Cloud Insiders

In this podcast, we welcome VMware Senior Member of Technical Staff, Sunny Dua and Xtravirt Senior Consultant, Simon Eady as they talk about Cloud Management and how IT Operations Management fits within this sphere. In this topical discussion, Sunny and Simon delve into the market factors driving the adoption of Cloud and IT Operations Management, as well as how Cloud Management compares with traditional IT management approaches. Our guests also discuss what clients are looking for when considering adopting Cloud Management, the types of businesses that are implementing it, as well as the tools available and what they can enable clients to do.  Topics covered include: What is Cloud Management and why is it important? What are the market factors driving its adoption? How does Cloud Management compare with traditional IT management approaches? What are the main benefits clients are beginning to see through its adoption? Where is the future heading? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode of Cloud Insiders, we are joined by Bob Plumridge, CTO of Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) and Gavin Jolliffe, CEO of Xtravirt, who talk us through the emergence of big data in today’s IT organisations. Our guests address how big data and analytics empowers traditional IT decision making, the market factors driving the adoption of analytics and the use cases we are beginning to see through client implementation. Bob and Gavin also discuss the challenges of analysing big data and the types of organisations that are adopting it, as well as where the future is heading and the trends that are beginning to be seen. Topics covered include: How are big data and analytics empowering traditional IT decision making? What are the market factors driving its adoption? Which type of organisations are beginning to implement it? What are the trends that are beginning to be seen? Where is the future heading? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join us for a very interesting discussion around the Internet of Things (IoT). Our guests for this episode are Capgemini Managing Consultant, Niall Merrigan and Cloud Insiders regular, Peter Grant who talk us through what IoT means for decisions makers and their organisations, as well as the growing importance of security ramifications in an IoT world. Niall and Peter also discuss the type of businesses that are beginning to concentrate on and implement cybersecurity products, the pain points driving this focus and the questions to ask when considering implementing a security solution.   What does IoT mean for organisations? What is cybersecurity and why is it important? Which type of organisations are beginning to implement security solutions? What are the pain points driving the need for cybersecurity? Where is the future heading? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In our first Cloud Insiders podcast of 2017 we’re talking VDI. Joining us in this episode are Xtravirt Senior Consultants, Matt Tupper and Chris Mitchell, who talk us through Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). Our guests investigate the importance of VDI, its appeal to organisations, the key players within the space and the benefits that it’s adoption is bringing. Matt and Chris also explore the trends in the adoption of VDI that Xtravirt are seeing among their clients, the potential pitfalls clients come across when moving towards it and the questions to ask to avoid mistakes, as well as where the future is heading.   What is VDI and why is it important? Which market factors are driving adoption of the VDI model? Who are the key players within VDI? What are the potential pitfalls when moving towards a VDI model? Where is the future heading? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this podcast, StorMagic’s EMEA Channel Manager, Steven Santini and Cloud Insiders Frequent Flyer, Peter Grant discuss the rise of virtual SAN in a Hyperconverged world. In this topical discussion, our guests delve into the market factors that are driving the adoption of vSAN, as well as the benefits that clients are beginning to see from SvSAN as a Virtual SAN solution. Our guests talk us through the questions to ask when considering, planning and implementing vSAN, the types of organisation driving its adoption, as well as where the future appears to be heading.   What is virtual SAN and why is it important in software defined data centres? What are the market factors driving the adoption of vSAN? What types of organisations are beginning to implement vSAN? What benefits are organisations beginning to see from SvSAN as a Virtual SAN solution? Where is the future heading? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode of Cloud Insiders, we are joined by Arista’s Regional Sales Director and Head of UK Sales, Paul Goodridge and Xtravirt Senior Consultant, Richard Renardson as they talk Virtual Networking.  In this topical podcast, our guests explore the current market trends in network virtualisation and discuss the benefits clients are starting to see through its adoption.   Our guests also talk us through the importance of Network Operating Systems, universal spine and core convergence and what it means for IT decision makers, as well as the questions to ask when considering implementing network virtualisation     What is software driven cloud networking and why is it important? What market factors have driven the adoption of network virtualisation? What types of businesses are beginning to implement network virtualisation? Where is the future heading? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

  Join us for an interesting discussion around the rise of Hyperconvergence. Our guests for this episode are Nutanix Senior Systems Engineer, Grant Friend and Xtravirt Senior Consultant, Darren McDonagh who talk us through current trends and the best ways to get a Hyperconverged future for your business. Our guests also discuss how a Hyperconverged stack compares to traditional models, as well as the importance of Hyperconvergence and the impact it has on data centre performance, availability and scalability.   Topics covered include: What is Hyperconvergence and why is it important? What market factors have led to Hyperconvergence? What are the trends that we’re starting to see? What sort of impact is Hyperconvergence currently having on businesses? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this podcast Xtravirt’s Peter Grant and Fujitsu’s Head of Offerings, Guy Ratcliffe delve into the adoption of hybrid IT and how you can get the best of both worlds.  In a focussed discussion, we talk about the sweeping changes affecting infrastructure planning and the rise of the hybrid IT model. Our guests also discuss key benefits as seen by early adopting clients, the questions to ask when considering a move to a hybrid model, as well as anticipated future trends within this space. Topics Covered: What are the market factors driving the adoption of a Hybrid model? What should be considered when thinking about moving towards a Hybrid model? What are the trends that we're starting to see? What are the common mistakes to avoid when considering a Hybrid model? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this topical discussion around Migration Planning, we’re joined by AppTracker founder Justin Pickup and Channel Partner Manager Fraser Norman to discuss the business drivers around making your IT migration quicker and easier and the rise of VDI, Cloud and Windows 10.   We also discuss AppTracker’s MigrationStudio and the market factors that are driving its adoption and the common mistakes made when implementing a migration management tool. Topics covered include:   The rise of VDI, Cloud and Windows 10 What should be considered when thinking about a migration? What are the trends that we're starting to see? How does MigrationStudio compare to traditional approaches? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join us for a topical discussion around the world of DevOps and how this agile relationship between Development and Operations can help organisations. Our guests Bob Plumridge, CTO of HDS and Richard Robinson, Strategic Alliances Manager of Xtravirt explain the importance of DevOps, how it compares with traditional development approaches, as well as the key players within this space. We also discuss where DevOps is  heading and the future trends we're anticipate seeing. Topics covered include: What is DevOps and how does it compare to traditional development approaches? What are the market factors driving the adoption? What are the trends that we're starting to see? What are the common mistakes clients are making during implementation? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We dive a little deeper into the depths of cloud and beyond the veil of technology into the human element of a project. We find out how it’s best to tackle a cloud project from beginning to end and more importantly what not to do. Xtravirt’s Craig Whelan indulges us with the wealth of knowledge he's acquired as a Project Manager within the virtualisation space and gives us a unique perspective from on, beyond and behind the front line. He covers topics such as: ⦁        Critical success factors  ⦁        What methodologies, tools and techniques are used and which are best  ⦁        How do you deal with change  ⦁        What conflicts can arise and how can they be dealt with  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join us for an animated discussion around automation and orchestration, including what it all means for IT Operations teams globally. Guests Sam McGeown, Lead Consultant and Christopher Lewis, Senior Consultant from Xtravirt talk through the reasons clients are adopting VMware vRealize Automation, VMware vRealize Orchestrator and the benefits they see in a future full of automation. 'With automation comes great power', but would you want to automate all processes? What are the main benefits and what are the downsides of automation in the software-defined data centre? Topics covered include: What is vRealize suite? How does vRealize Orchestrator work in with vRealize Operations? When considering automation, what benefits/pitfalls do you need to be aware of? What type of organisations are already rolling out automation? What does automation mean for IT Operations teams? Future trends in automation and orchestration See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Gareth Hogarth and Gregg Robertson from Xtravirt talk security, the risks inherent in software defined data centres and reveal their secret sauce for application hardening. Join us for a lively discussion on security in the context of the software-defined data centre. Our guests Gareth Hogarth (Senior Consultant) and Gregg Robertson (Lead Consultant) of Xtravirt highlight the trends in users and technology and the risks that result in modern environments. They discuss the value of a high level self-audit and reveal the ingredients that make up their security secret sauce - a soon to be crowd favourite when seasoning any security hardening recipe. Topics covered include: What role does Security play in the software-defined data centre? Why does it matter? What risks have emerged in recent times? What ingredients make up the security secret sauce? What does the future hold? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Peter Groucutt of Databarracks and Peter Grant from Xtravirt talk risk, cost of downtime and the rewards inherent in good planning. Join us for an interesting discussion regarding business continuity and disaster recovery in a web-scaled, cloud-based world. Our guests Peter Groucutt, MD of Databarracks and Peter Grant, CTO of Xtravirt, discuss the types of risk organisations need to be aware of, the value of analysing each and the role cloud-based services play in Disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS). The discussion includes the changing nature of risk, the emergence of cyber crime and how organisations both large and small are engaging with the pressing need for business continuity planning. Topics covered include: What is Business continuity planning? How does Disaster recovery feature in cloud-based services? How should you be looking at business continuity planning? How are risks facing organisations changing over time? How has the cloud changed continuity planning? See acast.com/privacy for privacy a

A lively review of VMware NSX, the security drivers leading to its emergence and how organisations are beginning to implement it.   Join us as our guests Matthew Bunce and Andy Hine of Xtravirt, both virtualisation experts, discuss the ins and outs of NSX. The high level discussion covers security concerns driving a rise in microsegmentation, principles of security in a software defined world and what to cover when planning to introduce security into the software layer.   Topics covered include: What is NSX? Trends in the adoption of security and NSX What it means to be NSXy The foundations of a micro-segmented approach Future trends in virtualisation security See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For the inaugural episode of Cloud Insiders we look at exactly what cloud is, who the early adopters have been and where the market is heading. Join us as our guest Peter Grant, a seasoned veteran in the virtualisation field (and Xtravirt CTO) talks to us about the differences between public, private and hybrid clouds and the pros on cons of companies moving to the cloud. Topics covered include: - What is Cloud? - Trends in the adoption of cloud - Public vs hybrid cloud - The suits and the hoodies in IT organisations - Future trends being seen in the industry See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.