Cloud Realities – the podcast series

Dave, Esmee, and Rob are strapping in for another season of bold, brain-bending conversations—and they’re bringing the flux capacitor with them from Back to the Future.

Season 5 beams in global leaders and innovators who challenge how we think about technology, business, and humanity. From AI disruption to digital sovereignty, from leadership to culture—this season’s guests are ready to shake things up.

Our first full episode drops on September 25, but before we hit 88 miles per hour, here’s a quick trailer to set the timeline straight, or at least bend it a little.

Dave, Esmee, and Rob take a moment to look back on the wild ride that was Season 4—revisiting the themes that sparked the biggest conversations and the guests who left a lasting impression. They also reveal what’s on their summer to-do lists and drop a few juicy hints about what’s coming in Season 5. Get ready—it’s going to be even bigger and bolder.

Thank you to all our listeners and guests for joining us in Season 4 – have a great summer and we will see you in September!

TLDR:

• 00:40 Season 4 by the numbers – and a fun mix-up with round figures
• 03:20 Reflecting on standout topics and memorable guests
• 03:42 Scaling AI: Hyperscaler narratives, tech momentum, and the adoption gap
• 13:18 Ethics in the AI era – how organizations can and must stay grounded
• 18:12 The human factor: Why “human-in-the-loop” matters more than ever
• 27:29 Sovereignty in tech – geopolitics, shifting narratives, and the rise of Sovereign AI
• 37:16 A deep dive into Telco – highlights from our dedicated mini-series
• 53:48 2025 tech trends with Gene Kim
• 55:33 Listener Q&A: Daniel Delicate on Cynefin vs. IT operating models
• 1:01:44 Andrea Kis on keeping humanity in fast-paced tech
• 1:06:09 Ezhil Suresh on how we prep and record our podcast with top-tier guests
• 1:11:38 John Eaton-Griffin on how guests have shaped our thinking
• 1:17:19 A word from our co-host
• 1:19:57 Looking ahead to Season 5: AAA episodes, new industry mini-series, and Hyperscaler events
• 1:22:09 Meet our new AI companions: Substack and the Cloud Realities chatbot
• 1:23:40 What’s next for us this summer

The rise of structure software fueled globalization by streamlining operations across borders. Now, Cloud and AI are accelerating this momentum, enabling faster innovation, smarter decision-making, and scalable growth. By modernizing ERP with intelligent technologies, organizations can stay agile, competitive, and ready for the next wave of global transformation.

This week, Dave, Esmee and Rob talk to Timo Elliott, Innovation Evangelist at SAP, to explore how SAP is driving globalization—and how organizations can accelerate innovation through the power of Cloud and AI.

TLDR:

• 00:55 Introduction of Timo Elliott
• 02:40 Rob shares his confusion about misleading online ads
• 08:06 In-depth conversation with Timo
• 46:32 Rethinking control in enterprise systems
• 1:00:00 Brunch at a Paris café or joining an event?

Guest:

• Timo Elliott

GreenOps is a cultural transformation that empowers developers to turn emissions data into meaningful action, bridging the communication gap with ESG teams and exposing the critical truth that cloud cost and carbon cost are not the same, which fundamentally reshapes how we approach sustainable IT.

This week, Dave, Esmee and Rob talk to James Hall, Head of GreenOps at Green Pixie, to unpack the real state of GreenOps today—and why we’ve only just scratched the surface.

TLDR:

• 01:57 Rob is confused about AGI
• 06:11 Cloud conversation with James Hall
• 22:10 Esmee as media archeologist, found GreenOps is 50 years old
• 30:46 Having some drinks in the summer

Guest:

• James Hall

Quantum computing in 2025 is rapidly advancing toward commercialization, with breakthroughs in algorithms, scalable hardware, and cloud-based quantum services driving real-world applications across finance, healthcare, logistics, and cybersecurity

This week, Dave, Esmee, and Rob dive into the cutting edge of quantum computing with Catherine Vollgraff Heidweiller, Quantum AI PM at Google, and James Goeders, Head of Product for Google Quantum AI, exploring how far we’ve come since our June 2023 Quantumania! episode and what to expect from Willow—the bold fusion of quantum, AI, digital integration, deployment, and the broader tech ecosystem.

TLDR:

• 00:46 Meet Catherine and James – intros and backgrounds
• 02:22 Rob is confused about students using AI
• 09:40 Deep dive with Catherine and James on the current state and future of Quantum
• 48:01 Quantum isn’t just tech—it’s a whole new way of thinking
• 1:01:37 Seize the moment and bringing external users onto quantum hardware

Guest:

• Catherine Vollgraff Heidweiller
• James Goeders

The telecom industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation. This shift is creating new business opportunities and services but also brings significant challenges in transformation and modernization. In this special bonus episode, building on our Reimagining Telecoms mini-series, we dive into the current opportunities shaping today’s dynamic telco landscape.

This week, Dave, Esmee and Rob talk to Vivek Badrinath,  Director General of the GSMA about the current opportunities shaping today’s dynamic telco landscape and the role of GSMA.

TLDR:

• 01:38 Introduction to Vivek and the bonus episode
• 03:48 In-depth conversation with Vivek Badrinath
• 42:13 Can empathy become a strategic KPI in telecom?
• 47:20 Event in Uzbekistan and doubling down on the digital ecosystem

Guest:

• Vivek Badrinath

Telco Production:

• Praveen Shankar