Cloud Wars Live with Bob Evans

business history.

Highlights

00:14 — Now, any question about this greatest growth market the world has ever known was blown away last week, when Microsoft reported its fiscal Q4 earnings. And I think Microsoft's Q4 results have to be regarded as the greatest quarterly results of any company in any industry of all time.

00:40 — Now, I cannot say that I have done a rigorous analysis of every quarterly report from every company in every industry there's ever been. But I will be wide open to hearing from anybody about anything that expands this. It could have grown even more, but customer demand is just swamping ability to build out data center capacity.

01:38 — Microsoft Cloud used to be a nice, healthy portion of its business. It's now 61% of Microsoft's overall revenue. The total number for Microsoft's remaining performance obligation: $368 billion — a phenomenal, huge number. But it grew 37%, so you've got a combination here of scale with an incredible rate of growth here on this.

03:31 — Azure in Q4, it grew 39%. If you look at the full year, Azure grew 34%. Now, revenue for Azure is over $75 billion. And the Q1 growth guidance for Azure is 37%. So again, even at these very large numbers, the growth rates are astonishing. Also looking ahead to Q1, which will end September 30, CFO Amy Hood said the CapEx is expected to be $30 billion.

04:45 — We saw Google Cloud last week report very, very strong Q4. It's up 32% to $13.6 billion. Oracle's reporting just spectacular growth rates. RPO in its most recent quarter was 62%, and they're predicting 100% RPO for their fiscal year, which will end May 31 of next year. AWS numbers haven't come out yet, so I will get to them later next week. But hats off to Microsoft.

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Welcome to the Cloud Wars Minute — your daily cloud news and commentary show. Each episode provides insights and perspectives around the “reimagination machine” that is the cloud.

In today’s Cloud Wars Minute, I explore the fierce competition among tech giants to attract the brightest minds in AI as the race for dominance ramps up a gear.

Highlights

00:03 — As the battle for AI dominance among the Cloud Wars Top 10 heats up, the race for talent has escalated. The latest executive to switch sides is Amar Subramanya, the former Vice President of Engineering at Google, who was responsible for developing the Gemini assistant and had been with the company for 16 years, is now joining Microsoft AI as Corporate Vice President for AI.

00:28 — Ultimately, the stakes are so high that companies are now willing to shell out incredible sums to secure the best talent in the business. Recently ,OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated that Meta was offering his employees $100 million signing bonuses.

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00:50 — Interestingly, this hiring drive by Microsoft comes at a time when the company has announced significant layoffs. However, this shouldn’t be viewed negatively. Instead, it serves as a poignant reminder of how the tech industry is pivoting towards AI and how these skills are becoming increasingly essential for workers in the industry.

01:36 — The AI Revolution is ushering in a new wave of innovation, reminiscent of the startup culture that defined the Silicon Valley boom. Companies that wish to hire the best talent need to keep this in mind and embrace the desire of tech executives to explore new ideas and innovate beyond the confines of the copy-paste approach that has come to characterize many technologies.

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In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I share how IBM has built a $7.5 billion GenAI business in just 18 months, transforming everything from mainframes to consulting under the bold leadership of CEO Arvind Krishna.

Highlights

00:13 — IBM last week reported its Q2 numbers. Very impressive. I thought one of the most interesting points was that in just 18 months, IBM has built up a GenAI business with a revenue run rate of $7.5 billion. And that GenAI impact is cutting across IBM's entire, huge product portfolio, everything from mainframes to software to consulting.

01:00 —This is a company that's 114 years young. And if you were to stack up all the startups or companies of any age that launched AI businesses within the last 18 months, I wonder how many of those would now have revenue of $7.5 billion. But IBM is right there, smack in the middle of that business. Krishna said GenAI's sparking growth in everything — even with mainframes.

02:16 — And on the software level, Krishna said that this new rise of the AI products within IBM are helping to improve products it currently has, like Apptio, Turbonomic, and HashiCorp, adding additional value to them. Now, one area where Krishna said there could be a little bit of cannibalization is in the broad area of consulting.

03:29 — This is all another sign of the remarkable job that Arvind Krishna has done in his five years now as the CEO at IBM. It's hard to recall, as well as the company's doing now and the innovation that's underway, what a mess it was five years ago when Krishna took over. IBM now has a fantastic portfolio of partnerships with many of the Cloud Wars Top 10 companies.

04:30 — So again, a big turnover here in the products, the technologies that come to use, how it goes to market, and the culture that it takes out to clients to let them know: We at IBM are very happy to bring together the best of the best companies in the world to drive new value for those clients. So hats off to IBM. Very nice quarter.

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Bonnie Tinder is the founder and CEO of Raven Intelligence, an independent B2B peer review site that amplifies the voice of the customer. She focuses on software customers, consulting partners, and software vendors, and helps identify the best partners for their needs. In this episode, she joins Bob Evans to talk about the shifting landscape of enterprise consulting, the rise of AI-driven delivery models, and what these changes mean for both firms and customers navigating digital transformation.

Episode 53 | Smaller, Smarter, Faster

The Big Themes:

• The Traditional Consulting Model Is Quietly Collapsing: The traditional consulting model, built on large teams, playbooks, and high overhead, is no longer viable in the AI-native era. The shift is not a dramatic crash but a slow erosion of outdated practices. Customers no longer accept vague deliverables, bloated staffing, and unclear pricing. Instead, they demand speed, transparency, and clear outcomes.
• Smaller, Nimble Firms Are Positioned to Win: AI and generative tools are leveling the playing field for smaller consultancies. Bonnie argues that boutique firms — once at a disadvantage against the scale of major global consultancies — can now compete on an equal footing due to AI’s democratization of data analysis, automation, and service delivery. These smaller firms often move faster, customize more effectively, and offer high-touch support without layers of bureaucracy.
• Transparency Is the New Currency of Trust: Bonnie criticizes large consulting firms for their persistent lack of transparency. Many resist public reviews, avoid accountability, and cherry-pick what gets showcased — raising red flags for discerning clients. She argues that in an era of instant data and shared experience, opacity is no longer acceptable. The future of consulting depends on a firm’s willingness to open itself to scrutiny and prove its worth.

The Big Quote: “The disruption isn't necessarily a slowdown in the need for consulting. It's just the shift in how technology is getting delivered. It's in what the value of the consultant is. It's no longer building codes and the architecture as much as it is the change management and the ability to help customers make good, fast decisions."

More from Bonnie Tinder:

Connect with Bonnie on LinkedIn or send a message via her Acceleration Economy Analyst page.

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 In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I spotlight a powerful joint message from two of Europe’s top tech CEOs, Siemens CEO Roland Busch and SAP CEO Christian Klein, who are urging the European Union to reconsider its AI legislation.

Highlights

00:03 — The CEOs of Siemens and SAP have urged the EU to reconsider its AI legislation, expressing concerns that the current law hinders innovation. SAP CEO Christian Klein and Siemens CEO Roland Busch are advocating for a new regulatory framework that supports AI innovation rather than stifling it. Busch cited the EU's AI Act as the reason that Europe is falling behind.

00:46 — Klein echoed these concerns. Both CEOs believe the first step should be reevaluating the existing legislation affecting AI innovators in Europe. While the AI Act is designed to ensure the safe development and deployment of AI technologies, it also risks stifling innovation.

01:17 — This can lead to monopolization and hold back key innovators in the EU who are working collectively with their global partners to create what will become the cornerstones of the AI era. And there's a strong case for collaboration here. Both tech companies and legislators need to align in establishing the foundations for a thriving yet safe AI operations landscape.

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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 Edge

The 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. 

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In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I spotlight the 30% surge in $20M+ customers as proof of ServiceNow’s enterprise momentum.

Highlights

00:48 — Let me briefly touch on some of the key numbers from ServiceNow in Q2. So, the top line there: Subscription revenue was up 22.5% to $3.11 billion. Big jump in total RPO, or Remaining Performance Obligation, up 29% to almost $24 billion. I want to point out, too, the subscription revenue growth in Q2 — 22.5% — that’s a big jump from the Q1 growth rate of 19.1%.

01:29 — Very nice acceleration by ServiceNow. Customers spending at least $20 million has gone up 30% year over year. ServiceNow has 528 customers spending at least $5 million with them in annual contract value. On the call, McDermott said: “People and AI together will create new business and new discoveries and will catalyze economic growth in every corner of the world.”

02:30 — It's too easy to fall into the trap of saying, “Oh, AI is going to wipe out a lot of jobs.” It’s also going to create incredible new opportunities. McDermott also said he was really focusing on this term of “AI work.” He said AI work is going to be cross-functional. He said this will lead to big changes in org charts — they’re going to be very different from how they were before.

03:28 —McDermott talked about the unique role that ServiceNow plays in the industry. It's not an applications company. It’s not an infrastructure company. It's an AI platform company. And it has found a way to be able to collaborate with almost all of the Cloud Wars Top 10 companies, and do so in a way, as McDermott likes to say, where for ServiceNow to win, no one else has to lose.

04:31 — So, bullishness out the ears McDermott on this earnings call. Not only is the company doing well, but more importantly, as he said over and over: “Our customers are doing well and doing things they were never able to do before.” So, heady times here in the Cloud Wars.

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In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I break down Google Cloud’s explosive Q2 performance — including a 32% revenue jump, a $106 billion backlog, and a surge in billion-dollar deals.

Highlights

00:14 — We saw a great re-acceleration by Google Cloud. In Q2, it recorded great numbers across the board. I think what this shows is that large enterprises are buying fully into the Google Cloud value proposition. It's made huge strides there. These are AI-hungry customers who realize they've got potentially a great partner in Google Cloud.

01:05 — Q2 revenue for Google Cloud was up 32% to $13.6 billion. The backlog for Google Cloud was up 38% to $106 billion. This is a number that Google Cloud has not released publicly before. It was buried deep in their numbers. But it brought it up on the earnings call. One quarter ago, it was about $90 billion. It's now at $106 billion. Billion-dollar deals surged.

02:39 — It added 28% more in Q2 than it did in Q1 — huge. Again, a sense of momentum. It's bringing in new revenue, new customers, new prospects. Also, Google Cloud’s parent company, Alphabet, is boosting CapEx by $10 billion for this year — up from the original $75 billion plan.

03:38 — I’ll be looking to see, on July 30, when Microsoft releases its numbers: did they see the same kind of growth acceleration that Google Cloud did? In Q1, Google Cloud’s revenue grew 28%. This quarter, it improved to 32%. While Microsoft’s cloud business is much bigger than Google Cloud, it’s understandable that Google Cloud would have a higher growth rate.

04:35 — Google Cloud is doing a lot of things right — from its AI-native technology and cloud infrastructure business, to what it's doing in data analytics, and the way it's forged partnerships with everybody: Oracle, SAP, ServiceNow, Salesforce, Workday. It's really opened it up.

05:00 — It's making it easier for customers to put together the complex types of solutions needed as we move into this very different future. Hats off to Google Cloud and Thomas Kurian for a great quarter.

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Welcome to the Cloud Wars Minute — your daily cloud news and commentary show. Each episode provides insights and perspectives around the “reimagination machine” that is the cloud.

In today’s Cloud Wars Minute, I take a closer look at SAP’s Q2 cloud performance—24% revenue growth and a 22% rise in current cloud backlog—slower than past quarters, but still dramatically outpacing rivals like

Highlights

00:13 — One of the leaders in the Cloud Wars Top 10, SAP, has been the fastest-growing enterprise apps company for several straight quarters, far outperforming all of its competitors, which include Oracle, Workday, Salesforce, and Microsoft Dynamics 365. And they reported recently—SAP did—a very strong Q2. But there were a couple wrinkles in there.

01:02 — The cloud revenue was up 24% to $6 billion. But in Q1, the growth rate was 25%, so a slight dip in the growth rate in Q2. Current cloud backlog in Q2 was 22%; that 22% is well down from Q1’s 28%. It expected the backlog growth to moderate through the rest of the year. But this is a pretty big drop. It saw a re-emergence of uncertainty in the market in the second quarter.

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02:08 — He noted in the U.S., in the public sector, the DOGE impact has slowed things down a little. On the flip side, Klein said, Now, we’ve got some mega deals that are out there. He said, I don’t think they’re going to disappear, but they have been postponed . . . There’s a little more rigor in getting approvals for those. But he said, I think that will come through.

03:20 — I would also say that at the size that SAP is at now, it’s a $24 billion run rate,r 24% growth is quite good. And this current backlog growth of 22% in itself is also very strong. But a couple of quarters ago, its backlog grew 32%, then 25%, now 22%. So it’s fair to say, is a trend.

04:10 — Overall, it is an interesting time now for buyers, I think more broadly, since some of this uncertainty that Klein referred to around tariffs—I think a lot of that uncertainty is going away. We just heard this announcement of the U.S. and Japan in a $550 billion deal. I think this is going to alleviate some of the concern that SAP customers expressed and that Klein referred to.

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