cloud
cloud on Beyond Market Intelligence: a running collection of 26 stories we have gathered and hand-picked because they are worth your time. Every post here touches on cloud in some way — the news, the analysis, the deep dives, and the occasional surprise find. Acme AI is the next-generation, AI-powered spreadsheet platform built to replace Excel and redefine how analysts, data scientists, and enterprise teams work with data. New stories are added to this page as we find them, so check back if you want to keep up with what is happening around cloud, or subscribe to the RSS feed to get them as soon as they are published. Browse the collection below, or head back to the homepage to see everything Beyond Market Intelligence is covering right now.
The Power BI Developer's Survival Guide to Microsoft Fabric
Power BI developers, a significant shift is underway. Microsoft Fabric has arrived, effectively replacing Power BI Premium. This guide provides a clear, concise overview of what’s changed—and what hasn’t—to ensure a smooth transition. We'll equip you with the essential knowledge to navigate this evolution and confidently begin leveraging Fabric's capabilities. If you're exploring the broader landscape of AI-powered development, consider "How to Solve the Right Problem in the Age of Agentic AI" for a practical framework.
Palo Alto Networks paid $500M for Thrive-backed Console, sources say
Industry analysts confirm Palo Alto Networks’ significant investment: a reported $500 million acquisition of Console, backed by Thrive. This move establishes Palo Alto Networks as a major player in the burgeoning AI-powered IT service automation space. Consequently, Sequoia-backed Serval emerges as the leading independent startup in this sector. The acquisition highlights the accelerating demand for AI solutions streamlining IT operations. For a deeper dive into the challenges of AI detection, explore "Pangram’s Max Spero on why AI detection is harder than ‘Real or Fake’."
Free Transcription with Speakr
Take control of your data with Speakr, our free, self-hosted transcription platform. Designed for those seeking full privacy and agency, Speakr empowers you to transcribe audio directly, ensuring your files never leave your infrastructure. This guide details setup, usage, and strategies for maximizing Speakr’s capabilities—a critical step for organizations prioritizing data sovereignty. For deeper insights into related data infrastructure considerations, explore our article, "A group funded by Andreessen, Horowitz, and Brockman plans data center ads to sway midterms."
Your files stay put: Perplexity’s hybrid AI keeps confidential data off the cloud
Perplexity today introduces hybrid AI compute, a transformative system designed to keep your confidential data secure. Computer, Perplexity’s agentic platform, now intelligently splits tasks between cloud-based and locally-run AI models on Apple silicon Macs, ensuring sensitive information never leaves your device. This innovative approach combines the power of frontier models with the privacy of on-device processing, a critical advancement for industries handling sensitive data. Explore this new capability today and discover how Perplexity is redefining data security and productivity.
Microsoft tests fix for latest hours-long Outlook outage
Microsoft is actively addressing the recent, widespread Outlook outage that caused significant email delays and failures. The company reports it’s currently testing a fix to resolve these issues, aiming to restore reliable communication for users. This follows a period where many experienced prolonged disruptions, highlighting the critical need for robust email infrastructure. For deeper insight into the underlying complexities impacting these systems, explore our related article, "You Never Told Your Agent What Done Means. It Decided For You."
Connecting My LangGraph AI Agent to Postgres
Connecting your LangGraph AI agent to a Postgres database unlocks powerful capabilities for data-driven workflows. This post details how to establish that connection, offering clear guidance for both local development and cloud deployment. We’ll explore setting up the backend using Docker for streamlined local testing, and then outline strategies for scaling to the cloud. For those tackling complex enterprise workflows, consider the recent exploration of an 8B AI model mirroring Claude Opus—a relevant challenge in managing substantial data sets.
AKS Looks to Make Node Disruption More Predictable with New NAP Guidance
Microsoft is enhancing the predictability of node disruptions within Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) with new guidance focused on Node Auto-Provisioning (NAP). This initiative balances the efficiency gains of automated node consolidation with the critical need for application availability. Platform teams can now leverage this resource to proactively manage potential impacts. For those exploring the broader implications of AI in data workflows, consider our article "How to Work with AI Coding Agents" for practical insights. This move underscores Microsoft’s commitment to a future-focused, reliable Kubernetes experience.
Google Cloud Launches AI-powered Agents to Simplify Database Lifecycle Management
Google Cloud is simplifying database lifecycle management with the introduction of AI-powered Database Operations Agents. These agents, featuring an Onboarding Agent for streamlined setup and an Observability Agent for automated troubleshooting and performance optimization, represent a significant step forward. Integrated with Gemini Cloud Assist, they support key services like AlloyDB, Bigtable, and Spanner. For a foundational understanding of the agentic AI driving this innovation, explore our article, "10 Essential Agentic AI Concepts Explained Simply."
India’s Ringg gets backing from Peak XV as it pushes voice AI past the phone call
Ringg, the India-based startup transforming voice AI beyond traditional phone calls, has secured $10 million in a Series A extension led by Peak XV. This investment underscores a growing recognition of Ringg’s potential to streamline communication and enhance productivity through innovative voice technology. The company is focused on making sophisticated AI accessible to businesses, empowering them to manage interactions more efficiently. For those interested in broader AI funding trends, explore our recent coverage of Stability AI’s $76 million raise.
Perplexity partners with Nvidia to launch Portable Computer, a fully local AI agent with zero token costs
Perplexity today launches Portable Computer, a significant step toward bringing powerful AI agents directly to users' hardware. Developed in partnership with Nvidia, this version of Perplexity’s “Computer” platform runs entirely locally, eliminating token costs and prioritizing data privacy. By combining a streamlined agent harness with models like Qwen 3.8, Portable Computer delivers impressive performance, even rivaling frontier models in certain tasks. For those exploring the possibilities of local AI, consider "How to Leverage Local Small Language Models for Your Projects" for a practical guide.
SpaceXAI Launches Grok Bot for Autonomous AI Agents
SpaceXAI is pioneering a new era of AI autonomy with the launch of Grok Bot. This system comprises persistent AI agents operating on dedicated cloud infrastructure, granting them the ability to interact seamlessly with websites, applications, and inboxes. Grok Bot represents a significant step toward truly autonomous workflows, moving beyond traditional limitations. For deeper insights into the challenges and solutions surrounding agentic traffic, explore our article, "Three Generations of Autoscaling." SpaceXAI continues to redefine the future of AI-driven productivity.
Three Generations of Autoscaling — And Why Agentic Traffic Breaks All of Them
For two decades, autoscaling has been a cornerstone of cloud infrastructure. However, the rise of agentic traffic—autonomous agents dynamically generating requests—is exposing fundamental limitations in these established approaches. This post explores three generations of autoscaling and definitively demonstrates how agentic traffic renders them ineffective. Discover a new paradigm for capacity planning, one built to address the evolving demands of the AI era. For further insight into related infrastructure investments, see "Nvidia investing $1.5B in SoftBank data center developer behind OpenAI project."
Podcast: Cloud and DevOps InfoQ Trends Report 2026: AI, Resilience, Platforms, FinOps, and Sovereignty
The InfoQ editorial staff presents the Cloud and DevOps InfoQ Trends Report 2026, a vital overview of key developments shaping the future of cloud and DevOps. This podcast episode features a candid discussion among InfoQ contributors—Daniel Bryant, Matt Saunders, Shweta Vohra, Steef-Jan Wiggers, and Mark Silvester—exploring AI's impact, resilience strategies, platform evolution, FinOps best practices, and data sovereignty concerns. Gain actionable insights from expert practitioners and discover what to prioritize in the coming year.
Infrastructure and compute: Enterprises are buying AI compute for speed while flying blind on what it costs
Enterprises have decisively moved AI infrastructure into production, with two-thirds now running live workloads and nearly three in ten operating at scale. However, a critical gap exists: the ability to accurately track AI compute costs hasn't kept pace. Performance and GPU availability now outweigh total cost of ownership in purchasing decisions, yet fewer than half of organizations rigorously track their AI compute expenses. This VentureBeat Pulse Research, surveying 170 enterprises, highlights the need for improved visibility into AI infrastructure economics.
Wiz Discloses CosmosEscape, and Practitioners Debate What Customers Could Have Done
Wiz Research has revealed CosmosEscape, a significant security vulnerability impacting Azure Cosmos DB. This chain allowed an attacker to escape the Gremlin sandbox and obtain a platform-wide key, granting full read and write access to every database. While Microsoft swiftly blocked the initial entry point, remediation took nearly two years. The incident has sparked debate among security practitioners regarding shared responsibility and the true cost of this rearchitecture.
AI is exposing the limits of traditional network architecture
AI’s rapid expansion is exposing critical limitations in traditional network architectures, hindering performance, reliability, and cost-effectiveness. Legacy systems, designed for static traffic, struggle to support the unpredictable, always-on demands of continuous inference and agent communication. A recent Bloomberg study commissioned by Tata Communications revealed that while AI is a board-level priority, many enterprises operate on outdated infrastructure. To unlock the full potential of AI investments, organizations must evolve their networks into intelligent, adaptive platforms—a shift Tata Communications is actively enabling.
Anthropic signs $10B deal with AI cloud startup Volta
Anthropic’s latest move solidifies its cloud partnership strategy: a reported $10 billion deal with AI cloud startup Volta. This significant investment underscores the escalating demand for specialized AI infrastructure. Anthropic has been actively seeking cloud partners to meet its rapidly growing computational needs. The Volta partnership promises to deliver scalable and optimized resources for Anthropic’s advanced AI models. For a deeper understanding of AI adoption challenges within organizations, explore our recent presentation, "The Five Stages of AI Maturity in Engineering Organizations."
AWS is helping vibe-coding startup Superblocks, and the implications are big
AWS is significantly expanding the accessibility of vibe-coding with its support for Superblocks, a startup pioneering this innovative approach. Now, Superblocks’ tools can be embedded directly into the private clouds of AWS customers, representing a crucial step toward decoupling applications from underlying models. This development empowers greater control and flexibility in data management. For deeper insights into optimizing LLM performance, explore our related article, "How to control reasoning effort and thinking-token budgets in LLMs."
Okta buys AI security startup Permiso; source says for about $200M
Okta has acquired Permiso, an AI security startup, bolstering its identity threat detection capabilities in a rapidly evolving landscape. Sources estimate the acquisition price at approximately $200 million. This strategic move directly addresses the increasing need for enterprises to secure AI agents and other non-human identities across cloud environments. As organizations increasingly rely on AI, securing these new identities becomes paramount. For further insights into the burgeoning synthetic user space, explore our coverage of Simile’s recent $200 million funding round.
CICD / KAFKA / KUBERNETES / Interview questions (MLE) [R]
Preparing for a Machine Learning Engineer interview focused on live streaming deployments? Your friend should prioritize questions around CI/CD pipelines, Kafka for data streaming, and Kubernetes for orchestration. Expect deep dives into topics like schema management, fault tolerance, and scaling strategies within these systems. Understanding how to debug deployment issues and monitor performance in a live environment is also key. For a more detailed look at building end-to-end ML platforms, see our recent article, "Recent project I worked on: End to End Edge ML platform."
Is KimiClaw a Useful Tool?
## Is KimiClaw a Useful Tool? KimiClaw vs. OpenClaw Evaluating AI agent platforms requires a clear understanding of trade-offs. This comparison assesses KimiClaw’s cloud-hosted platform against the self-hosted OpenClaw, focusing on setup complexity, data privacy implications, and the breadth of automation capabilities each offers. We'll rank each area to provide a practical guide for choosing the right solution.
Build and Run an Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) System in the Cloud
Unlock streamlined data management with an Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) system, now accessible in the cloud. This guide details building and running a solution on AWS to automate the classification and extraction of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) from emails – a critical step for compliance and efficiency. Discover how to transform unstructured data into actionable insights, empowering your workflows. For a deeper dive into the foundation models underpinning such systems, explore "Tabular LLMs: An Introduction" on our site.
ServiceNow bets $40 million on Indian banking software specialist to expand its financial services push
ServiceNow is strategically bolstering its financial services capabilities with a $40 million investment in BusinessNext, an Indian banking software specialist. This partnership positions BusinessNext to expand its AI-powered solutions globally, leveraging ServiceNow’s established platform. The move underscores ServiceNow’s commitment to transforming banking operations and highlights the growing importance of AI in the sector. For further insights into emerging tech investments, explore our related article on Yope’s recent seed funding round.
Google justifies its massive AI spending with a booming cloud business
Google’s substantial AI investments are yielding significant returns, fueled by a thriving cloud business. Record profits demonstrate the power of companies embracing Google’s AI and AI infrastructure services. This success underscores a clear trend: businesses are actively seeking innovative data management solutions. As IBM recently explored in response to its own market shifts, the integration of AI doesn't necessarily signal obsolescence for established technologies, but rather a transformation of their role.