Day two of Supercloud 4 is under way, featuring key conversations on AI, cloud and market trends with industry experts from Google LLC, ChaosSearch Inc., Walmart Inc. and Red Hat Inc., among many others, according to theCUBE industry analyst John Furrier.

With the earnings season for hyperscaler cloud providers, such as Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services Inc. and Microsoft Corp. in full swing, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio theCUBE delves into the crucial question: Where does the market stand now?

“We are in a weird market,” said Furrier (pictured, left). “Are we in a recession? What’s the cloud outlook look like? Generative AI’s got all the hype. Is the bloom off the rose, or is it still hyping? It seems like it is like a web moment, where people are so enthusiastic.”

Things are playing out as predicted, especially with Microsoft’s gains in the AI domain, according to analyst Dave Vellante (center).

“Microsoft is winning,” he said. “Its relationship with OpenAI has clearly … put it in the lead with AI. But the interesting thing is when has Amazon not led? Google, who has got the best AI … didn’t have a great quarter.”

Furrier, Vellante and fellow analyst Rob Strechay (right) also discussed Supercloud 4 topics and key guests.

The role of generative AI and cloud players

OpenAI’s initial burst into the AI market established it as a leader, but now the landscape is becoming increasingly competitive. Alternatives, especially open-source options, are cropping up and offering capabilities that rival or even exceed those of OpenAI, according to Vellante. This competition is natural in a growing and lucrative field, and it puts pressure on OpenAI to continue innovating.

While the buzz around generative AI is palpable, its impact on cloud performance metrics is a mixed bag. OpenAI has helped Microsoft “jump the line,” enabling quick deployment of chatbots and prototypes, thus aiding Microsoft in building out first proof of concept type AI products, according to Strechay. Meanwhile, Google’s Vertex is still a relatively new entrant, and its hype hasn’t translated into a significant market shift.

“I think we’re still … early innings on that,” he said. “A lot of the open models, you have watsonx coming in, you have a number of different walled gardens that are still yet to be built for people to secure their data, protect their intellectual property. And I think that’s going to have a big impact on clouds.

Vellante also sees potential in watsonx, describing it as a “diamond in the rough.”

“We’re actually seeing momentum for watsonx after all the years of pain that we had to endure listening about Watson and not performing in the market,” he said. “It actually looks like watsonx has some really great potential and some momentum behind it.”

Strategic approaches and the road ahead

The competition between Amazon and Microsoft in the cloud and AI markets is an intriguing subject. Microsoft’s strategy appears more straightforward: It has the applications and is adding AI layers to enhance them. This gives them a captive market that’s likely to boost their performance significantly, according to Furrier.

On the other hand, Amazon relies much more on external developers to build applications and compete as SaaS companies.

“Amazon’s well-positioned,” Vellante said. “They’ve got to execute, they’ve to deliver and they’ve got to show at re:Invent that people actually are using this stuff, and then I think they’ll do great.”

This highlights Amazon’s need not only to position itself effectively, but also to execute its strategy well, especially in convincing the customer base of its capabilities.

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of Supercloud 4:

Photo: SiliconANGLE