IntelligentHQ.com in partnership with Groupe INSEEC London presents: A Beyond Cloud Interview with Christian Verstraete from HP.
The Beyond Cloud Series of video discovery discussions examines the viewpoints of some of the top minds in the UK cloud computing space as they share their views on the trends, issues and realities of the industry – and the industries which it impacts.
On HP´s blog site Bethany Mayer, Senior Vice President and General Manager, recently revealed a fact which we all have suspected for sometime, namely that traditional technologies are no longer viable to address the demands driven by emerging trends in Cloud, Big Data and Virtualization. She says “A paradigm shift is needed—one that reduces network complexity while improving overall performance, scalability, and agility”.
HP has been busy addressing and attempting to lead this ‘shift’. For example in June, HP announced new innovations to its Converged Cloud portfolio, which will deliver improved agility, greater innovation and reduced cost for hybrid cloud environments. Coleman Parkes Research commissioned by HP revealed that by 2016, it is expected to be a hybrid world with 75 percent of enterprise IT delivered across private, managed and public clouds. Further, half of the respondents believe that open standards are important in the emergence of cloud computing. This indicates that customers want an open, hybrid cloud solution to generate new opportunities, drive competitive differentiation and lower the cost of operations.
“In order for enterprises to deliver the new style of IT, they need control over their data, as well as flexibility in service levels and delivery models for their workloads,” said Bill Veghte, chief operations officer, HP. “Only HP has the portfolio and expertise that combines the innovative power of open systems with enterprise-grade manageability and security. The result for customers is a cloud that enterprises can rely on.”
In this interview, HP’s Chief Technologist Christian Verstraete and Daniel Steeves discuss the role of a ‘cloud Chief Technologist’, the mindset of a CIO’s thinking when coming to the cloud and discuss global standards and regulation including public transparency in the Public Cloud.
Series Questions:
Q1: You are here as the “Large Cloud Provider”. Tell us about your role and how your business has changed as a result of today’s cloud computing environment, in terms of both risks and opportunities.
Q2: Why is this big thing different than the last big thing?
Q3: What are your views on regulating the cloud, or the cloud providers, or what sits in the cloud?
Q4: If you accept my premise that the cloud is a delivery vehicle, where is it taking us and what comes next along the way?
About
Christian Verstraete, is CTO for HP’s Cloud Strategy Team Worldwide. His responsibilities include the definition of HP’s Cloud functional and reference architectures and the coordination of cloud activities across HP. He is the linkage to the CTO community both inside HP and with our customers and partners.
Prior to his current position, as CTO for the Manufacturing & Distribution industries, Verstraete was responsible for thought leadership and innovation – scanning industry and technology trends, assessing their mid/longer term effect on emerging MDI business opportunities and defining how to capitalize on these. Prior to that, he led the development of solutions, managed HP’s global High-Tech Industry Group and its manufacturing industries Supply Chain go-to-market strategy where he was responsible for growing the company’s $300 million consulting and system integration business.
After having participated in the planning of the HP/Compaq merger, he headed HP’s manufacturing practice within the Consulting and Integration business unit from 2002 to 2004. The 1200 consultants he led created and delivered solutions in the areas of supply chain, procurement and sourcing, product lifecycle collaboration, demand chain and collaborative business integration in all segments of the Manufacturing Industry.
Prior to that, Verstraete served as the Global Lead in the Extended Manufacturing Practice and the Supply Chain Infrastructure and EAI. From his first HP job as a systems engineer through project, regional, district and global management, Verstraete has concentrated on developing, marketing and advancing infrastructure services. Frequently published in periodicals, Verstraete is a featured speaker at global supply chain events and runs HP’s Manufacturing-Distribution blog. He is one of the authors of “Connected Manufacturing, Thought-provoking essays from industry leaders” and of “Collaborative Sourcing, Strategic Value Creation through Collaborative Supplier Relationship Management”.
He is also a member of the board of the Supply Chain Council and a 2007 DCVelocity Rainmaker.
About the Beyond Cloud series
Taking a conversational, interactive approach, we pose four broad but critical questions on the issues impacting businesses today to perspectives including Technologists, Strategists, Users, CEOs, Marketers and other Business and Thought Leaders across the sector. Each session begins with positioning our guest, by means of what Cloud means to their role and their business – either the delivery or use of cloud – including views on the risks and the opportunities. The conversations – each unique but overlapping as a result of the various points of view on offer – then move to the outcomes and promise of this technology and, from there, where and when regulation and standards should (or shouldn’t) come into play. We close with their views on what this cloud thing really means and where it is might take us, going forward.
The nature of our guests and the variety of discussion provides a broad set of insights which in whole or in part promises to deliver some clarity and a framework for understanding of the impact of cloud technology to all audience. We welcome your comments and feedback.
Produced by IntelligentHQ, hosted by Groupe INSEEC London and presented by Daniel Steeves, Beyond Cloud is a “mostly pitch-free” environment: discussions will necessarily include product and company references but, hopefully, used to illustrate rather than to sell.
Daniel is a management consultant with Beyond Solutions Ltd. More a realist than a futurist, Daniel Steeves advises SMEs to transform and grow their businesses – and enable a different way of thinking – both as a Partner with James Caan’s Advisory Business as well as independently across the Digital, Social, Technology and IT sectors. Daniel is a growth-focused change agent with thirty years leading, brokering, designing and selling complex programmes. He collaborates at C-level, adding experience and perspective to fine-tune what your business says and does (and sells and delivers) with a focus on profitable, sustainable growth.
