Best of LinkedIn: Cloud Insights CW 35/ 36

00:00:00: Welcome to the Deep Dive.

00:00:01: Today, we're cutting through the noise to bring you the most relevant cloud trends, the ones making waves across LinkedIn during calendar weeks, thirty-five and thirty-six.

00:00:11: These insights were gathered by Thomas Allgaier and Frenness.

00:00:14: Frenness is a B to B market research company helping enterprises optimize campaigns with executive insights really going far beyond just AI.

00:00:24: So if you're looking for a shortcut to understanding the cutting edge of cloud, well, you're absolutely in

00:00:28: the right place.

00:00:29: That's right.

00:00:30: We've synthesized a wealth of knowledge shared by professionals right there in the ICT and tech industry.

00:00:36: Our mission for this deep dive is really to extract those crucial nuggets of information, help you connect the dots, you know, and ensure you walk away incredibly well informed on what's truly shifting the cloud landscape right now.

00:00:45: Exactly.

00:00:46: So whether you're prepping for a big meeting or just catching up on the field, maybe you're just like insanely curious about where cloud is headed.

00:00:53: Get ready for some significant insights.

00:00:55: Let's jump right into these top cloud trends that really dominated LinkedIn.

00:01:00: Okay, first up, our first major theme.

00:01:03: This one truly captured a lot of attention.

00:01:06: The accelerating push for sovereign cloud and digital sovereignty.

00:01:11: It's a complex issue, isn't it?

00:01:12: Ultimately about who controls the data, where it fiftly sits, and crucially, under which legal framework it operates.

00:01:19: Yeah, and what stands out immediately is the contrast between what's actually available now versus what's still, you know, coming down the pike.

00:01:25: Yeah.

00:01:26: Brandt Cowbergs highlighted that Oracle's EU sovereign cloud, well, it's already operational, it's fully compliant, offers a completely isolated cloud realm governed by EU laws, operated by EU personnel.

00:01:37: Okay,

00:01:37: so that's operational now, right.

00:01:39: But then on the other hand... You've got AWS's European Sovereign Cloud.

00:01:43: It's been announced, sure, but it's still in development.

00:01:45: Thorsten Reike and Steph and CRK mentioned it's aiming for like, like, a, like, twenty twenty-five launch in Brandenburg, Germany.

00:01:53: So this creates a really clear distinction for organizations making deployment decisions, you know, today.

00:01:58: That's a really powerful observation.

00:02:00: And it makes me wonder.

00:02:02: Even with data centers physically in Europe, is the data truly safe from, say, foreign government access?

00:02:10: This question was definitely at the heart of many discussions we saw.

00:02:14: People like Mark Lindster, Richard Marks, Gabriel Pires, Marcel Warkaftig, they all raised pretty significant concerns.

00:02:20: Richard Marks, I think, particularly pointed out something quite stark.

00:02:23: Microsoft France's legal director apparently admitted they couldn't guarantee French citizen data wouldn't be transferred to US authorities.

00:02:30: Yeah.

00:02:31: It just highlights the pervasive reach of U.S.

00:02:33: laws, right?

00:02:34: Like FISA section seven-o-two, that's the one allowing the U.S.

00:02:37: government to target non-Americans for intelligence gathering.

00:02:40: And the cloud act, which lets U.S.

00:02:42: law enforcement demand data from tech companies, no matter where that data is stored globally.

00:02:48: So you're right, it's not just about physical location, it's profoundly about legal jurisdiction.

00:02:53: Exactly.

00:02:53: And this brings up a really important question.

00:02:57: Can technical measures, you know, the safeguards they put in place, truly override these strong legal mandates?

00:03:03: Mark Lindster's analysis, which several others seem to echo, suggests that even advanced solutions, I think customer managed keys or EKM.

00:03:11: Right,

00:03:12: where the customer holds the keys.

00:03:13: Precisely.

00:03:14: Even that, and things like confidential computing, well, they have their limitations.

00:03:18: I mean, providers often need to access data just for operational purposes.

00:03:21: And as you said, FISA-XVII could compel them to do that, potentially secretly.

00:03:25: So this sovereignty often seems to come with some pretty big caveats, especially when you look at metadata or source applications.

00:03:31: Hmm.

00:03:32: Given these complex legal and technical challenges, it's really no surprise that many organizations aren't just sitting around waiting for the hyperscalers.

00:03:40: We saw Will Finch and Antony Pantelli highlighting a growing trend workloads being repatriated, moving back from public cloud to private or on-prem solutions, and the drivers.

00:03:52: mostly compliance and, well, heightened security needs.

00:03:56: And Isabel Martin even shared how SAP customers are now seriously looking at a customer data center option for their cloud ERP.

00:04:04: It's about combining that client innovation they want with the crucial local control they need.

00:04:09: Indeed.

00:04:10: And this movement is really gaining significant momentum.

00:04:12: Look at SAP, for instance.

00:04:13: They're making a massive push, committing over what was it, twenty billion to boost sovereign cloud infrastructure across Europe.

00:04:20: They're expanding their portfolio.

00:04:21: with offerings like SAP Sovereign Cloud Onsite, Christian Klein and Monica Schaller detailed how this gives customers even greater control.

00:04:29: Letting them host it in their own data centers.

00:04:30: Exactly.

00:04:31: Within their own four walls, so to speak.

00:04:34: It's not just the big players.

00:04:35: Beyond the hyperscalers, Daniel Fussy observed Denmark and Norway taking some bold steps toward independent cloud solutions.

00:04:42: Germany is also showing some promising alternatives.

00:04:45: And Robert Mishan's four-layer model you know, data operational legal and technical sovereignty.

00:04:51: that provides a really crucial framework for understanding what true sovereignty actually entails, especially for compliance with strict standards like France's second cloud.

00:05:01: Right, that framework seems really useful for cutting through the marketing fluff sometimes.

00:05:05: And it's not just governments and large enterprises making these strategic shifts either.

00:05:10: We saw movement in the media center too.

00:05:12: William Trencher and Bern Wagner highlighted partnerships like QVest Global with Stackit and SWR collaborating with Stackit as well, all aimed squarely at bolstering media sovereignty.

00:05:22: You can just see this urgency for control playing out across different industries.

00:05:27: Yeah, it's widespread.

00:05:28: And an interesting alternative that's gaining traction, particularly in Europe, is open-source software.

00:05:35: a strategic comparative, says it aligns with European values like transparency and accountability, and of course offers freedom from vendor lock-in, which is crucial for GDPR compliance.

00:05:47: But it's not always straightforward, is it?

00:05:49: No, not at all.

00:05:50: There are nuances.

00:05:51: Benjamin Revkolevsky urged the industry to avoid sovereignty washing, which I thought was a great term, emphasizing that real digital autonomy needs genuine Franco-German cooperation.

00:06:02: And related to that, Dylan Singh actually questioned the true sovereignty of Deutsche Telecom's cloud, given its reliance on US and Chinese tech.

00:06:09: It really underscores the complexity here.

00:06:11: Absolutely.

00:06:12: So ultimately, all of this translates into a real sense of urgency for global CIOs, doesn't it?

00:06:18: Florence Quince and David Lymphicum were underscoring the critical need to adapt operating models to deal with these increasingly localized digital environments.

00:06:26: I mean, it's being pushed by geopolitical tensions, the threat of hefty regulatory fines, and just a sheer desire for greater control and transparency over data.

00:06:35: It's a board level issue now.

00:06:37: Totally.

00:06:38: And this isn't just a European thing either.

00:06:40: Nintin Gulli's post indicates the Middle East is also heavily investing in sovereign cloud capabilities.

00:06:45: They want to power AI, but maintain national control.

00:06:48: Matthias Amdiver have highlighted a pretty staggering statistic.

00:06:51: Oh, yeah.

00:06:51: Eighty percent of European data currently rests on American hyperscalers.

00:06:55: Eighty percent, which It really raises fundamental questions about digital freedom and where control truly lies.

00:07:02: Most of the ESIC reinforced that sovereignty and AI aren't necessarily contradictory, suggesting Europe can combine technological leadership with control.

00:07:10: definitely global trend, really marking a significant shift away from that sort of borderless cloud ideal towards a more regulated segmented reality.

00:07:18: Okay, let's shift gears a bit.

00:07:19: Our next big area, networking, hybrid and multicloud.

00:07:23: Right.

00:07:23: And here we see a strong emphasis on, well, practical implementations and building resilience into the IT foundations.

00:07:30: Jose and Hyderian and Sam O consistently stress that organizations, you know, they just don't live in one size fits all world, which makes these hybrid and multicloud solutions absolutely essential for modern and adaptable IT.

00:07:40: That's

00:07:40: such a fundamental truth today, isn't it?

00:07:43: And Siddharth Warrior provided a very actionable insight into private DNS resolution for Azure hybrid cloud environments.

00:07:52: This sounds technical, but it's a crucial building block for secure and efficient operations, basically seamlessly connecting your on-premises networks to Azure resources.

00:08:02: It's foundational, really, for unlocking the full potential of hybrid setups.

00:08:05: Absolutely.

00:08:06: And that brings up a crucial consideration regarding the underlying physical infrastructure itself.

00:08:11: Vinod Kumar sees report on those Microsoft Azure disruptions, remember, caused by severed subsea cables in the Red Sea.

00:08:17: That was a really stark reminder.

00:08:18: Yeah,

00:08:19: that was concerning.

00:08:20: Even the most advanced cloud services rely on these these often fragile physical cables.

00:08:25: It just reinforces the need for redundancy for diversification in your cloud strategies.

00:08:30: And this is echoed by Scott M. Davis, too, who detailed how live production is rapidly shifting from traditional on prem setups.

00:08:37: to these complex hybrid cloud workflows, which, yeah, they offer incredible flexibility, but they also amplify the technical and operational complexity.

00:08:45: Think about timing, latency, redundancy.

00:08:49: All need careful engineering in a distributed world.

00:08:52: Definitely adds layers of complexity.

00:08:54: And this push for hybridity, it extends right out to the edge too.

00:08:58: Nicholas Fondrini introduced us to this concept of edge fine ops, which basically links five G and IOT deployments with disciplined cloud economics.

00:09:06: So it's about extending cost visibility and governance right out to like cell sites, factories, smart devices, effectively integrating network billing into your main fine ops pipelines.

00:09:15: It's a whole new frontier for cost management, really.

00:09:17: Speaking of costs, that brings us to Emile Clopige's quick comparison.

00:09:22: It really caught my eye.

00:09:23: VM pricing.

00:09:24: in Frankfurt across different cloud providers.

00:09:27: For the exact same spec AMD for VCPUs, sixteen GB RAM.

00:09:32: Oracle cloud came out significantly cheaper than AWS, Azure or Google cloud.

00:09:37: Wow, significantly.

00:09:38: Yeah,

00:09:38: quite a difference.

00:09:40: It just highlights the massive cost dispersion that can exist between providers and underscores the critical importance of strategic workload placement.

00:09:48: It really encourages you to take a much more critical look beyond just the usual big names.

00:09:53: That's a fascinating cost insight.

00:09:55: And it connects to the bigger picture, doesn't it?

00:09:56: How we architect and manage these complex environments.

00:09:59: Minagi Venkat emphasized that platform engineering is evolving.

00:10:02: It's not just about developer productivity anymore.

00:10:04: It's now enabling customers to build entire platform business models, extending value chains, fostering innovation.

00:10:11: It's a more strategic view.

00:10:13: Right.

00:10:13: And the help makes sense of all this complexity and the sheer diversity of choices or Organizations are making.

00:10:18: Doug bourgeois offered a fun analogy.

00:10:20: He compared different cloud strategies to wine types Which I quite liked.

00:10:24: oh like what?

00:10:25: well like a full-bodied private cloud being a Cabernet Sauvignon an elegant hybrid cloud as a Pinot Noir and maybe a zesty public cloud as a Sauvignon Blanc.

00:10:35: it just helps frame the different approaches in a a very relatable way, a bit of fun amidst the complexity.

00:10:41: I like that.

00:10:42: Okay, now let's talk about everyone's perhaps favorite topic, cost optimization and phenops.

00:10:49: And it's not just about cutting costs anymore, is it?

00:10:51: It's more about optimizing value for smarter spending and hopefully deeper impact.

00:10:56: Victor Garcia shared a really compelling story.

00:10:59: A software company achieved a staggering ninety percent cost reduction.

00:11:02: Ninety percent.

00:11:03: Yeah.

00:11:03: By combining two separate Google AI services into one single request.

00:11:08: They use Gemini AI for both translation and content moderation together.

00:11:12: It just shows how sometimes the simplest solution found through smart engineering can lead to massive wins.

00:11:16: That's an excellent example.

00:11:18: And it leaves me to think about how organizations are maturing in their phenops practices overall.

00:11:24: Alan Arvat summing up a conversation with Ben DeMora highlighted that Phenops is really evolving beyond just the tooling.

00:11:31: It's shifting more towards product management thinking.

00:11:34: It needs executive sponsorship, deep cultural adoption throughout the organization.

00:11:38: So it's a mindset shift, not just software.

00:11:40: Exactly.

00:11:41: Engaging engineers with, say, sustainability metrics can be a powerful motivator, not just for optimizing costs, but also resource consumption.

00:11:49: The key takeaway seemed to be treating policies as living documents, you know, not just one-and-done rule set in stone.

00:11:56: And specifically for SAP customers, Isabel Martin pointed out that many might be missing out on significant cost-saving options, like that customer data center option for Cloudy RP we mentioned earlier.

00:12:06: Her insights suggest that, look... public cloud isn't always the cheapest route.

00:12:10: And strong business cases for repatriation, moving things back, are increasingly emerging.

00:12:15: It's about aligning those economic goals with the desire for greater control.

00:12:19: Right.

00:12:19: And if we connect this to the bigger picture, Linda Grasso put it very eloquently.

00:12:22: She described cloud computing as an efficiency engine for both startups and global enterprises.

00:12:28: It's about achieving instant scalability, right?

00:12:31: Running complex AI workloads without massive infrastructure buildouts.

00:12:36: Facilitating global collaboration, shifting to that pay-for-what-you-use model, it cuts both costs and complexity.

00:12:43: Ultimately, it's just a core driver of modern business agility and speed.

00:12:47: Absolutely.

00:12:48: Couldn't agree more.

00:12:49: Okay, let's pivot to data platforms and analytics.

00:12:52: And here the conversation is clearly centered on making data not just available, but truly actionable.

00:12:58: Getting insights into practice.

00:13:00: Stella H highlighted the Salesforce data cloud one architecture DC one they call it.

00:13:05: It's an innovative approach that unifies customer data from multiple Salesforce orgs into a single data cloud instance.

00:13:10: Breaking

00:13:11: down those silos.

00:13:12: Exactly

00:13:12: enabling unified profiles powerful AI power personalization right there within each CRM environment.

00:13:18: It tackles those data silos that have played organizations for well years.

00:13:22: That's incredibly powerful.

00:13:23: And here's where it gets really interesting, I think, in terms of translating insights into actual action.

00:13:29: Dan Kieseloff introduced a feature called Data Actions, which maybe he's been underappreciated.

00:13:34: Think of it like a smart doorbell for your data.

00:13:37: OK.

00:13:37: So when a churn risk score updates to high, for example, a data action can immediately trigger an automated Salesforce flow.

00:13:45: Maybe it creates a follow-up task for sales, updates a critical field, posts an alert in Slack.

00:13:50: It essentially transforms passive data points into proactive business plays, all in real time.

00:13:55: That's clever, turning data into immediate response.

00:13:57: Building on that, Chad M discussed the synergy between Calibra and SAP Business Data Cloud.

00:14:02: This integration aims to significantly enhance enterprise data governance, so fostering greater confidence, clearer data lineage, operational flexibility, all essential for making real sense of complex SAP data and maximizing its value, especially for compliance.

00:14:18: Right.

00:14:18: Governance is key when you start automating actions like that.

00:14:21: Okay.

00:14:22: Moving on to security and governance, arguably the non-negotiable foundation for all cloud confidence.

00:14:28: Gerald Auger stressed something important.

00:14:30: Cloud security isn't just regular security applied in the cloud.

00:14:33: It's a fundamentally different paradigm.

00:14:36: He highlighted the importance of practical hands-on training.

00:14:40: Recommended some YouTube channels actually like AWS security labs cyber for real-world attack and defense simulations things like s-three ransomware or lambda enumeration.

00:14:51: It's about understanding those cloud native threats specifically.

00:14:54: Yeah,

00:14:55: that practical experience is vital.

00:14:57: Which raises the question how do organizations manage all this complexities systematically?

00:15:02: Steven Sumner provided a simplified yet pretty comprehensive overview of Microsoft cloud adoption framework basically serves as a pragmatic road map right guiding companies through strategy planning readiness adoption and then crucially continuous governance security and management.

00:15:17: it's about building that robust secure foundation right from the start And for

00:15:22: a sort of bird's-eye view of where enterprise cloud transformation is headed.

00:15:25: overall, the Cloud Insights Report, twenty twenty-five, which was shared by Mike Toxson and Chris Crownhart, outlined some key themes.

00:15:33: Things like cloud modernization, AI readiness, cyber recovery, and critically demonstrating ROI.

00:15:39: It really underscores the top priorities and frankly the emerging risks for enterprises in their ongoing cloud journeys.

00:15:45: Yeah,

00:15:45: that report sounds like essential reading.

00:15:47: And if we connect this back to specific vendor messaging, Fabio Lippi continued to highlight Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, OCI's emphasis.

00:15:54: They're really stressing performance capabilities, their enhanced security posture, and again, those significant cost advantages compared to other hyperscalers.

00:16:02: They cite examples companies like Uber and GoTo, seeing improved outcomes offer with minimal replatforming needed.

00:16:08: And they leverage OCI's stronger deterministic low latency networking, which is absolutely critical for really demanding workloads.

00:16:16: Okay, interesting points from OCI there.

00:16:18: Finally, let's look quickly at how the cloud ecosystem itself is evolving through strategic partnerships and acquisitions.

00:16:24: Big moves happening.

00:16:26: Aiman Ezzat shared the news of Capgemini acquiring Cloud foresee.

00:16:29: They're a leading provider of automation driven managed services, especially for hybrid and sovereign cloud.

00:16:35: Ah, hitting those key themes again.

00:16:37: Exactly.

00:16:38: This move significantly enhances Capgemini's cloud managed services and importantly, strengthens their industry specific AI solutions.

00:16:46: Especially in a market that's clearly hungry for both right now.

00:16:49: Yeah, that makes strategic sense.

00:16:53: Continuing on that strong sovereignty theme we started with, Thorsen Rocket announced that PCG has been selected as an official AWS launch partner for that new European sovereign cloud.

00:17:02: The one in Brandenburg.

00:17:03: That's the one set for late twenty twenty five.

00:17:05: This is a really significant indicator, I think, of the early formation of a partner ecosystem building up around regional control, specifically for that upcoming one hundred percent EU operated AWS region.

00:17:16: Right.

00:17:16: The ecosystem has to build out around the sovereign offerings.

00:17:20: Okay, well that brings us towards the end of another pretty insightful deep dive into the dynamic world of cloud computing.

00:17:27: We really hope these curated insights from LinkedIn have given you a clearer, maybe more nuanced understanding of the trends shaping the industry right now.

00:17:36: From that huge quest for digital sovereignty, all the way to optimizing your cloud spend with Phenops.

00:17:43: What seems clear is that the cloud isn't just a destination anymore, is it?

00:17:47: It's a constantly evolving landscape and it really requires strategic navigation.

00:17:51: If you enjoyed this deep dive, remember new episodes drop every two weeks.

00:17:55: You can also check out our other editions covering ICT and tech, digital products and services, artificial intelligence and sustainability in green ICT.

00:18:03: Thank you so much for joining us and we look forward to having you back for our next deep dive.

00:18:07: Don't forget to subscribe.