Raw and honest advice, plus some entertaining stories about the data center industry that drives the digital world in which we live. In this episode, Sean interviews Richard Donaldson with eBay. 

Show Notes: 
Introduction [1:12]
Where are you right now? [3:33]
Background and role at eBay [09:13]
What got you interested in tech? [13:41]
Why Richard was brought into eBay [22:07]
First data center experience? [27:15]
Trace routes [29:45]
First computer you owned? [36:16]
Changes in the industry over the past decade [38:51]
--Edge Connex [45:15]
Common misconceptions in the industry today? [51:16]
Most fascinating things you have learned since working in the industry? [53:04]
Advice you would give someone new to the industry to help accelerate their career? [56:43]
On specialization and the medicinal marijuana industry [01:00:04]
How to connect with Richard [01:01:39]

I Love Data Centers - Episode 001 - Richard Donaldson and Ebay

Episode 001 - The Heart and Soul of eBay's Infrastructure

In Episode 3 of the I Love Data Centers Podcast, you'll meet Pete Sclafani, COO and Co-founder of 6Connect. Pete's expertise allows him to speak up and down the IT stack. I call Pete a "life decathlete" because of the breadth of experience he has as an IT expert, businessman, husband, and father.

Episode 003 Show Notes

•	Where are you right now? [3:13]
•	Pete’s background [4:18]
•	Norwich University [6:03]
•	How did you get into technology? [8:37]
•	Pete’s college experience [11:26]
•	First job out of college [15:10]
•	“Saddest Cubicle” [18:59] 
•	First time walking into a data center [20:06] 
•	Pete on the evolution of 6Connect [23:22]
•	How do you go about speaking with different archetypes in the industry? [27:13]
•	Speaking to executives [29:42]
•	Speaking with operational people 31:01
•	What have you learned in this industry that has surprised you? [31:54]
•	“Lessons in Grid Computing” [34:37]  
•	How do you see things evolving in the industry? [39:21]
•	Pete on innovation in the industry over the past 15 years [45:16]
•	What is a common misconception people have about the data center industry? [52:32]
•	What is on the backdrop of your computer right now? [54:23]
•	Mac or PC? [54:49]
•	What have you read lately that you found fascinating? [55:30]
•	“A World Undone” book [55:54]
•	What advice would you give someone new to the industry? [57:25] 
•	How to contact Pete and learn more about 6Connect [59:19]

Links mentioned in episode

Saddest Cubicle
https://www.wired.com/2014/10/saddest-cubicles/#slide-4

Lessons in Grid Computing 
https://www.amazon.com/Lessons-Grid-Computing-System-Mirror/dp/0471790109

A World Undone 
https://www.amazon.com/World-Undone-Story-Great-1914/dp/0553382403

Episode 003 - DevOps, Selling Complex IT Solutions and Why the Future is Hybrid - Pete Sclafani

In this week’s I Love Data Centers episode - Data Center Trials, Fiber Optics, and House Music - Sean’s guest is Garrick Sturgill, the Director or Technology, Carrier Relations and Colo Operations at Centeris Data Centers based in Puyallup, WA, just south of Seattle. 

First, Sean explores the three main threads within Garrick’s early and eclectic life (because it's just that interesting); creating with 1980’s computer hardware, working as a Cyberpunk community DJ at tech savvy parties in Seattle, and learning how to work with fiber optics. Next, you'll hear how these threads merged, eventually connecting Garrick into the broader world of the data center marketplace. Once inside the data center marketplace, Garrick experienced numerous trials by fire at the Westin Building Exchange (WBX), which has serves as the primary Internet Exchange in the Pacific Northwest. Finally, Sean helps introduce you to Garrick’s inner geek and how it grew into the ultimate geek job of playing with all the cooling, power and network infrastructure that makes a data center work. Garrick and Sean also explore Big Brother's role in the data center marketplace, although an attempt was made to keep the conversation light, because Big Brother is always listening.

Episode 005 - Data Center Trials, Fiber Optics, and House Music - Garrick Sturgill

This week's episode of the I Love Data Centers podcast, The Evolution of Data Center and Cloud, with Insights on AsiaPac and Canada, we have a more targeted conversation as Sean interviews Philbert Shih, the Founder and CEO of Structure Research, an independent research and consulting firm. Structure Research is also a member of the Open Spectrum Alliance, and contributes to the Open Spectrum Data Center Market Report intelligence. 
 
Sean and Philbert dive in by discussing the business drivers behind the evolving MSP and data center industry. Conversation then shifts to the AsiaPac and Canadian markets where Philbert and his team have some unique and deep experience within the marketplace there. This episode is rich with practical information, best practices and industry insight. We hope you enjoy.

Episode 006 - The Evolution of Data Center and Cloud, Insights on AsiaPac and Canada - Philbert Shih

In this week’s I Love Data Centers episode - The Godfather of the Colocation Indirect Sales Channel - Sean’s guest is Dany Bouchedid, the Founder and CEO of COLOTRAQ.
 
Sean and Dany discuss a great many topics during their time together; such as how he got involved in the industry after a brief conversation with a young entrepreneur (who has since become one of the richest men on the planet) as well as the evolution of the telecom and data center indirect channel. We cover a few of the major events that take place within the industry as well as some of the organizations that support the channel. If you work in or around the indirect sales channel or simply want to gain a perspective on how it works and has matured over the years, this episode is a must listen!

Episode 007 Show Notes

Intro 1:17
Interview starts 2:48
Where are you right now? 3:53
What is it that you actually do? 4:48
How did you get started in IT? 7:10
Data center infrastructure demand drivers 15:50
Virtualization, Cloud, and Hybrid IT 18:10
The early days of the Technology Channel Association (TCA)? 19:50
What drove the evolution of the colocation indirect sales channel? 22:90 
The role of a master agency 31:30
WTF is cloud computing? 36:50
What is the desktop of your computer? 59:00

Episode 007 - The Godfather of the Colocation Indirect Sales Channel

This week we have on deck Sean Holzknecht, the co-founder and CEO of Colovore, a high density colocation provider in Santa Clara, CA. Some rich content is in store for you as we explore how Sean migrated from a small town in Alaska to San Francisco where he happened to land a front row seat to the colossal boom and bust that occurred from 1998-2002. Our story here is a bit unique as it focuses on the infrastructure providers that were responsible for supporting the growth during this era and how they were affected by the $Billions to Bankruptcy phenomenon.

Coming from engineering roots, Sean's perspective is unique through all this. The lessons learned helped spawn his current data center venture Colovore, and we get to hear the complete journey Sean and his partner followed to grow the company from inception to success.

Episode 008 - A High Density Data Center Colocation Startup Story Sean Holzknecht

There are only a few dozen people on the planet, still working today, who both understand how the internet was originally developed and were actually present and involved during its early evolution. Tim Pozar is among this respected and elite tribe. Our interview attempts to add color to these early days as we follow his vast career and the decisions he made pre and post running the first ISP in San Francisco and his work with Alexa and The Internet Archive.

Tim is a genuine and humble technologist, problem solver and entrepreneur through and through. Today, he works to solve complex network problems for enterprises large and small while also running the San Francisco Metropolitan Internet Exchange. Unfortunately we did not have time to cover even a fraction of the projects he's been involved with over the years, or discuss the countless hours he has spent pro-bono working to bring the freedom of the internet to every nook and cranny of Northern California.

Episode 009 Show Notes

Interview Starts 2:23
What is “TwoP”? 2:59
Where are you right now? 4:21
Tim’s background 5:47
How do you first get into technology? 6:41
Starting the first ISP in San Francisco 13:15
Limiting South Africa during Apartheid 16:00
Usenet 18:05
How does Usenet tie to ISP?
Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) 21:14
What inspired you to create your own Internet service providing company? 21:44
Tim’s first time walking into a data center 31:50
What was the next chapter in your career after Little Garden? 38:33
What is Alexa? 39:42
WAIS 44:31
Canter Seagull Incident 47:23
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) 50:08
Bright Mail 52:43
Reasons to go to a data center 55:18
The MAE 58:29
365 1:05:26
Telx 1:06:40
3 Layers to Internet exchange 1:11:51
Lobbying in DC 1:14:38
What’s the backdrop on your laptop? 1:17:55
What is some advice you would give a newcomer in the industry? 1:19:17
How to contact Tim 1:23:59

Episode 009 - History of Internet Protocols, ISPs, SPAM, Internet Exchanges and Peering

This week on the I Love Data Centers podcast: Data Center Industry Attorney Perspectives, I interview Jeffery A. Moerdler. My favorite interviews are ones where I get to scratch my itch for more industry knowledge and this was most definitely the case with this interview. Jeffrey A. Moerdler, Real Estate Partner at Mintz Levin and former Commissioner at Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, has spent decades working and drafting data center and telecommunications related contracts representing both the buyer and seller. He is also the founder of the IMN Forum on Data Centers and Cloud Services, which just recently had their 8th annual fall event in Chicago.

Our conversation covers the legal and business implications of a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), the ins and outs of data center service and lease contracts, data privacy laws, cyber security and a variety of related topics. There is a mountain of valuable information and insight within this episode! Enjoy!

Episode 17 Show Notes

1:11 Interview starts 
2:01 Where are you located right now? 
3:48 Growing up in New York, how did you become familiar with technology?  
8:08 How did you become educated about data centers?  
10:01 How and why Jeffrey started the IMN Data Center Forum 
14:48 How have the topics during the related data center conferences evolved over the years? 
23:41 Data Center server “huggers” 
26:40 What has kept Jeffrey from directly working for a brokerage firm 
31:09 The most common mistakes Jeffery has seen people make in the data center industry 
36:19 Important concepts people in the industry need to grasp  
41:30 Conversation re: liability for building owners  
44:01 Why data center owners and operators prefer the REIT structure 
45:20 Why does a REIT provide access to a lower cost of capital? 
46:42 The cons of the REIT structure 
52:18 Data privacy laws 
57:33 InfraGard 
1:07:20 Legality of data shared between countries 
1:13:23 Why AWS and Azure will not eliminate the need for data centers 
1:19:45 Jeffrey’s first time in a data center 
1:25:09 What is the most fascinating thing you’ve learned in your profession in the past 3 days?  
1:30:19 What is some advice you would give to someone new to the industry?  
1:35:00 How to get in touch with Jeffrey  
Links mentioned in this episode

InfraGard: https://www.infragard.org/
Jeffery on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreymoerdler/

Episode 017 - Jeffrey A. Moerdler - Data Center Industry Attorney Perspectives

This week on the I Love Data Centers podcast: An Introduction to Telecom Expense Management (TEM). 
 
This is a data center podcast, so you may ask "why TEM?" Well, the reality is over One Trillions dollars is spent annually by companies on the networks that carry voice and data. As such, due to the complexity, criticality and size of these networks there is BIG business to be made helping companies right size and optimize said networks. Also, guess where nearly all of these networks start, end or at some point traverse through? You guessed it, The Data Center!
 
Wanting to get as deep and wide a perspective as possible on this introduction to Telecom Expense Mangement, I brought in Chris Corr and Scott Nason, two managing partners in the firm Cost Wellness that works almost exclusively within the TEM and network optimization space. Collectively they operate with over 35 years experience working in the TEM industry and currently manage over One Billion dollars in network spend for various clients, including some significant players within the Healthcare and Banking verticals. If your goal is to become conversant in TEM, I can guarantee you will want to listen in on our conversation!

Show Notes:

1:12 Episode starts
2:15 Cost wellness 
4:56 Where Chris is now, where he grew up, and how he got into the tech industry
7:12 The Vick 20 
8:14 Where Scott is now 
12:20 What does PBX stand for? 
13:54 How Scott got into the tech industry
16:42 How Scott learned what he knows
23:33 What is TIM and how Christ and Scott got involved in it
28:57 How does TIM hold service providers to quality of service? 
30:19 How has TIM evolved to the point where it is today?
36:21 Is TIM applicable to anybody who has a circuit anywhere? 
38:38 How Chris and Scott have each seen technology evolve over the past few decades
49:18 Dominant companies that have a strong place in the industry  
55:54 Has the TIM environment been inundated with a short term private equity mindset or are they still driven by product and software needs? 
59:19 Is there a scenario within a company where, on face value it looks like a good opportunity but in reality, it is not? 
1:07:48 How would an incentive such as that even come into place? 
1:09:06 Is it CFOs that you are having these conversations with or is it the IT departments that are following the mandates from the financial office?
1:13:28 What is the economic model for Scott and Chris?
1:18:13 Two things that happen in a contingency engagement 
1:23:25 Being aware of where vendors are making money that you are not paying them
1:25:03 Barriers for customer engagement 
1:28:12 Helping customers build connectivity into their product
1:33:02 What advice would you give to a newcomer in this industry? 
1:67:15 What was some helpful advice you received upon coming into this industry? 
1:41:29 Scott and Chris' contact information

Episode 019 - Cost Wellness - Introduction to Telecomm Expense Management

This week on the I Love Data Centers podcast: Strategic Foresight and The Cyber Attack Survival Manual, I interview author and bona fide futurist Heather Vescent.

Heather and I met nearly a decade ago at a VC event in Los Angeles. Our mutual passion for innovation, technology, strategic thinking, design and education has kept us connected over the years through various projects. She is the only person I know to have received a Masters in Strategic Foresight, such that she can call herself a Futurist and have the credentials to back it up.

Recently, Heather co-authored "The Cyber Attack Survival Manual: Tools for Surviving Everything from Identity Theft to the Digital Apocalypse". The book became my top recommendation and gifted book the moment I finished it. It is a must read for both complete noobs to all things Cyber Security and advanced hackers. I could sing Heather’s praises for days, but in short, she is a badass and her energy is contagious.

Heather Vescent is founder of The Purple Tornado, a transmedia futures studio, whose clients include US & UK governments, SWIFT, Disney, mid-size companies and start-ups. Her research explores trends in the future of cybersecurity, digital identity, money, economies, augmented intelligence, relationships, and war. It been covered in the New York Times, CNN, American Banker, CNBC, Fox, and the Atlantic. She is an author of the Cyber Attack Survival Manual: From Identity Theft to The Digital Apocalypse, published by Weldon Owen.

Show Notes: 
1:12 Interview Starts
3:00 Heather’s background
5:57 What is a Futurist?
14:31 How Heather became a Futurist
15:24 The Future of Money project
25:08 How data may be stored in the future 
27:35 Future technological possibilities
37:26 Going to Mars
43:59 The Cyber Attack Survival Manual
57:48 What is the cyber term “Pineapple” and how are they used?
1:04:51 The importance of internet and cyber education 
1:12:12 When was the first time you remember stepping into a data center? 
1:14:45 What is the biggest misconception people have about what you do or the industry at large?
1:15:04 What is one thing that you believe is true that most people would think you are insane for believing? 
 1:16:00 What is the most interesting thing that you have learned in the past few months?

Links:
Cyber Attack Survival Manual: amzn.to/2i2Jz5K 
Future of Cybersecurity List: https://app.convertkit.com/landing_pages/325779/
http://www.heathervescent.com/
https://twitter.com/heathervescent
https://www.linkedin.com/in/heathervescent/

Episode 022 - Heather Vescent - Strategic Foresight and The Cyber Attack Survival Manual

This week on the I Love Data Centers podcast: Founder & Editor of DataCenterKnowledge.com and DataCenterFrontier.com, I interview the one and only Rich Miller.

If you’re in the data center industry, you’ve likely come across www.datacenterknowledge.com or www.datacenterfrontier.com. If you haven’t, well, you should go check both sites out ASAP and bookmark them! I have wanted to connect and talk shop with Rich for nearly a decade. Although we’ve talked a few times over the past few months about how we can partner together on the content side of our respective organizations, our conversation in this podcast covered new ground for me.

Rich gives us insight into how he started as a journalist and the journey he has taken building both datacenterknowledge.com and datacenterfrontier.com while becoming one of the most well-known and respected authorities in the data center and cloud marketplace industries. Also enclosed is an enlightening conversation about the impact of alternative energy and crypto-mining operations within the data center industry.

Show Notes:
1:12 Episode starts
2:06 Rich’s background in technology
8:55 What pushed Rich to be the entrepreneur he is today
13:15 The launch of Data Center Knowledge
15:25 How he acquired initial advertisers
23:18 How have you seen the market evolve over the past decade?
31:15 How will cryptocurrency and renewables affect the data center industry
35:32 Why a typical colocation facility would not be an ideal location for a crypto-miner
40:06 Why are crypto-mining operations being deployed in regions where power is expensive?
45:39 How have you seen the conversation around renewable energy evolve and what will it look like in the future?
54:28 Is the data center industry really the largest consumer of commercial energy?
57:37 How realistic is retrofitting generators in data centers to put them back on the power grid
1:07:00 Moving from Data Center Knowledge to Data Center Frontier
1:18:11 The future of Data Center Frontier
1:20:41 Do you have any thoughts, practices, etc. that people would find crazy?
1:22:16 What is something that you have learned over the past few months that has blown your mind?
1:27:51 What advice would you give to technology focused journalist coming into the industry today?
1:31:02 Advice for professions looking to migrate from the telecommunications industry into the data center industry?

Episode 023 - Rich Miller - Founder & Editor of DataCenterKnowledge.com and DataCenterFrontier.com

This week on the I Love Data Centers podcast: MicroCorp’s New Cloud Elements Division and the Anatomy of a Telecom Master Agency, I interview the President of MicroCorp, Phil Keenan.

When I first met Phil in Atlanta nearly 3 years ago, it was obvious he was different than every other executive I had met working in the telecom industry. He cut through the typical positioning BS right from the start, wanted to execute quickly, and viewed the industry through the same lenses I did. Truth be told, with the launch of the Cloud Elements Division of MicroCorp in April of this year, the vision of what we planned in our very first meeting has now become manifest.

Our conversation covers the specific function and role the “Master Agency” plays in our industry and how a service provider can be successful in the indirect channel. We also discuss the who, how, what and why of MicroCorp’s new Cloud Elements Division. Most importantly, however, we discuss how the lessons Phil learned selling vacuum cleaners door to door in the UK helped shape him into the executive he is today.

Show Notes:
1:12 Episode starts
2:15 Phil’s backstory
3:33 How Phil got into tech
10:19 What made Phil switch industries and move to the Channel?
13:02 The difference between the way Phil views the world versus how traditional telecommunication master agents view the world
17:23 What made Phil interested in Open Spectrum?
31:28 How does an indirect channel operate and what purpose does a master agent serve?
34:25 Why can’t carriers and service agents fill that role?
39:29 What’s the issue with letting the service provider do pre-qualification with the customer? 
44:16 What is Cloud Elements and how will it empower agents to do more?
50:07 How does Cloud Elements affect the engagement between an agent and their client?
55:02 Phil’s ideas that have been valuable to his interaction with the community he works with
57:12 What will the next few years look like for MicroCorp?
1:00:22 The importance of trust
1:01:34 Phil’s first time walking into a data center
1:03:26 At what point did you realize that this was the industry you wanted to work in?
1:04:58 Common misconceptions service providers have about the channel
1:05:48 What it takes for a service provider to be successful in building relationships with master agencies
1:12:56 What do you think the main component to your success was?
1:14:18 What is some advice that you wish you had had five years ago?
1:18:35 What advice would you give an agent just starting out?

Episode 024 - Phil Keenan - MicroCorp's Cloud Elements Division and The Anatomy of a Master Agency

Rob attended one of my data center bootcamps in Denver years ago and instantly became an advocate for the education I was providing the industry. It took all of a few minutes for me to become a huge advocate of his as well, as he is, truly, a master of his craft. He also knows how to throw truly epic parties, which is another shared passion of ours.

After nearly 2 decades working for various data center service providers, Rob made the jump to the client representation side exclusively last year and hasn't looked back. Our conversation covers the evolution of Open IX, an organization he currently serves on the Board of, lessons learned working in the industry, and a candid conversation about what the future of interconnection and carrier hotels might look like.

Show Notes:
1:12 Episode Starts
3:34 Rob’s upbringing and getting his start in the industry
8:57 Working at AT&T
11:13 Working at Telex
12:31 Why Rob left
15:52 Rob’s thoughts on the Equinix acquisition
20:42 How is the heavy amount of construction going on in the suburbs affecting Dallas? 
26:35 Why Rob decided to start his own consulting firm 
28:53 What is Open-IX? 
33:07 How Open-IX has evolved and how Rob got started in it
36:55 Are major companies like Google and Netflix still involved in Open-IX?
40:23 Should these major companies get a different rate?
43:07 Why are companies like DXLink trying to enter the US marketplace?
47:22 How will affect the monopoly companies like Equinix have on the marketplace?
52:25 Rob’s advice for newcomers in this marketspace
1:00:13 How the prime equity money coming into the industry is affecting how businesses operate
1:08:33 What is something you have learned over the past few months that has blown your mind?
1:11:37 Is there anything new entering the field that will change the industry?
1:13:56 The best advice Rob received while working at AT&T
1:19:20 How to get in contact with Rob

Majeticks Website: http://mejeticks.com/

Episode 025 - Rob DeVita - Past, Present & Future of OPEN IX & Carrier Hotels

This week on the I Love Data Centers podcast: How I Got Here, Rich Miller Interviews Sean Patrick Tario, the voice and vision behind the I Love Data Centers Podcast.

Due to the volume of requests to turn the tables and have someone interview me for the podcast, we decided to do just that in this episode. I was honored to have Rich Miller, founder of datacenterknowledge.com and datacenterfrontier.com, take charge to this extent following the same format I use during my interviews.

In this episode you’ll learn a little more about how I got started working in the industry, what drove me to venture off on my own years ago, some harsh lessons I learned as a stubborn entrepreneur and the spark that manifested this podcast. Hope you enjoy!   

Show Notes:
1:12 Episode starts
2:48 What inspired you to start the I Love Data Centers podcast? 
5:37 Why did you decide to go with a long-form interview format for this podcast? 
10:20 How did you get started in the data center industry?
13:32 Your past entrepreneurial endeavors?
18:21 Your experience working initially w/ UnitedLayer?
24:20 After working at UnitedLayer and QTS, how did you get Open Spectrum started?   
31:00 The evolution of Open Spectrum and training other industry professionals
37:42 How the Data Center Colocation Playbook has affected your interaction with others in the industry
43:27 Discussions around why data center tours matter?
47:15 What Open Spectrum has been up to lately?
55:21 Where Sean feels the industry is heading?
1:05:12 Your take on recent PE and M&A activity in the industry?
1:23:10 What you wish you would have known when you started in the industry?
1:25:29 What was the most influential piece of advice you received while working in the industry?

Episode 026 - Sean Patrick Tario - How I Got Here; Rich Miller Interviews the Interviewer

This week on the I Love Data Centers podcast: CxO NExUS, I interview the Chief Executive Officer of CxO NExUS, Ken Male.

With more than 25 years of leadership positions in IT research, Ken Male possesses a deep understanding of how C-Suite executives leverage fact based data to improve decision-making. Male’s background includes experience working in senior and executive roles with Gartner, Giga (acquired by Forrester), Apptio, and Jupiter Research (also acquired by Forrester).

Through interactive and customized Heat Maps, CxO NExUS helps Global 5000 CIOs and CMOs, CFOs, CPOs, and VMOs leverage data to increase efficiency by providing automated, role-specific views that simplify and optimize category and vendor spend management tasks. Their suite of services are proven to save money and enable more informed, data-driven decision making.

Show Notes:
1:22 Interview starts
2:02 What does Ken Male do?
3:34 Ken Male’s upbringing and how he got into tech
5:50 What got Ken into 451 Research?
8:00 Ken’s experience working at Deck
12:23 Ken’s entrepreneurial upbringing
17:31 What did Ken learn from his father?
20:56 Ken’s experience working at Apptio
25:21 What is CxO NExUS?
29:28 Interactive and customized Heat Maps
35:18 What does Ken’s engagement cycle look like?
38:54 How Ken is seeing the market evolve
42:44 Has Ken seen any pushback from providers? 
44:39 Has the process of growing and starting a business changed over the past 15 years?
46:51 What are the characteristics Ken is looking for in employees? 
49:19 Lessons that Ken has learned that have helped shape his career
52:20 Bad examples Ken has seen over the years that he’s learned from
56:57 Advice Ken would have given his younger self
58:23 Misconceptions people have about Ken’s industry
1:08:08 Who is the ideal customer for a company like CxO NExUS?
1:10:21 How to get in contact with Ken 

Links mentioned: https://cxonexus.com/
Ken’s email: KMale@cxonexus.com 
Ken’s phone number: 917-861-0693

Episode 031 - Ken Male - IT Spend Visualization is a Game Changer

You know those moments when numerous people tell you that you "NEEEED" to talk to someone because they think you'll instantly get along, and then you finally meet the person and, in fact, you discover they were spot on? Well, this episode was one of those moments. Paul is a fascinating character with experience in marketing, sales, sales engineering and... traveling the world creating and playing music for world dignitaries. We cover what it was like watching Rackspace evolve from just a few dozen employees to a few thousand while honing in on the customer first culture that has helped the company scale so fast over the past twenty plus years. I also address Rackspace's shift to adopting a managed public cloud service offering, acquiring Datapipe, and the strategic decision made years ago to focus on Open Stack. Listen and learn folks. Listen. and. Learn.

Episode 034 - Paul Croteau - Stories from an Early Racker

Aaron Hughes has spent decades architecting, building and managing various components that make up the internet we all use today. Ever heard of PeeringDB.com? Yeah, that was one of his many "side projects" that was put together in a matter of days because it simply needed to be done and he saw no one else doing it. Since I met the man, he has been a role model of productivity, successfully juggling multiple roles and wearing multiple hats at the same time. His Linkedin Profile says it all to this extent.

Thankfully for me, we both worked together when I first started in the industry and we also happened to live just a few minutes down the road from one another in Santa Cruz, CA. Aaron quickly became one of my favorite people to sit back and talk shop with because I always walked away learning something new and, at some point, laughing until I cried. I am blessed to have had so many opportunities to learn, laugh and cry with Aaron and his equally bright and fun loving wife Stacy. I hope you enjoy listening in on our wide ranging conversation. I'll give you a teaser with 2 of my favorite quotes that came out of it;

"Yes, there is hope, but this hope is predicated on education."

'"Embrace Automation" is the new "Work with your brain and not with your back"'

Enjoy!

Your Data is Getting Safer... Sort of - Episode 036 - Aaron Hughes

While advancements in the data center industry have made shopping the scene as a consumer seem more complicated, it's actually more accessible than ever. Ryan Barbera and I discuss the red tape and the mystique surrounding the industry and how making your next data center decision isn't as complex as it seems. Tune in and learn how Ryan and I lifted the veil and added resources to help make important digital decisions. 

We explore how we are leveraging an ever growing ecosystem of like-minded individuals. Ryan aligns with my core values and beliefs; we explain why this is so critical in the new digital landscape.

Unveiling the Data Center - Episode 39 - Ryan Barbera

Data Foundry is one of the oldest privately owned data center companies in the world. They've managed to build a highly profitable business and survive a number of economic downturns over two and half decades by sticking to their core values and being highly selective about the clients they work with.

In this interview I have the privilege of talking to their CTO, Edward Henigin, who has been with the company since inception. We discuss how he migrated from Hawaii to Illinois to Texas and the lessons learned over the years watching an ISP quickly evolve into a data center company. Data center technology, corporate culture, industry evolution and much more is all covered in this podcast!

Great Culture Makes Great Business - Episode 41 - Ed Henigin

Given how little innovation has gone on in the commercial data center colocation industry as of late, I was skeptical when someone told me the GIGA Data Center located north of Charlotte, NC was delivering a product that was unique. Although modular data centers are nothing new, I was definitely impressed by the novel approach they have gone about deploying their solution and re-thinking the layout of a data center to drive maximum efficiency.

Jake Ring, Co-Founder and CEO, spent time with me talking shop and geeking out about some of the technology they've implemented and lessons learned watching said technology evolve to where it is today.

Hyperscale Level Performance to the Multi-tenant Colocation Market - Episode 42 - Jake Ring

I was lucky enough to grab some time with attorney James Grice for this episode to do a serious knowledge drop regarding data center tax frameworks applicable to the data center asset class. If reading that got you as excited as it did me, you're in the right place!

James and I geek out on tax issues related to the industry, defining how data centers impact a community beyond the W2 FTEs hired to maintain the facility, how growing power consumption can and will need to be addressed... and much much more. Get your legal pads ready to take some notes folks and tune in.

Fascinating, Exciting, and So Much Opportunity - Episode 43 - James Grice

The Interconnection Services Playbook, which serves as an attempt to demystify the Interconnection Services Industry, is now released into the wild! Keeping with this topic, I thought it appropriate to interview another one of my favorite people in the industry, Misha Cetrone, Sr. Global Director, Cloud Solution Architecture at Megaport.

Misha drops some technical knowledge about why Interconnection Services are important, how they will continue to evolve, what some tangible uses cases are to consider leveraging these services, how to connect to these services and how they operate at their core level. Listen and learn my friends... listen and learn.

Megaport & Interconnection Services 101 - Episode 44 - Misha Cetrone

Excited to share with you a few stories from Chris Downie on his professional experience growing into the data center industry. His unique perspective as the CEO of both Telx during the acquisition by Digital Realty Trust in 2015 and Peak10 during their acquisition of Viawest in 2017 (now Flexential) makes this interview extremely powerful.

We also touch on what steps Flexential has taken to address concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic, what a day in the life of a CEO of a data center company looks like and some important lessons he's learned over the years.

Drive Quality in Everything You Do - Episode 045 - Chris Downie

Staying on topic re: demystifying the Interconnection Services Industry and our recent Interconnection Playbook launch, I spent time with successful data center and managed hosting entrepreneur Rich Lee who is now spearheading Pureport, a multicloud interconnection provider. Rich happens to also live in Raleigh, NC and has obtained a wealth of knowledge to share with us having had direct experience across a number of successful M&A events within the data center and IT Services industry over the past 2 decades.

We walk through a few of these transactions in detail, lessons he's learned scaling a variety of businesses, as well as the unique interconnection features and products Pureport offers. Prepare for some more knowledge bombs my friends and give this a listen ASAP!

Focused on Strong Business Fundamentals - Episode 046 - Rich Lee

Early on in our conversation, Jeff politely made me aware that he has socks older than me. Apart from this telling me that he definitely needs some new socks, I became even more excited to dig into the interview knowing that he has literally been helping to build the infrastructure that runs the digital world longer than my short 40 years on this planet.
We talk through him helping to start the first ISP in Minnesota, how exactly high capacity optical switching gear works and what a day in the life of Jeff looks like at DC Blox. For good measure we threw in some perspectives gained in light of current events through the lens of my rereading Frank Herbert's epic sci-fi DUNE chronicles and Jeff's rewatching the 2004 Battlestar Galactica TV series. Unsurprisingly, I learned a lot from Jeff in our short time together and I am positive you will too.

Balance is Important. Words Matter. - Episode 047 - Jeff Wabik

In this episode I spend time talking with Jason Okroy, Co-founder and CEO of Salute Mission Critical, a US military veteran focused data center services company. Having toured hundreds of production data centers over the years, the facilities I have walked through that were the cleanest and with the most educated facilities staff were those operated by veterans of our armed forces. If you think about it for even a few seconds, this starts to make perfect sense given the training, discipline, necessity to perform under pressure and repetition of complex tasks within the military.

Our conversation covers how and why the company was founded in 2013 and a few of the lessons Jason and his company have learned serving the veteran community as well as the facilities and operations side of the data center industry.

I Love Data Centers

Popular tracks