Cloud Layoffs Hit Azure, Google, AWS Does Big Reorg

Another round of layoffs is hitting the cloud computing sector.

More than 1,000 people inside of Microsoft’s Azure unit reportedly are losing their jobs.

Per a scoop first published by Business Insider on June 3, teams including Azure for Operators and Mission Engineering will shed around 1,500 experts.

"Organizational and workforce adjustments are a necessary and regular part of managing our business. We will continue to prioritize and invest in strategic growth areas for our future and in support of our customers and partners," a Microsoft spokesperson told Reuters, which picked up the Business Insider news.

The Azure for Operators and Mission Engineering department is only three years old. It’s the part of Microsoft that works with firms including SpaceX, does quantum computing and more.

Microsoft Azure isn’t the only cloud computing provider conducting layoffs this week.

Turns out, Google Cloud is dumping about 100 people.

The affected roles include sales, consulting, “go-to-market” strategy, operations and engineering, according to internal correspondence viewed by CNBC this week. Some of those people helped put together last month’s Google Cloud Next in Las Vegas, per CNBC.

The cuts come even as Google Cloud is seeing its revenue jump thanks to the company’s AI technology and platforms. The AI competition is fierce and, apparently, Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian is under pressure to push growth while keeping an eye on spending.

Remember the VMware licensing portability announcement made at Google Cloud Next?

Well, turns out that Broadcom just made a similar deal with Microsoft Azure for VMware Cloud Foundation on Azure VMware Solution (that’s a mouthful).

Customers who own or purchase licenses for VMware Cloud Foundation will be able to use those licenses on Azure VMware Solution, as well as their own data centers, just like the Google Cloud arrangement.

Now the only hyperscaler seemingly left in the cold is AWS. While VMware Cloud on AWS remains available over at Broadcom, Broadcom recently made big changes around how buyers may access the service.

“VMware Cloud on AWS is no longer directly sold by AWS or its channel partners,” Broadcom CEO Hock Tan wrote in a May 6 blog. It’s that simple.”

It’s still not clear why Broadcom singled out AWS. 

AWS has responded by issuing a promotion to get VMware Cloud on AWS users to move to none other than AWS.

“We are disappointed that AWS is no longer operating as a VMware Cloud on AWS reseller but continue working closely with Broadcom to serve our mutual customers," the world's largest public cloud computing provider told Channel Futures in May. “We remain committed to helping customers take full advantage of the best cloud services for their business, including VMware Cloud on AWS.”

Turning once again to AWS … Matt Garman has officially taken over as CEO from Adam Selipsky.

And, as such, he already has made some “organizational adjustments” to the company’s leadership team. 

On June 3, Garman said he is not filling the role he just vacated in the sales, marketing and global services department, which he ran. Rather, he is making several streamlining moves.

The first is to bring AWS’ global sales teams underneath Greg Pearson. Those teams include global sales, worldwide public sector, the greater China region, and sales strategy and operations.

The second impacts the channels and alliances team. This group “helps build better connections between our global partners and our customers, and our WW Specialist Organization is the glue that connects our service teams to our customers,” Garman wrote in a company blog. “Ruba Borno will lead this new combined organization, with Jon Jones and his team moving to report to Ruba.”

Meanwhile, Uwem Ukpong will keep leading the global services organization at AWS, yet also taking on the sovereign cloud and international product management teams. Finally, Kathrin Renz will stay in charge of the AWS industries organization but also will oversee Scott Rosecrans and his people.

Pearson, Borno, Ukpong and Renz will continue to report to Garmin, along with other big AWS names including Peter DeSantis and Werner Vogels.

“I want to thank all these leaders for continuing to drive the evolution of our transformation to better serve customers and improve agility and collaboration between teams,” Garman said. 

Shifting gears to an AI-centric partnership deal.

Google Cloud and Workday are expanding their work together around generative AI. 

Workday specializes in human resources and financial management systems. Per the new arrangement, the company will use Google’s Gemini models and Vertex AI for gen AI within Workday Extend. This will help customers with business performance and insights, and help them do faster transactions and closing processes.

“Enterprises depend on Workday to manage millions of documents and power critical finance and HR functions,” said Stephen Orban, vice president of migrations, ISVs and marketplace at Google Cloud. “Google Cloud’s generative AI can help these organizations more efficiently search, analyze and retrieve information from the Workday platform, including code generation that expedites the development of new applications.”

Plus, Workday solutions now are available on Google Cloud Marketplace. 

As SAP Sapphire kicks off in Orlando, at least one cloud channel partner is touting changes to its portfolio.

Lemongrass Cloud, which focuses on SAP capabilities, has launched Rise with SAP Advisory Services. The company intends to guide enterprises through digital transformation with SAP technologies at the core.

Rise with SAP stands out as the ERP provider’s cloud-based environment. As such, Lemongrass has put together advisory services that support the shift from legacy to cloud solutions. Those include a look at SAP S/4HAHA readiness, application compatibility and transformation strategies. 

Lemongrass said it has more than 8,000 SAP servers and 400,000-plus SAP users under its management.

"With the launch of our Rise with SAP Advisory Offerings, Lemongrass affirms its commitment to delivering innovation through technology as well as offering strategic insights for our customers’ operational excellence," said Michael Rosenbloom, CEO of Lemongrass. "These added services, combined with the advisory experience of our team, help clients achieve a seamless and efficient transformation.”

Also tied to SAP Sapphire is a new announcement from Tricentris.

The company offers continuous testing and quality engineering, and sells through the indirect channel. It said on June 4 that it has new integrations and AI capabilities that support adoption of SAP S/4HANA Cloud.

That means, for starters, that Tricentris now is part of the Rise with SAP adoption framework. The framework gives partners and customers methodologies and tools for deploying SAP cloud software. Tricentris capabilities also now are part of SAP Cloud ALM, delivering application life cycle management.

“As businesses strive for seamless digital transformations, Tricentis aims to be a critical technology provider in the process, offering advanced quality assurance solutions that help accelerate, de-risk and optimize the implementations, upgrades, and transformations of customers’ SAP applications,” said VJ Kumar, senior vice president and general manager of strategic partnerships at Tricentis.

In other SAP Sapphire news, the ERP vendor made a slew of generative AI announcements during its June 4 keynote.

Not surprisingly, SAP has teamed with Nvidia, just as nearly every other cloud computing or cloud-adjacent provider has been doing (Snowflake and Cisco joined the crowd this week). The details surround SAP’s gen AI, named Joule. In addition to using Nvidia technologies, SAP will integrate Joule with Microsoft Copilot.

SAP further said it’s amping up its partnerships with Google Cloud, AWS and Meta, among other firms.

“Business success in the era of AI means being in the cloud,” SAP wrote in a June 4 blog. “SAP is making the move easier than ever with initiatives that help customers find partners with the expertise needed for complex SAP S/4HANA Cloud transformations.” 

In other SAP Sapphire news, the ERP vendor made a slew of generative AI announcements during its June 4 keynote.

Not surprisingly, SAP has teamed with Nvidia, just as nearly every other cloud computing or cloud-adjacent provider has been doing (Snowflake and Cisco joined the crowd this week). The details surround SAP’s gen AI, named Joule. In addition to using Nvidia technologies, SAP will integrate Joule with Microsoft Copilot.

SAP further said it’s amping up its partnerships with Google Cloud, AWS and Meta, among other firms.

“Business success in the era of AI means being in the cloud,” SAP wrote in a June 4 blog. “SAP is making the move easier than ever with initiatives that help customers find partners with the expertise needed for complex SAP S/4HANA Cloud transformations.”