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Dion Hinchcliffe @dhinchcliffe.bsky.social · 20h

Google is looking to lock in an AI advantage with this move

www.marketwatch.com/story/google...

I shared thoughts on this move with MarketWatch this week…

Google is looking to lock in an AI advantage with this move

With the launch of Gemini Enterprise, Google is betting that easy-to-build AI ‘agents’ are the key to unlocking the corporate market and boosting Alphabet shares.

www.marketwatch.com

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Dion Hinchcliffe @dhinchcliffe.bsky.social · 7d

I was mentioned in @futurism.com this week about the concentration of tech investment in the Mag 7.

My take: With the latest cloud and AI spending forecasts nearly matching vendors' sky high expectations, we are seemingly not in bubbly times. Yet.

futurism.com/future-socie...

AI Poised to Gut Your Retirement Fund, Analysts Warn

The AI spending bubble could have an ominous effect on 401(k)s, given the massive concentration of tech stocks in the S&P500.

futurism.com

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Dion Hinchcliffe @dhinchcliffe.bsky.social · 7d

Generative AI will drive cloud spend blitz

ciodive.com/news/generat...

Public cloud spend will increase fourfold over the next three years. Proximal cause: Growing generative AI workloads says new survey data.

My take: Matches the huge capex AI investments of the hyperscalers.

Generative AI drives cloud spend blitz

Public cloud spend will increase fourfold over the next three years, largely driven by growing generative AI workloads, according to TD Cowen.

ciodive.com

Dion Hinchcliffe @dhinchcliffe.bsky.social · 7d

Just overheard from a large agentic AI vendor:

"AI agents need a blend of creativity and determinism."

The right problem statement exactly. Getting that mix balanced will be critical to get the value from AI.

Dion Hinchcliffe @dhinchcliffe.bsky.social · 8d

#CIOChat Great chat today. Next Chat Topic: Major Infrastructure Upgrades

Topic thanks to our long-time chat colleague, @efeatherston.

Month 6 of our chat movie tie-ins. Hope you enjoy them.

And invite your colleagues!

Dion Hinchcliffe @dhinchcliffe.bsky.social · 8d

One of my favorite stories about KPIs vs mindshare was talking to the founder of the first multibillion business software firm in India.

He said: KPIs = useful. But they made workers run a treadmill + they were useless to do much else.

If a unit made $, that was enough. #CIOChat

Dion Hinchcliffe @dhinchcliffe.bsky.social · 8d

#CIOChat Q4: Over time, metrics fade but mindsets endure.

What stories can you share where investing in mindset over short-term metrics created transformative outcomes for IT and the business?

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Reposted by Dion Hinchcliffe

Chris Petersen @cpetersen-cs.bsky.social · 8d

A1.1) Emphasize lead over lag metrics. Get the teams involved in their own success through setting goals, exploring how tatical changes can move strategic needles, public dashboards, and gamification among other things (Four Disciplines of Execution). #ciochat

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Reposted by Dion Hinchcliffe

Chris Petersen @cpetersen-cs.bsky.social · 8d

A1.2) Potentially the worst case is managing to the employee engagement survey dashboard. Of course, ignoring that is also perilous. #ciochat

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Dion Hinchcliffe @dhinchcliffe.bsky.social · 8d

The practical reality is that IT team are overscheduled + have too big a backlog.

And running teams at max speed tends to perpetuate the issue. It's not just cadence. You can't see the forest for the trees if things are too intense.

Mindset can't work on better ways.

#CIOChat

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Reposted by Dion Hinchcliffe

Chris Petersen @cpetersen-cs.bsky.social · 8d

A2) That depends a lot on the org chart and what frameworks / mindsets it reflects. Slack may actually be slack, but it may also be the "if it ain't broke, improve it" time. Ruthlessly down-sizing teams is definitely the anti-pattern and a sign of wishful thinking. #ciochat

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Dion Hinchcliffe @dhinchcliffe.bsky.social · 8d

#CIOChat Q3: Metrics measure what is, but mindsets shape what’s possible.

How do CIOs design measurement systems that reward adaptability, creativity, and resilience, and not just speed and volume?

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Dion Hinchcliffe @dhinchcliffe.bsky.social · 8d

#CIOChat Q2: High-tempo, metric-driven execution can burn teams out.

What leadership practices have you used to create productive slack + a forward-thinking state of mind for innovation and learning, without losing credibility on performance?

Dion Hinchcliffe @dhinchcliffe.bsky.social · 8d

#CIOChat Q1: CIOs are often judged by dashboards full of uptime, velocity, and throughput.

Yet the best leaders know it's actually culture and mindset that drive lasting results. How do you balance delivering to hard metrics with cultivating the right team mindset?

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Dion Hinchcliffe @dhinchcliffe.bsky.social · 8d

Also, I'll be Los Angeles for the first half of next week for #TeradataPossible, if any #CIOChat denizens would like to meet up!

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Dion Hinchcliffe @dhinchcliffe.bsky.social · 8d

I've been forward to this week's #CIOChat, as it explores a key topic that I've been increasingly focused on:

How to balance mindset vs. pure KPIs for creating a great but sustainable IT team.

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Dion Hinchcliffe @dhinchcliffe.bsky.social · 8d

#CIOChat: Welcome to today’s chat. Topic: Mindsets vs. Metrics

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Dion Hinchcliffe @dhinchcliffe.bsky.social · 8d

The ways that ChatGPT is used by professional users was just released by OpenAI.

It's fairly revealing, showing overwhelming use of gen by IT, versus all other domains.

Then professional/scientific tasks.

Surprisingly, manufacturing turned in a solid third place showing.

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Dion Hinchcliffe @dhinchcliffe.bsky.social · 8d

#CIOChat at the top of the hour cc: @cpetersen-cs.bsky.social @jimcrussell.bsky.social @efeatherston.bsky.social @iangertler.bsky.social @jbrodsky.bsky.social @toddmazza.bsky.social @andrewnebus.bsky.social @bhaines0.bsky.social @sappley.bsky.social @amypearlman.bsky.social @jimpeluso.bsky.social

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Dion Hinchcliffe @dhinchcliffe.bsky.social · 8d

9/ Bottom line:

Satya’s reorient, Judson’s new role, Agent Mode in Office for "vibe work", Azure’s multi-agent framework, M365 Premium, and AI-native security — all in single week.

Microsoft just escalated + increased focus on the AI platform race. 🚀

Dion Hinchcliffe @dhinchcliffe.bsky.social · 8d

8/ For CIOs:

Start planning for multi-agent AI → It. has arrived now inside both Office + Azure

End-user adoption pressure will spike as Copilot awareness + demand spreads

Governance + security are differentiators: MSFT is explicitly courting enterprise trust + security

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Dion Hinchcliffe @dhinchcliffe.bsky.social · 8d

7/ Where’s the edge?

🏢 Productivity moat: Copilot agents in all Office apps

☁️ Platform moat: Azure’s agent governance = Trust

🔒 Security moat: AI-native defenses in Sentinel

Microsoft is seeking to differentiate with powerful AI at every level.

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Dion Hinchcliffe @dhinchcliffe.bsky.social · 8d

6/ Other news worth noting:

Microsoft365 Premium ($19.99): Copilot everywhere, higher limits

Security Copilot + Sentinel: AI-native defenses → Long-term log storage, graph viz, injection defenses, PII guardrails

Microsoft keeps layering AI into key parts of the cloud stack.

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Dion Hinchcliffe @dhinchcliffe.bsky.social · 8d

5/ Value to customers:

Chained tasks = Scalable, reliable + auditable

Key differentiator: Agents can readily cross apps, datasets, and clouds

CIOs gain visibility + control → Less “black box” AI

This helps make Copilot agents usable in real enterprises for real tasks.

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Dion Hinchcliffe @dhinchcliffe.bsky.social · 8d

4/⚙️ Azure AI Foundry: A new multi-agent framework

Build, observe, and govern agentic systems directly in Azure.

Think @LangChainAI-style orchestration, but with enterprise-grade compliance + controls.

Differentiator: Trust, versatility + governance at cloud scale.

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