5 Steps to a Smarter Private Cloud, EMEA | Juan Martinez, AMD – Sponsor perspective

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Juan Martinez

Sr. Director, EPYC Business Unit

AMD

Rob Strechay

Dir./Principal Analyst & Host

theCUBE Research

play_circle_outline AI is transforming data center definitions and customer needs for modernization.

play_circle_outline Maximizing Performance with Dell PowerEdge Servers: Harnessing AMD EPYC for Efficient Virtualization and Resource Optimization

play_circle_outline The significance of software licensing cost management in data center modernization.

play_circle_outline Success stories demonstrate significant reductions in hardware footprint and IT expenditures.

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Juan Martinez, AMD – Sponsor perspective

Juan Martinez

Sr. Director, EPYC Business Unit AMD

Rob Strechay

Dir./Principal Analyst & Host theCUBE Research

HOST

Customers always want to do more with less. In this Dell Technologies “5 Steps to a Smarter Private Cloud” segment, theCUBE Research analyst Rob Strechay speaks with Juan Martinez of AMD about how PowerEdge with AMD Epic helps enterprises modernize virtualized estates while preparing for AI. Martinez outlines why refresh cycles are accelerating, pointing to higher core counts and memory bandwidth, record-setting VMware performance per socket and co-engineered migration tools with Dell that keep upgrades straightforward and cost-aware. The conversation ties di... Read more

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What factors should customers consider when deciding to modernize their virtualized and legacy hardware, particularly in relation to AI developments? add

What trends are currently observed in the data center industry regarding customer needs and technology offerings? add

What are the benefits and advantages of using Dell PowerEdge with AMD Epic technology for customers? add

What are the practical benefits and efficiencies for customers transitioning to PowerEdge and AMD? add

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Juan Martinez, AMD – Sponsor perspective

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Rob Strechay

>> Welcome to this segment of Dell Technology's 5 Steps to a Smarter Private Cloud where I'm joined by Juan Martinez from AMD, one of the sponsors of this event. Welcome on board, Juan.

Juan Martinez

>> Hey, thank you for having me today. Very happy to be here.

Rob Strechay

>> Yeah, happy to have you and AMD on. I think again, AMD has really been innovating for over a decade in the data center market now, and the theme of today's event is data center modernization, which is all the rage given everything that is transpiring with applications. Why should customers consider modernizing their virtualized and other legacy hardware with AMD and really why now?

Juan Martinez

>> Yeah, I mean, I love the question because as you know, we are in the middle of a very important moment with AI. I think we can easily conclude that AI is significantly changing the way that the data center is defined and most of us and our customers are probably asking, hey, what are the right tools that we need to have in order to be able to be ready for AI? And I think one of the immediate or quick answers that probably they are getting into is, hey, probably the tools that I've been using in the past are not necessarily the ones that I need to use in the future. The other element that I think is super important and probably let me go to the last part of the question, which is, hey, why now is again AI. Our customers, regardless of the industry, that they are facing two potential outcomes. One outcome is be a disruptor in their industry, which will be a great for them or be disrupted by someone else. And I think many of these companies, the customers are looking into, hey, how I'm going to modernize those legacy application, that legacy hardware that I've been seated in my data center for so many years. And I think it's putting them in a situation where they really need to start looking into, hey, be out of the comfort zone and the status quo and really be very pragmatic in terms of how to move forward with the right decisions to modernize their data center. And I think that's where AMD plays a role, right? AMD, since our last five generations of epic processors has been demonstrating a significant focus on execution, we are delivering with predictability to our customers a very robust value proposition with our technology. We are demonstrating that they can gain significant performance and improvements gen over gen. And most important, and I think this is kind of the significant reason why AMD is, there is no other offer like AMD right now when you look from technological standpoint, when you look from performance per dollar, there is no other offer in the market like us. And I think that is a reflection of when you look into the IDC numbers, we are already 40% of the CPU market. So there is a clear trend in the way that we are gaining traction with the customers and be the option for those customers to what is needed for the data centers moving forward.

Rob Strechay

>> Yeah, let's dive into that a little bit more because I think a lot of organizations are looking at their virtualized environments and trying to figure out what to do. How do the AMD Epic processors in the Dell PowerEdge servers really help their customers and your customers with those virtualized environments?

Juan Martinez

>> Yeah, I think look, there is an evident trend right now in the industry and the market, which is customers are in a process to refresh and modernize the data center, right? IDC, Gartner and many of the analysts in our industry are highlighting this trend and when you look into the customers that are running virtualization stacks, call it VMware or others, they are in general looking for something in common which is, hey, I need to do more with less, right? That's kind of the premises of what they are right now. And when we look into what we are offering between Dell PowerEdge and our AMD EPIC portfolio, basically we are getting that customers are able to run a larger number of virtual machines per server versus what they used to do in the past. They are able to get up to 192 cores of performance, high memory bandwidth, and on top of that, we are able to really bring a comprehensive path for migration and that's basically what we are working with Dell to make sure the customers are able to get the right value and the expected benefits of this new technology in their environments. Another element that I really like to highlight is, I don't know if you are aware, but both Dell and AMD holds two world records of VMware , right? On performance per socket. And you probably will say, well, why this is important? Well, this is important because customers basically what are gaining by moving into Dell PowerEdge with AMD Epic is better cost from hardware perspective, software perspective, better power management, and that translate that they are getting the right infrastructure with the right scalability and the density in alignment with what they need for their IT needs.

Rob Strechay

>> Yeah, I totally agree and I think that one of the things that's really interesting is again, that not only helps from a density perspective, power and cooling, but also licensing costs when you're looking at software that are licensed that way. Let's dive a little bit deeper here from this perspective. Private cloud re-architecture and modernization is really taking off. We see it from the customers that we talk to and the organizations we talk to on a daily basis. Why should customers consider that their businesses take a look at PowerEdge with AMD Epic for their private cloud infrastructure that's becoming so key to all of their initiatives, AI and virtualization in private cloud?

Juan Martinez

>> Yeah, look, if you look into the customer spend, I will say, and some of the data that we have at 83% of the customers are looking to rationalize their IT spend, but just a fraction of them are really seeing the benefit in terms of the approach that they're using in order to be effective. And when we look into private cloud, basically customers that are managing these type of options in their environment are looking for scalability and control. And basically these customers are looking for, hey, I want to consolidate my workloads, I want to shrinking my licensing costs. I want to get better and better ROI from my investment. And ultimately what we are putting on the table is, hey, we have a comprehensive path for them to deploy a high-performance solution that helps them to meet all the requirements that they have. AMD Epic is basically putting all the higher core count, the high memory bandwidth, and that is putting all the comprehensive path to manage all the transition in a way that is making sense from a technical standpoint and AMD standpoint. So basically what we are trying to make sure is for these customers that the migration is going to be straightforward. We are working with Dell very actively to have co-engineered tools that helps them to have a comprehensive path to maximize their private clouds and the solutions that they're running in those private clouds.

Rob Strechay

>> Yeah, I think that's a key is people want it to be simple and highly integrated and that cloud operating model is all about that simplicity. What does it mean in practical terms and how does this drive efficiency for customers when they're looking at it?

Juan Martinez

>> Yeah, I really like this question because what we are really looking to drive here is couple of things. Number one is fastest business outcomes, which is absolutely essential. We want to make sure customers are getting a positive business output from all of these investments and transitions to PowerEdge and AMD. Number two is tangible savings. And I think this is something that we have been saying multiple times through the last years, but in the past you used to probably implement seven servers to do something that you can do today with one server. So that's one of the immediate benefits that customers are getting is, hey, I'm able to really shrink in my hardware footprint and I will give you an example. There is a company, Fulgent Genetics, which is a leading biotech company. They moved to Dell PowerEdge with AMD Epic processors fourth generation, and they were able to cut 90% of their footprint in hardware. That's a significant improvement. We have also OSF Healthcare in Florida, a healthcare provider that they were able to cost almost 50% their annual purchases in technology brings significant ROI in what they have today. But also if you go into the software licensing, I mean, software licensing is probably one of the most expensive elements in a data center and what customers are getting by working with Dell PowerEdge and AMD Epic is basically to get the option to maximize the licenses that they already have, which is going to bring literally better TCO and ROI on the investments that they already have. So I think there is a significant story of value into what the customers get when they are working and looking to use Dell PowerEdge technology with AMD Epic processors.

Rob Strechay

>> Yeah, no, I think that that's true. I mean, we were talking with the folks there and I think a lot of it was the OSF healthcare talked about 50% being able to reduce their capital expenditures by 50%, which was just amazing numbers, and Emirates MBD really saw 42% better performance and 20% better reduction in virtualization licensing costs. Exactly what you were talking about. Do you see this as really common outcomes for those customers?

Juan Martinez

>> Oh, yeah, I definitely believe there is a significant story and output in terms of benefits on the TCO and ROI that customers get. And as you were saying, it is not just the hardware footprint, it's the licensed footprint is the overall... I mean, energy consumption these days is a very particular topic that customers are putting more and more attention. Governments are putting also more attention in terms of all the regulations around that and customers are looking to what's the best option that I have. And again, back into a comment that I made earlier is how I can do more with less and that more with less translating to what is the right technology that I need to have in my company in order to deliver those business outcomes that we are looking to deliver.

Rob Strechay

>> No, I totally agree and I love that comment about power and cooling and data centers because funny enough, there's only so much power left in the world right at the moment. AI is hungry for power to put it mildly. But I know also, like you said, AMD is really focused on that. How does the AMD portfolio address AI workloads, especially not just across the data center, but from cloud to edge to endpoint because AI is going to live everywhere and it's not only on things like GPUs, especially out at the edge.

Juan Martinez

>> Yeah, I mean, AI is everywhere, period. I mean, when we look from training models in the cloud all the way down into the inferencing models at the edge, and obviously from our side, we have a very interesting and robust portfolio of CPUs, GPUs, DPUs, right? That are included or as a part of the servers and Dell PowerEdge servers is kind of the best combination for customers to really jump into what they need for AI. But the real conversation that we need to have with customers is, hey, how we help the customers to identify what are the right engines that they need in order to support their AI workloads and ultimately comes down into what is that roadmap. That they can trust Dell, that they can trust AMD, that we together can work into that in order to deliver a comprehensive path for them to build that road to AI. Some of those customers are already way into, others probably are a little bit behind, but ultimately I think all customers are really looking into how to tackle the opportunity of AI and that's what they will get by working with us. The other point is we believe that the next wave of AI is going to be at the edge with inferencing models, and part of what AMD Epic bring is in the context of AI workers that are highly parallel is be able to really provide value in terms of the transactions and the tokens and efficiency that these servers with our technology, especially with AMD Epic fifth generation, they will get in order to be efficient running these AI models at the edge.

Rob Strechay

>> I couldn't agree more. I think again, this is one of those things that most customers aren't starting from ground zero or greenfield or things like that. There's a lot of Brownfield applications out there, and part of this is they want to build those into their AI and make them AI enabled. What are some of the considerations that customers should really know about migration of legacy workloads to AMD and what, if any, are there deployment considerations that you were kind of alluding to?

Juan Martinez

>> Yeah, I think you are spot on in the question because not all customers, as you said, are starting from scratch and actually many are coming from legacy systems, and one of them key works that we are doing with AMD and with Dell is to work with that ecosystem of partners and also ISBs to make sure that we are able to have a comprehensive path for customers to be able to manage the migration. And basically what we are putting to the customers that are heading into this direction is different resources, benchmarking tools, virtualization, utilities, compatibility checkers that basically will help to plan the migration but also execute the migration. This is probably one of the most important elements when we are having these conversations with customers because ultimately what we are looking is how these customers are able to maximize the compatibility, reduce the downtime, and ultimately get all the benefits that we already spoke during the last minutes in terms of the benefits from technology, from TCO, et cetera, that they are looking to have. The other element that I will say that in my opinion is absolutely important is when you look Dell portfolio, I mean, customers are able to get from Dell a really interesting path, not only from technology standpoint, but what is the right solution, the right technology that they can get from Dell and also fit into their budgets. So I think there is a complete story of value between what AMD is doing with Dell and the partners in order to deliver that solution that is going to really fit into the customer needs.

Rob Strechay

>> I couldn't agree more, and I think that's a great place to leave it. Thanks for coming on, Juan.

Juan Martinez

>> Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for the time.

Rob Strechay

>> And thank you for watching. Stay tuned for more of Dell Technology's 5 Steps to a Smarter Private Cloud here on theCUBE, the leader in technology analysis and news.