Cloud and DevOps InfoQ Trends Report 2026: AI, Resilience, Platforms, FinOps, and Sovereignty

In this episode of the podcast, members of the InfoQ editorial staff and friends of InfoQ will discuss current trends in the cloud and DevOps domains as part of our annual trends report. These reports provide InfoQ readers with a high-level overview of key topics to watch and also help the editorial team focus on innovative technologies. In addition to the report and the trends graph available on InfoQ.com, this podcast offers a chance to hear our raw conversation and the stories shared by our expert practitioners. Timestamps: 00:00 - Welcome and introductions 04:18 - What cloud and DevOps trends surprised the panel most? 10:27 - Are AI governance and compliance slowing enterprise adoption? 20:55 - How is platform engineering evolving in the AI era? 29:34 - How important is FinOps today? 39:14 - How are organisations approaching digital sovereignty? 45:37 - Which cloud and DevOps trends are overrated? #cloud #DevOps #platformengineering #Multi-cloud #resilience #ai #finops #sovereignty #cloudarchitecture #theinfoqpodcast #trendsreport2026 Read a transcript of this interview: bit.ly/4ggpO8h Newsletter: Subscribe to the Software Architects' Newsletter, a monthly roundup of the patterns and technologies senior practitioners are working through, with the news and lessons from people doing the work: https://www.infoq.com/software-architects-newsletter InfoQ Online Certification Programs: 5-week online cohorts for senior engineers and architects, built around QCon talks. Programs now cover software architecture, AI engineering, and organizational architecture. Each week you join a four-hour live session with a confidential peer group of practitioners from other companies, apply frameworks from QCon talks to the decisions you're making at work, and earn an InfoQ certification. You leave with new approaches, or confirmation that the calls you're already making are the right ones. Learn more: https://certification.qconferences.com/ Upcoming Events: QCon San Francisco 2026 (November 16-20, 2026) https://qconsf.com/ QCon London 2027 (April 13-16, 2027) https://qconlondon.com/ The InfoQ Podcasts: Weekly conversations with senior software leaders about how they build systems and teams, including what they'd do differently. Listen to all our podcasts and read interview transcripts: The InfoQ Podcast: https://www.infoq.com/podcasts/ Engineering Culture Podcast by InfoQ: https://www.infoq.com/podcasts/#engineering_culture Generally AI: https://www.infoq.com/generally-ai-podcast/ Follow InfoQ: Mastodon: https://techhub.social/@infoq X: https://x.com/InfoQ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/infoq/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InfoQdotcom Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infoqdotcom/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/infoq Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/infoq.com Write for InfoQ: Share what you've learned building software with a community of senior practitioners, and get your work in front of the people who read InfoQ. https://www.infoq.com/write-for-infoq