor, resulting in a significant drop in OpenAI's perceived leadership in AI. This disconnect between advanced AI tools available at home and outdated technology in the workplace is causing dissatisfaction among employees, prompting organizations to evaluate their AI policies and capabilities to retain talent and enhance productivity. Four things to know today 00:00 AI Boom Fuels Cloud Giants' Growth While Squeezing Entry-Level Tech Jobs06:33 Researchers Expose Gemini AI Flaw Allowing Smart Device Hijacking via Calendar Invites08:04 GPT-5 Backlash Highlights AI Leadership Slip and Workplace Adoption Crisis11:06 Intel CEO Goes from “Conflict Risk” to “Success” in Trump's Eyes  Supported by:  https://scalepad.com/dave/https://www.moovila.com/ Tell us about a newsletter https://bit.ly/biztechnewsletter  All our Sponsors: https://businessof.tech/sponsors/ Do you want the show on your podcast app or the written versions of the stories? Subscribe to the Business of Tech: https://www.businessof.tech/subscribe/Looking for a link from the stories? The entire script of the show, with links to articles, are posted in each story on https://www.businessof.tech/ Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/mspradio/ Want to be a guest on Business of Tech: Daily 10-Minute IT Services Insights? Send Dave Sobel a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/businessoftech Want our stuff? Cool Merch? Wear “Why Do We Care?” - Visit https://mspradio.myspreadshop.com Follow us on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28908079/YouTube: https://youtube.com/mspradio/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mspradionews/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mspradio/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@businessoftechBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/businessof.tech

In this episode we talk to Kat Cosgrove, Head of Developer Advocacy at Minimus! We get into a bunch of topics: Horror movies, cannibalism, contributing to open source, how we (sometimes) destroy the things we love

Bret and Nirmal are joined by Michael Irwin to discuss Docker's comprehensive AI toolkit, covering everything from local model deployment to cloud-based container orchestration across multiple interconnected tools and services.

It's an emotional day for our parents because not only is it the first day back to school, but bittersweet milestones that we are celebrating! We check in with listener Azure who is dropping her daughter Savannah off at her first day of Senior Year at Del Sol Academy Performing Arts

Nigam Arora returns to Market on Close to discuss some of the biggest tech moves he's watching in the market. He's impressed with Microsoft (MSFT) continuing to beat "very high" expectations in Azure cloud and Copilot. On Palantir (PLTR), Nigam outlines the company's path to reaching $1 trillion in market cap. While he sees the current price-to-sales ratio as unsustainable, he says Palantir is "so deeply embedded" in the U.S. government that it has a "sticky" source of revenue even if its commercial business wavers.======== Schwab Network ========Empowering every investor and trader, every market day. Subscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribeDownload the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watchWatch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-exploreWatch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/Follow us on X – https://twitter.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/schwab-network/ About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about

In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I discuss Satya Nadella's bold Q4 claim that Microsoft is the #1 cloud provider, leaving rivals to fight for second place.Highlights00:12 — Microsoft laid out a very clear, unmistakable story in Q4 that it is the biggest and right now certainly the most powerful, most influential cloud provider. CEO Satya Nadella used the opportunity of these unprecedented financial results to spread the word that, “We're number one, and all of the other hyperscalers — Google, Oracle, and AWS — can fight for the number two spot.”01:06 — Q4 cloud revenue was up 27% to 46.7 billion. Full year cloud revenue was $168 billion, up 23%. One that really blows me away, its RPO for Q4 was $368 billion up 37%, so that is remaining performance,obligation, contracted business not yet recognized as revenue. Then for Azure, for the full year, $75 billion and a 39% growth rate in Q4. So pretty powerful stuff.02:04 — Nadella said, "We're the leaders in breadth of AI products and AI infrastructure." He said, "In our overall tech stack, nobody can touch us, and that's how we're able to deliver at this scale." He said, "We have more data centers than anybody else does," cutting against some claims that have been made by Oracle and others. "We are outperforming everybody else."03:16 — I thought it was interesting that, without identifying those specific companies, he referred to our competitors and that we're doing more than them. Now, I think this was a smart move by Nadella, right? Because we're not talking about some technical features — these are the technological foundations that business leaders will be betting the future of their companies on.03:55 — So, the hyperscalers with the best overall capabilities are going to be the ones that those business leaders tend to go with. I think it's a smart move by Nadella here to say, in my view, here's where we stand. We're out ahead of the others on all this. Now, I'm sure Google Cloud, Oracle, and AWS will have their own points of view on this, and I would encourage all of them to speak up.04:20 — I'm not talking about name-calling, but a very clear and well-articulated, reasoned, customer-oriented set of here's where I stand versus competitors here. I was glad to see this from Microsoft. I hope everybody does it, and later this morning on Cloud Wars, I'll have a detailed article offering the verbatim comments that Nadella made about these different subjects. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

In this episode of Startup Project, Nataraj interviews Ben Kus, CTO of Box, about the critical role of unstructured data in the AI revolution. They discuss the cost structures of adopting and building with AI, and how AI is transforming enterprise businesses. Ben shares Box's unique perspective, managing over an exabyte of data for 120,000 enterprise customers. Learn how AI can understand, automate, and enhance the value of your unstructured data, turning untapped potential into practical benefits. What you'll learn: Understand what unstructured data is and why it's so critical for AI applications in business.Discover Box's strategic approach to integrating with other platforms and providing AI solutions on top of your data.Learn about the pivotal moment when Box realized the potential of generative AI and how they retrofitted their platform to be AI-first.Explore early AI use cases launched at Box, including chatting with documents and data extraction, and how enterprises are adopting these features.Understand the cost implications of leveraging AI and how Box balances offering AI for free with managing expenses.Dive into Box's perspective on pricing based on usage versus outcomes, and their current subscription model.Learn about Box's approach to AI agents, their definition, and how they are being implemented to solve complex problems.Discover the concept of "context engineering" and its importance in building AI agents that understand user needs.Understand how AI is impacting productivity within Box and the broader enterprise landscape.Find out about the AI models Box is working with and how they ensure security and trustworthiness for enterprise customers.About the Guest and Host:Ben Kus: Chief Technology Officer at Box, previously VP of Product at Box and co-founder of Subspace.Connect with Guest:→ LinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/benkus .→ Website: https://box.com/Nataraj: Host of the Startup Project podcast, Senior PM at Azure & Investor.→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natarajsindam/→ Twitter: https://x.com/natarajsindam→ Substack: ⁠https://startupproject.substack.com/⁠In this episode, we cover:(00:01) Introduction(00:35) What is unstructured data and why is Box in the center of AI?(04:05) Box's strategy on building new AI tools and features.(06:55) The moment Box realized AI was a big shift.(11:08) Earliest AI use cases launched at Box.(15:17) The cost of leveraging AI and its impact on profitability.(19:24) Pricing based on usage vs. outcomes.(22:47) Abuse prevention and handling unlimited storage.(24:16) AI products targeted for specific knowledge worker persona.(28:18) Being an AI-first company.(30:55) Defining and implementing AI agents within Box.(36:38) Form factors for agents in an enterprise product sense.(39:59) Productivity improvements with AI.(44:07) Progression in junior developers.(46:17) Document parsing and extraction.(49:16) AI models Box is working with.(52:10) Startup ideas in the AI era.Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review/comment on YouTube, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.#unstructureddata #ai #artificialintelligence #enterprisetech #cto #box #datamanagement #machinelearning #generativeai #businesstransformation #ainnovation #techleadership #cloudcomputing #datascience #podcast #startupproject #natarajsindam #digitaltransformation #enterprisesolutions #aifirst

nvestors keep score with growth rates, but this quarter you had to read the footnotes and the fine print. Microsoft put up eye-popping Azure growth again, but a big slice of that acceleration is AI inference — notably ChatGPT — now embedded in the revised Azure definition - great for headlines but not conducive to apples-to-apples comparisons. Meanwhile, AWS delivered the largest dollars and a very clear message that demand exceeds supply. Meaning growth is capped by power and components, not pipeline. That creates a weird optics penalty — AWS showing growth in the high teens growth on a $120B-plus run rate and it's a “concern.” But it also telegraphs future upside as capacity lands and depreciation cycles through.  The stealth story is Google. Google Cloud posted a strong print with solid top-line growth and steadily improving operating margin — and GCP (the IaaS/PaaS core) is growing materially faster than Cloud overall - our estimate is nearly 40%. Backlog is building at more than $250M and $1B+ deals are real. As the mix shifts toward AI-heavy, infrastructure-centric workloads, it becomes a tailwind for Google, continues to lag the scale of AWS and Azure. Let's call it a disciplined scale strategy with less noise.The other common thread is a capex arms race that faces real constraints. All three players said the quiet part out loud — power, sites, servers, power and lead times will dictate who wins AI inference and who monetizes it. Microsoft is capacity-constrained, AWS says “several quarters” to rebalance, and Google raised capex again. This is not a one-quarter story; it's a multi-year land-and-power grab that will determine margin structures for the next cycle. Meanwhile, the Big three cloud players are on a pace to spend about $240B this year on CAPEX with AI revenue coming in at about 10% of that figure. We clearly have a big hurdle before that massive investment pays back. 

Drywall is one of the most commonly used materials in construction — and one of the most wasteful. It's estimated that more than 10 percent of drywall from new buildings end up in landfills. The material can release harmful gasses, such as hydrogen sulfide, and act as a potential contaminant for groundwater. But two architecture professors at Washington State University’s School of Design and Construction have developed a way to turn this waste into something useful.   Taiji Miyasaka and David Drake have spent years developing and patenting a process to transform drywall scraps into usable building blocks — a substitute for bricks — and fire-resistant wall panels that are both known as Drywall Waste Technology. Made with up to 90 percent drywall waste, WSU estimates that excess material from just 16 new homes could produce enough DWT material to build one tiny home. Miyasaka and Drake’s products have earned international acclaim, winning the AZ Award for Environmental Leadership in Azure magazine’s global design competition.   David Drake joins us to explain how this technology could be a resource in addressing both housing shortages and construction waste.  

Andrew and Ben discuss Ben's article on Apple and AWS in the AI era, including a call for Apple to make an acquisition, a bit of AWS history, AWS as the new Azure, and the challenge of making changes amidst continued success. Then: Thoughts on Google's Genie 3 breakthrough and OpenAI's open weights models, and questions on Intel, scrutiny of Lip-Bu Tan, whether AI will compound the fertility crisis, and an emailer who wants to eliminate advertising from the human condition.

The Investing Power Hour is live-streamed every Thursday on the Chit Chat Stocks Podcast YouTube channel at 5:00 PM EST. This week we discussed:(02:52) Cloud Providers: AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Analysis(12:19) Figma IPO: Valuation and Market Implications(28:38) Remitly's Growth Amidst Market Challenges(34:21) Evaluating Growth Potential in Stocks(36:26) Innovations in Digital Finance and Remitly's Strategy(41:00) Airbnb's Market Position and Growth Challenges(50:52) Coupang's Expansion and Competitive Landscape(57:43) OpenAI's Valuation and Market Dynamics*****************************************************JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER AND CHAT COMMUNITY: https://chitchatstocks.substack.com/ *********************************************************************Chit Chat Stocks is presented by Interactive Brokers. Get professional pricing, global access, and premier technology with the best brokerage for investors today: https://www.interactivebrokers.com/ Interactive Brokers is a member of SIPC. *********************************************************************Fiscal.ai is building the future of financial data.With custom charts, AI-generated research reports, and endless analytical tools, you can get up to speed on any stock around the globe. All for a reasonable price. Use our LINK and get 15% off any premium plan: ⁠https://fiscal.ai/chitchat *********************************************************************Disclosure: Chit Chat Stocks hosts and guests are not financial advisors, and nothing they say on this show is formal advice or a recommendation.

Microsoft's fiscal year ended on a high note, assuming you didn't just get laid off. WinSAT's formal assessment will give you some interesting PC performance information, similar to the old WEI score from Windows Vista. And Proton finally makes a standalone authenticator app; How to transition from whatever you're currently using and why you'll need to keep using Microsoft Authenticator too.Microsoft Earning Quarterly: net income of $27.2 billion on revenues of $76.4 billion. Those figures represent gains of 24 percent and 18 percent, respectively, year-over-year (YOY) Annual: a net income of $101.8 billion (up 16 percent YOY) on revenues of $281.7 billion (up 15 percent) Another look at layoffs, which are nothing new under Satya Nadella - Over 17,000 in CY 2025 so far, despite over $100 billion in profits in FY Headcount "unchanged" YOY Big announcements below were likely made to avoid Qs about layoffs and it almost worked AI spending in FY was about $85 billion, higher than promised AI spending in this quarter will jump to $30 billion (!!!!) Azure earned $75 billion in revenues in FY, its first-ever disclosure of this number - Fun with math, that means $56 billion in revenues in previous FY. How far back can we go? Microsoft's market cap exceeded $4 trillion after earnings release "Copilot" has over 100 million MAUs, really M365 Copilot, which even Nadella thinks is a new M365 tier GitHub Copilot has over 20 million MAUs, probably most are free HUGE gains in Microsoft Gaming/Xbox, discussed below Windows 11 But first, something completely different: Microsoft's "vision" for Windows in 2030 David Weston a curious choice for this video, first in a series - he's in security Daily work life changes thanks to AI - less toil work, less eyes and more talking, multimodal interactions Security - customers want appliance-level security, "it just works" security - Degenerates into a general security discussion Back to AI, reclaiming our lives Windows 11 SE, RIP - We hardly knew you. Literally. Insider: Changes to Home view in File Explorer for Work and School sign-ins, Settings app changes in Dev (25H2) and Beta (24H2) More earnings AMD - HUGE gains in its PC businesses! Qualcomm up 10% Apple up 9.6% Amazon up 13% AI & dev OpenAI releases its first open-weight reasoning models and Microsoft gives them away for free Apple is trying to Sherlock ChatGPT Of course Alexa+ will get ads Dev: Microsoft has a native app problem on Windows Microsoft says it will fix Windows App SDK Paul just switched .NETpad to the Windows App SDK and can confirm it's a nightmare WPF is half-assed... and last year, it took Microsoft over 9 months to deliver the first Windows Copilot Runtime capabilities to devs, but you still can't use this in production. Also, it's not called that anymore Xbox & games Microsoft Gaming has over 500 million MAUs - More fun with math COD has 50 million MAUs Microsoft has nearly 40 games in development Xbox Game Pass has $5 billion in revenues in FY, over 500 million hours played in FY Gaming Copilot (Beta) is available on Game Bar for Windows PC for Xbox Insiders enrolled in the PC Gaming Preview Assassin's Creed Mirage and more coming to Game Pass this month OG Switch models now cost more thanks to tariffs Tips & Picks Tip of the week: These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/944 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Sponsors: 1password.com/windowsweekly uscloud.com

Today we explore how to build sustainable tech companies with Brian Pontarelli, Founder of FusionAuth. Brian shares his path from early programming on an Apple IIe to creating innovative solutions in the complex world of customer identity and access management (CIAM). Brian argues that single-tenancy and local development capabilities are crucial for developers. He also... Read more »

It's Wednesday, August 6th, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Jonathan Clark African Muslims have killed 150,000 people in last 10 years A report from the Africa Center for Strategic Studies found militant Islamic groups have killed over 150,000 people across the continent in the last decade. Such groups killed 22,307 people in just the last year, a 60% increase from the previous year. Christian Daily International noted that a majority of them were Christians in West, East, and Central Africa.  The report highlighted violence in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, and Somalia. Each country appears on the Open Doors' World Watch List of the most dangerous countries to be a Christian.  Christian-majority countries have decreased A new report from Pew Research found the number of Christian-majority countries decreased between 2010 and 2020. The study found that 120 out of 201 countries had Christian majorities in 2020. That's down four countries from 2010.  The decrease in Christian-majority countries came with the rise of the religiously unaffiliated. Christians lost their majority status in the United Kingdom, Australia, France, and Uruguay. Meanwhile, the religiously unaffiliated have become the majority in Uruguay, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.  Psalm 33:12 says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance.” Australia upholds ban on Christian doctor over pro-life, pro-heterosexual views Speaking of Australia, officials in the country recently upheld a ban on a Christian doctor for expressing his beliefs online. Dr. Jereth Kok is a general practitioner in Melbourne. He believed it was his duty to speak out on issues like abortion and sexually perverted lifestyles. However, the Medical Board of Australia suspended his medical license in 2019 after anonymous complaints about his social media posts. The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal upheld the suspension last month. The doctor, a born-again Christian, defended his stance, telling the tribunal he expressed these views on a Christian website, driven by his belief that “abortion is immoral” as a Christian and that he felt “required to speak out about the issue.”  And, on transgender surgeries, he called it  “medical butchery” and “sterilizing disfigurement to healthy young bodies.” Lyle Shelton with Australia's Family First Party commented on the case. He said, “This is about more than one man. It's about whether Australians — especially Christian and conservative professionals — are still free to express their views without losing their livelihoods.” Trump prohibits veterans' hospitals from killing babies In the United States, the Trump administration is reversing a Biden-era policy that allowed veterans' hospitals to perform abortions. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs published the proposed rule on Monday. The new rule will prohibit publicly-funded V.A. hospitals from killing unborn babies.  A statement from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America said, “We thank President Trump and V.A. Secretary [Doug] Collins for restoring the rule of law and ending the Biden administration's illegal policy that forced taxpayers to fund abortions through V.A. hospitals and violated state pro-life laws.” Microsoft reached market capitalization of $4 trillion Microsoft became the second company to reach a market capitalization of $4 trillion last week. This comes shortly after Nvidia reached a $4 trillion market cap last month. Microsoft's latest growth was driven by its Azure cloud computing business. Nvidia and Microsoft have profited significantly from the rise of artificial intelligence technology. Meanwhile, Apple trails at third for most valuable company with a market cap of $3 trillion. American Bible Society: San Fran's Gen Zers more open to Christianity than elders The American Bible Society released a report on the religious views of people in the California's San Francisco Bay Area. The region skews younger, smarter, and wealthier than the rest of the United States. People are also less likely to identify as Christian and more likely to experience stress and anxiety. However, younger generations are more open to Christianity in the Bay Area compared to older generations there and even compared to their peers in the rest of America.  The study noted, “Though the Bay Area is home to fewer Christians and more atheists than the United States as a whole, the majority of people in the younger generations are curious, open, and even wish they read the Bible more.” 2 Timothy 3:15 says, “From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” NASA planning to build nuclear reactor on moon And finally, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is planning to build a nuclear reactor on the moon by 2030, reports Politico. Listen to comments from Interim NASA administrator Sean Duffy. DUFFY: “We're in a race to the moon, in a race with China to the moon, and to have a base on the moon, we need energy. Energy is important. And if we're going to be able to sustain life on the moon to then go to Mars, this technology is critically important.” A directive from Duffy stated, “Since March 2024, China and Russia have announced on at least three occasions a joint effort to place a reactor on the Moon by the mid-2030s. The first country to do so could potentially declare a keep-out zone which would significantly inhibit the United States from establishing a [permanent] presence if not there first.”  Close And that's The Worldview on this Wednesday, August 6th, in the year of our Lord 2025. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com.  Plus, you can get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

Microsoft's fiscal year ended on a high note, assuming you didn't just get laid off. WinSAT's formal assessment will give you some interesting PC performance information, similar to the old WEI score from Windows Vista. And Proton finally makes a standalone authenticator app; How to transition from whatever you're currently using and why you'll need to keep using Microsoft Authenticator too.Microsoft Earning Quarterly: net income of $27.2 billion on revenues of $76.4 billion. Those figures represent gains of 24 percent and 18 percent, respectively, year-over-year (YOY) Annual: a net income of $101.8 billion (up 16 percent YOY) on revenues of $281.7 billion (up 15 percent) Another look at layoffs, which are nothing new under Satya Nadella - Over 17,000 in CY 2025 so far, despite over $100 billion in profits in FY Headcount "unchanged" YOY Big announcements below were likely made to avoid Qs about layoffs and it almost worked AI spending in FY was about $85 billion, higher than promised AI spending in this quarter will jump to $30 billion (!!!!) Azure earned $75 billion in revenues in FY, its first-ever disclosure of this number - Fun with math, that means $56 billion in revenues in previous FY. How far back can we go? Microsoft's market cap exceeded $4 trillion after earnings release "Copilot" has over 100 million MAUs, really M365 Copilot, which even Nadella thinks is a new M365 tier GitHub Copilot has over 20 million MAUs, probably most are free HUGE gains in Microsoft Gaming/Xbox, discussed below Windows 11 But first, something completely different: Microsoft's "vision" for Windows in 2030 David Weston a curious choice for this video, first in a series - he's in security Daily work life changes thanks to AI - less toil work, less eyes and more talking, multimodal interactions Security - customers want appliance-level security, "it just works" security - Degenerates into a general security discussion Back to AI, reclaiming our lives Windows 11 SE, RIP - We hardly knew you. Literally. Insider: Changes to Home view in File Explorer for Work and School sign-ins, Settings app changes in Dev (25H2) and Beta (24H2) More earnings AMD - HUGE gains in its PC businesses! Qualcomm up 10% Apple up 9.6% Amazon up 13% AI & dev OpenAI releases its first open-weight reasoning models and Microsoft gives them away for free Apple is trying to Sherlock ChatGPT Of course Alexa+ will get ads Dev: Microsoft has a native app problem on Windows Microsoft says it will fix Windows App SDK Paul just switched .NETpad to the Windows App SDK and can confirm it's a nightmare WPF is half-assed... and last year, it took Microsoft over 9 months to deliver the first Windows Copilot Runtime capabilities to devs, but you still can't use this in production. Also, it's not called that anymore Xbox & games Microsoft Gaming has over 500 million MAUs - More fun with math COD has 50 million MAUs Microsoft has nearly 40 games in development Xbox Game Pass has $5 billion in revenues in FY, over 500 million hours played in FY Gaming Copilot (Beta) is available on Game Bar for Windows PC for Xbox Insiders enrolled in the PC Gaming Preview Assassin's Creed Mirage and more coming to Game Pass this month OG Switch models now cost more thanks to tariffs Tips & Picks Tip of the week: These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/944 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Sponsors: 1password.com/windowsweekly uscloud.com

Microsoft's fiscal year ended on a high note, assuming you didn't just get laid off. WinSAT's formal assessment will give you some interesting PC performance information, similar to the old WEI score from Windows Vista. And Proton finally makes a standalone authenticator app; How to transition from whatever you're currently using and why you'll need to keep using Microsoft Authenticator too.Microsoft Earning Quarterly: net income of $27.2 billion on revenues of $76.4 billion. Those figures represent gains of 24 percent and 18 percent, respectively, year-over-year (YOY) Annual: a net income of $101.8 billion (up 16 percent YOY) on revenues of $281.7 billion (up 15 percent) Another look at layoffs, which are nothing new under Satya Nadella - Over 17,000 in CY 2025 so far, despite over $100 billion in profits in FY Headcount "unchanged" YOY Big announcements below were likely made to avoid Qs about layoffs and it almost worked AI spending in FY was about $85 billion, higher than promised AI spending in this quarter will jump to $30 billion (!!!!) Azure earned $75 billion in revenues in FY, its first-ever disclosure of this number - Fun with math, that means $56 billion in revenues in previous FY. How far back can we go? Microsoft's market cap exceeded $4 trillion after earnings release "Copilot" has over 100 million MAUs, really M365 Copilot, which even Nadella thinks is a new M365 tier GitHub Copilot has over 20 million MAUs, probably most are free HUGE gains in Microsoft Gaming/Xbox, discussed below Windows 11 But first, something completely different: Microsoft's "vision" for Windows in 2030 David Weston a curious choice for this video, first in a series - he's in security Daily work life changes thanks to AI - less toil work, less eyes and more talking, multimodal interactions Security - customers want appliance-level security, "it just works" security - Degenerates into a general security discussion Back to AI, reclaiming our lives Windows 11 SE, RIP - We hardly knew you. Literally. Insider: Changes to Home view in File Explorer for Work and School sign-ins, Settings app changes in Dev (25H2) and Beta (24H2) More earnings AMD - HUGE gains in its PC businesses! Qualcomm up 10% Apple up 9.6% Amazon up 13% AI & dev OpenAI releases its first open-weight reasoning models and Microsoft gives them away for free Apple is trying to Sherlock ChatGPT Of course Alexa+ will get ads Dev: Microsoft has a native app problem on Windows Microsoft says it will fix Windows App SDK Paul just switched .NETpad to the Windows App SDK and can confirm it's a nightmare WPF is half-assed... and last year, it took Microsoft over 9 months to deliver the first Windows Copilot Runtime capabilities to devs, but you still can't use this in production. Also, it's not called that anymore Xbox & games Microsoft Gaming has over 500 million MAUs - More fun with math COD has 50 million MAUs Microsoft has nearly 40 games in development Xbox Game Pass has $5 billion in revenues in FY, over 500 million hours played in FY Gaming Copilot (Beta) is available on Game Bar for Windows PC for Xbox Insiders enrolled in the PC Gaming Preview Assassin's Creed Mirage and more coming to Game Pass this month OG Switch models now cost more thanks to tariffs Tips & Picks Tip of the week: These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/944 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Sponsors: 1password.com/windowsweekly uscloud.com

Brian Gracely (@bgracely) Aaron Delp (@aarondelpt) and Brandon Whichard (@bwhichard, @SoftwareDefTalk) discuss the top stories in Cloud and AI from July 2025.SHOW: 947SHOW TRANSCRIPT: The Cloudcast #947 TranscriptSHOW VIDEO: https://youtube.com/@TheCloudcastNET NEW TO CLOUD? CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCAST:  "CLOUDCAST BASICS"SPONSORS:[VASION] Vasion Print eliminates the need for print servers by enabling secure, cloud-based printing from any device, anywhere. Get a custom demo to see the difference for yourself.[DoIT] Visit doit.com (that's d-o-i-t.com) to unlock intent-aware FinOps at scale with DoiT Cloud Intelligence.SHOW NOTES:Link to July 2025 News and ArticlesFEEDBACK?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netBluesky: @cloudcastpod.bsky.socialTwitter/X: @cloudcastpodInstagram: @cloudcastpodTikTok: @cloudcastpod

Microsoft's fiscal year ended on a high note, assuming you didn't just get laid off. WinSAT's formal assessment will give you some interesting PC performance information, similar to the old WEI score from Windows Vista. And Proton finally makes a standalone authenticator app; How to transition from whatever you're currently using and why you'll need to keep using Microsoft Authenticator too.Microsoft Earning Quarterly: net income of $27.2 billion on revenues of $76.4 billion. Those figures represent gains of 24 percent and 18 percent, respectively, year-over-year (YOY) Annual: a net income of $101.8 billion (up 16 percent YOY) on revenues of $281.7 billion (up 15 percent) Another look at layoffs, which are nothing new under Satya Nadella - Over 17,000 in CY 2025 so far, despite over $100 billion in profits in FY Headcount "unchanged" YOY Big announcements below were likely made to avoid Qs about layoffs and it almost worked AI spending in FY was about $85 billion, higher than promised AI spending in this quarter will jump to $30 billion (!!!!) Azure earned $75 billion in revenues in FY, its first-ever disclosure of this number - Fun with math, that means $56 billion in revenues in previous FY. How far back can we go? Microsoft's market cap exceeded $4 trillion after earnings release "Copilot" has over 100 million MAUs, really M365 Copilot, which even Nadella thinks is a new M365 tier GitHub Copilot has over 20 million MAUs, probably most are free HUGE gains in Microsoft Gaming/Xbox, discussed below Windows 11 But first, something completely different: Microsoft's "vision" for Windows in 2030 David Weston a curious choice for this video, first in a series - he's in security Daily work life changes thanks to AI - less toil work, less eyes and more talking, multimodal interactions Security - customers want appliance-level security, "it just works" security - Degenerates into a general security discussion Back to AI, reclaiming our lives Windows 11 SE, RIP - We hardly knew you. Literally. Insider: Changes to Home view in File Explorer for Work and School sign-ins, Settings app changes in Dev (25H2) and Beta (24H2) More earnings AMD - HUGE gains in its PC businesses! Qualcomm up 10% Apple up 9.6% Amazon up 13% AI & dev OpenAI releases its first open-weight reasoning models and Microsoft gives them away for free Apple is trying to Sherlock ChatGPT Of course Alexa+ will get ads Dev: Microsoft has a native app problem on Windows Microsoft says it will fix Windows App SDK Paul just switched .NETpad to the Windows App SDK and can confirm it's a nightmare WPF is half-assed... and last year, it took Microsoft over 9 months to deliver the first Windows Copilot Runtime capabilities to devs, but you still can't use this in production. Also, it's not called that anymore Xbox & games Microsoft Gaming has over 500 million MAUs - More fun with math COD has 50 million MAUs Microsoft has nearly 40 games in development Xbox Game Pass has $5 billion in revenues in FY, over 500 million hours played in FY Gaming Copilot (Beta) is available on Game Bar for Windows PC for Xbox Insiders enrolled in the PC Gaming Preview Assassin's Creed Mirage and more coming to Game Pass this month OG Switch models now cost more thanks to tariffs Tips & Picks Tip of the week: These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/944 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Sponsors: 1password.com/windowsweekly uscloud.com

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are increasingly investing in artificial intelligence (AI), with a significant portion planning to allocate between $25,000 and $1 million towards technology this year. A recent GTIA survey revealed that 63% of SMBs believe AI will be the most impactful technology in the next two years, and 65% of executives view technology as crucial for achieving business goals. Despite economic uncertainties, 35% of these businesses intend to invest unexpected financial gains into cutting-edge technology, indicating a strong desire for innovation. Notably, many SMBs are purchasing technology directly from vendors, signaling a shift in the market dynamics.The labor market for small businesses is showing signs of change, with a report indicating a decrease in unfilled job openings. While 33% of small business owners reported unfilled positions in July, down from 36% in June, the challenges of finding qualified workers persist. A net 14% of small business owners plan to hire new employees in the upcoming quarter, particularly in skilled trade sectors like construction and transportation. This commitment to growth amidst a tight labor market suggests that automation and AI solutions may become more appealing to SMBs as they seek to enhance efficiency.Major tech companies are reporting strong earnings, with Microsoft leading the way. The company achieved a revenue of $76.4 billion for the fourth quarter of its fiscal year, driven by a 34% increase in Azure cloud services. Amazon and Google also reported significant revenue growth, particularly in their cloud services, with Amazon's AWS generating $30.9 billion. The competitive landscape is shifting, as Microsoft's Bing is gaining market share from Google, highlighting the importance of AI integration in driving business success.Concerns about the integrity of economic data are rising, particularly following the recent job report that showed the weakest job creation since 2010. The report's findings prompted political controversy, including the firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner by President Trump. Experts warn that declining survey response rates and limited resources threaten the accuracy of critical economic indicators. This situation raises alarms about the reliability of data used for economic forecasting, emphasizing the need for trustworthy metrics in navigating the current economic landscape.Three things to know today 00:00 AI Demand, Tight Labor, and Vendor Direct Sales Redefine the SMB Technology Landscape05:16 Microsoft Posts Record $76.4B Quarter, Azure Up 34%, Bing Gains Search Share from Google10:10 Buyers Reject Multiyear SaaS Contracts Amid Rapid AI-Driven Product Changes13:03 Weak Jobs Data Spurs Political Shake-Up as Trump Fires BLS Commissioner, Raising Trust Concerns This is the Business of Tech.    Supported by:  https://syncromsp.com/ Tell us about a newsletter!https://bit.ly/biztechnewsletter All our Sponsors: https://businessof.tech/sponsors/ Do you want the show on your podcast app or the written versions of the stories? Subscribe to the Business of Tech: https://www.businessof.tech/subscribe/Looking for a link from the stories? The entire script of the show, with links to articles, are posted in each story on https://www.businessof.tech/ Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/mspradio/ Want to be a guest on Business of Tech: Daily 10-Minute IT Services Insights? Send Dave Sobel a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/businessoftech Want our stuff? Cool Merch? Wear “Why Do We Care?” - Visit https://mspradio.myspreadshop.com Follow us on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28908079/YouTube: https://youtube.com/mspradio/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mspradionews/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mspradio/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@businessoftechBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/businessof.tech

Meet Venkata Ramana Reddy Bussu—a Senior Cloud Solutions Engineer & SAP Architect whose fingerprints are on some of the world's most complex enterprise transformations ☁️

The hardest thing for any growing company to do is manage the transition from hypergrowth to the dual tracks of growth and stability. AWS is entering their Hybrid phase, or the transition from Day 1 to Day 2. How will it go?SHOW: 946SHOW TRANSCRIPT: The Cloudcast #946 TranscriptSHOW VIDEO: https://youtube.com/@TheCloudcastNET CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK: http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotwCHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST: "CLOUDCAST BASICS"SHOW SPONSORS:[DoIT] Visit doit.com (that's d-o-i-t.com) to unlock intent-aware FinOps at scale with DoiT Cloud Intelligence.[VASION] Vasion Print eliminates the need for print servers by enabling secure, cloud-based printing from any device, anywhere. Get a custom demo to see the difference for yourself.SHOW NOTES:Amazon Q2 (July 2025) ResultsReviewing Amazon/AWS Q2 2025 Results (CNBC)AWS QoQ Earnings Growth Rates (2014-2025)Andy Jassy defends Amazon/AWS AI strategyAmazon Q2 2025 Earnings Call TranscriptUpdate from Andy Jasay Amazon Generative AI (Amazon Internal)HOW WILL AWS HANDLE DAY 1 AND DAY 2?Has AWS missed the Generative AI transformation?Not investing in GPUs at the same rate as their cloud market shareDon't have a Top 5 Frontier LLMDon't have a productivity suite to attach AI to (on-going revenue)Don't have a leading coding-assistant appDon't have an immediate “acquisition” target (e.g. Anthropic valuation near $150B)AWS isn't breaking out their AI revenuesAWS's growth has plateaued over the last 6 quarters (around 17%), while Azure, GCP have been growing at 1.5 to 2x, specifically around AI revenues. AWS is up to 18% of Amazon revenue, and current AWS (CPU-based) is driving the majority of Amazon profits. Jasay is trying to make AI an add-on to the AWS “building block” modelGenAI buying (at this point) looks similar to Shadow IT going to public cloud – it's not centrally controlledIs AWS focused on GenAI, or moving the other 80-85% of on-premises to their cloud? Can they manage both priorities at the same time? Can you achieve the same levels of growth if non-GenAI startups aren't getting funding at the same levels as pre-2022?FEEDBACK?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netTwitter/X: @cloudcastpodBlueSky: @cloudcastpod.bsky.socialInstagram: @cloudcastpodTikTok: @cloudcastpod

In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I sat down with Joseph Landes, co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer at Nerdio, to explore how one conversation at a Microsoft conference led to a billion-dollar cloud automation company. From his 23-year career at Microsoft to building a fully remote team now supporting over five million users, Joseph's story blends strategic risk-taking with deep industry insight. We unpacked how Nerdio grew from a startup idea in 2018 to a company that just secured 500 million dollars in Series C funding. Joseph walked me through the early days of building the business alongside co-founder Vadim Vladimirsky and how they focused on simplifying Microsoft Azure for IT professionals and MSPs. Their goal was clear: make cloud management easier, faster, and more cost-effective through automation and policy-driven governance. But this episode wasn't just about cloud optimization. We also dug into Nerdio's fully remote culture and the intentional design behind it. Joseph shared how initiatives like appointing city mayors, launching the Nerdio Break Room, and hosting an annual global kickoff have helped maintain a strong sense of community and accountability across 350 remote employees. We also discussed why Nerdio does not compete with Microsoft. It enhances and extends Microsoft's products, helping customers navigate Azure complexity while staying aligned with Microsoft's fast-changing roadmap. This customer-centric strategy, coupled with deep product knowledge and agility, has been key to Nerdio's ability to scale without losing focus. Looking ahead, Joseph shared his perspective on why AI and continuous cost optimization will shape the future of enterprise IT. He made a strong case for simplifying IT operations, empowering professionals, and turning savings into reinvestment opportunities. In an era of complexity and noise, Nerdio's growth story is a reminder of what can happen when you combine deep platform expertise with a culture that truly listens. How is your organization turning cloud complexity into an advantage rather than a barrier?