meet me room
What are the biggest
changes you have seen in
the data centre industry?
Resilience, availability and performance
is moving further up the infrastructure
stack which we are seeing migrate
from expensive branded hardware
up into intelligent software. Another
significant change is the decoupling
and commoditisation of servers,
network and storage. The traditional
data centre tiers have collapsed,
leveraging local server storage,
especially the use of flash to create
virtual server SANs. This proves that
the hyper-converged infrastructure
is shaking up the data centre and is
booming now. That said, innovation
is sweeping the data centre faster
than we’ve ever seen before – better
architectures are being created
allowing better flexibility at lower cost.
Are you able to tell us briefly
about any projects you are
currently working on?
We have a great mix of projects on
the go right now. Probably the most
exciting project underway is the
scaling up of our hyper-converged
all-flash appliance business –
aimed at small and medium-sized
businesses. Our hyper-converged
appliance simplifies the management
of servers, storage and networking
into high performance scale-out data
centre building blocks. This enables
IT managers to get back to looking
after business imperatives rather
than spending unnecessary time on
managing their IT infrastructure.
Recently our global account
team landed a major project with a
leading investment bank to deliver
an optimised desktop workspace to
75,000 staff, which should keep us
busy over the next few months!
What is the main motivation
in the work that you do?
Working with extremely talented
peers who drive change and disrupt
traditional thinking when it comes to
storage definitely motivates me in
my work. I love being a part of that
‘lightbulb’ moment when a prospective
customer or partner realises the value
our software can unlock. Having this
as a part of my job makes getting out
of bed every morning an easy task!
What qualities do you value
in the people around you?
I try to surround myself with people
who have integrity, humility and
diligence as I think these are all
important qualities. However, one
quality that stands out above the
rest for me is passion. Working with
people who are genuinely passionate
about our company vision, culture
and DNA is a great environment to
be in. When there is a genuine belief
in the work we do, it feels as if every
moment is spent on an adventure
whilst effortlessly driving a common
message and outcome.
What is the toughest lesson
you have ever been taught in
your career?
I have been in this industry for many
years and I truly believe that you have
to take the rough with the smooth
and always face everything head on.
In earlier careers I had often avoided
tough or tricky situations, especially
if it meant confrontation, by trying to
work things out behind the scenes
or I would try to work around a
difficult situation rather than simply
addressing the issue. Although by
doing this I learned that this often
makes a situation far more difficult
to resolve over time. By having
I try to surround myself with people who
have integrity, humility and diligence as I
think these are all important qualities.
learnt how to handle difficult people
and tackling tough situations head
on, I realised that you can actually
sort out issues much more quickly
and effectively. People react well to
thoughtful and direct communication
and the sooner a problem is
addressed, the easier it is to fix.
What are your hobbies/
interests outside work?
I have a wife and two young children
who delightfully consume nearly every
spare moment that I have outside
of work. Although I am a qualified
paragliding pilot (paragliding = taking
off on a hillside and working your way
up to the clouds by riding thermals)
and I try to get out and enjoy the odd
long weekend away flying when I can.
My all time favourite paragliding spot
has to be the Greek peninsula, the
views from that high are breathtaking.
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