Welcome to above the clouds

AWS – Amazon Redshift now enables cluster relocation by default for RA3 provisioned clusters
Amazon Redshift now enables cluster relocation by default for RA3 provisioned clusters when creating new clusters or restoring from snapshots. This feature allows you to move a cluster to another Availability Zone (AZ) when resource constraints disrupt cluster operations, maintaining the same endpoint so applications continue without modifications. Amazon Redshift already provides resiliency by automatically […]

AWS – AWS CDK Toolkit Library is now generally available
Today, AWS announces the general availability of the AWS CDK Toolkit Library, a Node.js library that provides programmatic access to core AWS CDK functionalities such as synthesis, deployment, and destruction of stacks. This library enables developers to integrate CDK operations directly into their applications, custom CLIs, and automation workflows, offering greater flexibility and control over […]

AWS – Amazon EKS introduces configuration insights for Amazon EKS Hybrid Nodes
Today, Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Services (Amazon EKS) announced the general availability of configuration insights for Amazon EKS Hybrid Nodes. These new insights surface configuration issues impacting the functionality of Amazon EKS clusters with hybrid nodes, and provide actionable guidance on how to remediate identified misconfigurations. Configuration insights are available through the Amazon EKS cluster insights […]

AWS – Mountpoint for Amazon S3 now lets you automatically mount your S3 buckets using fstab
Mountpoint for Amazon S3 now lets you automatically mount an S3 bucket when your Amazon EC2 instance starts up. This simplifies how you define a consistent mounting configuration that automatically applies when your instance starts up and persists the mount when the instance reboots. Previously, to use Mountpoint for Amazon S3, you had to manually […]

AWS – AWS Pricing Calculator, now generally available, supports discounts and purchase commitment
Today, AWS announces the general availability of the AWS Pricing Calculator in the AWS console. This launch enables customers to create more accurate and comprehensive cost estimates by providing two types of cost estimates: cost estimation for a workload, and estimation of a full AWS bill. You can also import your historical usage or create […]

AWS – Amazon EKS and Amazon EKS Distro now supports Kubernetes version 1.33
Kubernetes version 1.33 introduced several new features and bug fixes, and AWS is excited to announce that you can now use Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) and Amazon EKS Distro to run Kubernetes version 1.33. Starting today, you can create new EKS clusters using version 1.33 and upgrade existing clusters to version 1.33 using the […]

GCP – Boost your Search and RAG agents with Vertex AI’s new state-of-the-art Ranking API
The AI era has supercharged expectations: users now issue more complex queries and demand pinpoint results, meaning there’s an 82% chance of losing a customer if they can’t quickly find what they need. Similarly, AI agents require ultra-relevant context for reliable task execution. However, when traditional search methods deliver noise – with generally up to […]

GCP – Announcing new capabilities for boosted productivity in Colab Enterprise
Colab Enterprise is a collaborative, managed notebook environment with the security and compliance capabilities of Google Cloud. Powerful integrated AI, seamless collaboration tools, enterprise readiness, and zero-config flexible compute are some of the many features making Colab Enterprise a trusted tool for developers at companies of all sizes. Today, we’re excited to announce new productivity […]

GCP – Pluto AI: Revolutionizing AI accessibility and innovation at Magyar Telekom
In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) stands as a transformative force, reshaping industries and redefining possibilities. Recognizing AI’s potential and leveraging its data landscape on Google Cloud, Magyar Telekom, Deutsche Telekom’s Hungarian operator, embarked on a journey to empower its workforce with AI knowledge and tools. This endeavor led to the creation […]
GCP – Cloud CISO Perspectives: How governments can use AI to improve threat detection and reduce cost
Welcome to the second Cloud CISO Perspectives for May 2025. Today, Enrique Alvarez, public sector advisor, Office of the CISO, explores how government agencies can use AI to improve threat detection — and save money at the same time. As with all Cloud CISO Perspectives, the contents of this newsletter are posted to the Google […]