Altitude: The Unsung Heroes of Cloud Transformation

In this episode, Woody is joined by Sarah Aamir, a Partner Solutions Architect at AWS. Sarah is a seasoned professional with a rich background in networking and technology. She has held roles at prominent companies such as Dell and T-Mobile, and her journey through the industry offers a valuable perspective on the evolving landscape of enterprise networking. Throughout the conversation, Sarah and...

Today, Woody is joined by Senior Principal Software Engineer Mitch Connors to discuss the world of containers and the frequent challenges posed. Mitch Connors is an experienced software engineer with a remarkable career spanning 18 years. Having worked for various companies, including renowned tech giants such as F5, Amazon, and Google, he brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his new role...

In this episode of Altitude, Woody welcomes special guest Nick Davitashvili, Senior Cloud Network Architect at Aviatrix. Nick is an accomplished architect and keynote speaker with a strong background in networking, cloud, and cybersecurity architecture. He brings a unique and profound perspective to his role; having lived in various parts of the world, he's cultivated a multi-faceted approach to h...

In this episode, Woody dives into the world of cloud security using open source systems with our special guest, Susan Hinrichs.    Susan Hinrichs, Chief Scientist at Aviatrix, is a multifaceted professional with a strong background in the open source networking and security space. As a designer and implementer, she has contributed significantly to the development of distributed cloud firewall. Sus...

In this episode of Altitude, Woody sits down with the brilliant Rob DeWeese for an in-depth exploration of cloud networking, architecture, and cost optimization. As a dedicated problem solver and cloud networking expert, Rob joined IBM six years ago as the lead multicloud architect. Following the separation of IBM's consulting wing, he embraced the consultancy realm, now known as Kyndryl – the wor...

In this episode of Altitude, Justin Payne, Senior Infrastructure Security Architect at Mueller Water Products (MWP), shares his firsthand experience of navigating the challenges posed by outdated hardware and limited resources while transitioning to the cloud. With an impressive three decades of IT expertise, Justin has been a dedicated member of the MWP team for the past ten years. MWP, founded o...

In this episode of Altitude, Woody has the opportunity to sit down with Mohamed Ghassen, Cloud Security Engineer at SAP. He is also an Aviatrix Certified Engineer (ACE) Multicloud Network Design Expert, the highest level of the ACE Multicloud Networking and Security certification track. Woody and Mohamed discuss the paradigm shift required for cloud security, emphasizing the importance of integrat...

Enlightening, but frightening - what does AI have in store for us? Today, guest Zach Hughes, joins Woody to speculate the answer. Zach is the VP of IT at CHS, one of the industry's leading agriculture businesses that is uniquely owned by the farmers. He is also one of the industry's leading experts on the principles and practices of leadership. In their discussion today, Woody and Zach discuss the...

On this episode of Altitude, Woody is joined by John Bristol, Practice Leader at Enterprise Vision Technologies.  John is highly experienced in the IT industry and through his work at EVT, where he helps customers transform their legacy network environments to a more automated, secure, multicloud network architecture. In their discussion today, Woody and John discuss cloud networking, but from the...

In a special episode of Altitude, Woody hosts a roundtable with two great minds in cloud --Toby Foss, Director of Network Operations at Informatica, and Chris McHenry, Head of Security Solutions at Aviatrix. Together, they discuss the outcome of existing security patterns in cloud and how those patterns are working or not working. They explore alternative architectural approaches, what a distribut...

On this episode of Altitude, Woody speaks with Zac Smith, the Global Head of Edge Infrastructure Services at Equinix, the world's largest operator of interconnected data centers. He is also the co-founder of Packet, which was acquired by Equinix and focused on automating computers and networks for developer-centric infrastructure. Zac shares insights into the history and culture of Equinix, which...

On this episode of Altitude, Woody is joined by Steve Saunders, networking guru and founder of Silverlinings, which provides a reputable daily source of news, analysis, and strategy for cloud infrastructure. Steve is also Vice Chairman of the Board of Laser Light Communications, which is building the world's first all-optical carrier network in space. Together, they explore 5G’s impact on the futu...

On this episode of Altitude, Woody is joined by Chris McHenry, Director of Solution Strategy at Aviatrix, for a deep dive into the world of zero-trust networking. Chris shares his expertise on this increasingly important security paradigm, which focuses on proactive prevention rather than simply detecting threats. Drawing from the history of enterprise security and the evolution of firewalls, Chri...

On this episode of Altitude , Woody invites former colleague and friend Heather Sze, Principal Cloud Solution Architect in Security at Microsoft, onto the show to discuss cloud security – a top barrier to cloud adoption.    From Heather’s experiences as an IT manager at Morgan Stanley and Deloitte & Touche, a technical solutions architect at Cisco, and now an Azure principal cloud solution arc...

In this episode of Altitude , Woody is joined by Tom Davis, Director of Solutions Management at Aviatrix. In this informative discussion, Tom shares his expertise on the network backbone and how the challenges and opportunities of cloud are changing the approach to backbone design.   Tom shares his insights on discipline and teamwork from his military background and the mentality that helped him t...

On this episode of Altitude, Woody investigates the skills gap in cloud networking and security that is a major issue for enterprises. Guests Danielle Coady and Nauman Mustafa both agree that the skills shortage is very real and caused by multiple factors such as migrations, mergers and acquisitions, and digital transformation. With the accelerated adoption of cloud services due to the pandemic, c...

On this episode of Altitude , Woody explores the key trends driving cloud technology with Scott Raynovich, the Founder and Chief Analyst at Futuriom, a leading cloud tech analyst firm.     The conversation covers the success of Futuriom, the impact of today’s economy on cloud infrastructure, networking, and security, the concept of the “shrinking internet” and how it affects SD-WAN, the meanings o...

On this episode of Altitude , Woody looks into the challenges and opportunities that come with moving business-critical applications, like SAP S/4HANA, to the cloud with his guest, Luke Bockelmann, Principal Solutions Engineer at Aviatrix. The conversation discusses the "Innovator's Dilemma" and how traditional networking companies are too focused on competing in their own industry to find the res...

On this episode of Altitude, Woody and special guest Steve Mullaney, President and CEO at Aviatrix, discuss cloud maturity and the human experience along this journey.   Together, they explore the transformation in the cloud that brought Steve out of retirement, the stages of technology adoption and where Aviatrix fits, what Steve’s phrase “It’s Happening” actually means and why it matters, and wh...

Welcome to Altitude: The Unsung Heroes of Cloud Transformation. Tune in to learn about the challenges, opportunities, and industry trends that IT leaders and teams face in the cloud and what the true cloud heroes are doing to innovate. Be sure to subscribe on your preferred listening app to join host Bryan “Woody” Woodworth, Sr. Principal Solutions Strategist at Aviatrix for new episodes bi-weekly...