Big Tech’s Enterprise Cloud Launches Move AI From Feature to Framework

Dynamic and uncertain times can help build nimble companies.

Modern finance, IT and treasury departments are under pressure to manage a range of workloads. From traditional applications like virtual machines and databases to emerging demands such as artificial intelligence and edge computing, the complexity is escalating.

The shift is being reflected across back-office enterprise infrastructure, as innovations across enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and treasury management systems (TMS) enable organizations to become more agile, efficient and responsive to market demands.

However, initiatives launched this week by Big Tech, including Microsoft, Dell, Google and SAP, signify a broader trend in enterprise technology beyond migrating to the cloud: the convergence of AI and core infrastructure.

Microsoft launched Monday (May 19) its “most significant release” in the last decade, the SQL Server 2025, which provides essential building blocks for AI development and operational retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) patterns powered by AI agents.

Dell introduced Tuesday (May 20) a slew of modern data center innovations designed to form the foundation for a disaggregated infrastructure strategy.

Google, at its 2025 I/O conference this week, announced sweeping updates across its cloud ecosystem, many of them driven by AI.

SAP unveiled Wednesday (May 21) a host of new solutions centered around agentic AI applications for the enterprise, as well as applications that can help accelerate cloud adoption by organizations.

These cloud-based advances are not just about adding AI capabilities but about rethinking how businesses operate at a fundamental level by combining simplicity, flexibility and automation.

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Finance Teams Embrace Flexible Cloud Ecosystems

The introduction of the Dell Private Cloud underscores a rising theme in enterprise infrastructure: building for composability, not complexity. The offering supports multiple software stacks, including VMware, Nutanix and Red Hat, allowing enterprises to build customized private clouds on a unified hardware platform. It represents a disaggregated private cloud network that can be customized based on preset blueprints to automate workflows.

Key features of Dell’s Private Cloud include an appliance-like user experience, rapid cluster provisioning capable of launching workload-ready clusters in less than three hours, and compatibility with a range of software environments. The private cloud market overall has seen growth as organizations look to combine the scalability and efficiency of cloud computing with the enhanced control and security needed for enterprise-grade operations.

This is especially relevant for enterprises with decades-old ERP systems that underpin critical business functions. Rather than fully replacing these systems — a process that can be costly, risky and sometimes unnecessary — leaders are embracing a modular approach. That means layering new capabilities on top of existing platforms through APIs and microservices.

“The middle to back office, they’re no longer just a cost center,” Meghan Oakes, vice president of customer success at FIS, told PYMNTS in December. “They’re a value-added partner for everybody within the business. There are many different aspects of that middle to back office that are now at the forefront of how companies operate.”

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Automation Gives Way to AI Innovation

Automation and ease of management are not just features; they are core requirements in today’s digital economy. As the news this week from some of the world’s largest technology companies reveals, AI is the next step.

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Smart Spending: How AI Is Transforming Financial Decision Making” found that more than 8 in 10 chief financial officers at large companies are either already using AI or considering adopting it for a core financial function like accounts payable, or the process by which companies pay their suppliers, vendors and contractors.

Microsoft, for example, launched an AI-ready enterprise database that integrates AI capabilities directly into the database engine, enabling enterprises to harness their own private data directly.

SAP, for its part, announced collaborations with companies like Perplexity and Palantir that aim to enhance data integration and provide more robust AI-driven analytics. SAP also launched the Joule AI assistant, an omnipresent AI assistant that delivers personalized, real-time insights across SAP applications, reported to enhance user productivity by up to 30%.

Taken together, these announcements highlight that AI is no longer a feature layered on top of legacy systems; it is the framework around which future systems are being designed.

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