On Cloud

Containers power cloud flexibility and portability, but over time container technology has become complex and expensive to deploy. In this podcast, David Linthicum talks with Portainer.io CEO Neil Cresswell about how Portainer enables Containers-as-a-Service (CaaS) to democratize access to container technology by centralizing container configuration, management, and security. With CaaS, companies can gain the benefits of container technology without having to navigate all of its complexity.

It's cliché, but true: Cloud is different than traditional, on-prem IT operations, and it requires fundamental changes to how IT is done. In this podcast, David Linthicum discusses the emerging discipline of CloudOps and how it can help companies get more value from their cloud journey. With CloudOps, savvy companies can rethink and reinvent their operating model and talent and skills mix—and implement the tools (such as AIOps) they need to operate more effectively in cloud.

Cloud security issues are a serious—and growing—problem. Most companies don't have the resources or expertise in-house to effectively manage security in a constantly-changing cloud ecosystem. In this podcast, David Linthicum talks with Ntirety's President and CEO, Emil Sayegh, about how cloud managed services providers (MSPs) can help. For Emil, it's simple: MSPs provide companies with the security expertise and resiliency they need—24/7/365—to reduce their cloud security risk.

Cloud isn't just cloud. It's multi, hybrid, edge, and everything in between. The complexity can be mind-numbing. In this podcast, David Linthicum talks with RackN's Rob Hirschfeld about how companies can use infrastructure pipelines to better standardize and manage their infrastructure ecosystems—which can significantly reduce complexity. Rob's take is that automation is key, but it has to be standardized. Of course, infrastructure as code plays a critical role.

Multicloud is now the norm, but multicloud environments are incredibly complex and can be maddeningly difficult to manage in a way that provides strategic value to the business long-term. In this podcast, David Linthicum shares tips to help organizations successfully migrate to, deploy, and manage multicloud environments. Long-term success lies in monitoring the middle, thinking long-term, staying app and security focused, building a solid business case, and following best practices.

Deloitte's Chief Futurist, Mike Bechtel, discusses the future of cloud, emphasizing decentralized cloud and quantum computing in the next five to ten years. Companies need to take calculated risks to leverage cloud as a force multiplier for innovation. Topics include monetizing futurist knowledge, decentralized cloud evolution, quantum computing challenges, API power in application development, and the importance of creativity and partnerships in driving future tech innovations.

Working with Deloitte, the Utah Department of Government Operations recently completed the first part of an effort to migrate its mainframe applications to cloud. It was a mammoth undertaking, but an overall successful effort. In this podcast, David Linthicum talks with project leaders from both the state and Deloitte teams. The trio discuss the project's challenges, successes, and lessons learned. They also share what's up next—an app modernization plan to help realize cloud's full potential.

Cloud app delivery runs on tight timelines. Unfortunately, other organizational processes, like procurement or legal, often create workflow bottlenecks that hobble the software delivery process. In this podcast, Mike Kavis and guests, Chris Young and Mattia Battiston, discuss teams, workflow, and value delivery. Their advice: IT and business must work collaboratively to manage change, identify and clear bottlenecks, and understand where value lies to optimize workflow.

AI/ML has been around for decades, but cloud has made it possible for companies to leverage AI/ML in new ways, and on a scale never before possible. In this podcast, David Linthicum talks with Deloitte's Brijesh Singh about why AI/ML is easier to implement with cloud. The pair also discuss new uses for AI/ML—especially vis-à-vis customer service applications—and what's in store for the future of AI/ML. Finally, Brijesh gives advice to practitioners who want to acquire AI/ML skills.

Although edge computing is growing, it lacks the maturity of cloud. That's changing. In this podcast, David Linthicum talks with Deloitte's Lisa Noon and Clarify360's Jo Peterson about how research organizations are bringing standards to the edge and how companies are building on that to apply edge computing to more and more real-world situations. The consensus? Edge is a wide-open space with lots of potential, and companies that leverage edge effectively will have a competitive advantage.