The Cloudcast

Many people ask us about technical product marketing - 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 technical product marketer.SHOW: 568CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotwCHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"SHOW SPONSORS:Datadog Monitoring: Modern Monitoring and AnalyticsStart 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.Juniper Networks – Experience-First NetworkingLearn more about Juniper’s cloud-native solutionsSHOW NOTES:HOW DOES SOMEONE BECOME A TECHNICAL PRODUCT MARKETERIs marketing just lies and double-speak? If a product or technology is great, does it even need marketing? These are the questions that people often ask themselves before exploring roles that have some aspect of “marketing” in their name. WHAT SKILLS ARE NEEDED TO BECOME A SUCCESSFUL TECHNICAL PRODUCT MARKETERThere are lots of different types of marketers - product-specific, go-to-market, regional, technical marketing, evangelist/advocate, etc.There is value in lots of different skills around marketing - technical, speaking, writing, critical listeningThe timeline of a marketer is somewhat different than a product manager. Both have to manage short and long-term. But marketing tends to be more focused on today’s problems/challenges/opportunities.Marketers have to understand the technology, but also how to translate it to business problems and business value. Marketers need to understand the difference between drills and holes. The role of marketing has significantly changed in the last few years. We’ve moved from more directed marketing to more automated and data-driven marketing.  FEEDBACK?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netTwitter: @thecloudcastnet

In October and November, Microsoft hosted the GitHub Universe and Ignite 2021 conferences, focused on Developers and Cloud Computing. We review the important announcements and analyze the future directions for Azure, GitHub, etc SHOW: 567CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotwCHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"SHOW SPONSORS:CBT Nuggets: Expert IT Training for individuals and teamsSign up for a CBT Nuggets Free Learner account Megaport - Network as a Service PlatformTry Megaport - Cloud Connectivity SimplifiedBMC Wants to Know if your business is on it's A-GameBMC Autonomous Digital EnterpriseSHOW NOTES:Microsoft Ignite 2021 AnnouncementsMicrosoft Ignite 2021 (Keynote)Everything new from GitHub Universe 2021GitHub Universe 2021 (Keynote)Azure - Bigger Announcements Azure OpenAI Service - access to GPT-3 Azure Cognitive Service for LanguageAzure Cosmos DB Azure Managed Instance of Apache CassandraAzure Synapse Analytics Azure Container Apps (preview) Open Service Mesh for Kubernetes(Java EE) Oracle Weblogic  on Azure Kubernetes Service. (Java EE) Websphere Liberty on Kubernetes/OpenShiftEnhancements to Azure DevOps (see GitHub)GitHub - Bigger AnnouncementsImproved CI/CD workflows with GitHub ActionsImprovements to GitHub CodespacesCustom repository roles (security)Improved “Issues” and “Discussions”FEEDBACK?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netTwitter: @thecloudcastnet

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: 566CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotwCHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"SHOW SPONSORS:Juniper Networks – Experience-First NetworkingLearn more about Juniper’s cloud-native solutionsBMC Wants to Know if your business is on it's A-GameBMC Autonomous Digital EnterpriseDatadog Security Solution: Modern Monitoring and SecurityStart 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.SHOW NOTES:Hashicorp (Eps.157) - Automating Data Center Scale InfrastructureHashicorp (Eps.173) - AtlasHashicorp (Eps.246) - Quest for 1M containersHashicorp (Eps.309) - Secrets ManagementHashicorp (Eps.387) - Service Mesh ArchitecturesHashicorp - Benchmarking the S1 Data (Clouded Judgement) 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% | $1.7BPivotal (Subscription/ARR) $300M  Always a pragmatic approach, from the perspective of usersAbandoned an early approach to building a “stack” (Hashicorp Atlas)Aligned to the public cloud Didn’t try to change the worldDidn’t actively fight with their community; weren’t unpleasantHad a single revenue producing product (Vault), and maybe TerraformGood timing (hot market)FEEDBACK?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netTwitter: @thecloudcastnet

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: 565SHOW SPONSORS:BMC Wants to Know if your business is on it's A-GameBMC Autonomous Digital EnterpriseCBT Nuggets: Expert IT Training for individuals and teamsSign up for a CBT Nuggets Free Learner account Datadog Synthetic Monitoring: Frontend and Backend Modern MonitoringStart 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:Megaport (homepage)Megaport (resources)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.FEEDBACK?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netTwitter: @thecloudcastnet

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: 564CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotwCHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"SHOW SPONSORS:Juniper Networks – Experience-First NetworkingLearn more about Juniper’s cloud-native solutionsMegaport (homepage) - Get to the Cloud from AnywhereMegaport (resources) - Cloud Interconnectivity Simplified SHOW NOTES:HOW DOES SOMEONE BECOME A PRODUCT MANAGERMany 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 MANAGERBeing 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.  FEEDBACK?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netTwitter: @thecloudcastnet

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: 563CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotwCHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"SHOW SPONSORS:Megaport - Network as a Service PlatformTry Megaport - Cloud Connectivity SimplifiedCBT Nuggets: Expert IT Training for individuals and teamsSign up for a CBT Nuggets Free Learner account SHOW NOTES:Juniper (homepage)Juniper Cloud ServicesJuniper SDN and OrchestrationJuniper Networks Day One: Building Containers Using Kubernetes and Contrail Tungsten Fabric from The Linux FoundationTopic 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?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netTwitter: @thecloudcastnet

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: 562CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotwCHECK 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 TOOLSBetween 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 PLATFORMSIn 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?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netTwitter: @thecloudcastnet

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: 561CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotwCHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"SHOW SPONSORS:CloudZero - Cloud Cost Intelligence for Engineering TeamsDatadog Application Monitoring: Modern Application Performance MonitoringGet 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:BB&T to buy Suntrust in $66B “merger of equals”A glimpse inside Truist and its bank tech strategyBanks can be “fast followers” in AI: Truist CIOTopic 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?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netTwitter: @thecloudcastnet

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: 560CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotwCHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"SHOW SPONSORS:CBT Nuggets: Expert IT Training for individuals and teamsSign up for a CBT Nuggets Free Learner account phoenixNAP websitephoenixNAP Bare Metal Cloud PlatformSHOW NOTES:Apple launches the M1 Pro laptopThis is an acknowledgement of the growth of the creator economy (via @RFFlores)Tech workers are leaving their jobs at higher rates. What to do in 2022? (via @cra) CREATIVITY GETS THE BRAIN ENGAGEDWe (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 COMMUNITIESOne 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?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netTwitter: @thecloudcastnet

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: 559CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotwCHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST - "CLOUDCAST BASICS"SHOW SPONSORS:Datadog Security Solution: Modern Monitoring and SecurityStart 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 TeamsSHOW NOTES:Cosmonic (homepage)Webassembly (homepage)wasmCloud (homepage)Getting started with wasmCloudThe Webassembly stack (vs. containers, VMs)Building a Containerless Future with WebAssemblyFrom Napkin to the Cloud - A Webassembly JourneyProgramming 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?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netTwitter: @thecloudcastnet