Cloud Wars Live with Bob Evans

Bob Evans
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Cloud Wars analyzes the major cloud vendors from the perspective of business customers. In Cloud Wars Live, Bob Evans talks with both sides about these profoundly transformative technologies, and with monthly All-Star guests from across the business community about the trends impacting how the world lives, works, plays, and dreams. Visit https://cloudwars.com for more.

  1. 2d ago

    Google, AI Slop, and the Future of Bug Bounty Security Programs

    In today's Cloud Wars AI Minute, I examine why Google reportedly shut down its open-source bug bounty program and what the growing problem of AI slop means for enterprise security. Highlights 00:12 — Today, the subject is AI slop and how it's actually just started to shut down security programs. On October 1, we had Google go out and shut down its open-source bug bounty program. For those that don't know, that's basically Google saying, "Hey, submit bugs to us, and if you find really good bugs, then what we'll do is we'll research those, and we'll actually pay you for finding these bugs." 00:54 — What's really interesting about this specific thing is why did they shut it down? Well, it's actually because they have so much slop being produced from AI, where basically a bunch of different vendors or different people are using AI to submit a whole bunch of fake bugs that they're having to triage, and they don't know what to do about it. 01:40 — And so I think this is going to become interesting as the world starts to look at how you start to build these programs and how you open up and identify when you are being served AI slop or fake bounties or fake security audits and assessments versus real ones. 02:09 — So as we continue to move forward, I do expect that we will start to see more and more companies having to figure out how to be able to deal with this particular problem. We might even see new industries pop up that are going to be able to deal with this. 02:49 — We'll keep an eye on it here at Cloud Wars, and we'll keep you up to speed on what's going on. But it's a great thing to be looking at and researching yourself, and identifying where you might even be exposed to AI slop. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

  2. 2d ago

    Workday Expands Agentic AI in HR With New Total Benefits Experience

    In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I look at how Workday is leveraging AI agents to empower employees, streamline benefits operations, and reshape traditional HR processes. Highlights 00:03 — Workday has launched Workday Total Benefits. It's an AI-powered benefits experience that Workday describes as a single, connected experience for employees, HR teams, benefits administrators, and benefits providers. From an agentic AI standpoint, agents can help employees compare benefit plans, understand policies, and make the most of their benefits year-round. 00:34 — And these agents can also take on administrative work that's traditionally made benefits programs costly and significantly complex to run. Workday Total Benefits includes Workday Wellness, which, I'll quote Workday on this, "connects benefit providers directly to Workday, streamlining benefits implementations and automating administration across systems." 01:14 —Looking ahead to 2027, Workday plans to introduce more capabilities, including a Benefits Guidance for Self-Service agent, which will provide employees with what Workday describes as proactive, personalized recaps of the benefits they've used and other ways to optimize them. 01:32 — I think this is a really good example of what Workday is actually doing here, positioning benefits as more than an annual administrative process. It's about continuous AI-driven benefits guidance and automation, and I think it's a really good example of how agentic AI can enable industries to rethink the very basis of how work that may have traditionally followed a very rigid path gets done in the future. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

  3. 3d ago

    AI Governance at a Crossroads: Regulation, Innovation, and the Race for AI Leadership

    In today's Cloud Wars AI Minute, I look at the tension between AI regulation, industry self-governance, and America’s determination to remain competitive in the global AI race. Highlights 00:18 — Some regulatory things happening as the government in the U.S. started to take a look at AI in general. We had six of the CEOs of the major AI providers in the world really, went over to Washington and started talking about how they were going to do self-regulation. Now, the issue with this is going to be that that agreement has actually no penalties associated with it. 00:50 — So, if someone actually breaks the rules, doesn't mean that there's actually any penalties that are going along with this particular situation. And now, the other interesting part is that two of the six are now actually under FTC investigation over consumer risk, and so we have to really ask ourselves: Do we really believe that they're going to properly self-regulate? 01:54 — Now, the other thing is that there is a report that needs to be due to the Trump administration in 120 days. So, what I would tell you is, over the next 120 days, I would fully expect that we're going to get a lot of movement in this space on what are we going to do specifically around AI, which is now also being kind of formed on superintelligence. 02:18 — Now, I believe what they're trying to do here is say that AI governing maybe is not as necessary as superintelligence governing, and they're really kind of trying to draw a line in the sand on the difference between artificial intelligence and superintelligence. And so, I really think this is going to be interesting to see over the next few months what's going to happen in this space. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

  4. 3d ago

    Google Cloud Gives Business Focus to Modernization

    In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I examine how Google Cloud is using AI and unified solutions to radically accelerate enterprise modernization. Highlights 00:03 — We know that on the road to AI transformation, tech modernization is a key element. Unfortunately, for a lot of organizations, the traditional approach to this has been very tactical, very point-solution-oriented, and talking about technologies, kind of disconnected from business cases, from ROI, from business outcomes. 00:27 — And that's left a lot of business leaders with that glazed look, where they're just dying to get out of the room and get out of that discussion. Google Cloud's made a fairly simple but highly effective step, I think, in fixing that. It's consolidated a lot of its products together — its migration and modernization products — into a simple solution. 01:00 — The significance of this is there's still some very deep, heavy-duty technology in there, but it's been packaged in a way that lets business leaders understand the significance. And it's also not just the packaging of it, but there's some new AI-driven technologies here that allow some of these complex processes, these complex steps that have to be taken for modernization, to be greatly collapsed in time. 02:02 — Over the past couple of years, it's taken multiple products that it has in a certain area, put them together in a single, unified, end-to-end solution so that customers have an easier time to consume those, to get value out of them, to drive toward the appropriate business outcomes, rather than having to evaluate every single point solution. 02:54 — And I think this is something its's going to see a lot of other providers move into: to try to have these comprehensive solutions for customers, get away from having customers be the general contractors pulling together lots of very detailed technical point solutions, and instead put together a suite that is a full portfolio that is oriented toward the business outcomes that the businesses have to have. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

  5. 4d ago

    Microsoft and ServiceNow Target the AI Agent Control Layer

    In today's Cloud Wars AI Minute, I break down why ServiceNow and Microsoft are embracing open protocols as the AI Agent War shifts to the control layer. Highlights 00:01 — What I want to talk about today is that we're actually seeing the Agent War moving up to the control layer. You're seeing that there's a new control layer that's becoming the core part of what everyone is fighting over in this space, and this is really where we're going to start seeing governance and control becoming the more important part as we continue to move forward. 00:55 — ServiceNow is building a layer that governs what agents do with it, and this is going to be shipped on the open protocol of MCP. But if we look over at Microsoft, which is building out Work IQ, it's going to make sure that it also exposes over MCP, A2A, and REST. 01:32 — It's actually leveraging the out-of-the-box available [protocols] that are basically industry standards at this point, and that's actually a really good sign for the way that things are going. And it also means that what we're also starting to see in this governance space reliance and integration starting to happen across all of these different layers. 02:17 — And I would fully expect that this is going to be a place that we need to keep a strong eye on as we continue to move forward. And, of course, here at Cloud Wars, we'll make sure that we continue to take a look at this particular space . Visit Cloud Wars for more.

  6. 4d ago

    SoftBank Doubles Down on OpenAI With Massive $10 Billion Investment

    In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I look at why SoftBank is turning to the bond market to finance its latest $10 billion OpenAI investment. Highlights 00:03 — It's fair to say that we're at an interesting inflection point when it comes to how AI innovation is set to progress, what might constrain it, and where, eventually, lines may be drawn. However, that hasn't slowed planned investment in some of the biggest U.S. firms. 00:19 — Most recently, Japanese investment giant SoftBank has announced that, through the issuance of senior unsecured bonds, it will be borrowing over $11 billion to help fund its planned $10 billion investment in OpenAI. Now, $10 billion of the new bonds will be issued in U.S. dollars, with another 1 billion issued in euros. 00:41 — This is SoftBank's third tranche of its follow-on investment in OpenAI, with the $10 billion payment expected to close on October 1. It's a very significant amount, and if the bond sale is completed at this planned size, it will be the largest corporate bond deal by a non-financial company ever recorded in Asia Pacific and Japan. 01:03 — Now, quick note here: despite its name, SoftBank isn't a bank. It's primarily an investment holding company and tech investor. I think the interesting thing here is that SoftBank isn't just investing $10 billion of spare cash into OpenAI; it's borrowing billions from the bond market to help fund the investment. 01:27 — Effectively using debt to finance this continued relationship with OpenAI, at the very least, signals a significant level of confidence in the company. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

  7. 4d ago

    AI Agent & Copilot Podcast: Michael Simms on Why AI Projects Need Data Readiness, Strong Governance

    Key Takeaways AI investments: Simms explains that a top priority for organizations currently is determining how to get value out of AI investments. He says an estimated 80% of AI initiatives aren't seeing the value that was anticipated, which begs the question: Are you choosing the wrong initiatives? Are you using the correct data? Have you defined the processes correctly? "All the underlying pillars that are required for these things to actually work and actually provide value, those need to be revisited and looked at," he says.Data readiness: Data readiness is, in Simms' opinion, "the biggest single issue that's out there right now" as it relates to AI projects. He suggests that organizations need strong data governance and an "iterative approach" to ensure both structured and unstructured data are clean, organized, and ready to support AI systems and workflows at scale.Adoption: Simms says his approach to AI adoption is different because he focuses on building the right organizational and process foundations first, rather than rushing to implement technology. He compares it to building a house, noting that "you don’t put on the shingles and the shutters and the paint before you actually build the foundation and the frame."New roles defined by AI: Simms expects AI to create and reshape job titles and also create demand for expertise that helps organizations adopt, manage, and govern it. Specifically, he foresees roles focused on governance and engineering, as industries determine how to implement and maintain AI systems. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

  8. 5d ago

    SAP Cranks Up Autonomous Enterprise w/New Joule Agents

    In today’s Cloud Wars Minute, I look at how SAP is moving industry AI into the mainstream while expanding its autonomous enterprise strategy at Connect. Highlights 00:03 — SAP is having a big event in Las Vegas this week called Connect, and whereas its Sapphire event every year really is aimed at its traditional IT audience, and lays the technical foundation for its strategy, Connect, now in its second year, was brought about to focus on the LOB users, business users, non-tech users. 00:24 — And this year at Connect, SAP is getting ready to crank up its promise of the Autonomous Enterprise with a lot of new Joule AI-powered agents and assistants that SAP believes will help customers be able to leverage the full power of the autonomous enterprise on an end-to-end basis. 00:57 — Now, the promise that SAP has with the autonomous enterprise is it's going to be able to push this now across the enterprise. So at Sapphire, it really laid the tech foundation, putting together the SAP Business Suite with the SAP Business Data Cloud. It's now calling that the autonomous enterprise. 02:14 — What SAP is doing now with the autonomous enterprise and a lot of these new agents is it is using Signavio and LeanIX to be able to help people make the best decision, be able to map out exactly, you know, what processes to map, how to map those, what KPIs to put together with it. 03:09 — So it feels like this is going to be, with the Autonomous Enterprise, not just the technology, but very, very strong guidance, best practices that customers will be able to use to put together full end-to-end solutions. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

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Cloud Wars analyzes the major cloud vendors from the perspective of business customers. In Cloud Wars Live, Bob Evans talks with both sides about these profoundly transformative technologies, and with monthly All-Star guests from across the business community about the trends impacting how the world lives, works, plays, and dreams. Visit https://cloudwars.com for more.

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