On this episode of Densify Talks, we welcome Lori Galella, Director of Cloud Cost Optimization and IT Finance at Verisk, and also Vinnie DeAngelis, Senior Director at Verisk. We dive into the importance of transparency, trust, automation, and optimization.

Lori and Vinnie share their unique career paths and discuss the intersection of finance and technology, emphasizing the growing importance of optimization and transparency through FinOps. They also cover the impact of cloud migration, capacity management, and successful cost optimization strategies.

Data and analytics are essential, and it’s important that those involved know and understand the numbers and costs, as costs need to be factored into every decision.

Andrew, Lori and Vinnie discuss having ongoing collaboration and relationships throughout the process, as well as striving to keep up with the best and new strategies. Finally, we touch on the future of cloud adoption and what technologies are likely to have an impact on cost structure optimization.

If you haven’t already, make sure to subscribe to the podcast ASAP so you don’t miss an episode!

ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Lori Galella

Lori Galella is Director of Cloud Cost Optimization and IT Finance at Verisk. Lori built the cloud cost optimization function at Verisk, which leverages her career experience as a systems architect, while supporting her desire for growth in the financial discipline. 

Lori has a Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Science and began her career at AT&T, where over a 5 year period, she built and supported their Local Area Network, as well as their General Ledger on a Unix/Sybase platform. 

Vinnie DeAngelis

Vinnie DeAngelis is Senior Director, Head if IT Finance/ Cloud FinOps & Optimization/ Software Asset Mgmt at Verisk. Vinnie joined Verisk in 2014 to lead the IT Finance Team. Since then, Vinnie has also assumed the leadership for the Cloud Financial Transformation/Operation across Verisk Analytics and the implementation and management of a centralized Software Asset Management function. He leads the Cloud Financial Transformation of Verisk Analytics.

Vinnie earned a BA Degree in Finance from Long Island University in 1985 and an MBA in International Management from Adelphi University in 1989.

ABOUT DENSIFY TALKS

Densify Talks is a podcast hosted by Andrew Hillier, Co-Founder and CTO of Densify, a cloud optimization software company. The podcast is focused on interviews with IT and technical leaders and innovators who have experience in delivering cloud and Kubernetes-based infrastructure within large enterprises.

LINKS

• densify.com

On this episode of Densify Talks, we welcome Mark Watson, CTO at ComplyAdvantage. 

Andrew and Mark get into a variety of topics, including cloud costs and optimization strategies. Mark shares his insights and experiences with cloud vendors, discussing the challenges of analyzing and predicting cloud growth and the importance of flexibility when choosing providers. Andrew and Mark discuss pricing in the cloud industry, shedding light on the sometimes overlooked nature of hardware and software costs.

They also delve into the world of optimization, test environments, and resource allocation, sharing valuable strategies for reducing costs and improving efficiency.

Andrew and Mark talk about AI, the impact of AI on data acquisition methods, and the importance of reliable content on the internet. They also get into Mark’s love for Sci-Fi and how our future may or may not come close to what’s already been written and, somewhat, predicted.

We hope you enjoy this insightful and informative episode, as we explore the world of cloud costs, optimization strategies, and so much more with our guest, Mark Watson.

If you haven’t already, make sure to subscribe to the podcast ASAP so you don’t miss an episode.

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Mark Watson, Chief Technology Officer at ComplyAdvantage.

Mark leads the company’s technology team in developing and running world-class technology. Mark has over 30 years’ experience in large companies and start-ups, several of which he co-founded and built from scratch. Immediately before ComplyAdvantage, he was CTO at WorldRemit, a leading cross-border digital payments service providing international money transfer and remittance services across a worldwide network. Mark has a BA in Politics from the University of Nottingham, UK.

ABOUT DENSIFY TALKS:

Densify Talks is a podcast hosted by Andrew Hillier, Co-Founder and CTO of Densify, a cloud optimization software company. The podcast is focused on interviews with IT and technical leaders and innovators who have experience in delivering cloud and Kubernetes-based infrastructure within large enterprises.

LINKS:

• densify.com

On this episode of Densify Talks, we welcome Luke Travers, FinOps Specialist and Principal Cloud Architect at a major South Korean e-Commerce company.

Andrew and Luke discuss an array of topics surrounding building a culture of continuous cloud optimization.

They delve into the importance of completeness and contextualization when making recommendations, stressing the potential impact of missing factors or terms. The discussion also touches on different industries and their unique peak periods, highlighting the significance of providing accurate answers to customers to build trust.

The episode takes a deep dive into containers, giving a unique perspective on their evolution and status. Andrew and Luke share valuable insights about their advantages, flexibility, and the challenges that both cloud-native and non-native companies face when optimizing systems.

Andrew and Luke also explore the challenges of resource allocation at scale and the potential financial consequences of neglecting proper optimization.

There’s a lot more discussed, and we hope you enjoy this insightful episode of Densify Talks as we unpack the intricacies of cloud computing, optimization, and the evolving landscape of containers and Serverless architecture.

If you haven’t already, make sure to subscribe to the podcast ASAP so you don’t miss an episode.

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

With over 14 years of experience in IT and 7 years focused on cloud technologies, Luke is an accomplished FinOps Specialist and Principal Cloud Architect. 

Hailing from Australia and currently residing in Seoul, Korea, his journey has provided him with a deep understanding of global markets. His passion lies in optimizing cloud costs, fortifying cloud infrastructure, and driving business growth. With a proven track record in Cloud FinOps, he takes pride in delivering tangible cost optimization opportunities.

ABOUT DENSIFY TALKS:

Densify Talks is a podcast hosted by Andrew Hillier, Co-Founder and CTO of Densify, a cloud optimization software company. The podcast is focused on interviews with IT and technical leaders and innovators who have experience in delivering cloud and Kubernetes-based infrastructure within large enterprises.

LINKS:

• densify.com

On this episode of Densify Talks, we welcome Josh Hilliker, Principal Engineer and Senior Director Cloud Solutions Architect at Intel. 

Josh and Andrew discuss automated instance selection and the importance of letting machines make the resource decisions as cloud environments scale. Speaking from the perspective of a hardware manufacturer, Josh offers unique insight into some of the criteria that affect the performance and cost of hosting apps in the cloud, and how to leverage “optimization as code” to automate the optimization process. He also provides insight into the latest Intel hardware accelerators, and the cloud instances that they are available on.

If you haven’t already, make sure to subscribe to the podcast ASAP so you don’t miss an episode.

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Josh Hilliker is the Principal Engineer and Senior Director Cloud Solutions Architect at Intel Corporation. Josh leads a team of industry certified Cloud Solutions Architects, meant to engage strategic Enterprises and Digital Service Providers accounts to optimize Cloud Strategies, Capital Investments, and deployable technologies to serve their mission outcomes.

As a recognized Intel Principal Engineer, Josh draws on a wealth of experiences in technical, business, and external engagements to chart a course to help customers match business outcomes with best practices, and best technologies.

ABOUT DENSIFY TALKS:

Densify Talks is a podcast hosted by Andrew Hillier, Co-Founder and CTO of Densify, a cloud optimization software company. The podcast is focused on interviews with IT and technical leaders and innovators who have experience in delivering cloud and Kubernetes-based infrastructure within large enterprises.

LINKS:

• densify.com

On this episode of Densify Talks, Hitesh and Andrew discuss the evolution of the cloud and the best practices that have emerged in resource optimization. Having been involved in cloud from the start, Hitesh shares some of the "aha" moments he had along the way, including how to effectively engage engineering teams, the importance of data-driven approaches, designing for elasticity, and thoughts on where the industry is going.

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Hitesh Chitalia is the VP, Director Cloud Optimization at FactSet.

Hitesh Chitalia is a software industry veteran with over 30 years of experience. He started out as a software developer and engineer before moving up to enterprise architecture. He has been working with AWS since it first launched, and has been actively involved in cloud optimization for the last four years.

ABOUT DENSIFY TALKS:

Densify Talks is a podcast hosted by Andrew Hillier, Co-Founder and CTO of Densify, a cloud optimization software company. The podcast is focused on interviews with IT and technical leaders and innovators who have experience in delivering cloud and Kubernetes-based infrastructure within large enterprises.

LINKS:

• densify.com

In this episode, AJ and Andrew talk about innovative ways to gamify the engagement with line of business application owners to drive cloud optimization. The number one challenge most FinOps programs have is getting engineers to take action on optimization. Liberty Mutual’s “Optimization Bingo” is a refreshing take on the problem.

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Angela (AJ) Wasserman is the Portfolio Product Owner of Cloud FinOps & Tech Data Insights at Liberty Mutual.

AJ has over 20 years of experience in both data analytics and financial management. In her current role, she is responsible for the development and execution of strategic global priorities within the Cloud FinOps and Tech Data Insight spaces, with a focus on leveraging data to improve the developer experience and to optimize technology investments.

ABOUT DENSIFY TALKS:

Densify Talks is a podcast hosted by Andrew Hillier, Co-Founder and CTO of Densify, a cloud optimization software company. The podcast is focused on interviews with IT and technical leaders and innovators who have experience in delivering cloud and Kubernetes-based infrastructure within large enterprises.

LINKS:

• densify.com

Welcome to Densify Talks! We're excited to launch this new podcast!

In this first episode, we’ll introduce and get to know our host, Andrew Hillier, the CTO and one of the co-founders of Densify.

We’ll also be discussing what this podcast is all about, what benefits you will receive from this podcast, and what you can take away from listening.

If you haven’t already, make sure to subscribe to the podcast ASAP so you don’t miss an episode.

Also, we'd love to hear from you! If you have questions and/or would like to be a guest on this podcast, please contact us! Links are below.

ABOUT DENSIFY TALKS:

Densify Talks is a podcast hosted by Andrew Hillier, Co-Founder and CTO of Densify, a cloud optimization software company. The podcast is focused on interviews with IT and technical leaders and innovators who have experience in delivering cloud and Kubernetes-based infrastructure within large enterprises.

LINKS:

• densify.com

• marketing@densify.com