The CTO Advisor

Everyone says clean your data before you invest in AI. The problem is, your data is getting dirty faster than you can clean it. In this episode, Keith sits down with Joe Onisick, founder of UnicornIQ, to dig into why data hygiene is AI's most underestimated failure point — and why throwing more GPU power [...]

AI is changing the data center—but not always in the ways enterprises expect. In this episode, Keith Townsend is joined by Intel’s Lynn Comp for Part Two of their conversation, shifting the focus squarely to AI infrastructure realities. They explore why many AI workloads never justify GPUs, how CPU-based deployments often exceed real [...]

Episode Summary Enterprise leaders are facing two equally hard problems at the same time: deciding what to do next with virtualization in the post-VMware era, and figuring out how—or whether—to deploy AI infrastructure responsibly. In this episode of The CTO Advisor Podcast, Keith Townsend sits down with long-time industry peer and infrastructure expert [...]

Enterprise IT didn’t plan for this problem—but now it has to solve it. In this episode of The CTO Advisor Podcast, Keith Townsend sits down with Lynn Comp, Head of Data Center Market Readiness at Intel, for a candid, unsugarcoated conversation about how Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware has fundamentally disrupted the enterprise infrastructure status quo. [...]

In this episode of The CTO Advisor Podcast, Keith Townsend sits down with Betsy Tong, founder of Authority Architect, to explore how seasoned professionals can transform decades of experience into thriving consulting businesses. Betsy shares her personal story of being laid off at 56 and realizing the traditional job market—dominated by keyword filters and age [...]

In this episode, Keith Townsend welcomes back Steven Dickens, founder of Hyperframe Research, for a candid conversation following VMware Explore 2025. The duo dives deep into the latest developments from VMware, focusing on the launch of VCF 9 and what it means for developers, customers, and the broader ecosystem. Key topics include: Steven’s impressions of [...]

📝 Show Notes: On this episode of the CTO Advisor Podcast, Keith sits down with independent analyst Brian Wang of Next Big Future to unpack one of the hottest debates in enterprise IT and AI research: the path to AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) and beyond to superintelligence. Brian brings his unique lens as a technologist [...]

In this special CTO Advisor Podcast episode, Keith Townsend sits down with Scott Robohn, founder of Tech Sales Craft and co-founder of the Network Automation Forum, for a timely conversation recorded live during GTC week in San Jose — but not at GTC. The duo dive deep into the evolution of network operations and why [...]

📄 Episode Summary / Show Notes: The AI infrastructure game is changing—fast. In this episode of The CTO Advisor Podcast, Keith Townsend sits down with Luke Norris, CEO of Kamiwaza, just steps from #NvidiaGTC, to unpack what planned obsolescence really means in a world of $100K GPUs with 18-month lifespans. 🔥 In this episode, we [...]

Episode Summary:In this episode of the CTO Advisor Podcast, Keith Townsend welcomes back Bryan Liles—a veteran developer and cloud expert—to discuss AI-assisted application development. The conversation covers how AI tools are transforming coding practices, from automating mundane tasks like converting data types and generating tests to speeding up complex problem-solving. Bryan shares his insights on [...]

In this episode, Keith Townsend is joined by Dion Hinchcliffe—VP and Practice Lead for The Futurum Group’s CIO practice—to explore the monumental impact of DeepSeek, a new large language model (LLM) that’s challenging AI industry norms. They discuss the astonishing claims surrounding DeepSeek’s minimal training costs, its potential to run on everyday hardware at ChatGPT-level [...]

In this episode of the CTO Advisor Podcast, recorded on December 18, 2024, Keith looks back on the major tech trends that are set to shape the landscape as we head into 2025. Drawing insights from recent tech events and vendor shows, the discussion centers on the evolution of AI from a standalone capability to [...]

After meeting at Kubecon, Keith gets in touch with Colin Murphy, a Senior Software Engineer at Adobe Systems, to discuss Web Assembly. They delve into how Adobe has employed Web Assembly to bring end-user applications to web browsers. Colin also discusses the promising aspects of server-side Web Assembly and highlights areas that need further development. [...]

Join Keith, Aeva Black (@aevavoom), and returning guest Ed Warnicke (@edwarnicke) as they dive into the world of GitBOM. It’s not a Git tool, nor is it exactly an SBOM, so how does it enhance software bill of materials and strengthen the security of your development lifecycle? Keith navigates the complexities of this project with [...]

In this episode of the CTO Advisor podcast, host Keith Townsend welcomes Delainy Dalton, a No-Code Developer in the healthcare insurance sector. Delainy shares her extraordinary journey from healthcare insurance sales and clinical care coordination to her current role as a no-code developer. She explains how her past experiences and analytical mindset have been crucial [...]

In this never-published recording, Keith Townsend, Chief Technology Advisor, talks with Kelsey Hightower, fresh off his then promotion to Google Distinguished Engineer. The two explore the trajectory that brought Kelsey to this prestigious title.

In this episode of the CTO Advisor Podcast, Keith Townsend and guest Jason Benedicic dive deep into the challenges and opportunities surrounding private cloud solutions. As businesses grapple with the complexity of building private clouds, this conversation covers: The evolution of cloud strategies, from OpenStack to Kubernetes and VMware. The growing role of Kubernetes in [...]

Mark and Keith welcome Matt Broberg and Luigi Danakos for a candid chat about the IT industry. Together, they explore real-life experiences with navigating layoffs, job hunting, and various career hurdles. Matt shares an update on his job search and moving. Luigi shares what it’s like to fight back from hundreds of failed job applications. Keith shares his [...]

In this episode, Keith Townsend and Alastair Cook, both seasoned CTO advisors at the Futurum Group, delve into the challenges and strategies of migrating legacy, VM-based applications to the public cloud. Using the "Granite" application as a case study, they explore the practical considerations of containerization, the complexities of cloud-native transitions, and the impact of [...]

In this episode of the CTO Advisor Podcast, Keith Townsend interviews Gene Kim, the renowned author of "The Phoenix Project" and "The Unicorn Project." Gene shares his experiences and insights from his extensive DevOps and IT leadership career, exploring how these fictional narratives reflect real-world challenges and triumphs in technology transformations. Gene discusses the role [...]

Join hosts Keith Townsend and Dave Nicholson as they sit down with Brad Tompkins, Executive Director of VMware User Group (VMUG), to discuss the latest developments and insights following VMware's acquisition by Broadcom. In this episode, they dive into: The impact of Broadcom's acquisition on the VMware user community. Expected changes in VMware's product and [...]

In this episode of the CTO Advisor podcast, hosts Alistair Cooke and Keith Kirkpatrick, Research Director at the Futurum Group, delve into the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in cloud-based enterprise applications. The conversation highlights how AI can significantly enhance the functionality of enterprise software, emphasizing the critical importance of data centralization. They explore [...]

Welcome to another insightful episode of The CTO Advisor Podcast! Today, we have the pleasure of hosting Dion Hinchcliffe, who recently joined the Futurum Group and leads their CIO practice. With over 30 years in the IT industry, Dion shares his vast experience as an ex-practitioner, chief architect, and current strategic advisor at the CIO [...]

In this sponsored episode of the CTO Advisor Podcast, host Keith Townsend welcomes Dell Technologies' Sharon Maher and Nicholas Brackney for a deep dive into Dell's recent innovations in on-premises AI. Recorded on the inaugural day of Dell Tech World 2024, the discussion explores groundbreaking developments that are influencing the future of technology. This episode [...]

In this episode of the CTO Advisor Podcast, Keith Townsend, a Global Advisor at the Futurum Group, and Erik Bethke, the CTO of Futurum, discuss the latest release from OpenAI, GPT-4.0. They begin by sharing their experiences at Futurum, where both have been working for seven months, and highlighting the development of a new intelligence [...]

In this enlightening episode of the CTO Advisor Podcast, Chris Williams joins host Keith Townsend to revisit their memorable discussion from Las Vegas about the complexities of Kubernetes. Chris shares how Keith's clear explanation became his first true understanding of Kubernetes, marking a pivotal learning moment. Now a DevRel Manager at HashiCorp, Chris dives deep [...]

Host: Keith Townsend, Futurum Global Advisor Guest: Miles Ward, CTO of Sada Overview: This episode of the CTO Advisor podcast features a return guest, Miles Ward, to discuss the technological and strategic advancements in data management and cloud migrations, focusing on the challenges of data sovereignty and the innovative solutions developed to address these complex [...]

Keith Townsend interviews Cohesity CEO Sanjay Poonan. Cohesity announced the intended acquisition of Veritas' data protection business. The acquisition will close a significant gap in the amount of data on protection for Cohesity. However, Townsend challenges Sanjay on the gap in use cases for Cohesity vs. Veritas. Poonan speaks to the current market and the opportunity [...]

Introducing Alastair Cooke as a full-time voice within the Futurum Group Family via the CTO Advisor. Alastair will wear two hats within the Futurum Group. He's helping support the Signal65 Labs and is an analyst with the CTO Advisor. Alastair is experienced in data center and cloud technologies. He's supported many of our existing research and lab projects. [...]

This episode, Keith Townsend sits down with Jim King, Sales Director of SES Satellites, to talk about the importance of space networking—that is, satellite broadband. Jim and I explore why space networking is essential, especially in scenarios where terrestrial service is not available or practical. When disaster strikes, reliable communication is essential. Our sponsor SES [...]

Return guest Nathaniel Avery joins podcast host Keith Townsend to talk platform engineering. Specifically, the duo talks about the holy grail of creating a developer platform where developers focus on code and platform engineers create a seamless workflow. Many of these patterns existed during the height of the virtual machine (VM). Is there anything new in the desire [...]

*New York Times CTO, Nick Rockwell, joins Keith and Mark to talk about the big bet the New York Times is making on Serverless. Nick believes serverless is a bigger shift in computing than Cloud computing. The belief is so strong, that Rockwell made a bet on a Serverless architecture for the New York Times [...]

Keith is no longer the Principal of the CTO Advisor. What’s next, and what does that mean for the podcast?

We continue our conversation with Algolia’s CTO, Sean Mullaney. In this editorial conversation, Keith and Sean discuss the difference between developing code and AI models. The duo also discusses the drivers for multi-cloud and overcoming the challenges associated with cost and engineering resources.

We are jazzed to have Dashaun Carter, VMware Spring Developer Advocate, on the CTO Advisor Studio at VMware Explore 2022. Dashaun presented at both of the VMware Explore 2022 Keynotes. CTO Advisor Studio host Keith Townsend probes Dashaun’s journey to the stage.

Dan Newman, The Futurum Group CEO, joins Keith Townsend, President of the CTO Advisor, to discuss the current state of VMware while the companies await the Chinese government to approve the $61B deal. Recorded at VMware Explore 2023 EU

Guy Currier, the Futurum Group Contributor, joins the podcast from Super Compute 23. Keith and Guy discuss the news out of Super Computer 2023 and how the intersection of AI infrastructure meets and relates to HPC infrastructure.

Alex Ellis, founder of OpenFaaS Limited, returns to the program to discuss his company's latest product, Actuated. Keith and Alex discuss the challenges of building ARM code via emulation on x86 and the ability to go between platforms. Alex shares stories from the field while Keith challenges him on security and compliance.

CTO Advisor podcast host, Keith Townsend has been a long time follower of Zerto data protection. Zerto has traditionally provided data protection via replication for hardware agnostic environments. In this sponsored podcast, Verma Deepak, VP of Product at Zerto, an HPE Company discusses the idea of Zerto as an HPE GreenLake product. Does HPE GreenLake [...]

Keith is no longer the Principal of the CTO Advisor. What's next, and what does that mean for the podcast?

Cisco announced its intended acquisition of Splunk for $28B. Security industry analyst Jo Peterson shares her thoughts on the impact of the acquisition and the five things to watch.

Josh Odgers, founder of End to End, joins Keith Townsend, host of the CTO Advisor Studio, to discuss potential opportunities for partners post-acquisition of VMware by Broadcom. Odgers formed End to End to help existing partners fill the demand for the VCDX-Level architectural design talent gap. The duo discuss the current state of cloud design [...]

Daniel Newman, Futurum Group's Principal Analyst and CEO, joins Keith Townsend on this week's podcast. Both analysts attended VMware's annual conference, VMware Explore. Newman's primary focus is on enterprise IT companies' financial and market health and, thus, their ability to deliver on promises to customers and shareholders. Townsend focuses on the viability of a company's [...]

NAND Research Principal Analyst and Founding Partner Steve Mcdowell joins host Keith Townsend to discuss the announcements from VMware Explore 2023.

Rita Maria Fuziol,Director Data Center, Cloud, and Infrastructure at Millicom (Tigo), joined the program to discuss the opportunities and challenges of building a regional cloud provider in South America. The topics range from Opensource to building a cloud with limited resources compared to the major cloud providers.

We continue our conversation with Algolia's CTO, Sean Mullaney. In this editorial conversation, Keith and Sean discuss the difference between developing code and AI models. The duo also discuss the drivers for multicloud and overcoming the challenges associated with cost and engineering resources.

This podcast episode of the CTO Advisor podcast episode is sponsored by Algolia software. In this episode, Keith Townsend interviews Algolia's CTO, Sean Mullaney. The pair discuss a practical use for generative AI for e-commerce websites. The range of topics include AI Infrastructure, AI training, and AI Inferencing focused on the shopping experience. [...]

About the session This episode features a conversation between Keith Townsend and Kevin Schwaba, an account executive for Cockroach DB. They discuss Kevin's career journey, his experiences working in different sales roles, and the challenges and insights he has gained along the way. It's a unique journey from talking to direct business value to the [...]