Stories by John Gallant

F5, VMware & Cisco: One happy family?

At first blush, F5 Networks' new Synthesis Architecture for Software-Defined Application Services might appear to compete with new offerings from Cisco and VMware. But no, F5 CEO John McAdam and executive vice-president of Strategic Solutions Manuel Rivelo tell IDG Communications Chief Content Officer John Gallant that F5 is very much in sync with these two data center giants (we did not, however, press them on the relationship between Cisco and VMware).

Verizon Enterprise Solutions chief: 'We build infrastructure at scale'

In the battle for the next generation of enterprise IT, John Stratton carries a lot of weapons. Stratton is president of Verizon Enterprise Solutions, the nearly $30 billion unit formed just over a year ago to deliver networking, cloud, mobility, managed security, telematics and a host of other services in a more coordinated fashion for Verizon's top enterprise buyers. Building on a traditionally strong base of wired and wireless network services, Verizon Enterprise also blends in acquired assets like cloud hosting company Terremark, security company Cybertrust and Hughes Telematics. In this installment of the IDG Enterprise CEO Interview Series, Stratton spoke with Chief Content Officer John Gallant about Verizon Enterprise's progress since its inception, including a dramatic streamlining of internal systems and processes designed to make life much easier for the company's customers. Stratton also discussed the company's suite of services aimed at simplifying life for IT teams struggling with mobility and the influx of consumer devices, and he talked candidly about the prospects for a third mobile platform to rival Apple's iOS and Google's Android. He also talked about how cloud is reshaping the IT landscape and hinted at a series of major upcoming cloud announcements from Verizon Enterprise. Also, he explained how the "Internet of Things" is creating powerful new business opportunities for Verizon and its enterprise customers.

How Arista Networks got out in front of the SDN craze

n this installment of the IDG Enterprise CEO Interview Series, Arista Networks CEO Jayshree Ullal spoke with Chief Content Officer John Gallant about the reality and hype around SDN, and why the data center requires a different network than your father's general-purpose Cisco net. She also explored how her work at Cisco shaped Arista's strategy, and shared insights on how Arista's partnerships with VMware and Cloudera are making it easier to move to cloud and embrace big data, respectively.

CDW CEO: On growing services, cloud applications and reshaping IT

In this installment of the IDG Enterprise CEO Interview Series, CDW CEO Thomas Richards spoke with Chief Content Officer John Gallant about how CDW is expanding its strategic services offering, and how mobility and consumerization are expanding growth opportunities for the company. He also talked about the rollout of Windows 8 and the Surface tablet, and why CDW is in an ideal position to capitalize on the big changes reshaping IT.

CA Technologies CEO: Doing what the customer needs

William McCracken took over as chief executive officer of CA Technologies close to two years ago and in that time has engineered a series of organizational changes and acquisitions aimed at improving the company's perception among buyers and broadening its reach into new areas of technology and new customer segments.

Q&A: Nimsoft CEO Chris O'Malley touts new 'supply chain of IT'

Corporate functions from human resources to customer relationship management (CRM) have already been migrated to the cloud. But are you ready for systems monitoring and management in the cloud? More important, is management-as-a-service (MaaS) ready for your company?

Acme Packet's 'building a signaling system for the Internet'

Not familiar with the terms "session border controller" or "session delivery network"? Don't worry. Andy Ory, CEO of fast-growing Bedford, Mass.-based Acme Packet, is more than happy to share his passionate vision of how SBCs and SDNs -- and the emerging era of "opt-in communications" -- will change your business and the world. In this installment of the IDG Enterprise CEO Interview Series, Ory spoke with IDGE Chief Content Officer John Gallant about how Acme Packet is bringing identity, security and control to the wilds of the Internet, and why the world's top carriers -- and a growing number of enterprise IT shops -- are relying on the company to reduce costs and develop a whole new generation of network services.

Q&A: Microsoft's Bob Muglia details cloud strategy

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says the software giant is "all in" when it comes to cloud computing and he's relying on Bob Muglia to play the hand in this high-stakes game. As president of the nearly $15 billion Server and Tools Division of Microsoft, Muglia controls key data center products like Windows Server, SQL Server and System Center, as well as the Windows Azure platform-as-a-service (Paas) offering that is a key underpinning of the company's cloud strategy.

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