theCUBEd Awards | Dan DeBacker, Extreme Networks (Most Innovative IoT or Edge Platform)

Clips
More from theCUBEd Awards

play_circle_outline Maximizing Innovation: ExtremeCloud Edge Wins Awards for Consistent On-Premise Management Experience

play_circle_outline Staying ahead of industry trends with AI integration and convergence

Info
Transcript

Dan DeBacker, Extreme Networks (Most Innovative IoT or Edge Platform)

Dan DeBacker, SVP of product management at Extreme Networks, joins theCUBE’s Bob Laliberte to discuss Extreme Networks' recent win at the Tech Innovation CUBEd Awards. Recognized for the “Most Innovative IoT or Edge Platform,” the company’s ExtremeCloud Edge platform earned accolades for pushing boundaries in IoT and edge technology.

DeBacker details the strategic vision behind ExtremeCloud Edge and how it addresses evolving demands in cloud computing. He highlights the platform’s ability to deliver consistent cloud experiences across on-premises and p... Read more

explore Keep Exploring

What was the approach Extreme took to address the challenge of data privacy and sovereignty with ExtremeCloud Edge, and what impact did it have on the innovation of cloud management? add

What are the key strategies that Extreme Networks and their team are implementing to stay ahead of industry trends and ensure they are creating meaningful solutions rather than chasing the latest hype cycle? add

bolt Powered by CUBE AI

Dan DeBacker, Extreme Networks (Most Innovative IoT or Edge Platform)

search

>> Hello, and welcome to the CUBE's Tech Innovation CUBEd Awards, where we're celebrating the winners from our inaugural program. Now, the competition was pretty fierce this year, and we received a ton of really high caliber entries, that showcase the incredible innovation that's happening across the tech landscape. Today, we're joined by Dan DeBacker, from Extreme Networks, to discuss their award-winning entry, the innovation behind it, and how they are driving the industry forward. Extreme Networks took the top honors and the most innovative IoT, or edge platform, with the ExtremeCloud Edge. So congratulations, Dan, and let's get started.

>> All right, well, thanks, Bob. Really appreciate you having me on, and really appreciate the award. So, very excited about that.

>> Absolutely, you earned it. There were over 40 judges that went through the submissions, and like I said, it was really tough. There were a lot of great ones, but clearly, yours stood out. And as part of this, innovation is really central to these awards. So I'm wondering if you could maybe share with everyone, a specific example, of how Extreme approached this challenge in an innovative way, and what impact that had?

>> Yeah, absolutely. So we looked at ExtremeCloud Edge as an opportunity to do a couple of things. One is that we've taken the concept of cloud management from a place to an experience. So now, you can have an experience of cloud management, whether it's up in the public cloud, the private cloud, or with this solution, ExtremeCloud Edge, on-premise. So, the exact same cloud experience, the same licensing, the same features, the same capabilities, across what we call the cloud continuum. But what drove us to get to this point was really a concern around data privacy, data sovereignty, making sure that data stayed resident, either within a customer's data center, or within a country, or a region. So that was really the impetus behind this, is how do we create a consistent experience across this continuum, and then, satisfy those types of requirements?

>> Yeah, and that consistent experience is going to be so key, for driving that operational efficiency and productivity for organizations in those distributed environments. Very good. Quick question. Looking back at the journey to bring ExtremeCloud Edge to the market, were there any key turning points or decisions that really helped lead to, what you think led to the recognition that you're getting today for its innovation?

>> Yeah, I think cloud management is easy, from a customer's perspective, but delivering cloud management is very complex. And hence, the scalability of the cloud, and the reliability, and the resiliency of the cloud, and things of that nature. So really, the turning point for us was, we have to mimic that exact experience, not just not only the user experience, but really, all the other aspects of this, because the customers still are relying on cloud management for their infrastructure. So making sure that we have the reliability, making sure that we're able to continually upgrade and update those solutions. And first and foremost, is the fact that we're not putting the onus of maintaining ExtremeCloud Edge on the customer. That happens with us, that happens with our cloud ops organization. So, from a customer's perspective, if you were to log into ExtremeCloud IQ, you would have no idea if you're sitting up in AWS, Azure, Google, or in a data center right around the corner from your desk. But the piece that really drove us was that we have to provide on the, I'll say, the front side, the experience of the customer, and on the back side, all of the infrastructure, the reliability, all of those things have to be rock solid, just like it is up in the public cloud.

>> Yeah, and that makes a lot of sense, and again, driving that innovation to deliver that cloud experience, but on-premises, without having to do all the typical upgrades, updates, et cetera, having that all taken care of for you on the back end.

>> Yup.

>> So, clearly, we've seen the award that you've won, the product's been recognized for its innovative approach. Could you walk us through a specific example of how your customers are using this solution to solve problems that weren't possible, or maybe even practical, before?

>> Yeah, absolutely. So we have both enterprise customers and service providers, managed service providers, that are utilizing this solution today. From a managed service provider perspective, they're actually able to offer a new service to their customers, right? This concept of having the data residency, they've all got their own names and monikers for it, but really, it allows the MSP to now differentiate themselves to their customers, saying, "Hey, you know what? Security is really important. Data residency is so important." Making sure that everything is here, stays here, doesn't go anywhere, all of those things, allows our service providers, then, to add an additional service to their customers, and again, differentiate themselves from the other MSPs around the world.

>> Yeah, absolutely. That sounds great. It's a great example. So, last question. We know that technology is constantly evolving, we know the pace is accelerating. How does Extreme Networks, and your team, how do they stay ahead of all the industry trends, while also ensuring that you're creating meaningful solutions, rather than just chasing the latest hype cycle?

>> Oh, great question. I think when we looked at, we started with ExtremeCloud Edge, it was all about, "Let's provide that experience on-premise." Now for us, we are really taking all of our on-premise applications, and on-premise appliances, and converging them into ExtremeCloud Edge. We're simplifying things for our customers. There will always be a need for on-premise, whether it's a controller, whether it's a tunnel concentrator, it's an orchestrator, it's third-party management. There's always a need for on-premise, but we want to provide a consistent experience, and we want to consolidate all those things together. So that's number one. The second piece is, again, all about AI, right? We can't have a conversation without talking about AI. So what's going to happen? We know that AI will be pushed down, say, from the cloud, right, into the enterprise. Everyone is talking about inference engines being brought down, AI fabrics, and data centers. So, again, ExtremeCloud Edge is perfectly positioned now, to not only take the cloud management piece, but now, also, bring the AI capabilities on-premise for our customers, all in the same consistent experience. Again, I can't reiterate that enough, is that you should not see a difference, whether you're working on ExtremeCloud Edge in a data center, or our ExtremeCloud solution, up in the public or private clouds.

>> Yeah, I think that's great. I can remember my days in product management, and I always had something I referred to as the principle of least astonishment. So when I go from one tool to the other, how do I make sure, right? And clearly, someone like Apple is the king of that, when you go from one device to the other, and you intuitively know how to use it. So, really commend you for the work that you've done to ensuring that as organizations move from one product, from either in the cloud, to on-premises, that they get the same exact experience, and the same benefits from that, regardless of where it's located.

>> Yup, excellent. I think we started down a path, for a specific reason, and now, this has become the center of, really, the strategy for us moving forward, when we look at on-prem solutions. So it's interesting, we're out to solve a specific problem, and now, it's really broadened into, "We're going to solve a lot of problems," and customers are really starting to understand that, because again, security and data residency and sovereignty are so, so important, and becoming more important, not just in specific regions, but really, worldwide.

>> Yeah. Absolutely. So listen, Dan, thank you so much for your time. And congratulations, again, on your award. We look forward to seeing your entry next year, and what you've innovated over the next 12 months, and I want to thank all those who are watching the CUBE, and following these Tech Innovation CUBEd inaugural awards. We'll see you next year.