The Real Game of Thrones Starring Cardinal Richelieu

Event: Data Field Day 1

Appearance: Ignite Data Field Day 1

Company: Ignite

Video Links:

Personnel: John Troyer

In this Ignite Talk, John Troyer delves into the historical figure of Cardinal Richelieu, often depicted as a villain in popular culture, particularly in Alexander Dumas’ “The Three Musketeers.” Troyer argues that Richelieu, who served as the de facto Prime Minister of France in the 17th century, was a complex character who took drastic measures to stabilize a country plagued by religious wars, noble rebellions, and external conflicts. Despite his ruthless tactics, including dismantling noble castles and suppressing Protestant political power, Richelieu also made significant contributions to French culture and governance, such as supporting the arts, establishing the first theater and weekly newspaper, and expanding French influence in the New World. Troyer concludes that while Richelieu’s methods were harsh, they were necessary for the survival and eventual flourishing of France, making him a hero rather than a villain.


Close Encounters with the Third Kind of Database

Event: Data Field Day 1

Appearance: Ignite Data Field Day 1

Company: Ignite, MemSQL

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Personnel: Gary Orenstein

Gary Orenstein’s Ignite Talk, “Close Encounters with the Third Kind of Database,” addresses the evolution of databases and the need for a new type that merges transactional (OLTP) and analytical (OLAP) capabilities. He highlights the inefficiencies and frustrations associated with the traditional ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) process, which creates a gap between these two types of databases, leaving data scientists bogged down with data cleaning rather than analysis. Orenstein emphasizes the potential of emerging technologies like memory, cloud, and scale-out solutions to enable real-time data processing, eliminating the need for ETL and allowing for dynamic, immediate insights. This new database paradigm promises to be fast, simple, scalable, and capable of integrating with various tools, ultimately transforming how businesses handle and leverage data for real-time decision-making and impact.


The Economics of Cloud or Why Amazon is Doomed (Maybe)

Event: Data Field Day 1

Appearance: Ignite Data Field Day 1

Company: Ignite

Video Links:

Personnel: Justin Warren

In his Ignite Talk, Justin Warren discusses the economic challenges facing Amazon, particularly focusing on the company’s low-margin business model. He explains the basic principles of microeconomics, highlighting the difference between high-margin, low-volume businesses like Apple and low-margin, high-volume businesses like Amazon. Warren points out that Amazon’s profitability heavily relies on AWS, which is costly to maintain and expand. He contrasts Amazon’s financial position with that of competitors like Microsoft, which has substantial cash reserves and higher operating margins, allowing them to invest heavily in their cloud services. Warren suggests that if Amazon cannot improve its margins and generate more cash from its core business, it may struggle to keep up with competitors in the long run.


The Future of Work is Childs Play

Event: Data Field Day 1

Appearance: Ignite Data Field Day 1

Company: Ignite

Video Links:

Personnel: Theo Priestley

Theo Priestley argues that the future of work should be informed by the younger generation, specifically children, rather than millennials. He shares insights from a project where he asked primary school children about their vision for the future workplace. The children envisioned practical and innovative solutions such as AI for productivity, multi-purpose work surfaces, renewable energy sources, and ambient biometrics for security. They also emphasized the importance of emotional connections to their work environment and the ability to collaborate remotely. Priestley concludes that to address the shortage of tech talent, we should focus on nurturing the creativity and technological curiosity of children, who are already engaging with advanced concepts through play and learning.


Innovation and Football

Event: Data Field Day 1

Appearance: Ignite Data Field Day 1

Company: Hedvig, Ignite

Video Links:

Personnel: Rob Whiteley

Rob Whiteley’s Ignite Talk, “Innovation and Football,” draws parallels between the NFL’s handling of Tom Brady’s deflated ball scandal and the broader theme of innovation versus the status quo. Whiteley argues that the severe penalties imposed on Brady and the Patriots were less about the actual infraction and more about challenging established norms and refusing to conform to the investigation process. He likens this to the tech industry’s need to push boundaries and innovate, rather than adhering strictly to traditional methods. By comparing the NFL’s protectionist stance to certain data storage companies, Whiteley emphasizes the importance of thinking differently and bending the rules to drive progress. He concludes by aligning his company, Hedvig, with the innovative spirit of the Patriots, advocating for a similar approach in the tech world to achieve groundbreaking advancements.


9 Business Lessons I Learned From Baseball

Event: Data Field Day 1

Appearance: Ignite Data Field Day 1

Company: Ignite

Video Links:

Personnel: Stephen Foskett

In his Ignite Talk, Stephen Foskett draws parallels between baseball and business, highlighting nine key lessons. He emphasizes the unpredictability of both fields, noting that just as every baseball field varies in size and shape, business environments are also diverse and ever-changing. Foskett underscores the importance of patience, adaptability, and resilience, likening the need to wait for the right pitch in baseball to making strategic decisions in business. He also points out the necessity of following through on commitments, much like a pitcher must complete a throw. The long baseball season, with its many games, teaches endurance and the ability to handle losses. Foskett argues that success often comes from a cohesive team of average players rather than a few superstars, and stresses the importance of adjusting strategies as situations evolve. He concludes by celebrating the idea that, like in baseball where even the best players fail frequently, persistence and the ability to move forward despite setbacks are crucial in business.

Watch the 2024 sequel talk, Nine More Business Lessons I Learned From Baseball!


Who’s Pissing In Your Data Lake?

Event: Data Field Day 1

Appearance: Ignite Data Field Day 1

Company: Ignite

Video Links:

Personnel: Karen Lopez

In her Ignite Talk titled “Who’s Pissing In Your Data Lake?”, Karen Lopez uses a humorous and vivid analogy to highlight the importance of maintaining data integrity and quality in data lakes. She recounts a real-life incident where a man urinated in a reservoir in Oregon, leading to the costly and unnecessary draining of millions of gallons of water, despite the presence of other contaminants like bird and fish waste. Lopez draws parallels to data management, emphasizing that just as the reservoir had to be drained to meet public expectations of cleanliness, data lakes must be regularly monitored and cleaned to ensure data quality. She discusses issues such as missing integrity, outdated data standards, and fake data, urging the audience to practice good data hygiene and set high expectations for data quality. By profiling data often and addressing contamination promptly, organizations can maintain the trust and reliability of their data systems.


Hedvig Solution Demo and Deep Dive

Event: Data Field Day 1

Appearance: Hedvig Presents at Data Field Day 1

Company: Hedvig

Video Links:

Personnel: Avinash Lakshman, Suresh Rajagopalan

Suresh Rajagopalan, VP of Solutions, and Avinash Lakshman, Fouder and CEO demonstrate the Hedvig storage platform. Suresh begins with a walk through the GUI and CLI, provisioning storage and presenting it to host in a vSphere and OpenStack environment. Avinash then takes questions of future directions for Hedvig.


What is Hedvig?

Event: Data Field Day 1

Appearance: Hedvig Presents at Data Field Day 1

Company: Hedvig

Video Links:

Personnel: Avinash Lakshman, Rob Whiteley

Avinash Lakshman, Fouder and CEO, and Rob Whiteley, VP of Marketing, introduce the Hedvig storage platform. Avinash begins with an introduction to himself and the founding of the company. Rob then kicks off the discussion with the basics of storage and distributed systems, presents the Hedvig platform and features, and discusses how it works.


Hedvig Use Cases

Event: Data Field Day 1

Appearance: Hedvig Presents at Data Field Day 1

Company: Hedvig

Video Links:

Personnel: Avinash Lakshman, Rob Whiteley

Avinash Lakshman, Fouder and CEO, and Rob Whiteley, VP of Marketing, discuss the practical applications of the Hedvig storage platform.


Hedvig Platform Architecture Whiteboard Session

Event: Data Field Day 1

Appearance: Hedvig Presents at Data Field Day 1

Company: Hedvig

Video Links:

Personnel: Avinash Lakshman

Avinash Lakshman, Founder and CEO of Hedvig, details the platform architecture, virtual disks, and flash usage.


SanDisk InfiniFlash Use Cases

Event: Data Field Day 1

Appearance: SanDisk Presents at Data Field Day 1

Company: SanDisk

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Personnel: Roark Hilomen

Roark Hilomen, Engineering Fellow, presents customer use cases for the SanDisk InfiniFlash system.


SanDisk InfiniFlash Rethinking Delivering Flash at Data Center Scale

Event: Data Field Day 1

Appearance: SanDisk Presents at Data Field Day 1

Company: SanDisk

Video Links:

Personnel: Fritz Kruger

Fritz Kruger, Engineering Fellow and Chief Hardware Architect, presents the SanDisk InfiniFlash product. He begins with SanDisk’s market position before discussing the technical hardware design of the InfiniFlash system.


SanDisk Big Data and Flash: Why Is This the Future?

Event: Data Field Day 1

Appearance: SanDisk Presents at Data Field Day 1

Company: SanDisk

Video Links:

Personnel: Allen Samuels, Victoria Koepnick

Victoria Koepnick introduces Allen Samuels, Engineering Fellow and Chief Software Architect, to discuss SanDisk’s flash positioning in the field of big data. He discusses the issues with using hard disk drives for big data applications and presents an alternative model using an all-solid state device. He presents data tiering, erasure coding, and the data architecture.


HGST Active Archive Hands-On

Event: Data Field Day 1

Appearance: HGST Presents at Data Field Day 1

Company: HGST, Western Digital

Video Links:

Personnel: Roger Weeks

Roger Weeks, Technical Product Manager, presents the HGST Elastic Storage product to the Data Field Day delegates.


HGST Active Archive Use Cases

Event: Data Field Day 1

Appearance: HGST Presents at Data Field Day 1

Company: HGST, Western Digital

Video Links:

Personnel: Barbara Murphy, Roger Weeks

Barbara Murphy, VP of Marketing for Elastic Storage, and Roger Weeks, Technical Product Manager, present customer use cases for HGST Active Archive. They cover native S3 applications, mobile apps, backup and archive, data analytics, and how customers can try the product.


HGST Elastic Storage Platform & Active Archive Introduction

Event: Data Field Day 1

Appearance: HGST Presents at Data Field Day 1

Company: HGST, Western Digital

Video Links:

Personnel: Roger Weeks

Roger Weeks, Technical Product Manager, presents the Elastic Storage Platforms Group and introduces Active Archive. He discusses who the group is and where they came from, what they are building, and where their target markets are.


HGST Active Archive System Architecture

Event: Data Field Day 1

Appearance: HGST Presents at Data Field Day 1

Company: HGST, Western Digital

Video Links:

Personnel: Roger Weeks

Roger Weeks, Technical Product Manager, presents the HGST Elastic Storage platform and Active Architecture concept. He presents an overview of the system architecture, discusses system deployment and scale, and presents system performance.


HGST Storage Vision

Event: Data Field Day 1

Appearance: HGST Presents at Data Field Day 1

Company: HGST, Western Digital

Video Links:

Personnel: Barbara Murphy

Barbara Murphy, VP of Marketing for Elastic Storage at HGST, presents the product vision.


Data Field Day Roundtable: Selling To Enterprise Versus Startup

Event: Data Field Day 1

Appearance: Data Field Day 1 Delegate Roundtables

Company: N/A

Video Links:

Personnel: Andrea Mauro, John Obeto, John Troyer, Josh Ludeman, Justin Warren, Karen Lopez, Paul Miller, Theo Priestley, Yves Mulkers

The Data Field Day delegates discuss the differences in selling products to the enterprise versus cloud service providers and startups. Karen Lopez begins the discussion with the Hortonworks IPO and the vast expenditure on various public cloud platforms. Joining the discussion are Andrea Mauro, John Obeto, Josh Ludeman, Justin Warren, John Troyer, Paul Miller, Theo Priestley, and Yves Mulkers.


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