Cloud Wars Live with Bob Evans

In today’s Cloud Wars Minute, I dig into Microsoft’s fiscal Q2 results, unpacking the headline RPO surge, the OpenAI effect, and what the numbers really say about future demand.
Highlights
00:10 — Want to talk about Microsoft's fiscal Q2, numbers that came out yesterday. That's for the three months ended, December 31 and there was some remarkable numbers in there, but we're going to dig into those a little. They're still remarkable, but they need to be understood in a deeper context, and I want to share that today.
00:28 — So, the big number that jumped out to me very good, Q2 Microsoft Cloud revenue growth overall. But the big number that jumped out to me was for their Q2 RPO, remaining performance obligation, which is future contracted business not yet recognized as revenue. So, it's a look into the future the pipeline and customer demand for that.
00:51 — Microsoft said their RPO for Q2 jumped 110% to $625 billion an enormous number that's even larger than Oracle, which in the past couple quarters, has leapfrogged Microsoft as the RPO leader. But now it's back to Microsoft. Now, that 110% includes an enormous deal, a commitment from OpenAI. I if we take that out the OpenAI commitment then the RPO growth from all of Microsoft's other customers grew 28%.
01:29 — I'm not saying this try to undercut a tremendous performance by Microsoft. They earned that OpenAI deal. It's great. And hey, 281 billion is 281 billion, but this reflects a little bit of a different tone to that enormous number. Looking back the other direction, so not into the future with RPO, but the past three months, cloud revenue was up 26% to $51.5 billion.
02:34 — Now the RPO totals, I mentioned, $625 billion. Microsoft said that 45% of that 625 billion, that equates to about $281 billion is from an a commitment for OpenAI for future cloud and AI infrastructure services.
04:19 — Late last year, OpenAI signed a $38 billion deal with AWS. And there are not many $38 billion deals in any industry, of any kind, anywhere. It's only in the cloud — this greatest growth market the world has ever known — that you can look at a $38 billion deal and say, "Wow, that's 1/10 the size of these other deals with AWS competitors, Microsoft and Oracle."

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In this episode of the AI Agent & Copilot Podcast, John Siefert is joined by Shawn Dorward, Vice President at sa.global and a second-year leader on the Programming Committee Board. Together, they explore how the AI landscape has evolved from curiosity to execution, what made the 2026 AI Agent & Copilot Summit NA speaker selection process so competitive, and how leadership, creativity, and intentional AI adoption are shaping the future of enterprise innovation.
Key Takeaways
• Creativity without constraints: Dorward says that AI removes many historical limitations, forcing leaders to think without predefined rules. The most compelling session proposals challenged conventional narratives, offering unconventional ideas that expanded what attendees believed was possible. This creative freedom is essential as organizations explore entirely new operating models enabled by AI.
• Intentional AI wins: Both speakers stress that success won’t come from using AI everywhere, but from using it intentionally. Knowing when not to apply AI is just as important as knowing when to deploy it. Organizations that align AI usage with clear business goals will outperform those chasing technology for its own sake.
• Leadership must evolve: AI-driven enterprises demand a new kind of leadership — one that blends technical understanding with human judgment, ethics, and change management.That kind of leadership, not technology, will ultimately differentiate organizations in an agentic world. “What everybody doesn’t have is the same leadership," he says. "The human element, the people element is what will separate people organizations.”

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In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I compare how AWS, Microsoft, Google Cloud, and Oracle are competing in the sovereign cloud race.
Highlights
00:03 — AWS has announced the general availability of the AWS European Sovereign Cloud. This new, independent cloud service is located solely within the EU’s borders, ensuring that it’s separate from other AWS regions. Ultimately, the European Sovereign Cloud enables companies to comply with the EU’s sovereignty requirements without sacrificing any of the power of AWS infrastructure.
00:55 — AWS is not alone in the Cloud Wars Top 10 in offering sovereign cloud capabilities to the European market. Microsoft provides the Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty through localized frameworks. Google Cloud, through local partnerships, has also developed sovereign-focused solutions. And Oracle has introduced the Oracle EU Sovereign Cloud Regions.
01:24 — It appears there is space for all of these competitors, because the market is demanding this sovereignty more than ever. Now, originally, this movement towards sovereign cloud solutions in Europe was stimulated by the EU’s tough stance on data protection.
02:03 — However, as we enter a period of increased global instability, these sovereign services may take on further significance by enabling companies to operate more independently, and by that, I mean in geographies of their choice.

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In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I debunk the myth that legacy vendors like Oracle, Microsoft, and SAP can’t thrive in the cloud and AI era.
Highlights
00:10 — I want to talk about why Oracle, Microsoft, and SAP are thriving and being leaders in the industry in both cloud and AI. Why is this happening? Especially because, if you look back, we kept hearing this conventional wisdom that the legacy vendors were going to be just blown away, wiped out by these new cloud-native companies and startups, right?
00:42 — That the traditional companies here — the fifty-somethings — Oracle, Microsoft, SAP, IBM, and others, were just too old. They were fuddy-duddies. They couldn’t make the turn. They didn’t get cloud. They didn’t understand it, and these hotshot new companies were just going to blow them away.
01:36 — We see these companies not just holding their own, but actually being pioneers. Oracle, now number two on the Cloud Wars Top 10; Microsoft, number three; SAP, number four. They’re doing the AI economy as well, and a big part of that is tied directly to the fact that these companies have all been around for almost 50 years or more.
02:22 —Oracle, 49 years. Microsoft, 51 years. SAP, 54 years. They’re wearing those sort of Boomer ages as badges of honor, and doing incredibly well in the marketplace here because they’re able to use their expertise with every sort of technology ever invented.
03:04 — One of the ways that conventional wisdom in this business plays out is this notion of a zero-sum game, where there’s a limited, finite supply of assets or resources or market share — total addressable market. I mean, that’s just absolutely absurd.
04:15 — This is not a zero-sum game, and these so-called experts who try to preach that and guide decision-making based on that just don’t get it. They’re applying a model that fits some other industries that certainly does not here, and it’s actually quite harmful to follow that.

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Key Takeaways
What to expect in 2026: The industry has moved from its previous point in the "hype cycle" into a more realistic phase, where limitations of AI and agents are clearer, and new methodologies are needed to extract real business value. Robinson adds that this year’s AI Agent & Copilot Summit serves as an important refresh to share what’s been learned, preview what’s coming, and features an exceptionally strong lineup of Microsoft AI leaders.
Session selection process: Robinson, who serves on the event's Programming Committee Board, describes what he was looking for when selecting sessions: a balance of technical depth with business context, so attendees understand foundational concepts before advancing into more complex topics. The goal was to ensure attendees walk away with both the “cool” innovations and the practical know‑how needed to apply AI effectively without creating business issues.
2026 sessions: Robinson details the five sessions he'll be leading, including:
"From Future Proof to Future Agile," on March 18
"Copilot Studio 101 & Implementation Guide," on March 18
"Child Agents, Instructions, and Descriptions: A New Way of Building," on March 18
"Update to Understanding Component Collections Vs Multi-Agent," on March 19
"Multi-Agent AI Systems with Microsoft Foundry, Copilot Studio, Fabric, Microsoft Agent Framework," on March 19
He adds that "I would love to get your insights [on] where you're having problems, challenges you're seeing... so that'll just be additional value-add on top of these great learnings in the masterclass."
Final thoughts: Robinson encourages attendees to fully engage with the event’s intimate, community‑focused format, noting that “these speakers are going to be available to you, so take the opportunity to interact with them.” He emphasizes following the full education track for maximum value and making time for social events to connect, learn, and share insights.

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