Weekly Cloud Info #W32 - 2025

Author

Walid LARABI
August 08, 2025

Hi!

This Week in Cloud: AWS Boosts Lambda, Aurora & SQS, Azure announce AKS Upgrades & Confidential VMs, Google Enhances Security & AI-Driven Data Science

Have a great read. ☕

📰 Top picks of the week

AWS Lambda Introduces GitHub Actions for Simplified Deployments

AWS Lambda now supports GitHub Actions for automatic deployment of Lambda functions, streamlining CI/CD workflows. This new feature eliminates the need for custom scripts by allowing developers to use declarative configuration for deployments, automatically handling code packaging and IAM integration via OpenID Connect. It supports both .zip file and container image deployments, with options for function settings and a dry run mode for validation.

Amazon Aurora Serverless v2 Enhances Performance by 30% with New Version 3

Amazon Aurora Serverless v2 has introduced a performance improvement of up to 30% with the new serverless platform version 3, allowing scaling from 0 to 256 Aurora Capacity Units (ACUs). This version supports more demanding workloads and requires new clusters, database restores, and clones to launch on the latest platform. Existing clusters can be upgraded by stopping and restarting or using Blue/Green Deployments. The new version is available in all AWS Regions, including AWS GovCloud (US).

AWS Budgets Enhances Multi-Account Budgeting with Billing View Support

AWS has introduced support for Billing View in AWS Budgets, allowing organizations to create budgets across multiple member accounts without needing access to the management account. This feature enables users to filter cost management data by cost allocation tags or specific accounts, enhancing budget management while adhering to security best practices. The feature is available in most AWS Regions, excluding AWS GovCloud (US) and China Regions.

Amazon SQS Increases Message Payload Size to 1 MiB

Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS) has increased its maximum message payload size from 256 KiB to 1 MiB, allowing customers to send and receive larger messages in standard and FIFO queues. This update supports evolving workloads in application integration, IoT, and AI without the need to split messages. Additionally, AWS Lambda’s event source mapping for SQS has been updated to accommodate these larger payloads. Customers can start using the new payload limit across all AWS commercial Regions and AWS GovCloud (US).

Open Source MCP Server for AKS Enhances Cluster Management and AI Integration

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) is now available as an open-source release. This server simplifies cluster management by providing a standardized interface for orchestrating workflows like diagnostics and lifecycle operations. It allows for operations on AKS clusters, retrieves monitoring data, and details on related Azure resources, enabling the integration of AI agents and enhancing operational efficiency.

Azure Storage Discovery Enhances Data Insights and Cost Optimization

Azure Storage Discovery offers enhanced visibility into Azure Storage data, allowing users to analyze capacity, activity, and costs while improving security and operational efficiency. Integrated with Azure Copilot, it provides insights on data storage across accounts and regions. The service is available in a Free plan with basic insights and a Standard plan that unlocks full insights, free until October 1st. Users can quickly deploy a workspace to analyze data across subscriptions and access historical data for up to 30 days.

Azure AKS Introduces Managed Namespaces for Enhanced Access Control

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) now supports managed namespaces, enabling users to list accessible namespaces across subscriptions, resource groups, and clusters. Users can retrieve deployment credentials for these namespaces, with configuration options available through Azure CLI, ARM/Bicep, REST API, or the Azure Portal.

Azure Introduces Confidential Virtual Machines for AKS Linux in Public Preview

Azure's Confidential Virtual Machines (CVM) for Azure Linux in AKS are now in public preview, allowing users to create node pools with CVM tailored for highly sensitive container workloads without code refactoring. These node pools utilize a customized Azure Linux 3 image specifically designed for CVM, enhancing security and confidentiality for tenants.

Google Cloud Launches Audit-Only Mode for Access Approval to Enhance Security Flexibility

Google Cloud has introduced a new lightweight audit-only mode for Access Approval, allowing administrators to manage access approvals on an on-demand basis without additional costs. This mode enhances flexibility by enabling tailored access controls while minimizing administrative overhead. Workload administrators can easily switch policies, facilitating security during critical periods and integrating with existing audit log workflows.

Google Launches AI-Enhanced Colab Enterprise Notebook for Streamlined Data Science Workflows

Google has introduced a new AI-first Colab Enterprise notebook with agentic capabilities, now available on Vertex AI and BigQuery. The Data Science Agent (DSA) streamlines data science workflows by generating detailed plans for tasks such as data loading, cleaning, and model training based on user prompts. Users can interactively approve and modify the generated code, ensuring transparency and control throughout the process. The notebook also supports code generation for various tasks and integration with other Google Cloud services.

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