Welcome to above the clouds
AWS – AWS HealthOmics now supports task level timeout controls for Nextflow workflows
AWS HealthOmics introduces support for the Nextflow time directive, which enables customers to set task level timeout controls to limit run duration for specific tasks. With this launch, customers can now set fine-grained controls for their Nextflow workflow tasks to enable automated run cancellation if specific tasks take longer than expected. AWS HealthOmics is a […]
AWS – Amazon EBS launches snapshot copy for AWS Local Zones
Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS), a high-performance block storage service, announces the general availability of snapshot copy for AWS Local Zones. This new feature helps you meet your business and compliance requirements by ensuring that your EBS Snapshots are copied to the AWS Region or AWS Local Zone. Snapshot copy copies a point-in-time local […]
AWS – AWS IoT ExpressLink technical specification v1.3
Today, AWS IoT ExpressLink, a connectivity software that powers a range of hardware modules developed and offered by AWS Partners, announces the release of technical specification v1.3. The updated specification provides hardware manufacturers, who design and develop Internet of Things (IoT) devices, new features for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication and a new group of commands […]
AWS – Amazon RDS Custom for SQL Server now supports new General Distribution Releases for Microsoft SQL Server 2019, 2022
Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) Custom for SQL Server now supports new General Distribution Releases (GDR) for Microsoft SQL Server 2019 (RDS Version 15.00.4435.7.v1) and Microsoft SQL Server 2022 (RDS version 16.00.4200.1.v1). The new GDRs address vulnerabilities described in CVE-2025-49717, CVE-2025-49718 and CVE-2025-49719. For additional information, review Microsoft release notes KB5058722 and KB5058721. We […]
AWS – Amazon U7i instances now available in the AWS Asia Pacific (Seoul) Region
Starting today, Amazon EC2 High Memory U7i instances with 12TB of memory (u7i-12tb.224xlarge) are now available in the US Asia Pacific (Seoul) region. U7i-12tb instances are part of AWS 7th generation and are powered by custom fourth generation Intel Xeon Scalable Processors (Sapphire Rapids). U7i-12tb instances offer 12TiB of DDR5 memory enabling customers to scale […]
AWS – Amazon Connect now offers generative text-to-speech voices
Amazon Connect now offers new generative text-to-speech voices enabling you to deliver natural, human-like, and expressive conversations with your customers. With this launch, you now have access to 20 different generative-enhanced voices across languages such as English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian. These voices can be used to deliver text-to-speech experiences like welcome messages, policy […]
GCP – From query to cart: Inside Target’s search bar overhaul with AlloyDB AI
Editor’s note: Target set out to modernize its digital search experience to better match guest expectations and support more intuitive discovery across millions of products. To meet that challenge, they rebuilt their platform with hybrid search powered by filtered vector queries and AlloyDB AI. The result: a faster, smarter, more resilient search experience that’s already […]
GCP – GKE under the hood: Container-optimized compute delivers fast autoscaling for Autopilot
The promise of Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) is the power of Kubernetes with ease of management, including planning and creating clusters, deploying and managing applications, configuring networking, ensuring security, and scaling workloads. However, when it comes to autoscaling workloads, customers tell us the fully managed mode of operation, GKE Autopilot, hasn’t always delivered the speed […]
GCP – Cloud CISO Perspectives: How CISOs and boards can help fight cyber-enabled fraud
Welcome to the second Cloud CISO Perspectives for August 2025. Today, David Stone and Marina Kaganovich, from our Office of the CISO, talk about the serious risk of cyber-enabled fraud — and how CISOs and boards can help stop it. As with all Cloud CISO Perspectives, the contents of this newsletter are posted to the […]
AWS – New General Purpose Amazon EC2 M8i and M8i-flex instances
AWS is announcing the general availability of new general-purpose Amazon EC2 M8i and M8i-flex instances. These instances are powered by custom Intel Xeon 6 processors, available only on AWS, delivering the highest performance and fastest memory bandwidth among comparable Intel processors in the cloud. The M8i and M8i-flex instances offer up to 15% better price-performance, […]