Podcasts about cloud wars live

In this episode of Cloud Wars Live, Bob Evans speaks with T.K. Anand, Executive Vice President at Oracle, during Oracle AI World in Las Vegas. The discussion centers on Oracle's new AI Data Platform, a major initiative designed to help customers harness their own data to drive AI transformation. Anand outlines how Oracle's open, unified approach to managing enterprise data enables organizations to bring AI directly to their business processes, while also citing breakthrough developments in industry-specific applications.Reinventing with AIThe Big Themes:Data + AI = Business Reinvention: Enterprises cannot simply adopt AI as a bolt‑on; they must combine their private business data — workflows, applications, processes — with advanced models if they hope to reinvent themselves ahead of disruption. Anand notes that many AI/LLMs have been trained on public domain data and thus “know nothing about our customers' private data.” The AI Data Platform is designed to enable that union.Pre‑integrated with SaaS Applications: For customers of Oracle's large SaaS portfolio (e.g., Fusion, NetSuite, industry apps) the AI Data Platform offers tailored variants that are pre‑integrated with the application's data models and semantics. This means organizations get out‑of‑the-box predictive models, analytics, and agents aligned to their workflows, but still have the full platform underneath to extend or customize. This helps reduce time‑to‑value for companies using those applications.Full Stack Advantage: Oracle positions its differentiator as owning and integrating the full stack: cloud infrastructure (OCI including autonomous database), data and analytics platform, applications (SaaS) and now AI/agents. This end‑to‑end control enables closer integration between data assets, applications, and AI use cases. For example, having application workflow knowledge baked into the data platform allows faster mapping from business process to predictive agent.The Big Quote: “The AI Platform is all about helping our customers achieve AI transformation through the power of their own data."More from T.K. Anand and Oracle:Connect with T.K. Anand on LinkedIn or get an overview of Oracle AI Data Platform. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

Hasan Rizvi, EVP, Database Engineering, Oracle, talks to Bob Evans in this latest episode of Cloud Wars Live. They explore the launch of Oracle AI Database 26ai, the Autonomous AI Lakehouse, and breakthroughs in multi-cloud deployment. Rizvi also discusses vector search, agentic AI, and how Oracle is simplifying complex architectures for the AI era. It's a compelling look at how Oracle is reshaping enterprise data strategy for the age of AI.Oracle's Next-Gen Data StrategyThe Big Themes:AI Demands a Modern Data Foundation: As AI shifts operations from human scale to machine speed, enterprises must ask: “Is my data foundation ready?” Without intelligent data structures, comprehensive access, real‑time performance, and strong security, organizations will struggle to compete. The introduction of Oracle AI Database 26ai is positioned as that foundation. The urgency of this shift is clear: companies that delay risk being left behind.Agentic AI and Vectors Come to the Enterprise Database: Generative AI and autonomous agents require new data types and workflows. Oracle has built vector data types and vector indexes into the database so enterprises can perform similarity search, retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG) and agent workflows directly on their private data. Further, Oracle is enabling annotations (metadata) so LLMs can understand enterprise data schemas, improving accuracy. Finally, agentic workflows (AI that takes action) are supported within the database, reducing data movement, improving performance and strengthening security.Start‑Ups and Established Enterprises Both Benefit: The case study of Retraced (a fashion supply‑chain company) underscores how smaller, agile firms are using Oracle's autonomous AI database to innovate quickly: multi‑datatype support, agentic AI, automatic scaling, and reduced operational overhead. At the same time, Oracle's heritage in mission‑critical enterprise systems means large companies with massive workloads benefit from the same platform. The point: whether you're a start‑up or a Fortune 500, the difference will be how fast you move.The Big Quote: “We really believe that in in the age of AI, where you have to move much faster, you really don't have a choice but to start simplifying your environment. Otherwise, you're going to get left behind."More from Hasan Rizvi and Oracle:Connect with Hasan on LinkedIn and learn more about Oracle AI Database 26ai. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

In today's Cloud Wars Live, Mahesh Thiagarajan, EVP, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, speaks with Bob Evans about Oracle's bold strategy to lead in the AI infrastructure race. He details how Oracle is scaling zeta-level compute, launching a 1.5 gigawatt GPU campus, and engineering full-stack solutions that combine bare-metal hardware, custom networking, and advanced software. With OCI's rapid innovation and massive scale, Oracle is positioning itself as a serious challenger to cloud incumbents like AWS, Microsoft, and Google Cloud.Scaling AI at OracleThe Big Themes:Enterprise Data Continuity and Cloud Strategy: Enterprises rely on mission-critical data, such as databases, and migrating that data to the cloud remains a major strategic priority. The challenge isn't simply moving data: It's building a cloud platform that delivers real value to customers. As Thiagarajan and his team began developing Oracle Cloud Infrastructure to support these needs, they focused on core fundamentals: performance, cost efficiency, and security. This illustrates that for today's cloud providers, success isn't just about innovative features, but about engineering deep, resilient infrastructure.Customer‑First Execution: Thiagarajan repeatedly states there is no perfect playbook. The approach: wake up every day, talk to partners, figure out what customers need and execute. This mindset emphasises responsiveness and pragmatism. Given the rapid pace of change in cloud and AI, large providers cannot wait for general frameworks to emerge. They must iterate, partner, and build in real time.“Late” As An Advantage: Thiagarajan observes that arriving in cloud later gave Oracle the ability to learn from first movers' mistakes and benefit from newer hardware generations without legacy baggage. While first movers often carry large legacy systems, later entrants can design for new architectures (bare‑metal, custom networking) from the ground up. That doesn't guarantee success but presents an advantage if leveraged.The Big Quote: “You earn trust with [partners] by getting their products out to market fast into the hands of the customers, because that really translates to them, the end customer, being happy."More from Mahesh Thiagarajan and Oracle:Connect with Mahesh Thiagarajan on LinkedIn or take a look at his Oracle blog posts. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

Juan Loaiza is the EVP of Database Technologies at Oracle. In today's special episode of Cloud Wars Live, Loaiza joins Bob Evans to discuss how AI is transforming the way businesses interact with data. He spotlights Oracle's new AI-native database, the importance of trust and security in enterprise AI, and why business users now play a bigger role in data strategy. It's a revealing look at how Oracle is shaping the future of intelligent data systems.The AI Data RevolutionThe Big Themes:Trust, Governance, and Privacy Must Be Built Into the AI‑Data Stack: One of the strongest points made by Loaiza is about the risk of AI in enterprises: hallucinations, mis‑use of data, privacy violations, regulatory consequences. When mission‑critical systems (hospitals, banks, telecoms) are involved, errors are unacceptable and can be illegal. Oracle's approach is to embed privacy and access controls down into the database engine: the system knows who the end user is, what they can see, and ensures AI cannot leak unauthorized data.Multi‑Cloud, On‑Premises, Hybrid — Customers Want Flexibility: Loaiza describes how Oracle is enabling customers to run their database and AI workloads wherever they need: on‑premises, in public clouds (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud), or via “cloud at your data center” options like Exadata Cloud@Customer. This speaks to regulatory, latency, data sovereignty and operational constraints. For enterprises, the takeaway is that deployment flexibility is essential. A one‑size‑fits‑all cloud model may not meet strategic needs.Business Users and Developers Now Have Voices in Database Strategy: Historically, databases were the domain of DBAs, IT operations, and infrastructure teams. Now business users and developers also have meaningful voices because of AI democratizing access. This shift means organizational structures, roles and processes must change. Data governance, training, tool‑selection and deployment pipelines need to reflect that the “consumer” of the database is broader.The Big Quote: “[AI] can translate English to this language of computers, the language of data, which is SQL. So, what that means is you don't have to learn this crazy language anymore. So pretty much anyone, business people, lay people, can now talk using their normal natural language to the database, and the database will understand what they're saying and give them answers, build applications to all these and this is something I honestly never thought I'd see in my entire life, and it's here today."More from Juan Loaiza and Oracle:Follow Juan on LinkedIn or learn more about Oracle's approach to security. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

Amit Zavery, President, Chief Product Officer, and Chief Operating Officer at ServiceNow, sits down to talk with Bob Evans in this special episode of Cloud Wars Live. They dive deep into how ServiceNow's AI Experience is transforming enterprise workflows through automation, governance, and personalization. Zavery outlines a bold vision for delivering real ROI and trusted AI at scale.Reimagining Workflow with AI Experience The Big Themes:ServiceNow's AI Experience Is About Unified, Actionable Intelligence: Amit Zavery describes ServiceNow's AI Experience as more than a conversational interface, it's an orchestrated, end-to-end workflow platform that integrates voice, text, image recognition, agents, and enterprise systems. It's designed to eliminate the “spare part world” of fragmented tools and disconnected apps. By delivering one multimodal, multilingual interface, ServiceNow enables users to not just find information, but actually complete tasks and workflows.AI Governance and Control Are Built In, Not Bolted On: The AI Control Tower is ServiceNow's answer to one of the biggest enterprise challenges: AI governance. With this feature, companies can discover, monitor, and manage all AI usage, not only from ServiceNow but across third-party systems, too. CIOs and CISOs gain the ability to track who is using what AI systems, what agents are doing, and what data is being accessed.Industry-Specific Use Cases Drive Real-World AI Value: Enterprise AI Zavery says must be contextual, curated, and tightly integrated with business processes. ServiceNow is collaborating with customers like AstraZeneca (pharma), BT (telecom), and Rossmann (retail) to deploy agentic AI that delivers real value in vertical-specific environments. These aren't generic AI chatbots; they're intelligent agents embedded in workflows that help store managers order inventory, researchers manage supply chains, and employees navigate complex rules.The Big Quote: “I call it the spare part world we are in right now, and it's a very difficult thing for a lot of the leaders to really keep up with it. One to know, what are you using? How are you using it? What is the ROI on it? What are the costs associated with that?” Visit Cloud Wars for more.

Kieron Allen speaks with Chris Pope, Chief Product Officer at AutomatePro, in an in-depth discussion that is part of a broader series of podcasts, articles, and reports on ServiceNow's evolving ecosystem. They explore how intelligent automation and agentic AI are reshaping DevOps and quality assurance. The conversation also highlights how AutomatePro's built-on approach enhances developer productivity, reduces risk, and ensures security, all within the ServiceNow environment.AutomatePro's AI EdgeThe Big ThemesAutomatePro's Core Mission: AutomatePro focuses on solving one of the most time-consuming parts of software delivery: testing and documentation. Pope explains that their goal isn't to replace humans but to augment their efforts through intelligent automation. By embedding deeply within the ServiceNow platform, AutomatePro allows developers and platform owners to automate repetitive tasks early in the development cycle, ensuring higher-quality releases and faster deployment.Human-AI Collaboration Wins: The myth of AI replacing people is outdated. Pope reframes the conversation: it's not about replacement, it's about enablement. The real winners will be those who know how to use AI effectively. Today's Copilots are context-aware, learning from human behavior and adapting to different personas — whether it's a developer, analyst, or HR owner. Prompt engineering is emerging as a vital skill, and the better the prompt, the better the AI-driven output.DevOps Innovation Without Compromise: AutomatePro and ServiceNow are reshaping DevOps by making speed and quality compatible. Historically, faster releases meant riskier ones. With AutomatePro's intelligent testing automation, that tradeoff no longer exists. Frequent, smaller releases — the “fixed forward” model — are now safer thanks to early automation, embedded security, and contextual AI. Pope argues that platform owners and developers are the new heroes in enterprise IT, and equipping them with Copilots, intelligent workflows, and instant feedback loops unlocks untapped value.The Big Quote: "You're not going to be replaced by AI per se, you're going to be replaced by someone that knows how to use AI effectively."More from ServiceNow and AutomatePro:Follow AutomatePro on LinkedIn or learn more about ServiceNow and intelligent automation. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

In this special Cloud Wars interview, Oracle Executive Vice President for Applications Development Steve Miranda joins Bob Evans to discuss how Oracle's transformation from CloudWorld to AI World signals a seismic leap in enterprise technology. Miranda shares how Oracle has delivered more than 600 agents, launched the Agent Studio and Marketplace, and unified AI capabilities across its Fusion Applications and industry verticals. The result: a powerful convergence of data, intelligence, and automation driving the next wave of business transformation.AI-driven EnterpriseThe Big Themes:Oracle's Next Seismic Shift: Oracle's renaming of CloudWorld to AI World isn't a branding exercise, it's a declaration. Just as “OpenWorld” and “CloudWorld” reflected past technology revolutions, “AI World” marks Oracle's belief that AI represents a shift of even greater magnitude. Miranda describes this era as one where automation and intelligence redefine enterprise operations. Oracle's applications division is now delivering hundreds of AI-driven agents and features at unprecedented speed.Agents Everywhere: In just two years, Oracle has gone from announcing 50 generative AI features to delivering over 600 agents across its Fusion and vertical applications. These agents automate tasks, surface insights, and optimize processes, often eliminating manual decision-making entirely. Oracle's rapid release cadence (quarterly updates backed by Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)) means customers constantly inherit new capabilities without disruption.OCI, the Engine: Oracle's leadership in hosting and training large language models within Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) gives its applications a built-in edge. Customers automatically benefit from the latest AI tools, performance improvements, and model upgrades without manual migration. OCI's second-generation architecture, featuring Exadata, cloud-native identity, and networking, delivers both reliability and continuous innovation.The Big Quote: “For many of our customers, it's great timing to have AI delivery, because they've gone live. They've gone through multiple phases. They're on the cloud. They're used to getting quarterly updates. Now, this is a big thing, but they're used to that people part of the transformation." Visit Cloud Wars for more.

Brad Haupt, Vice President of Supply Chain at Monument Health, joins Bob Evans at Workday Rising to discuss how the health system is modernizing operations through Workday's unified platform. He shares how consolidating 17 systems into Workday created a single source of truth for finance, HR, and supply chain data. By pairing data intelligence with a culture of innovation, Monument Health is transforming supply chain management from a behind-the-scenes function into a strategic driver of better healthcare experiences.AI and the New Healthcare Supply ChainThe Big Themes:Monument Health's Unique Challenges and Resilience: Located in remote western South Dakota, Monument Health faces the dual challenges of geographic isolation and sudden population surges during events like the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Haupt described how this environment demands both meticulous planning and quick adaptability. The annual influx of visitors, tripling the local population, acts as a stress test for supply chain agility. These experiences have honed the team's crisis management skills.Linking Supply Chain Excellence to Patient Outcomes: Perhaps the most profound shift at Monument Health is redefining supply chain success through the “value equation”: patient, physician, and caregiver experiences and outcomes divided by cost. Haupt rejects the traditional view of supply chain as purely cost-focused. Sometimes the higher-cost item delivers greater patient value, improving safety or recovery time. By connecting financial, supply, and clinical data, Workday allows leaders to quantify this relationship.AI and Automation Redefining Contract Management: Haupt discussed Workday's integration of Evisort for contract lifecycle management as a game changer. Currently, supply contracts can take eight to twenty-four hours of total work spread over weeks. With AI-assisted redlining and learning-based automation, the process could be reduced to seconds. The system will eventually learn from user edits, producing increasingly personalized and accurate suggestions. Haupt sees this as freeing supply chain professionals from time-consuming legal reviews to focus on high-value work.The Big Quote: “I think we're monitoring over 2,000 items that are back-ordered or shipping delays coming from overseas, or manufactured delays. So, we have to constantly communicate with the physician so they don't go into a procedure and think, I've got it all planned out in my brain, and then they say, 'Hand me a 12 French ...,' and they don't have one, and they've got to change their whole treatment plan. So, that communication is really key. Workday has helped us really automate some of that."More from Brad Haupt and Workday:Connect with Brad on LinkedIn or learn more about Workday and healthcare. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

Evan Goldberg, Founder and Executive Vice President at Oracle NetSuite, sits down with Bob Evans for a conversation about the company's next chapter: NetSuite Next. He describes how AI will make business management simpler and more intuitive, allowing users to automate tasks, ask natural-language questions, and customize their systems with ease. Goldberg shares his vision of NetSuite evolving from a cloud pioneer into an AI-first platform built to power the next generation of enterprise growth.Where ERP Thinks BackThe Big Themes:NetSuite Next as a Hands-On AI Partner: NetSuite Next isn't just layering AI on top of old systems, it's embedding intelligence directly into the platform. Instead of hunting through menus, users can say, “Analyze sales for the past six months,” and get an instant, interactive response. The idea is to move from manual navigation to guided collaboration. This shift redefines usability for ERP.Customization and Agentic Flexibility: NetSuite Next extends Oracle's agentic AI vision by letting businesses build custom AI agents that automate unique internal workflows. Goldberg highlights three pillars of NetSuite: the suite's breadth, its deep industry specialization, and its adaptability to each business's unique needs. The AI doesn't erase distinct business models; it amplifies them.Strength in Oracle's Ecosystem: As part of Oracle, NetSuite now sits atop one of the world's most advanced technology stacks. Goldberg credits Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), the unified data model, and the Redwood design system as key differentiators against rivals. He emphasizes collaboration with Oracle Fusion, OCI, and the database teams as a unique advantage.The Big Quote: “You don't have to dig through lots of menus and understand all of the analytics capabilities… it will be able to quickly bring up an analysis for you, and then you can converse in natural language to hone in on the things that you think are most important."More from Evan Goldberg:Connect with Evan on LinkedIn or learn more about Oracle NetSuite and AI. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

In this episode, Bob Evans chats with Gerrit Kazmaier, President, Products and Technology, Workday. They explore how Workday is evolving into a platform company, the role of AI agents in reshaping enterprise workflows, and why trust, accuracy, and extensibility are key to future-ready business solutions. Kazmaier also discusses Workday's approach to ecosystem innovation and composable ERP.Workday's AI FutureThe Big Themes:AI at the Core: Workday is reshaping how enterprises operate by embedding AI into the core of their business processes. This isn't about slapping AI onto legacy systems as a side panel or assistant. It's about redefining how people work, with AI-led experiences, purpose-built agents, and intelligent orchestration. From onboarding to payroll, Workday is transforming each layer of the enterprise with tools that understand business context.Open Platform and Data Integration: Customers demand flexibility and interoperability. Workday is responding by making openness a foundational principle — not just a tagline. Through partnerships with Snowflake, Databricks, Microsoft, and Salesforce, Workday ensures that enterprise data is not locked away but is seamlessly integrated across platforms. Whether you're building a forecasting model in Snowflake or enriching financials in Workday, the data now flows freely.Workday's Focus: Kazmaier referenced a quote: “Technology evolves from primitive to complex to simple.” Today's ERP systems sit in the “complex” phase — bloated, hard to manage, and expensive. Workday's goal is to move ERP into the “simple” era. That means intuitive, intelligent systems that just work — powered by AI, open by design, and personalized for each user. The aim is to empower CEOs to drive outcomes, and employees to thrive at work, without wading through process chaos or outdated tools.The Big Quote: “I frankly think that today, the default is that vendors have a slew of generic agents, they hand them over to their customers, and wish them good luck in figuring out how it's supposed to work. When we say, open AI platform, I talk about purpose-built frameworks and tools like our new Agent Builder . . . so that you can seamlessly compose, you know, workflows in the definition and context of your business and expect them to work with high accuracy and reliability, without becoming an AI expert yourself."Learn more:Follow Gerrit on LinkedIn, and read more about Workday and agentic AI. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

Gary Miller, Executive Vice President and Customer Success Officer, Oracle, talks to Bob Evans about how Oracle is helping customers navigate their AI journeys — whether they're just starting out or scaling enterprise-wide adoption. He shares how Oracle is embedding AI across its entire technology stack, aligning partner and customer success strategies, and empowering organizations through tools like Cloud Success Navigator, Innovation Studios, and democratized AI training to deliver real, measurable business value.AI-Powered Customer WinsThe Big Themes:Embedding AI Across the Entire Stack: Oracle is not just adding AI as a feature — it's fundamentally integrating AI into its entire technology stack. Gary Miller notes that many customers are surprised to discover that large language models are being trained and deployed on OCI, and that hundreds of AI capabilities are embedded directly into Fusion Applications and Oracle Database. Once customers understand this depth of integration, they quickly shift from curiosity to action, asking for guidance on how to adopt AI now, what use cases to prioritize, and how to define success.Cloud Success Navigator Is Central to AI Adoption Strategy: The Oracle Cloud Success Navigator has emerged as a pivotal tool for AI and cloud adoption. What started as a promise in a previous conversation is now a robust, free digital platform that helps customers and partners create innovation roadmaps, prioritize features, and accelerate time to value. With over 6,000 customers and 235 partners using the platform since March, the tool enables organizations to track over 11,000 adopted features — including 450 AI-specific ones.AI World 2025 Will Spotlight Real Customer Outcomes: At the upcoming AI World 2025 event, Oracle plans to go beyond product announcements to highlight customer success stories. Miller will host a keynote titled “Bold Outcomes,” featuring innovative customers and partners sharing their journeys. Oracle is also gamifying the learning experience with “AI Industry Adventure,” a theme-park-style game in Customer Success Central. Attendees will solve real-world industry challenges using Oracle Cloud AI solutions, making learning both interactive and fun.The Big Quote: “Customers are often unaware of how Oracle has embedded AI capabilities across the whole stack. Once they understand that, then they ask us for expert guidance on how best to achieve their transformation goals using Oracle AI solutions. I had one CEO, he said, after he saw this, he said, 'Well, don't let us fumble around in the dark looking for value. You know, where it is, point us there.' And so they asked, how can I start adopting AI in my current environment? . . . How do I define AI, success metrics, and realize AI value? That's the key thing."More from Gary Miller and Oracle:Connect with Gary Miller on LinkedIn or learn more about Oracle and AI. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

Wei Hu is the Senior Vice President, High Availability Technologies, at Oracle. In today's Cloud Wars Live, Hu sits down with Bob Evans for a wide-ranging discussion on Oracle's globally distributed database, AI-native workloads, and how Oracle is helping businesses meet data sovereignty requirements while delivering high performance, elasticity, and always-on availability across regions.Where AI Meets Your DataThe Big Themes:Globally Distributed Exadata Database on Exascale: Oracle's Globally Distributed Exadata Database on Exascale Infrastructure delivers something few cloud providers can: high performance, high availability, and full compliance. Built on Oracle's powerful Exadata platform, this architecture removes the traditional need to purchase or manage hardware. Organizations can start small and elastically scale compute and memory across multiple regions.Agentic AI and Vector Search at Enterprise Scale: Oracle's database innovation is designed for real-world AI demands, especially agentic AI. AI agents need massive compute, consistent availability, and extremely fast access to live business data. Oracle's globally distributed architecture supports in-memory vector indexes for lightning-fast retrieval augmented generation (RAG), making AI more responsive and effective. Additionally, Oracle keeps AI close to the data — eliminating stale data issues and ensuring compliance.Built for a Sovereign Cloud World: Data residency and sovereignty are no longer optional, they're legal imperatives. Countries around the world are implementing strict rules on where data must be stored, how it can be accessed, and who can process it. Oracle addresses these challenges with policy-driven data distribution, allowing customers to define how and where data lives. Whether it's for compliance with India's payment data regulations or Europe's GDPR, Oracle enables precise control without requiring app changes or replication of the full stack.The Big Quote: “The other thing that's interesting about agentic AI is that it's very dynamic. The work comes in, the demands comes in, like a tidal wave. Then it goes away, right, then a little, then when it comes again, there's another tidal wave. So, what you really want to do is have an infrastructure that is elastic, that can scale up and down depending on the demand."More from Wei Hu and Oracle:Connect with Wei Hu on LinkedIn and learn more about Globally Distributed Exadata Database on Exascale Infrastructure.* Sponsored Podcast * Visit Cloud Wars for more.

In today's special edition of Cloud Wars Live, Bob Evans talks with Kris Rice, Senior Vice President, Software Development, Oracle Database, about the rapid rise of AI, the strategic impact of the new MCP Server, Oracle's unique approach to integrating LLMs with private data, and what to expect at this year's CloudWorld. Rice shares how Oracle is meeting developers where they are, enabling seamless AI-powered interactions with enterprise data.Inside Oracle's MCP StrategyThe Big Themes:Oracle's Strategic Integration of MCP: Oracle's implementation of the Model Context Protocol (MCP) represents more than a technical upgrade. Rice explains that MCP, though technically simple, becomes powerful because of how it's supported across AI agents, Copilots, cloud desktops, and IDEs. Oracle's distinctive approach lies in integrating MCP directly into its existing developer environments rather than layering on new tools.Oracle Marries AI with Data Sovereignty: Oracle has the unique ability to merge large language models (LLMs) with enterprise-grade data privacy and sovereignty. While many companies hesitate to use public AI platforms for sensitive queries, Oracle's approach — running LLMs on private GPUs in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) — lets customers leverage cutting-edge AI while keeping data entirely within their own virtual cloud networks.Oracle CloudWorld 2025: Looking ahead to CloudWorld, Rice promises more than vision — he promises practical value. Attendees can expect hands-on labs, demos, and real-world use cases showing exactly how Oracle's MCP server and GenAI services can be applied immediately. From natural language-driven infrastructure provisioning using Terraform MCP to business logic queries run autonomously by AI agents, the event will be centered on tangible outcomes, not speculative futures.The Big Quote: “I saw the other day that the Google AI Studio supports MCP. So you could literally go to the Google AI studio, drop in your Oracle Database MCP support, and talk to your Oracle database that's on GCP, and never leave the boundaries of Google."More from Kris Rice and Oracle:Connect with Kris Rice on LinkedIn and learn more about Oracle and MCP* Sponsored podcast * Visit Cloud Wars for more.

Kim Lynch is the Executive Vice President of Government, Defense, and Intelligence, Oracle. She and Bob Evans sit down to discuss how public sector organizations are accelerating digital transformation with AI, cloud, and secure infrastructure. They explore critical challenges like regulatory compliance, procurement complexity, and legacy system modernization, as well as the growing need for scalable, mission-ready solutions. Kim also introduces Oracle's Defense Ecosystem initiative.Oracle's Government Tech EdgeThe Big Themes:Oracle's Role in Modernizing Government Technology: Oracle is taking a central role in transforming how government agencies operate by modernizing legacy systems and aligning technology with evolving mission needs. Lynch discusses how Oracle's next-generation cloud infrastructure is purpose-built for mission workloads, offering flexibility, scalability, and AI-ready capabilities.Defense Innovation Through Ecosystem Collaboration: A key theme from the discussion is Oracle's launch of a dedicated defense ecosystem designed to spur innovation in mission-critical environments. Partnerships with startups and emerging tech providers help address complex defense challenges at both tactical and strategic levels. From compact “backpack” clouds to full-scale three-rack deployments, Oracle is delivering infrastructure that supports edge computing, secure communications, and global scalability.AI, Data Ownership, and Customer-Centric Cloud Strategy: Oracle is focused on unlocking AI's full potential through advanced data management. Its cloud strategy centers on customer choice, flexibility, and data sovereignty, i.e, giving agencies the ability to deploy AI tools wherever they need them, whether in public cloud, on-premises, or at the tactical edge. Oracle Cloud services come with built-in support for autonomous databases and AI-ready infrastructure, but without vendor lock-in or data movement penalties.The Big Quote: “[Coming into the defense market] is challenging, and we can be a helpful guide, because we have done it for so long. We have the classified space. We know how to work the procurement system, to be able to respond to classified procurements, [and] that's not easy for startups, to be able to understand all you need to do to be able to respond to the government's requirements. So we are sharing that knowledge and providing an umbrella ecosystem to help others be successful in the space, because we know we all win when the best technology gets in the hands of our customers."More from Oracle and Kim Lynch:Connect with Kim Lynch on LinkedIn and learn more about Oracle and defense. * Sponsored Podcast * Visit Cloud Wars for more.

Ajay Patel is the General Manager of Apptio and IBM IT automation. He and Kieron Allen sat down to talk about how enterprises are transitioning from AI experimentation to real business impact. They explored key challenges like cost transparency, governance, and data readiness, as well as the rise of agentic AI to automate workflows at scale. Ajay also introduced Apptio's new AI TCO and Usage tool, designed to help CIOs and CFOs measure and optimize AI investments.Smart Spending on AI The Big Themes:Enterprises Are Moving Beyond AI Experiments to Strategic Deployment: The era of AI experimentation is over. Enterprises are now actively deploying AI, particularly in sales, service operations, and software development. However, those achieving meaningful impact are taking a strategic approach, rather than letting teams experiment in silos. The C-suite increasingly sees AI as critical, but that value perception isn't always shared by the wider workforce.AI and IT Budgets: AI now consumes more than 20% of IT budgets, yet overall tech spending is only increasing 4–5%. This creates a 10–15% gap, leading companies to “forward fund” AI initiatives by reallocating from other areas. A key challenge: there's no standardized pricing for AI. To address this, IBM's Apptio launched the AI TCO and Usage solution. It helps CIOs and CFOs baseline current AI investments, measure unit economics, and identify areas to optimize or expand.Agentic AI, the Next Frontier: Agentic AI is key to scaling beyond isolated use cases. It enables automation at scale and connects AI investment to tangible business outcomes. From cost savings in infrastructure to better visibility in FinOps to boosting customer experience, the ROI is clear when deployed correctly. But none of this happens without data readiness, governance, and strategic clarity.The Big Quote: "AI TCO solution fundamentally starts by giving CIOs [and] CFOs in the business a complete view of where the tech spending and AI spending is, and what stage is that? Is it in a pilot phase? Is it for training models?"Learn more:Connect with Ajay Patel on LinkedIn and learn more about Apptio. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

Balazs Molnar, CEO and co-founder of Rabbit, chats with Kieron Allen about the evolving challenges of cloud cost management and how engineering teams have become central to tackling them. He explains why traditional FinOps tools fall short, how Rabbit dives below the surface to uncover hidden waste (especially in platforms like BigQuery) and why automation is essential for real savings.Optimizing Cloud with RabbitThe Big Themes:Cloud Costs Take Center Stage: Companies are no longer asking, "What can we build on the cloud?" They're now asking, "Why is this so expensive?" Rabbit's origin stems from this exact pivot: cloud costs spiraled out of control, catching businesses off guard. Despite robust migration to cloud environments like Google Cloud, companies found themselves ill-equipped to understand the hidden inefficiencies causing waste. Cloud spend can quickly balloon without the right oversight.The Cloud Buffet Problem: Balazs described cloud computing like a buffet: Engineers can take whatever they want, whenever they want. The cloud's flexibility is its strength but also its greatest risk. Unlike traditional on-prem setups that required hardware purchases and physical limits, cloud environments are boundless. Engineering teams now hold the wheel, yet they're typically not tasked to steer toward efficiency. This creates what Molnar calls a "FinOps trap": assuming finance can solve a problem that's fundamentally technical.Why Optimization Matters Now: Cloud vendors are still growing at impressive rates, but cracks are forming. Some businesses are exiting the cloud, not because they dislike the model — but because costs feel unmanageable. Molnar warns that in most cases, this isn't a cloud problem — it's an optimization problem. The promise of cloud was flexibility and scalability. But without proper tools, it becomes unpredictably expensive.The Big Quote: "We all know the news that cloud vendors are growing 30%+ on a year-over-year basis. But we also started to see cracks in the system where companies are actually deciding to move out of the cloud because it's too expensive to them. But the reality [is] it might not have to be that expensive. It's just not optimized."More from Balazs Molnar and Rabbit:Connect with Balazs on LinkedIn and check out more about Rabbit.* Sponsored podcast * 

Assist, Accelerate, TransformThe Big Themes:Workday's Agent System of Record: Workday's Agent System of Record manages the emerging digital agent ecosystem. It provides structure and governance to what could otherwise become a chaotic sprawl of AI agents. By embedding agent management into existing organizational hierarchies, Workday ensures that agents become a structured extension of the workforce rather than a disconnected experiment.Shift Toward Role-Based Agents: Workday is designing agents to reflect the roles and responsibilities of human workers. Rather than focusing narrowly on task or function-specific agents, Workday emphasizes role-based agents that closely align to actual jobs within an organization. Examples include payroll agents, financial audit agents, employee self-service agents, and recruiting agents.Three-Phase Customer Framework: To ease customer adoption, Workday has a three-step framework: Assist → Accelerate → Transform. The assist phase focuses on basic productivity improvements, giving employees relief from repetitive, low-value tasks. Then, companies enter the accelerate phase, expanding the use of agents to drive more meaningful efficiencies and process optimization. The final transform phase represents the full reimagining of work processes with human-agent collaboration at the core.The Big Quote: “A mindset shift for us as AI developers is we made AI as features to solve problems, and now we're thinking a lot about AI as a group of skills."More from Shane Luke, Ali Fuller, and Workday:Connect with Shane and Ali on LinkedIn or learn more about Workday's Agent System of Record.

Parisa Tabriz is vice president and general manager for Google Chrome, the world's leading browser platform. She leads efforts to make Chrome a secure and essential enterprise workspace, integrating AI and advanced cybersecurity to meet evolving business needs. In this episode, Parisa joins Bob to explore how Chrome is redefining the browser as a productivity and security platform, the role of AI in enterprise protection, and what's next for Chrome's innovations.Chrome at Google Cloud NextThe Big Themes:Chrome's Evolution into a Central Productivity and Security Platform: Over the past 17 years, Chrome has transformed from a simple web browser into a comprehensive platform integral to enterprise productivity and security. Users now spend a significant portion of their workday within Chrome, utilizing it for tasks ranging from document editing to video conferencing. This shift has positioned Chrome as the new endpoint in enterprise environments.Simplifying Enterprise Security with Chrome: Complexity is often the enemy of security. Chrome aims to simplify enterprise security by integrating protective measures directly into the browser, reducing the need for multiple, potentially conflicting security solutions. Features like automatic updates, built-in phishing protection, and centralized policy management allow IT teams to maintain a secure environment with less overheads.Personalization, Governance, and AI Empowerment: Chrome prioritizes features that allow organizations to personalize user experiences while maintaining strict governance over data and AI usage. Tools like data masking, controlled copy-paste functionalities, and the ability to designate approved AI applications help prevent data leaks and ensure compliance with internal policies. By providing these controls, Chrome empowers enterprises to harness the benefits of AI technologies responsibly.The Big Quote: ". . . the browser is the place where you can give people access to the benefits [of AI], but also make sure that you have the controls and governance to turn it off or make sure that your employees aren't copying and pasting data into an unsanctioned AI surface."More from Parisa Tabriz and Google Chrome:Connect with Parisa on LinkedIn or learn more about Google Chrome.

this special episode of Cloud Wars Live, Bob Evans chats with Gerrit Kazmaier, president, products and technology, Workday. They explore how Workday is evolving into a platform company, the role of AI agents in reshaping enterprise workflows, and why trust, accuracy, and extensibility are key to future-ready business solutions. Kazmaier also discusses Workday's approach to ecosystem innovation and composable ERP.Workday's AI FutureThe Big Themes:Real-World Business Value From AI-Driven Results: Workday's AI capabilities are already producing concrete results. Kazmaier shares examples like a recruiting agent that increased recruiter capacity by over 50% and contract intelligence tools that slashed legal costs by up to 60%. These aren't experimental features—they're embedded in Workday's workflows to improve productivity and efficiency.Agents Will Enhance, Not Replace Applications: Kazmeier addresses the myth that AI agents will replace applications. Instead, Workday sees agents as accelerators of existing apps. Many enterprise applications were designed around human cognitive limits, but now AI agents can take over some of those mental loads. Over time, agents will become so proficient they'll perform roles autonomously. But they won't erase apps,they'll enhance them.Composable ERP Is Now a Reality: Workday is making good on the long-promised vision of composable ERP: modular, customizable systems that allow organizations to choose the best tools for each job. Historically, integration challenges made composability difficult. Now, AI simplifies that complexity. Intelligent interfaces and smarter integration allow Workday's ecosystem to plug into its core platform more fluidly.The Big Quote: “This is like early Internet days . . . some people had innovative ideas. But economics weren't just there. Bandwidth was limited and expensive; not everyone had an Ilenternet-ready device...but as exponential improvements happened . . . an entirely new economy was invented, and I think it's the same with AI."

At Google Cloud Next 2025, Google Cloud Vice President of Applied AI Duncan Lennox sits down with Bob Evans in part three of our series "Google Cloud and the AI Revolution." They discuss how Google Cloud is redefining enterprise applications through purpose-built AI agents, the shift from incremental to transformational innovation, and how businesses can harness agentic AI to deliver seamless, end-to-end customer experiences at scale.Google Cloud's Agentic RevolutionThe Big Themes:Beyond Infrastructure to Applied AI: Historically, Google Cloud was associated with infrastructure, data analytics, databases, and backend technologies. However, it's now undergoing a transformation, stepping boldly into the realm of applied AI. Rather than just competing with established players in enterprise applications (like ERP, HCM, or CRM), Google Cloud is innovating at a more foundational level by creating entirely new types of agents and applications.The Customer Engagement Suite, A CRM Rethink: Google Cloud's Customer Engagement Suite isn't just an upgrade to traditional contact center software — it's a full reimagining of how businesses engage with customers. Historically, customer service was seen as a cost center: something to be optimized for efficiency and minimized wherever possible. Google Cloud flips that on its head. With the Customer Engagement Suite, the focus shifts toward creating differentiated, high-quality customer experiences that build brand loyalty, satisfaction, and even new revenue streams.Best Adoption Practices: Lennox discusses several best practices for companies looking to succeed with applied AI. First, start somewhere tangible — don't try to "boil the ocean." Select a high-visibility area where AI can solve real problems and produce measurable results. Second, tie your efforts directly to business outcomes, such as customer experience improvements, revenue growth, or operational savings. Third, choose a strategic partner capable of evolving with you as the technology advances.The Big Quote: "Experimentation is great, of course, but what I see more and more as I talk to C-level executives is they now want to be able to deliver ROI, and you have to make some bets. You've got to choose some areas. For us in applied AI, Customer Engagement Suite has been a great one, because it's a problem that C-level execs can understand."Learn More:Check out details about Customer Engagement Suite, and follow Duncan Lennox on LinkedIn.

At Google Cloud Next 2025, Google Cloud VP and CTO Will Grannis joins Bob Evans to explore how AI is reshaping enterprise technology. Grannis shares how Google Cloud's OCTO team works with customers on complex challenges, using DeepMind research, next-gen TPUs, and AI-native infrastructure, while noting the fading line between B2B and B2C and the cultural changes needed to adapt.Inside Google Cloud's AI Strategy Google Cloud Is AI-Native at Its Core: Grannis says that Google Cloud's approach to AI is foundational. The organization's mindset, shaped by Google's long-standing leadership in AI, infuses every layer of its stack, from infrastructure to user interfaces. With a legacy of deploying machine learning at scale for over a decade, Google Cloud doesn't just offer AI tools—it helps customers reimagine their businesses through AI-native thinking, using products like DeepMind and innovations born across Google's consumer ecosystem.The OCTO Team Solves the Hardest Problems with Customers: Grannis leads the Office of the CTO (OCTO), a team he jokingly calls “the nerdy Navy SEALs.” They tackle highly complex, unsolved customer challenges that can't be addressed by existing products. Rather than building solutions in isolation, they co-create alongside customers. They start with business outcomes and design backward.Multi-Modality and Multi-Agent Systems Are the Future: Looking ahead, Grannis predicts that multi-modal AI, i.e. models that process images, text, speech, and even scent, will become the standard. He also foresees a shift from single-function agents to “agentic workflows” powered by multiple orchestrated AI agents. Google is prototyping orchestration with projects like Astra, that signal a future where AI is not only intelligent but contextually aware and collaborative.The Big Quote: “People . . . spend a lot of time just trying to take a PDF and analyze it. It seems very true. It is a pain . . I think that's one reason why a NotebookLM or a product like that has been so popular because it really attacks like the heart of what people hate doing at work. [AI] puts them in the driver's seat. They can ask questions, they can do analysis.”Learn more:Check out OCTO, NotebookLM, and Google Cloud.

Inside SAP Business NetworkThe Big Themes:New Organizational Structure: SAP reorganized its internal teams by combining Business Network and Digital Supply Chain into a new unit: Supply Chain Management. While this may sound like internal restructuring, Tony Harris explained that for customers, it signals a major innovation push. A major focus in 2025 will be on supply chain orchestration and supply chain risk — two areas that demand real-time responsiveness and cross-functional collaboration.SAP Business Network as a Response to Tariffs and Disruption: With the rise of geopolitical tensions, trade wars, and tariffs, companies need to rapidly adjust their supplier bases. SAP Business Network helps companies respond to such disruptions. If tariffs threaten certain international suppliers, businesses can use SAP Business Network to quickly identify alternative suppliers in unaffected regions or within domestic markets.Introducing SAP Business Network Promote Subscription: On the very day of the interview, SAP launched a new subscription service called SAP Business Network Promote, designed specifically for suppliers. This offering helps vendors raise their visibility and connect with global buyers on SAP Business Network. Features include enhanced and verified company profiles, uploading of full product catalogs, and access to AI-powered tools for responding to requests for information (RFIs), improving content, and correcting invoice errors. Suppliers also receive robust data insights.

The Big Themes:AI and Humans Working Together: Salesforce envisions a future where AI and humans collaborate rather than compete. Rather than replacing human jobs entirely, AI is seen as a tool that enhances human productivity by handling repetitive tasks, improving decision-making, and streamlining workflows. Salesforce's AI-driven offerings, like Agentforce, are designed to integrate seamlessly with existing systems to empower employees.Rapid Adoption of AI Agents: At Dreamforce, Salesforce onboarded over 10,000 companies onto Agentforce in just three days, demonstrating the speed at which AI adoption is occurring. This large-scale deployment suggests that businesses are eager to implement AI-powered solutions that can immediately improve efficiency. Unlike traditional software rollouts, which can take months or even years, Salesforce's AI systems can be integrated within minutes, allowing companies to see immediate benefits.AI's Future Includes Robotics: Salesforce anticipates that AI will soon extend beyond digital applications and into robotics, enabling automation in physical environments. AI-powered robots could be deployed in manufacturing, logistics, field service, and even household tasks. For instance, AI agents could be embedded in robotic systems that perform maintenance, deliver goods, or assist with healthcare services.The Big Quote: "Our CEO, Mark Benioff, kind of kidded around in Davos to a room full of CEOs saying, 'Congratulations, you're the last CEOs who ever managed an entirely human workforce . . . the punch line is, going forward, there's going to be AI and humans working together to help customers on every company around the world."

Validated Partner Status Enhances Client Confidence and Outcomes: Infosys' achievement of becoming an SAP-validated partner for RISE with SAP ensures that Infosys provides a predictable, standardized, and scalable approach to cloud ERP transformations. Clients gain clarity on transition strategies, enabling them to adopt clean core principles and maintain differentiation in their business processes. This rigorous partnership offers assurance about time, cost, and risk in transformation projects.AI-Driven Solutions and Industry-Specific Playbooks Add Value: Infosys leverages AI-first approaches and solutions, such as Infosys Cobalt and Topaz, to drive client transformations. By focusing on industry-specific playbooks and workflows, Infosys reimagines business processes, such as order-to-cash, with AI-driven efficiency. The use of 40+ AI-infused accelerators enables rapid adoption and delivers measurable benefits, like enhanced customer satisfaction and reduced errors.The Critical Role of SAP's Business Technology Platform (BTP): SAP's BTP plays a vital role in helping clients maintain clean core principles while allowing unique business workflows to operate independently. Infosys supports this transition by building customer-specific solutions on SAP BTP. For example, an electric utility company reduced billing errors by 30% and enhanced customer satisfaction through predictive insights enabled by Infosys' intelligent customer insights solution built on BTP.The Big Quote: “We are leveraging AI for the cloud ERP implementation by embedding AI in the various services we deliver to clients, whether it is code generation, whether it is knowledge acquisition, whether it is using more nuanced industry solutions . . . so that it is leading to improved quality, higher productivity and accelerated timeline for execution."

The Big Themes:Network Benefits for Buyers and Suppliers: The SAP Business Network brings together buyers and suppliers. Buyers use the network to strengthen supply chains, meet sustainability goals, and access new markets. Suppliers use it for business growth, streamlined processes, and greater visibility. The network is free for suppliers to join, allowing them to build profiles, respond to RFIs, and engage in sourcing events. With millions of global suppliers, the network serves businesses of all sizes.Transformation of Traditional Business Models: SAP Business Network is helping to eliminate the old divide between back-office and front-office operations. It integrates various business functions — procurement, supply chain, logistics, and order collaboration — making them work together to improve the customer experience. This transformation is vital in an era where customer experience is a key differentiator in competitive markets.Inclusivity of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs): SAP Business Network is designed to serve businesses of all sizes, from large enterprises to smaller boutique firms. With the introduction of the Promote subscription in 2025, small suppliers can showcase their products and services alongside larger companies. Additionally, the network's Discovery feature provides smaller suppliers with the chance to participate in large procurement opportunities.The Big Quote: “We have the biggest companies in the world as suppliers on the network, but we also have millions of SME-sized organizations. Smaller suppliers don't always have a way to showcase their catalogs of products or services in the same way that maybe a large company or a large supply would have, but this new set of capabilities we're providing to suppliers under

Episode 55 | Tech Disruptions AheadThe Big Themes:Optimism for 2025 as a Transformative Year: Wayne and Bob express optimism about 2025, particularly for the U.S. economy and its impact on CIOs and digital transformation initiatives. Sadin talks about deregulation and efficiency measures, such as those championed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), could boost confidence and growth.AI and Automation Rise: AI and automation are pivotal for driving efficiency and reclaiming productivity. Examples include ServiceNow's claim of saving users 1.5 days of productivity weekly by automating low-value tasks. Wayne and Bob cite leaders like Larry Ellison and Elon Musk as potential drivers of this transformation, particularly if given the freedom to innovate without excessive regulation.Advances in Chip Technology Drive Performance and Cost Efficiency: Technological advances in chip design, such as the development of two-nanometer chips, promise dramatic gains in performance and efficiency. Wayne points out that smaller feature sizes on chips enable exponentially more transistors per unit, which reduces costs, improves thermal efficiency, and unlocks new capabilities for AI and data processing. This progress aligns with Moore's Law and could revive productivity leaps in hardware development.The Big Quote: "Microsoft's going to be a winner because they've got the legs of the stool, AI in it. Well, maybe four legs, AI, integration, platform, and application. And you don't see that with most of the other players, their application focus, their platform plus application, but Microsoft plays at all layers of the stack, so I can mix and match."

Supply Chain InsightsThe Big Themes:Customer-Centric Supply Chains: Customer-centric supply chains are about aligning every aspect of the supply chain to serve the ultimate consumer. Val describes this as keeping the "why" — the customer — at the forefront, rather than focusing solely on operational efficiencies. Companies that succeed here often find themselves leaders in their industries, regardless of size.Cultural and Technological Shifts in Supply Chain: Val underscores the need for cultural change within organizations to adopt customer-focused practices and leverage innovative technology. Businesses must move beyond outdated methods (e.g., fax orders) and embrace digital solutions. Leadership plays a vital role in fostering this transformation, promoting a culture of adaptability, and aligning employee incentives with customer-driven goals.The Role of Regulatory Compliance: Compliance with regulations, such as those preventing the use of goods linked to unethical practices like child labor, is becoming a non-negotiable aspect of supply chains. Val points out that meeting these requirements not only avoids legal penalties but also ensures long-term viability and trust in global markets. Compliance is a driving force for adopting modern supply chain technologies.The Big Quote: “[SAP Business Network] really does modernize how companies connect and collaborate across the supply chain. More specifically, the platform integrates into a company's back-end system. It can be to their ERP system, it can be through their procurement system. It can integrate to their logistics system, their planning system, and it allows us to actually send transaction documents back and forth . . . and gives you visibility across that entire supply chain."

Google Cloud's Innovation and GrowthThe Big Themes:Google Cloud's record growth and market positioning: In 2024, Google Cloud experienced five consecutive quarters of accelerating growth, including a remarkable 35% growth in Q3, up from 29% in Q2. Kurian attributes this success to the company's ability to listen to customers, innovate with products that meet their evolving needs, and strategically invest in a strong go-to-market organization.AI cost reduction and efficiency: Kurian comments on Google Cloud's efforts to significantly reduce the cost of AI models. Through improved software stack capabilities and optimizations, Google has decreased the cost of AI by more than 10x in just six months. Reducing latency, improving response accuracy, and utilizing distillation (e.g., making models run on smaller devices like phones) have contributed to lowering operational costs while increasing model efficiency. This approach has resulted in a 15-17x growth in model usage in just five months.The evolving role of cloud in business transformation: Kurian notes a fundamental shift in how businesses view cloud computing. Initially seen as a way to reduce costs, cloud is now seen as a tool for driving business transformation. AI, analytics, and security capabilities are helping organizations speed up decision-making, optimize logistics, and gain competitive advantages. Kurian believes that the next wave of cloud adoption will focus more on enabling new business models, products, and markets rather than just reducing IT costs.The Big Quote: “We tend to look ahead by listening to customers and understanding their needs, and create in a disciplined way, new product offerings. If you look a the last five years, we've introduced enough steady cadence. First, we started with infrastructure, then we added databases to it. We used our strength with BigQuery to build out an analytics portfolio. We were one of the earliest to say . . . we should not only provide [customers] a secure cloud, but we should also build a security product portfolio. Every one of those has driven diversification of our revenue stream."

Bayer's Data Evolution with AlloyDBThe Big Themes:Data complexity and intelligent agriculture: Bayer Crop Science is addressing agriculture's complex data challenges. The company integrates data such as satellite imagery, weather conditions, soil data, and IoT device inputs, to drive innovation in seed development and farming practices. By leveraging cloud technologies like AlloyDB, Bayer's teams can support the future of farming, despite challenges posed by climate change and rising global food demand.Integrating BigQuery for comprehensive analytics: To further enhance its data-driven insights, Bayer integrates Google BigQuery alongside AlloyDB for extensive data analysis. BigQuery serves as the central analytics warehouse, receiving billions of phenotypic data points for in-depth modeling and decision-making. During harvest season, Bayer can quickly access and analyze comprehensive datasets, enabling better decisions across production and supply chains.Harvest season demands and system resilience: During harvest season, Bayer Crop Science faces intense pressure as high volumes of data flow in, requiring real-time analysis and decision-making. The peak demand period sees a sharp increase in read and write operations, making it essential for Bayer's data system to function seamlessly. AlloyDB played a crucial role in handling these spikes by providing low-latency data processing and high availability.The Big Quote: “Climate change is a new challenge. You see some of these forecasts coming out of academia that yields will go down by 30% — that will arrest this great trend that we've seen continually increasing over the last 100 years. We need to solve for that, and that's going to take new types of data and new approaches and these types of things."

Episode 445 | Reflecting on 2 Years of Generative AIThe Big Themes:GenAI's Anniversary: Reflecting on the two-year anniversary of GenAI hitting the mainstream, Bonnie notes that in reality, we still haven't seen a lot of changes yet in the sense that AI hasn't taken our jobs. The overall consensus is that many people are using it to increase productivity; the idea that we're replacing half the workforce overnight is not coming to be.Rapid Implementation: While some companies may not have much flexibility on their implementation timeline, fast and cheap isn't necessarily the best way to incorporate AI. Rapid implementation can lead to unanticipated risks and increased costs in the long run.Software Vendors and Partners: For customers to truly benefit from implementing AI, they need good partners to help them be realistic with their timelines and options. The good software vendors and partners are cautioning customers to ensure they know what they're getting into and making deliverables clear.The Big Quote: “Work with a partner that you trust and that's going to tell you the truth...They've seen it a million times. They know you as well and they know your resources. They know the scope of your project. Find those partners that you can really trust and they're going to help you [and] lead you on the right path.”

Transforming Business with CloudThe Big Themes:Role of chief integration officer (CIO): Joe Fanutti, originally the CFO of Bill Gosling Outsourcing, transitioned into the chief integration officer role. His role exemplifies the need for businesses to integrate people, technology, and operations, particularly as companies pursue both organic and inorganic growth. This evolving CIO title represents a modern shift in leadership.Automation and workforce efficiency: Automation has been a key enabler for Bill Gosling, particularly in managing high workforce turnover and streamlining administrative tasks. For example, automation in resume ingestion and candidate matching optimized the hiring process, reducing manual work. Similarly, automation in bank reconciliations and supplier invoicing allowed the finance team to focus on high-value tasks.Empowering employees with AI: Workday Assistant has transformative potential in enhancing employee experiences within organizations. Workday Assistant leverages AI to streamline HR processes, allowing employees to access information and complete tasks with ease through conversational interfaces.The Big Quote: "The payables team I have now is the same size as 10 years ago. So we're able to scale . . . . [from] 400 to 6,000 employees, but the payables team is the same size. How did we do that? Well, that's how you do it — automation."

Oracle's Expanding Multi-Cloud StrategyThe Big Themes:Oracle's unique cloud architecture: Oracle's differentiated cloud architecture offers customers flexibility across different environments, whether public, private, or government. This hybrid architecture ensures that customers can deploy the same services whether they need an on-premises solution, a fully isolated cloud region, or a multi-cloud setup. Oracle's approach also addresses the specific needs of regulated industries, like finance or healthcare.Global expansion and investments: Oracle is heavily investing in expanding its cloud infrastructure across the globe, including in emerging markets like Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Latin America. These investments aim to meet growing local demands for cloud services while enhancing Oracle's global footprint. By establishing more localized data centers, Oracle can reduce latency for customers, ensure data sovereignty, and cater to regional regulatory requirements.Multi-cloud partnerships: Oracle's partnerships with major cloud providers like Microsoft, Google Cloud, and AWS represent a shift in the cloud industry, as it was previously unheard of for these companies to collaborate. Oracle recognized early on that customers were using multi-cloud strategies, so it adapted by integrating with these other platforms. Its willingness to collaborate with competitors reflects its commitment to answering customers' needs.The Big Quote: “It is very clear that customers drive our strategy . . . Oracle is kicking this multi-cloud era forward, an open era, if you will."

The Big Themes:Oracle's multi-cloud strategy: Karan emphasized how Oracle has been working for nearly a decade to offer customers flexibility in using Oracle's technology across different cloud providers. It has partnerships with Microsoft, Google, and now AWS, allowing customers to use Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) with the same performance and reliability as they would on Oracle's platform.Technology and business challenges: Karan acknowledged the technical complexity of integrating OCI into other cloud providers' systems, but stressed that the bigger challenge was building the relationships necessary to make these partnerships work. The goal has been to break down competitive barriers and prioritize customer needs, which he sees as a transformative approach in the tech industry.Scaling infrastructure: Oracle is simultaneously building large-scale data centers for the growing AI and cloud needs, while also working on smaller, more modular systems that can be deployed quickly. This allows them to scale up or down based on customer demand, addressing a broad spectrum of use cases.The Big Quote: "Our goal is to allow customers to get access to Oracle technology in an untethered way with the same level of security, regulatory compliance, and performance... Everything, everywhere. All services are secure, all services are performant. You pick."

Google Cloud's AI EdgeThe Big Themes:Google Cloud's AI leadership and Gemini: Google Cloud's Gemini model demonstrates its continued innovation in the AI space. The Gemini AI family integrates advanced capabilities in natural language processing (NLP), machine learning (ML), and large language models (LLMs) to deliver groundbreaking business offerings. With the rise of GenAI, Gemini serves as the backbone for a wide array of applications, including chatbots, content generation, and predictive analytics.Strategic partnerships boosting Google Cloud's ecosystem: Google Cloud has strategically partnered with industry leaders like NVIDIA, SAP, and Salesforce to expand its AI and cloud computing capabilities. Google Cloud's partnership with NVIDIA allows businesses to leverage the power of high-performance GPUs for demanding AI workloads. Meanwhile, partnerships with SAP and Salesforce bring AI-enhanced ERP and CRM systems to the forefront of digital transformation efforts.Generative AI and its business implications: Google Cloud's GenAI is setting new benchmarks for business applications. GenAI goes beyond traditional automation by creating entirely new content. For businesses, this opens up endless possibilities. Among them, customer-facing applications such as chatbots powered by GenAI can mimic human conversation with a high degree of accuracy, creating more meaningful customer interactions.The Big Quote: "It's not that the robots are coming to take over our jobs, it's that it's making an agent more productive, and it's making a customer experience just more satisfying."

Episode 44 | Workday Rising AI InsightsThe Big Themes:The evolution of AI tools: AI tools have moved from basic task automation to more sophisticated systems like copilots and autonomous agents. Bonnie introduces the concept of "orchestrators," which monitor and optimize workflows based on real-time feedback. This evolution signifies a shift toward more dynamic and intelligent systems that can adapt to changing business environments and user needs.Strategic partnership: Bonnie talks about the significance of partnerships, particularly between Workday and Salesforce, in creating a more powerful toolset for users. By leveraging both organizations' strengths, customers can access integrated solutions that enhance operational efficiency. This partnership exemplifies how collaboration in the tech industry can lead to greater innovation and more comprehensive service offerings.Illuminate, the AI branding strategy: Workday's branding of its AI initiatives as "Illuminate" represents a strategic approach to making AI accessible and user-friendly. Bonnie explains that this branding aims to demystify AI for end-users, transforming it from a complex developer tool into a consumer-grade experience. This initiative reflects a broader trend of making advanced technologies more approachable for everyday users.The Big Quote: “The power of the partnership between [Workday and Salesforce], leveraging both of their agencies together, is a real win for customers."

AI Transformation at NetSuiteThe Big Themes:AI integration and customization: NetSuite focused on integrating AI into its platform. Evan points out the importance of large language models and traditional AI working together to identify data patterns and enhance productivity. Features like Text Enhance and the new “Ask Oracle” tool enable businesses to tailor AI applications to their specific needs without needing extensive IT resources.AI adoption across industries: NetSuite is seeing a surge in AI adoption, especially among its customers in software and internet industries. However, the company's strategy is to make AI valuable and user-friendly for all sectors. By integrating AI tools directly into everyday workflows, like using the search box to ask complex business questions, NetSuite aims to make non-technical users comfortable with these advanced tools.Meeting business needs with tailored offerings: NetSuite is committed to providing businesses with tools that are both powerful and easy to customize, catering especially to small and midsize businesses that may lack extensive IT resources. The company's philosophy has always been to offer robust out-of-the-box capabilities while also allowing customers to tailor these features to their specific needs. Recent AI-driven enhancements demonstrate this commitment.The Big Quote: “You should be able to ask the question in plain language and get an answer back in plain language, and that's the ultimate business user experience.”

Efficient AI Model EconomicsThe Big Themes:GenAI and its practical application: GenAI has emerged as a major focus in enterprise settings, with organizations exploring its potential to enhance core business processes. While many have successfully integrated generative AI into their workflows, others face challenges moving beyond continuous prototyping to actual production deployment. Key to overcoming these hurdles is understanding the limitations and capabilities of AI models.Economic advantages of smaller AI models: Smaller AI models, such as the 35 billion parameter models from Cohere, represent a significant economic shift in the AI landscape. These models, which can be run on a single GPU, offer a more cost-effective alternative to larger models, reducing the financial burden associated with AI deployment. These mid-sized models are not only cheaper but also capable of covering the majority of use cases effectively.AI integration into Oracle's software-as-a-service (SaaS) portfolio: Oracle has integrated generative AI into its software-as-a-service (SaaS) portfolio, enhancing various business functions without additional charges. This integration includes features like automated job postings and Salesforce optimization. Greg notes that this approach adds significant value to Oracle's offerings.The Big Quote: “People try to chase the latest and be on the frontier but never really commit to making something work for production."

Episode 43 | Oracle's AI and Security InnovationsThe Big Themes:Completeness of suite: Oracle has an integrated approach across industries, offering a full suite of applications and services. Its multi-cloud offerings and the inclusion of infrastructure and vertical-specific applications set it apart. This completeness was emphasized with customer stories from DHL, MGM, and others.Embedded AI: Oracle's AI tools are built directly into its applications, providing contextual insights based on user roles, history, and security levels. This integration allows for seamless decision-making across different business functions like HR, sales, and supply chain management, offering customers greater functionality without adding to their tech stack.Security: Larry Ellison discussed Oracle's commitment to eliminating passwords and enhancing security through biometrics. Oracle's security offerings operate at the data, application, user ID, and network levels. The approach involves building strong networks first and then deploying security "agents" to detect and neutralize threats.The Big Quote: “ . . . Embedded AI means that clients just have to turn it on. It's not like they have to add something new to the tech stack. It is there as an option, whether they turn it on or off."

Google Cloud AI Security InsightsThe Big Themes:Google's ecosystem-driven security approach: Google Cloud's partner ecosystem, consisting of entities such as managed security service providers (MSSPs) and global systems integrators, helps deliver top-notch security services. While Google maintains a small in-house service capability, partners are key to scaling and extending innovations to customers. Google provides AI tools to partners, who enhance their product offerings to better serve end customers. This model ensures that the latest security advancements, such as AI integration, are accessible.Transitioning from assisted to autonomous security: Google Cloud envisions a future where AI will evolve from assistive to fully autonomous security workflows. Currently, AI plays an assistive role by providing actionable insights to security teams, helping them prioritize threats and respond more effectively. However, the goal is to transition these capabilities into semi-autonomous workflows, with the potential for fully autonomous security systems in the future.Enhancing CISOs' efficiency with AI: One of the key problems CISOs face today is the overwhelming number of security alerts, which makes it challenging to identify and act on the most critical threats. Google Cloud addresses this issue by leveraging AI to sift through thousands of alerts, helping CISOs quickly identify the most significant risks. AI can provide real-time insights, suggesting actions to mitigate potential threats and reduce the noise from less pressing alerts.The Big Quote: “AI is only as good as the data that the model is trained on and, in the world of security, we happen to have probably the world's most high quality and quantitative data set in threat intelligence."

Scaling Generative AIThe Big Themes:Prioritizing cost and impact: Businesses are focused on the dual priorities of cost efficiency and impactful results when implementing generative AI. With numerous potential applications for generative AI, organizations need to evaluate which projects will deliver the highest value. This approach involves collaborating with partners to identify the opportunities that offer the most substantial benefits.Open ecosystem advantage: Google Cloud's emphasis on openness and flexibility is a key differentiator in the AI landscape. Its commitment to open systems and platforms allows for various models and technologies, including first-party and open-source offerings. This open ecosystem approach enables businesses to leverage various AI models and infrastructure options, enhancing scalability and adaptability.End-to-end offerings: Google Cloud offers a comprehensive AI stack that supports a wide range of applications, from foundational models to advanced infrastructure. This end-to-end tool facilitates the development and scaling of sophisticated AI applications. The integration of various layers, including model capabilities, hardware options, and platform services, enables partners to deliver efficient and effective AI offerings.The Big Quote: “Having great models is one thing, but having differentiated infrastructure and a platform — all those three things come together, and I think we are unique in that sense."

 Creating Value with TeradataThe Big Themes:Open Table Formats: Datasets are one of the most common ways that organizations use open table formats, as it enables them to combine several types of data and access that data. Open table formats are improving performance which will help drive a more flexible, low-cost storage option for enterprises. Having this level of customer choice will drive greater adoption and outcomes for customers deploying open table formats over time.Trusted AI: Trusted systems require access to data, but it must be properly managed data. Open table formats can help with trusted data progression, such as reducing data duplication by consolidation and providing a single place of oversight. As open table formats match agility and flexibility with the appropriate levels of governance, it can deliver trusted outcomes that overflow into providing trusted AI.Driving Customer Value and Success: Providing customers with opportunities for success is the ultimate driver. For example, Teradata supported a call center that wanted to improve customer satisfaction and outcomes based on the call center data. Teradata provided the organization with text analytics, large language models, and more being driven through a Teradata analytic model engine that provides real-time advice to agents.The Big Quote: “We've always said, ‘Whoever has access to the most data can win in the analytics space.' So, open table formats are a key component of really helping companies create an environment of trust around the data because without trusted data, you can't have trusted AI.”

Google Cloud Data InnovationsThe Big Themes:Integration of unstructured data with AI: Google Cloud is shifting how enterprises leverage their data by integrating unstructured data (which makes up 85-90% of all data) with structured data through its BigQuery multimodal data foundation. This integration allows for a more comprehensive data landscape where AI models can seamlessly access and analyze both types of data. This approach addresses the limitations of traditional data systems and unlocks new potential for AI-driven analytics.The role of partners in maximizing AI and data value: Google Cloud's service partners implement solutions and bring industry best practices to customer environments, while independent software vendors (ISVs) build applications that leverage Google Cloud's data and AI tools. Programs like the Google Cloud Ready (GCR) initiative streamline integrations.Integration challenge: The challenge for organizations lies in connecting disparate data sources, such as operational data from systems like SAP and CRM data from Salesforce, with analytics tools to enable real-time decision-making. Google Cloud addresses this by developing connectors, such as Cortex.The Big Quote: “We are coming to the Third Age in data, which is going to divide data systems. It's not just about having lots of one data type… it's having the broadest possible set of data signals you can bring together. That idea of wide data systems means combining all of your data signals, structured and unstructured, into one unified system."

AI-Powered Cloud Transformation InsightsThe Big Themes:Google Cloud's strategic growth and AI integration: Google Cloud has experienced unprecedented growth, becoming a leading cloud provider by evolving beyond traditional cloud services. Integrating AI into its offerings is a significant factor in this growth. The focus has shifted from merely migrating existing workloads to using AI to transform business processes and models. This includes innovative applications of GenAI.AI-driven business transformation across sectors: AI plays a pivotal role in reshaping business operations across various industries. For example, in retail, AI optimizes supply chains and reduces environmental impact, while in the automotive sector, it enhances digital engagement and customer interactions. The use of AI enables companies to reimagine their business models, achieve operational efficiencies, and deliver personalized experiences.The role of data foundations: A robust data foundation is crucial for leveraging AI effectively. Google Cloud's data platform provides the essential infrastructure for eliminating data silos, enhancing data labeling, and performing complex predictions. This foundational support is integral to deploying AI applications that drive personalized marketing and operational efficiencies.The Big Quote: "We've always believed [that] Google and its ecosystem is truly a one plus one equals three. From an ecosystem perspective, I mentioned how we've always believed in an open platform strategy. Whether [the] technology provider has something that is complementary [or] overlapping, we embrace the technology company to build on our platform and offer those solutions through our marketplaces so customers have a choice."

 Trusted AI Models and StrategiesThe Big Themes:Data reliability: After conducting a survey, Teradata found that 40% of executives don't trust their own data to generate accurate AI outputs. AI requires traceability and transparency around where data comes from. Teradata helps combat this disconnect by providing access and opportunities for companies to use their data in more compelling ways to achieve the business outcomes they're looking for.3 Pillars of AI: Teradata recognizes people, transparency, and value creation as three core elements of AI. Having clean data that you can trust is critical. Ensuring ROI on the AI investments to create value is essential. Having a process that provides better compliance, governance, and security is vital.AI strategy: Business leaders and the C-suite must understand their own inputs and outputs to make the company better. Teradata believes in building Trusted AI models to ensure businesses have outputs they can rely on.The Big Quote: “We believe that trusted AI is really the way that people, data, and AI work together...Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the people that are managing those environments, using that data to ensure and determine that it's used in the right purposes."

Cloud Tech in BankingThe Big Themes:Principles and people-centered transformation: Core principles such as standardizing processes and ensuring data integrity drove Standard Chartered's transformation. The transformation was not merely about technology but about enabling its people to perform their jobs more effectively. This people-centered approach ensured that technological changes translated into real, practical improvements in daily operations.Strategic partnership: SAP provided a robust platform that supported Standard Chartered's data strategy and operational needs across diverse markets. Falk Rieker noted the significance of programs like RISE with SAP and GROW with SAP in facilitating the bank's transition to the cloud, addressing regulatory requirements, and enhancing process efficiencies.Leveraging data and AI for future innovations: With a unified data environment, Standard Chartered can leverage advanced technologies like artificial intelligence to drive better business insights, efficiency, and sustainability efforts. This strategic approach positions the bank to quickly implement new tools and capabilities.The Big Quote: "When we embarked on our transformation, it was not to transform the technology, it was to transform our finance and treasury functions that supported the bank . . . we picked the best platform that would support that target operating model and support that transformation . . . So, we went into this with SAP."

AI & Data in ConstructionThe Big Themes:AI in construction: Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the construction industry by automating routine tasks and enhancing project management. Tim discusses AI's capabilities in predictive maintenance, which prevents equipment failures and reduces downtime. Additionally, AI-driven tools assist in optimizing construction schedules and managing labor resources.Strategic workforce management: Proper workforce management is essential for maximizing productivity and profitability. It's important to align skilled workers with the right roles and invest in their continuous training. By ensuring the team is well-trained and strategically deployed, construction companies can significantly improve project outcomes and maintain high productivity levels.Focus on margins: To improve profit margins, construction firms must implement stringent cost management practices. There's a need for detailed project planning, budget controls, and efficient expense management. Monitoring costs meticulously and optimizing resource use help maintain profitability.The Big Quote: "We never want to remove the human element, we just want to accelerate the decision-making process by having all of the number crunching and the trend analysis being done by the technology."

Driving Innovation at SAPThe Big Themes:Focus on business transformation: SAP's new board area, customer services and delivery, aims to help customers with business transformation rather than just technology transformation. This involves moving to the cloud and adopting innovations like AI to enhance business agility and efficiency.Collaboration with hyperscalers and system integrators: SAP collaborates closely with hyperscalers for optimal cloud operations and system integrators for business transformation. This co-engineering approach ensures high availability and promotes SAP's cloud solutions through partners.Acceleration and simplification: SAP emphasizes the importance of not delaying digital transformation. With examples like Fresenius and BMW, SAP shows that moving to the cloud and adopting new technologies can be accelerated and simplified, benefiting customers with faster upgrades and new capabilities.The Big Quote: “First of all, this is always the right time to start. Now. So never wait. Because all of this world is in the stage where investing in digital capabilities is always the right thin

This episode of Veteran On the Move features Joe interviewing Marine Veteran, entrepreneur, and corporate executive Christian Anschuetz. A classmate of Joe's from TBS (The Basic School), Christian served eight years on active duty before transitioning to the civilian sector. He shares three reasons why he believes veterans struggle with transition and adapting to the corporate world. Christian details his journey into entrepreneurship, running his own company even after joining a corporation as an officer and later ,a C-level executive. Leveraging his combined experience in entrepreneurship, the military, and the corporate world, Christian now provides strategic advising and coaching for Fortune 500 CEOs. Drawing on this diverse background, he offers insights into successful business leadership, emphasizing the importance of managing with purpose and finding the right team for your mission. He also contrasts the military's approach to leadership with that of the corporate world, highlighting their key differences. Christian is the founder of Project RELO, a non-profit that brings corporate leaders and executive teams to military bases for an immersive look at military training and operations. This program helps employers recognize the vast potential veterans can bring to their businesses. Episode Resources: Project RELO   About Our Guest    Christian has held C-level and executive leadership positions at top global firms in the advertising, cyber security, global safety and supply-chain arenas, and currently serves as an advisor in art and science of strategy activation, In this capacity, Christian helps industry leaders re-imagine and re-invent how their companies do business. He is also a professor in the MBA program at UNC in Chapel Hill where he teaches strategic marketing. And, as a proud member of the US Marine Corps, he founded and heads Project RELO, a nonprofit that helps veterans transition from military service to corporate careers through partnerships with executive business leaders. You can catch him regularly on Cloud Wars Live with Bob Evans, Anschuetz on Leadership, or applying contemporary technologies to farming as he cultivates his organic, sustainable lavender fields.   Join the conversation on Facebook! Check out Veteran on the Move on Facebook to connect with our guests and other listeners. A place where you can network with other like-minded veterans who are transitioning to entrepreneurship and get updates on people, programs and resources to help you in YOUR transition to entrepreneurship.   About Our Sponsors Navy Federal Credit Union   Navy Federal Credit Union thinks that tapping into your home's equity shouldn't come at a high price. They're here to help you get more out of your home base with their home equity loan options. Navy Federal has home equity loan options that could be used for home renovations, big purchases, and high interest debt consolidation. We've used equity in our home for all sorts of things over the years. Navy Federal covers one hundred percent of closing costs, which means you could save hundreds of dollars.  Plus, they don't have application or origination fees. To learn more about Navy Federal's home equity loan options, visit NavyFederal.org. At Navy Federal, our members are the mission.      BetterHelp   This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. I've been to therapy a few times over the years when dealing with tragedies in my life and the Marine Corps and the thing therapy helped me realize immediately is that the things that were bothering me were perfectly normal for them to bother me.  Once I realized that, it made everything much easier to deal with. Now we all know that being in the military is pretty much a traumatic experience in and of itself, but I want to make sure you understand this point, therapy isn't just for those who've experienced major trauma. Therapy is helpful for learning positive coping skills and how t...

AI FrontiersThe Big Themes:Shift from digital to AI transformation: There's been a significant evolution in the focus of businesses from digital transformation to AI-driven innovation. Initially, companies aimed to enhance their existing digital processes using the latest technologies. However, the current emphasis is on leveraging AI to fundamentally transform business operations and create new value.Partner ecosystem collaboration: ServiceNow's strategy involves deep collaboration with a diverse ecosystem of partners such as Accenture, NVIDIA, Hugging Face, and Microsoft. By integrating NVIDIA's AI capabilities or Microsoft's Copilot features, ServiceNow can offer more robust and versatile tools to its clients. This collaborative approach helps businesses adopt AI more effectively.Importance of taking the first step: Wright stresses the significance of starting the AI journey. While the potential of AI is vast, the initial step is often the hardest, and people get bogged down in pontificating and debating possibilities. Businesses are encouraged to begin their transformation process to explore and realize the opportunities AI presents.The Big Quote: "Every month, [AI] opens up more and more possibilities. And I think that's the mindset that you need . . . you don't need to be thinking, 'How can I do what I did before better?' You need to be thinking, 'How can I do now what I could never do before?'"

Today on Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different, John Siefert and Bob Evans, the leaders and founders of Acceleration Economy, join in on the dialogue about DEI, AI, and what's in store for 2024. In addition, Bob Evans is also the host of the podcast called Cloud Wars Live, which Christopher has actually been a guest to a few times. They also have some great guests and amazing discussions over there, so go check them out after this episode. That said, let's dive in into this dialogue and prepare ourselves for the upcoming year. You're listening to Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different. We are the real dialogue podcast for people with a different mind. So get your mind in a different place, and hey ho, let's go. John Siefert on DEI in Tech Industry The discussion opens up on the topic of what they have learned in the past year. One thing they agreed on immediately is that people seem to have gotten a little dumber in 2023. Not like major blunders and the like, but more like small things that might seem inconsequential at first, and came back to bite them before the year's end. After this brief exchange, the topic shifts to the topic of morals and intellectual decay that they have observed in the tech industry, particularly in the implementation of DEI statutes and the like. John Siefert comments on DEI, more specifically how a well-intentioned thing on paper could become twisted and be exploited when applied in the current social landscape. An example in the discussion is that people are being told to hire a diverse staff not because of being inclusive, but rather to meet certain numbers and get benefits out of it. Given these circumstances seemingly are the norm nowadays, Christopher believes that the floodgates might open once this one particular case sets precedence. Bob Evans on how DEI is distorted in practice Bob adds to the topic of DEI and points out that the distortion often comes on how it was implemented, e.g. if it's already done in bad faith from people up in management for a few people's benefit, then the struggle to actually implement a proper setup will be that much harder. It has come to the point that Inclusion is being used to actually exclude people. The example that the group gives is that certain analysts believe that Asians are overrepresented in Tech. So rather than hiring someone that is very capable in the required position, companies end up not opting to hire such talent because the person is Asian, and therefore skew their DEI scores. They would end up hiring for diversity rather than skill, and this dilutes their products and services, causing overall loss in the long run. The point of DEI was to be fair and impartial, and yet in practice it just became a way to fulfill certain requirements for special perks, sometimes to the detriment of the company. To hear more about Bob Evans' and John Siefert's thoughts on DEI, AI, and what 2024 has in store for us, download and listen to the episode. Bio  John Siefert Chief Executive Officer, Acceleration Economy Co-founder John is a strategic thinker and business builder who loves to reimagine what is possible with smart people who are not afraid of the future. He has the ability to visualize voids in the market and then define a people, product, process, and position approach to creating a brand where that void once existed. Bob Evans Cloud Wars Founder, Acceleration Economy Co-founder, Analyst Bob analyzes business innovation, cloud technology, leadership, corporate strategy, and the global digital economy. He's the founder of Cloud Wars, was recruited by and worked for Larry Ellison, and shares his thinking via daily videos, daily articles, newsletters, and podcasts. Links Connect with John Siefert and Bob Evans! Acceleration Economy Network | Cloud Wars Live: Apple Podcast & Spotify Bob's LinkedIn | John's LinkedIn We hope you enjoyed this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different™!