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Meet NPX 006 – Bas Raayman

  • Name: Bas Raayman
  • NPX Number: 006
  • Employer: Nutanix
  • Blog URL: http://basraayman.com
  • Twitter: @basraayman
  • Virtualisation background: Started with virtualization while still working at SAP. Worked with VMware, Solaris Zones and the likes, then kicked the VMware stuff into a different gear when I started my job as a vSpecialist at EMC, and obviously while working at Nutanix.
  • Storage Background: I worked on the customer side of storage while I was at SAP, where we worked with all big vendors. Then switched to the vendor side and got a closer look at the EMC production portfolio with block, file and object storage. From there on I learned some entirely new things, among other about ease of use with Nutanix.
  • Hyper Converged Infrastructure background: I learned most about HCI after joining Nutanix over two years ago.
  • Future of HCI and other emerging technologies: I think we barely scratched the surface. All in all, the most obvious thing about HCI is the form factor. This is where the name came from. In the end, the form factor is just a feature. There won’t be one “winner”, it will always be about solving the customers problems. Customers don’t care about infrastructure. They care about their service, and want all three pieces where they can only select two (cheap, stable, fast.). There is where HCI and emerging tech can potentially play a bigger part. Offer the customer to think about services instead of VMs. Deploy an application, and if it warrants it deploy it on a managed OS, or run it in a container. Change the way you run your operations with devops in an environment that suits your needs (on-prem, off-prem). The true winners here will be the companies that help their customers achieve this flexibility.
  • Value of NPX: The true problem in IT isn’t your infrastructure. It never has been. Sure, there are glitches, but you have capable people who can fix that. The problem is that you have a hard time finding someone who can design your solution to make the entire stack work together. Make all those pieces align, from simple things like power, cooling, through your hardware, then go past various hypervisors and then make your application run as smoothly as possible, while still taking emerging technologies into consideration, to allow you too have something that also offers value in the not too distant future. NPX as a program is trying to fill that gap, and while it is an ambitious goal, I for one hope that it will live up to its aspirations, since the true winners will be the customers.
  • What made you go for NPX: No matter what the outcome was (pass or fail), it made me a better engineer and architect. I had the chance to work with some folks who are considered top-notch out there. A chance to learn from those folks one on one is something that you don’t get offered every day. I had to take it.
  • Advise to people looking into the NPX track: First off, don’t underestimate the amount of time you need to invest. Get your better half and family (if you have these people around you) to buy in. The certification is hard, but not unreasonably so if you come prepared. Second, don’t underestimate what you know. Have these things work to your advantage, and focus on the areas where you are weaker. Go for it, since you will become a more capable architect either way, no matter the outcome!
  • Other: This could have been your advertisement here! ;-))