Cloud Wars

Microsoft and EY just made another major statement about where enterprise AI is headed.   In today’s Cloud Wars Minute, Kieron Allen unpacked the companies’ expanded partnership, including a commitment to invest more than $1 billion over five years to help organizations scale AI adoption.   What’s especially notable is the operating model behind the initiative: Microsoft’s forward deployed engineers working directly with EY consultants to co-develop AI solutions around clients’ highest-value business opportunities.   https://lnkd.in/dZkwnvNa

#Healthcare may be one of the most compelling proving grounds for agentic AI.   In this episode of the AI Agent & Copilot Podcast, host Tom Smith speaks with RealActivity CEO Paul Swider about Tula, his AI health assistant designed to ingest medical records, images, and other health data to create an ongoing personal health intelligence layer.   But the bigger idea is this:   #AIagents may shift power toward the people who own the data. In healthcare, that could be transformative.   And beyond healthcare? Even bigger implications. https://lnkd.in/dVXX-Qzc

#AI needs more than models, it needs understanding.   In this moment, excerpted from his keynote, James Oleinik, Partner Director for Product Management, Microsoft, explained how Work IQ acts as the intelligence layer behind Copilot, transforming enterprise #data into real-time context for AI.   Work IQ brings together productivity signals from Microsoft 365 and business data across Dynamics, Fabric, and Power Platform to create a living understanding of how work actually happens inside an organization.   But data alone isn’t enough. AI must understand context — how teams operate, how processes flow, and how individuals work — to deliver meaningful outcomes.   On top of that foundation come AI “skills,” enabling Copilot to execute work directly: drafting emails, updating calendars, building presentations, and more — all inside a single interface. Tune in to the full session: https://lnkd.in/gbxR4nXa

Hot take: the biggest barrier to enterprise #AI adoption isn’t the AI. It’s the enterprise.   In today’s Cloud Wars Minute, Kieron Allen explains why Salesforce’s Agentforce Operations could matter more than many splashier AI announcements.   Most enterprise workflows were built for humans, not autonomous #agents, dynamic automation, or AI-first execution. And until that operational foundation changes, a lot of enterprise AI remains stuck in demo mode rather than delivering scalable business value.   Salesforce is making a smart bet that workflow reinvention—not just AI innovation—is where the real opportunity sits. That feels like exactly the right focus. https://lnkd.in/dBhaaQzZ

#AIagents at enterprise scale require more than capability, they require control.   In this moment, excerpted from his keynote, Microsoft Partner for Product Management James Oleinik explained how Agent 365 introduces the #governance layer for the agentic enterprise.   It starts with observation: organizations need a single view of every agent operating across the business.   Next comes governance, establishing guardrails for how agents act and how employees safely delegate work to them.   And finally, security — treating agents as enterprise assets protected by identity, compliance, and monitoring controls. Watch the full session: https://lnkd.in/gbxR4nXa

Kieron Allen explains how one statistic from Workday’s latest research stands out:   82% of enterprise AI users spend much of their time translating outputs between systems. That’s not #automation. That’s human orchestration. We’ve spent years discussing AI intelligence. Now the focus needs to shift toward AI usability.   The companies that win won’t necessarily have the most advanced AI. They’ll have the most integrated AI.   #ArtificialIntelligence #EnterpriseSoftware #Automation #CIO https://lnkd.in/dZpT27ME

#AIagents are moving from pilots to production and supply chains are leading the way.   In this moment, excerpted from his keynote, Sachin Gandhi shared how Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) is using AI agents to run complex logistics operations end-to-end.   What once required multiple teams coordinating sales orders, warehouse releases, load planning, and route planning can now start with a simple instruction: “Ship all orders in this region.”   The agent handles the rest — selecting trucks, planning routes, coordinating warehouses, and executing delivery workflows automatically.   The real shift? These agents are built and trained by business users themselves — the people closest to how the business actually runs. Tune in to the full session: https://lnkd.in/gGUmbSyj #AI #AgenticAI #SupplyChain #EnterpriseAI #Automation #FutureOfWork

The #AI winners may not be the companies that adopt fastest. They may be the companies that adapt fastest.   In today’s Cloud Wars Minute, Kieron Allen shares Microsoft’s perspective on agentic AI, and it’s a smart one. AI success isn’t about stacking tools on old workflows. It’s about rethinking decision-making, execution, and how teams operate.   That’s a much bigger challenge. And a much bigger opportunity. https://lnkd.in/dHq8mZGk

Enterprise AI is entering a new phase, one where success depends less on flashy pilots and more on whether organizations can securely activate their enterprise data at scale.   That’s the focus of this new white paper by Cloud Wars Founder Bob Evans: Optimizing Business Outcomes with Oracle AI Database’s Built-In Agentic AI.   Evans explores a critical shift in enterprise #AI thinking: the database is no longer just where data lives. In the agentic AI era, it’s becoming an active engine for intelligence, security, and execution.   For organizations struggling with fragmented architectures, brittle integrations, and the challenge of moving AI into production, this is a timely look at how Oracle is rethinking the data foundation for business AI. #EnterpriseAI #AgenticAI #Oracle #AIDatabase #CloudWars #AIInnovation https://lnkd.in/d4_vDE2c

New categories of work are emerging faster than ever before.   In this moment, excerpted from his keynote, Christopher Lochhead, Bestselling Author, Category Pirates, explored how society-level technology shifts don’t just change jobs, they create entirely new categories of work.   Research shows that nearly three-quarters of today’s white-collar roles didn’t exist in 1940. Each wave of innovation redesigns the economic landscape, replacing old roles while inventing professions we couldn’t previously imagine.   What’s different now is speed. The cycle of job creation and destruction is accelerating, driven by #AI and #automation, forcing organizations and individuals to adapt in real time.   The future of work isn’t about preserving existing roles, it’s about recognizing and designing the next category before it fully arrives. Check out the full session: https://lnkd.in/dsgiGHYY #AI #FutureOfWork #CategoryDesign #Innovation #WorkTransformation