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Lessons from Hashicorp S1 Nov 14, 2021

Show notes

Hashicorp has been on The Cloudcast more than any other company. As they prepare for their upcoming IPO, we look back at what makes them successful vs. other OSS-centric companies.

SHOW: 566

CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotw

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SHOW SPONSORS:

Juniper Networks – Experience-First Networking
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BMC Wants to Know if your business is on it's A-Game
BMC Autonomous Digital Enterprise
Datadog Security Solution: Modern Monitoring and Security
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SHOW NOTES:

WHAT MADE HASHICORP UNIQUE IN THE INFRASTRUCTURE SPACE?

Hashicorp was not alone in the Infra-as-Code space, or the Security space, but they have been successful in building a commercial business based on OSS projects. Let’s look at what made them unique and successful.

HOW DID HASHICORP GET HERE?

Hashicorp Revenue - $295M | Gross Margin 82% | Revenue Growth (LTM) 55%

Funding - $350M | NRR 124% | Operating Margin 22%

Funding - $350M

GitLab - $179M | Gross Margin 88% | Revenue Growth (LTM) 72% |

Funding $414M | NRR 152% | Operating Margin 50%

Pivotal - $509M | Gross Margin 55% | Revenue Growth (LTM) 22% | $1.7B

Pivotal (Subscription/ARR) $300M

Always a pragmatic approach, from the perspective of users
Abandoned an early approach to building a “stack” (Hashicorp Atlas)
Aligned to the public cloud
Didn’t try to change the world
Didn’t actively fight with their community; weren’t unpleasant
Had a single revenue producing product (Vault), and maybe Terraform
Good timing (hot market)

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SD-WAN, SASE and the new Virtual Edge Nov 10, 2021

Show notes

Mike Rockwell (Global Head of Solutions @Megaport) talks about the evolution of Cloud connectivity, SD-WAN, SASE, and how Megaport is helping companies adapt to more needs for virtual edge networking.
SHOW: 565

SHOW SPONSORS:

BMC Wants to Know if your business is on it's A-Game
BMC Autonomous Digital Enterprise
CBT Nuggets: Expert IT Training for individuals and teams
Sign up for a CBT Nuggets Free Learner account
Datadog Synthetic Monitoring: Frontend and Backend Modern Monitoring
Start detecting user-facing issues with API and browser tests with a free 14 day Datadog trial. Listeners of The Cloudcast will also receive a free Datadog T-shirt.

SHOW NOTES:

Topic 1 - Welcome to the show. Tell us about your background.

Topic 2 - Let’s begin by talking about the breadth of ways Megaport helps businesses connect to the cloud.

Topic 3 - Can you walk us through some of the various ways that businesses use to connect to the cloud and why they choose to use Megaport?

Topic 4 - Megaport recently launched a product named Megaport Virtual Edge (MVE), which helps businesses connect branches to clouds within their SD-WAN and SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) solutions. You’ve announced some major partnerships with Cisco, Fortinet, and Versa. Tell us a little bit about MVE and these partnerships and how they’ll help customers.

Topic 5 - From a bigger picture perspective, how do companies think about modernizing their enterprise WAN - do they use MPLS, do they use SD-WAN, and what role does the cloud play in their network - what considerations do they need to make?

Topic 6 - Why do you think it’s so important for businesses to enable their SD-WAN or SASE solutions for multicloud? Tell us about a sample use case.

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How to Become a Product Manager Nov 07, 2021

Show notes

Many people ask us about technical product management - the skills needed, the challenges, the career rewards - and how to work in those jobs. This week we explore what’s needed to be a successful product manager.

SHOW: 564

CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotw

CHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"

SHOW SPONSORS:

Juniper Networks – Experience-First Networking
Learn more about Juniper’s cloud-native solutions
Megaport (homepage) - Get to the Cloud from Anywhere
Megaport (resources) - Cloud Interconnectivity Simplified

SHOW NOTES:

HOW DOES SOMEONE BECOME A PRODUCT MANAGER

Many people in the tech industry believe that they know how to build a better mousetrap. But what does it really take to be a product manager? How is the job challenging, how is it difficult, and what does it take to be successful?

WHAT SKILLS ARE NEEDED TO BECOME A SUCCESSFUL PRODUCT MANAGER

Being a product manager means that you’re a crystal ball reader (predict the future), a technology expert, a business analyst, a salesperson, a great communicator, and an expert priorities manager.
Not all product managers are alike. It’s important to understand what part of the product (or all of the product) that you’re responsible for.
Cheap, feature-rich, or delivered quickly - pick any two.
You’re solving today’s problems and guessing about future problems, not always in that order.
You have to be a great communicator, even if you’re an introvert.
Are you going to work in an area where the company will be able to make your product successful?
You’ll make a lot of mistakes.
There is no end-game…..the game is always in motion.

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Networking the Hybrid Cloud Nov 03, 2021

Show notes

Nick Davey (Sr. Product Manager, Cloud & SDN @JuniperNetworks) talks about the evolution of SDN networking for Kubernetes, cross-cluster and cross-cloud networking, and Tungsten Fabric.

SHOW: 563

CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotw

CHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"

SHOW SPONSORS:

Megaport - Network as a Service Platform
Try Megaport - Cloud Connectivity Simplified
CBT Nuggets: Expert IT Training for individuals and teams
Sign up for a CBT Nuggets Free Learner account

SHOW NOTES:

Topic 1 - Welcome to the show. Tell us a little bit about your background, and where you focus at Juniper?

Topic 2 - There’s lots of talk about Hybrid Cloud and Multi-Cloud, but it’s often in the context of Kubernetes or an application running in multiple places. Let’s talk about how we interconnect clouds.

Topic 3 - How should we think about the networking interconnections between end-users, the service providers, and the public cloud providers?

Topic 4 - Help us understand the similarities and differences between the orchestration of workloads (e.g. containers and Kubernetes) and orchestration of networks (e.g. SDN, Contrail, etc.). Who needs to know about each system?

Topic 5 - How does this all evolve as things like Kubernetes, KubeVirt (VMs) extend out to the edge?

Topic 6 - What are some of the newer use-cases or application-types that are starting to push the need for new cloud networking technologies?

FEEDBACK?

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Twitter: @thecloudcastnet

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Developer Platforms aren't Repeatable Oct 31, 2021

Show notes

While developers are the new kingmakers, it’s rare that any two companies will use the same systems, the same platforms, or the same models to enable developers to be successful. Let’s explore why.

SHOW: 562

CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotw

CHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"

SHOW NOTES:

The Developer Experience Gap (Remonk, 2020)
KubeConNA 2021 Key Takeaways
DevX Day KubeConNA 2021
Seed, Grow, Scale Developer Relations (PostHog)
CNCF Landscape (interactive map)

DEVELOPERS HAVE NEVER HAD MORE ACCESS TO TOOLS

Between open source tools, improved local hardware (laptops), online tutorials, free tiers, cloud-based tools, SaaS-based platforms and public repositories, there has never been a better time to be an application developer. Yet we still hear complaints about developer productivity, and developers feeling like too many things are in their path to success.

AND DEVELOPERS HAVE NEVER HAD MORE ACCESS TO PLATFORMS

In a perfect world, there would be a platform that would align to all of a developers needs and patterns, and make everything else “invisible”.
But platforms (by definition) have opinions, and limitations and have to eventually be maintained by someone (or groups).
Developers don’t like their tools to be dictated to them.
Developers don’t mind having access to too many tools, if they can somehow solve a problem, or a piece of a problem.
People aren’t staying in jobs long enough to really care about long-term technical debt, or the ramifications about their platform decisions.

FEEDBACK?

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Real-life Digital Transformation in Banking Oct 27, 2021

Show notes

Ken Meyer (EVP & CIO Consumer Technology at Truist Bank) talks about the 2yr transformation of Truist Bank (SunTrust and BB&T), managing multiple tech stacks, enabling a multi-cloud strategy, and internal communications and learnings.

SHOW: 561

CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotw

CHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"

SHOW SPONSORS:

CloudZero - Cloud Cost Intelligence for Engineering Teams
Datadog Application Monitoring: Modern Application Performance Monitoring
Get started monitoring service dependencies to eliminate latency and errors and enhance your users experience with a free 14 day Datadog trial. Listeners of The Cloudcast will also receive a free Datadog T-shirt.

SHOW NOTES:

Topic 1 - Welcome to the show. Let’s start by talking about your background, and the scope of the transformation you’ve been driving at Truist Bank.

Topic 2 - Beyond the merger of two large banks, how did you think about the business challenges that you were trying to solve?

Topic 3 - Walk us through how you tried to rationalize two technology stacks, and how you’ve been planning for a more cloud-centric future?

Topic 4 - Every transformation has to balance existing (“old”) and new. How did you work through priorities, leveraging new technologies, maintaining existing systems, learning curves, etc?

Topic 5 - Have you been able to create any unique ways to manage through the transition of so many technology stacks?

Topic 6 - How are you measuring progress, success, alignment to business goals, etc?

Topic 7 - How are you communicating the evolution to the teams, as well as management and stakeholders? Any lessons learned?

FEEDBACK?

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Embrace Your Inner Maker Oct 24, 2021

Show notes

Many tech workers are struggling with the repetitive effects of the COVID pandemic (work from home, constant video calls, longer hours, etc.). But there’s never been a better time to explore new ways to be a “maker”.

SHOW: 560

CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotw

CHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"

SHOW SPONSORS:

CBT Nuggets: Expert IT Training for individuals and teams
Sign up for a CBT Nuggets Free Learner account
phoenixNAP website
phoenixNAP Bare Metal Cloud Platform

SHOW NOTES:

CREATIVITY GETS THE BRAIN ENGAGED

We (The Cloudcast) frequently discuss the need to have a “learning mindset” in the IT industry, since the only constant is changing technologies. But learning requires a specific time commitment and a specific type of mind engagement. It’s important, but at times can feel very mentally draining. Finding a way to be creative, to be a “maker”, can be a good balance to learning.

MAKERS FIND, ENGAGE and EXPAND via COMMUNITIES

One of the reasons we keep doing The Cloudcast is that it gives us a creative outlet to directly make something. Making something gives you a chance to get feedback. It gives you a chance to succeed or fail.
Makers tend to seek out other makes, to share experiences, to bond, to create new ideas. These communities tend to be more positive than online forums (e.g. Reddit, HN, etc.) which tend to trend towards negativity and complaints.
The tools to be a digital creator are more available and more powerful than ever. Our friend Rodrigo Flores had a good Twitter thread this week about the new Apple Mac M1 Pro and how it’s tailored for the (digital) creator economy.
I’ve been reading a book, The Making of Bandon Dunes, about the history behind the creation of that resort in Oregon. Part of that reading is history, part of it is learning, and part of it is seeing how other creators think about their dreams, their opportunities and their ambitions. And how they overcame challenges.

FEEDBACK?

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WebAssembly and wasmCloud Oct 20, 2021

Show notes

Kevin Hoffman (@KevinHoffman, CTO at @Cosmonic_com, wasmCloud creator) talks about WebAssembly and wasmCloud, and how this new development paradigm can simplify application development.
SHOW: 559

CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotw

CHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"

SHOW SPONSORS:

Datadog Security Solution: Modern Monitoring and Security
Start investigating security threats before it affects your customers with a free 14 day Datadog trial. Listeners of The Cloudcast will also receive a free Datadog T-shirt.
CloudZero - Cloud Cost Intelligence for Engineering Teams

SHOW NOTES:

Cosmonic (homepage)
Webassembly (homepage)
wasmCloud (homepage)
Getting started with wasmCloud
The Webassembly stack (vs. containers, VMs)
Building a Containerless Future with WebAssembly
From Napkin to the Cloud - A Webassembly Journey
Programming Webassembly with Rust (Kevin Hoffman, new book)

Topic 1 - Welcome to the show. Let’s start by talking a little bit about your background, and what led you to create wasmCloud.

Topic 2 - Let’s begin by talking about Webassembly. What is it (a language, a framework??), and what problems does it solve for developers?

Topic 3 - Let’s talk about wasmCloud. Once you’ve built something leveraging Webassembly, how does it interact with wasmCloud?

Topic 4 - Everything in application development tends to be a progression from something prior. How did Webassembly evolve? Docker’s Solomon Hykes said that if wasm+wasi existed 7yrs ago, he never would have created Docker.

Topic 5 - Yesterday was WASM Day at Cloud Native Con. What were some of the highlights and focus areas?

Topic 6 - What are some of the early uses and usage patterns of Webassembly?

Topic 7 - What are some of the ways to get started with Webassembly and wasmCloud?

FEEDBACK?

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Technical Debt isn't Free Oct 17, 2021

Show notes

While many computing systems mirror systems in nature, one aspect that doesn’t is technical debt. The majority of spending is maintaining the existing systems, and yet very little attention is paid to how to reduce the on-going costs.

SHOW: 558

CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotw

CHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"

SHOW SPONSORS:

phoenixNAP website
phoenixNAP Bare Metal Cloud Platform
CBT Nuggets: Expert IT Training for individuals and teams
Sign up for a CBT Nuggets Free Learner account

SHOW NOTES:

IN NATURE, THE FALL BEGINS THE PROCESS OF RESETTING

In many parts of the world, Fall (or Autumn) gives us a last glimpse of the beauty of nature, but then it resets for another cycle of recuperation and regeneration. This is one of the aspects of nature that the tech industry doesn’t seem to emulate in their systems.

WE ACCEPT RESETS AND CHANGES ALL AROUND US, EXCEPT IN IT

Why don’t we create “life cycles” on commonly deployed systems?
Why don’t we prepare people for resets and “leap forwards” better?
Why isn’t there a part of our industry that attempts to innovate in this space, rather than just shift it to another party as “someone else’s problem”?
Why do we assume the same needs (support, uptime, etc.) of the technical debt as we do the new things we build to replace it?

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A New Distributed Cloud Architecture Oct 13, 2021

Show notes

Jonathan Seelig (@j_seelig, Co-Founder/CEO of Ridge) talks about building the distributed cloud, remotely managing cloud resources, and the evolution of the edge.
SHOW: 557

CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotw

CHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"

SHOW SPONSORS:

Datadog Monitoring: Modern Monitoring and Analytics
Start monitoring your infrastructure, applications, logs and security in one place with a free 14 day Datadog trial. Listeners of The Cloudcast will also receive a free Datadog T-shirt.
CloudZero - Cloud Cost Intelligence for Engineering Teams

SHOW NOTES:

Topic 1 - Welcome to the show. Let’s start by talking a little bit about your background, and what led you to trying to create a new vision of “the cloud”.

Topic 2 - What types of problems exist with the current (mostly centralized) cloud architectures today? Or where are there new opportunities to rethink and introduce a new architecture?

Topic 3 - Let’s talk about the main concepts behind the Ridge architecture. How much does it borrow from your experience at Akamai, and how much of it is your team looking at the world differently?

Topic 4 - What are the core primitives of Ridge? How do companies engage with it?

Topic 5 - What are some of the near-term and long-term impacts that you expect companies would see in using the Ridge architecture vs. more centralized cloud architectures?

FEEDBACK?

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Twitter: @thecloudcastnet

FEEDBACK?

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