Enterprise Cloud Leadership Confirmed by Air Force

AWS won a big cloud services contract from the U.S. Air Force.

The job is worth about $581 million and will run until December 2028.

Cloud One program

Under the Air Force’s Cloud One program, AWS will supply cloud computing services to many parts of the Air Force.

The work will happen at AWS sites in the U.S. and support systems that help Air Force teams run applications and data in the cloud.

Shared contract context

This is the second large award under Cloud One recently. Microsoft also won a smaller cloud deal this month for work that lasts until the same end date.

Cloud One brings in several cloud providers so the Air Force can mix services from different companies.

The Air Force first set up Cloud One in 2022 as a way to modernize how it uses cloud tools and data.

AWS has been making big investments in cloud capacity for U.S. government work and is planning new data centers to support secure government workloads.

This contract shows how big cloud providers are now key partners in running core systems for major government tech programs.

AI startup Perplexity agreed to pay Microsoft about 750 million dollars for cloud services that will run for three years.

Big Cloud Deal

Perplexity will use Microsoft’s Azure cloud service and a tool called Foundry to run different kinds of AI models from places like OpenAI, Anthropic, and X.

This lets the company use many kinds of smart models in its tools.

Microsoft Foundry acts as a place where many models can be used together.

Perplexity says it did not stop using Amazon Web Services for its main cloud work. AWS is still where much of its system runs.

Why This Matters

This move shows that Perplexity wants to work with more than one cloud company.

That can help it avoid trouble if one provider has a problem or limits access.

The deal also makes Microsoft stronger in the race to host big AI systems.

Perplexity is still in a legal conflict with Amazon over a feature that uses automation in shopping, which may be part of why it is adding another cloud partner.

Public cloud changed IT with fast scale, APIs, and self-service.

But key promises stayed incomplete.

Costs stayed hard to track. Systems stayed complex. Many apps never moved.

What missed the mark

Serverless showed a simpler path. Limits stopped it from spreading wide.

Cloud services outside core regions also came too early.

Data rules may bring this idea back.

Cloud firms stayed on basics

Big providers focused on compute, storage, and networks.

They did not buy many large software firms.

AI may push them toward full systems, not just parts.

Multi cloud is now normal

Most firms already use more than one cloud.

Vendors are starting to accept this.

AI changes the pressure

AI needs space, power, and money. Some older services may fade away.

Security must start locked down. Data control and country rules now shape design.

Cloud 2.0 will be shaped by AI limits, data rules, and simpler systems.

Many teams woke up to missing email and broken work tools.

Microsoft 365 went down for hours and caused wide disruption.

What went wrong

The outage hit key services like Outlook, Teams, and Exchange.

Users could not send mail, join meetings, or access files.

The issue lasted close to ten hours for some regions.

Who was affected

Business users across Europe and other regions felt the impact first.

Companies that rely on Microsoft tools for daily work were forced to pause.

Support desks filled fast as staff tried to understand what was broken.

Microsoft response

Microsoft said the problem came from a fault in part of its system.

Engineers rolled back changes and worked to restore access step by step.

Service was slowly brought back online during the day.

Why it matters

Microsoft 365 is a core work tool for many firms.

When it fails, work stops almost at once.

The outage raised fresh questions about trust and backup plans.

This event is a reminder that even large cloud services can fail, and teams need plans for when they do.

Tencent is expanding its cloud computing presence in the Middle East, aiming to tap into growing demand for cloud and AI services.

Middle East as a Hub
Governments across the Gulf are investing heavily in cloud infrastructure and AI to diversify their economies.

Global tech companies, including US firms like Nvidia and OpenAI, are also focusing on the region, signaling rapid growth in IT spending.

Early Moves
Tencent already operates a cloud availability zone in Saudi Arabia and provides services to regional gaming companies.

This early foothold positions it to grow alongside both Chinese companies entering the region and local enterprises needing cloud support.

Competition and Strategy
Tencent faces US giants like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.

Its strategy relies on following existing Chinese clients abroad and leveraging its expertise in gaming and enterprise tech.

Expanding cloud operations supports Tencent’s AI initiatives and helps meet local data regulations.

Future Outlook
Investing in the Middle East allows Tencent to diversify revenue and strengthen its global footprint.

While competition is intense, the region’s fast adoption of cloud technologies makes it a key focus for the company’s international strategy.

Tencent’s push shows how global tech firms are racing to capture emerging cloud markets.

Defense operations today depend not just on collecting data, but on turning it into actionable intelligence quickly, even in tough conditions where networks are limited or unreliable.

Forces across land, sea, air, cyber, and space need AI that works locally, securely, and fast.

Whitespace and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

Whitespace, a UK company specializing in sovereign AI, has built an operating system called Collective. It runs AI applications in secure, disconnected, and high-assurance environments.

Partnering with Oracle, Whitespace deploys its solutions on Oracle’s distributed cloud, including Compute Cloud@Customer Isolated, Exadata Cloud@Customer, and Roving Edge Devices.

Operational Learning with Saga

Whitespace’s Saga system captures and organizes operational knowledge to support decision-making in the field.

When deployed on Oracle Roving Edge Devices, it runs securely even without internet connections, turning local data into real-time insights.

It follows NATO frameworks to capture lessons learned and shares them across units and allies.

Applications Beyond Defense

Beyond military use, these systems can help law enforcement, government agencies, and critical infrastructure organizations operate securely in restricted or disconnected environments.

AI can analyze sensitive data locally while maintaining operational continuity and governance.

Future of Sovereign AI

The collaboration shows that trusted, sovereign AI is achievable today.

Oracle Roving Edge Devices provide secure, scalable AI from headquarters to remote field locations, empowering organizations to make fast, data-driven decisions.

Sovereign AI solutions like Saga demonstrate that intelligence at the tactical edge is now possible, supporting critical missions wherever they occur.