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Michael Earls
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Michael Earls
  • Leadership
    • Start Here
    • All Leadership
  • Strategy
    • Start Here
    • Enterprise Governance
    • Identity & Security
    • Platform Architecture
    • Multi-Cloud Strategy
    • Cloud Strategy Principles
    • AI & Agentic Systems
    • Cloud Cost Strategy
    • 7 Rs Modernization
    • Lift and Shift Isn’t Transformation
    • AI Agents + Cloud Spend
    • No One Owns – AI
    • Drinking the Future Water
  • Books
    • Start Here
    • Finding Direction in the Age of AI
    • Wired For Purpose
    • The Digital Compass
  • Change
    • Start Here
    • Gratitude
    • Growth
    • Reflection
    • Wired for Purpose
  • Insights
  • About
    • Michael Earls
    • I want more of this
    • Press
    • Contact

Cloud

The AI Stack Problem No One Planned For

By mearls | May 20, 2026
corporate procurement card, matte black, no visible numbers

Most enterprises are running Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Grok in parallel — with no rationalization, no governance, and no operating model.

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Your AI Agent Isn’t the Problem. Your Infrastructure Is.

By mearls | April 30, 2026
ai-agent-infrastructure-identity-hero

AI agents are ready—but most enterprises aren’t. The real gap isn’t the model, it’s infrastructure, data, and direction.

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**AI Has an Ownership Problem.

By mearls | April 24, 2026
AI-ownership-gone

AI doesn’t fail because of technology—it fails without clarity and ownership. Here’s how to move from disconnected pilots to real business outcomes.

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The Hidden Cost of AI: Why Data Centers Are Drinking the Future

By mearls | April 15, 2026
hidden cost of ai – water

AI is accelerating demand for data centers—but behind the compute is a growing dependency on water. Here’s why water usage is becoming the next constraint in cloud and AI.

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AI Has the Same Problem Cloud Did — No One Owns It

By mearls | April 9, 2026
ai has the ame problem cloud did no one owns it

AI isn’t failing because of technology—it’s failing because no one owns it. Learn how unclear ownership and operating models limit real transformation.

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AI Agents Are the New Cloud Spend Problem

By mearls | April 8, 2026
ai agents are the new cloud spend problem

AI agents aren’t just automating work—they’re introducing a new kind of cloud cost. Without guardrails, autonomy turns into unbounded spend.

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Lift and Shift Isn’t Transformation

By mearls | March 29, 2026
Lift and Shift Isn’t Transformation | Cloud Strategy & Modernization

Most cloud migrations don’t fail—they stall. Learn why lift and shift creates the illusion of progress and what real cloud transformation requires.

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The 7 Rs: More Than a Framework — It’s a Rhythm

By mearls | February 26, 2026
7-rs-cloud-modernization-framework

The 7 Rs aren’t a checklist—they’re a judgment call. Learn how to sequence Retain, Rehost, Refactor and more to modernize with intent.

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Why Most Agentic AI Projects Stall — And What We’re Still Missing

By mearls | February 23, 2026
why most agentic ai project stall

Agentic AI has massive potential, but most projects stall without identity, governance, and FinOps guardrails embedded from day one.

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Cloud Cost Is an Architecture Decision, Not a Finance Afterthought

By mearls | February 17, 2026
Cloud Cost Is an Architecture Decision

Cloud cost isn’t a finance afterthought — it’s driven by architecture and workload decisions. Learn how FinOps must be integrated early in the cloud journey.

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Leadership, technology, and the human side of change. Author of three books on finding direction in a world that won't slow down.

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