Catch-up: what we learn from Sonos and OpenTofu, how I use AI at work, Bluesky is getting pretty good. Found by fuzzyghost.Agentic AII’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about the Tanzu point of view on AI and the stack we have (Spring AI and the VMware Tanzu AI Solutions). There’s a lot mysticism around agentic AI, but when you reduce it down to an API, you can simplify it.

Now that we’ve replaced all these people with a robot, how can we climb the CAGR?I was a guest on the Cloudcast this week. I go over how I use AI and then Brian and I discuss how companies could get more use out of AI. Most of it, I think, rests on how management behaves and uses AI. As with all “productivity” tools, management can get some quick-wins on “productivity” by replacing people with automation - firing humans, favoring computers.

Just links and stuff today. Relative to your interestsWhen to Consider Building a Private Cloud: A Pragmatic Perspective - Yes, and: consider if you already have a private cloud and it’s working just fine. Don’t able flip your success to chase improvements that you’ve already achieved and rely on. Trust in Generative AI: A European and Dutch Perspective - ”the gap between GenAI usage for personal activities (47%) and work-related tasks (23%) remains significant.

Field notes from my annual note taking rumspringaI went through my annual “I should try to use Obsidian” cycle last month. As always, I went back to Apple Notes after a few weeks. Here’s my read-out of this year’s cycle.1 Notebook philosophiesFirst, here’s an Apple Notes method to get an Obsidian/Notion feel, briefly mentioned this week on our podcast. The method also gives you a sense of what the hard-core Obsidian philosophy is.

“1978 Chrysler New Yorker.”Monolithic Transformation revisitedRyan re-read my 2019 book on improving your application strategy, mostly at large organizations: The message is as relevant now as it was in 2019: success comes down to nailing the basics - ship fast, iterate faster, and keep the user front and center. Coté’s framework of small-batch thinking, cross-functional teams, and user-first design isn’t theory - it’s a map for organizations to fundamentally rethink how they deliver software.

CaaS ProblemsNicky lists the advantages of a real platform over Kubernetes. The platform is Cloud Foundry, and it’s been in development and use for many years, all ready to use. Building platformsI think he goes a little strong on the “sometimes Kubernetes is good for…” part, but that’s mandatory seasoning for such commentary.I don’t hear a lot of people saying “we love Kubernetes!” This is especially true at “normal” organizations. Those that don’t complain (too much) have built layer upon layer of platform-code on-top of Kubernetes and tooling around it, hiding it from developers and even operators.

Each year we go back to Texas for the Christmas break. We’ve lived in Amsterdam for six years, so whenyou’re a stranger yourself at home, you notice things. Here’s a selection. Using the word “awesome.” Dip Cup. People starting sentences with “Honestly…” Adults saying the word “TikTok.” Ford Ranger truck. Hotel rooms with three flat screen TVs. Egg Nog, various sizes, brands, also available in soy and oat. Can’t buy wine before 10am on Sunday, whether to drink now or later.

AI Stone SoupOne of my co-workers, AI Adib, pointed me towards the AI stone soup, uh…analogy? Parable? Anyhow, the point of it is that the models at the core of all this AI stuff are cool, but it’s the layers and layers of applications and people on-top that make the difference. The app that you put on-top of the AI is what matters. Indeed, the whole reason we’re talking about AI now is because of the app of ChatGPT, then Gemini, Midjourney, NotebookML’s podcasts, Claude, Perplexity, etc.

Where are people putting their modernized apps? Here’s a recent survey chart on that topic from 451: Recent ContentThree things for you today: The private cloud equilibrium - my most recent attempt to figure out how much private cloud is out there. Platform Engineering and UK Digital People, with Abby Bangser - this week’s Software Defined Interviews: As if platform engineering and expat'ing in the UK weren't enough, Whintney and Coté discuss the forgotten technology of business cards wih Abby Bangser.

Open Source $$$ Ethics, How Analysts use AI, Advanced Chicken Nugget Diplomacy, with Rachel StephensIn this episode of Software Defined Interviews, Whitney Lee and Coté dive into the insights of Rachel Stephens from RedMonk about the world of being an industry analyst. They discuss experiences from working as an analyst, the balance between qualitative and quantitative analysis, the challenges and misconceptions surrounding open-source business models, and the impact of AI on the analyst profession and beyond.