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Ali Amagasu

Marketing Communications Manager

Ali Amagasu is not a software developer. Or system administrator. She's an enthusiastic marketer who knows just enough about technology to help the other less-technical citizens of the business world understand the value and implications of emerging products and solutions in the cloud and networking arenas.

Before coming to Cisco she worked in marketing communications for a number of Silicon Valley's largest and most successful companies, and served as a one-woman marketing department for a single, very special startup.

All of her opinions should be taken with an enormous wedge of salt.

Articles

September 14, 2017

CLOUD

Cloud Unfiltered Podcast, Episode 18: Chris Riviere, Cisco

1 min read

Cloud security is the kind of topic that can make you sigh, shake your head, and quickly look for some other, less daunting project to deal with—no doubt about it. I mean honestly—what do you even define as “cloud” in your particular environment, and what constitutes “secure”? Is your only job to worry about your […]

August 18, 2017

CLOUD

Talking About OpenShift, Open Source, and Navigating Cultural Transformation on Cloud Unfiltered

1 min read

This week’s episode of the Cloud Unfiltered podcast features Dianne Mueller-Klingspor, Mike Duarte, and Michael White. All three of them work on the OpenShift project, and here’s the great thing about listening to them talk: You can tell that they love what they do and they truly enjoy working with one another. Diane is from Red […]

August 15, 2017

CLOUD

Yes, we had Randy Bias on the podcast. And yes–he was Unfiltered.

1 min read

IT leaders of all stripes: This podcast is for you. Doesn’t matter what your title is or which industry you work in. If your job involves leading your company’s IT organization on any level—whether for a small line of business or for an entire Fortune 100 enterprise—you’ve got to tune in. Why? Because our guest […]

August 7, 2017

CLOUD

Cloud Unfiltered Podcast, Episode 14: OpenDaylight, Kolla, and Containers with Vikram Hosakote

1 min read

Like many of you out there, Vikram Hosakote was one of those kids who was always taking apart the remote controls and other electronic gadgets in his home to see how they worked. By the time he was 11 he had gotten his hands on an x86 box, and soon he was learning COBOL and […]

July 26, 2017

CLOUD

It’s All About VPP and FD.io on Episode 13 of Cloud Unfiltered!

1 min read

Have you heard of Vector Packet Processing? You know, VPP? If you haven’t, you will soon, because this particular technology allows networks to move information much faster than they’ve been able to up until now. I know, I know—the network is always getting faster. Making it faster is our job. But sometimes it gets faster […]

July 25, 2017

CLOUD

Voting for OpenStack Summit Speakers Starts NOW!

5 min read

Have you ever flown to Sydney, Australia? I haven’t, so I took a moment to look up average flight times from my own home airport (LAX), as well as a few others, and all I can say is “Wow.” Australia is far away. I may not have appreciated just how far previous to this brief […]

June 21, 2017

CLOUD

Interviewing the Interviewer: Cloud Unfiltered Podcast Episode 12, Stu Miniman

2 min read

First off, let me invite you to subscribe to the Cloud Unfiltered podcast. We’re twelve episodes into the series now, and if you haven’t listened in you are most definitely missing out. We’ve had an incredible array of smart, entertaining guests that have each brought something unique to the cloud discussion. Some have shared corporate […]

June 14, 2017

CLOUD

Cloud Unfiltered Podcast, Episode 11: Ken Owens

1 min read

When I think “bleeding edge,” in regards to technology I become anxious. Maybe I should get excited, but really, the feeling is one of vague panic. I think of products that I am probably not ready for and product engineers that are going to be frustrated with my inability to instantly grasp the full impact […]

June 7, 2017

CLOUD

Cloud Unfiltered Podcast, Episode 10: Carmen Collins & Casie Shimansky

2 min read

Here’s the truth: When Cisco acquired the startup that I worked for three-ish years ago, I was not stoked. I loved that startup. Loved the autonomy I had to get things done, loved the agility that comes from being small, loved our mission, and loved, loved, loved the people I worked with. I was in […]

May 31, 2017

CLOUD

Cloud Unfiltered Podcast, Episode 09: Branson Matheson

1 min read

He may or may not have hacked his mom’s cable box when he was a kid, he definitely worked for the Navy as a cryptologist, and he has since worked for NASA, the TSA, and Silent Circle. So Branson Matheson has a lot to say about information security and the desire for online privacy that […]

May 17, 2017

CLOUD

Cloud Unfiltered Podcast, Episode 08: Joe Weinman

1 min read

What comes to mind when you hear the term “digital transformation”? Do you get excited about the possibilities? Impatient for the budget to pursue your vision? Or do you have a more muted response? Something between annoyance at the thought that you need to do research on the topic, and anxiety that it’s moving forward […]

May 2, 2017

CLOUD

Cloud Unfiltered Podcast, Episode 07: Jeff Dickey, Redapt

1 min read

Jeff Dickey doesn’t believe in the open source business model, and he doesn’t think that cloud is going to make your life any easier. Provocative, right? Not exactly the song that most people in the industry are singing. But here’s the thing: Jeff works for Redapt—a company that builds enormous cloud systems for companies in all […]

April 26, 2017

CLOUD

Cloud Unfiltered Podcast, Episode 06: Reuven Cohen, Aporeto

1 min read

Reuven Cohen works for Aporeto—a company that delivers comprehensive security for cloud native apps, containers, and microservices. But that is probably the least interesting thing about him, and to his credit, he didn’t actually pitch the company’s products at all during our interview with him on Monday. What he did do is rock our collective […]

April 18, 2017

CLOUD

Cloud Unfiltered Episode 04: Cisco’s Dave Lively

1 min read

Dave Lively is up to his neck in cloud. He’s been with Cisco for 20-ish years, he’s been involved in our cloud efforts for quite a while now, and he’s been involved in the open source community just as long. And the best part is—he really gets it. Gets the inherent value of cloud, as […]

April 20, 2017

CLOUD

Cloud Unfiltered Episode 05: Heidi Joy Tretheway of the OpenStack Foundation

1 min read

The results of the annual OpenStack User Survey are scheduled to be released today, and we at Cloud Unfiltered were lucky enough to bag an interview in advance with Heidi Joy Tretheway, Senior Marketing Manager at the OpenStack Foundation, and administrator of the survey in question. Heidi Joy shared all kinds of interesting highlights from […]

April 11, 2017

CLOUD

Cloud Unfiltered Episode 03: Cisco’s Kip Compton

1 min read

Kip Compton has an interesting story. He’s an MIT grad, he was raised by a mom that was a computer programmer back when pretty much nobody’s mom was a computer programmer, and he’s Cisco’s VP of Cloud and Platform Services, which gives him loads of interesting insight into the state of cloud today. Tune in […]

March 28, 2017

CLOUD

Cloud Unfiltered Podcast, Episode 02: CIO Advisor Tim Crawford

1 min read

Have you heard of Tim Crawford? If you’re an IT leader and you haven’t, you’re in for a treat today. Tim is an advisor to CIOs and enterprise organizations across a number of industries including financial services, healthcare, tech firms, and major airlines. He’s an internationally renowned thought leader in the areas of IT transformation, […]

March 22, 2017

CLOUD

Wondering who will speak at the OpenStack Summit?

3 min read

A couple weeks ago I posted about the OpenStack Summit speaker selection process. I shared an interview with one of the track chairs, Gary Kevorkian. I speculated about how much or how little the voting process impacts the choices the organizers make. And I shared a list of talks submitted by my Cisco colleagues. This […]

March 15, 2017

CLOUD

Getting Smarter About Cloud

1 min read

What if you could increase your cloud knowledge—in a substantial way—without having to lift a finger? No downloading whitepapers, no registering for webinars, no traveling to distant conferences, no scouring the Internet for relevant articles. It would be cool, wouldn’t it? Well, I’m here to tell you that the dream is real. Starting today, Cisco […]

February 15, 2017

CLOUD

Set the Agenda at OpenStack Summit Boston

5 min read

The next OpenStack Summit is just three months away now, and as is their custom, the organizers have once again invited you–the OpenStack Community–to vote on which presentations will and will not be featured at the event. Don’t roll your eyes. Voting for the talks is a legitimate and worthwhile exercise. How worthwhile and how […]

January 27, 2017

CLOUD

Backing Up the Cloud Train

2 min read

One of the best things about working in the tech industry is the passion we feel about what we do. We create products that change the world and change how business is done. We tackle challenging problems, we make incredible breakthroughs, we market our new products, and we move on. It never stops. There is […]

December 9, 2016

CLOUD

The Gift of Managed Private Cloud

3 min read

How’s your holiday shopping going? Finding everything on your list? Sorry—shouldn’t have asked. I know the answer. Any other time of year, you can skip out the door on a whim, head to the mall, and see what treasures you happen to run across. No pressure. No obligations. No fear. You pick up an item […]

September 22, 2016

CLOUD

Go to Barcelona. Learn stuff. Come back with a clear conscience.

2 min read

First off I’ll say this: Kudos to you if you’ve managed to convince your boss that you need to go to Barcelona for the upcoming OpenStack Summit. You’re a better negotiator than I. I’ve gone to the past four consecutive Summits, but this one does not look like it’s going to happen. And honestly I […]

August 10, 2016

CLOUD

Getting Comfortable With Cloud Native

1 min read

Are you comfortable with the whole “Cloud Native” concept yet? If your (tech-savvy) neighbor wandered over to chat you up in the front yard and asked you about it, could you explain what it is? How it works? Why it matters? It’s OK if you couldn’t. Most people can’t. Oh they’re not admitting it, but […]

August 2, 2016

CLOUD

The Fun Kind of Voting!

5 min read

Let’s take a break from presidential politics for just a moment to consider an election that is happening much sooner, and will probably be much more fun for everyone involved. The OpenStack Foundation received over 1,500 submissions for speaking sessions at the upcoming Barcelona Summit, and they need your help in deciding which ones to […]

June 27, 2016

CLOUD

Can Private Cloud Benefit Genome Researchers?

1 min read

First off, let me put forth a disclaimer: I know next-to-nothing about genomics. I don’t know the names of the institutions involved in it, I don’t know who funds it, who is making major breakthroughs, how to use the industry lingo, or what the latest findings have been. But I do know this: Organizations involved in […]

April 27, 2016

CLOUD

The Power of Cooperation and Imagination

2 min read

Lew Tucker delivered a keynote at the OpenStack Summit yesterday. Which isn’t actually all that unusual. He’s been up to his neck in OpenStack for quite some time, leading cloud efforts at Cisco, and serving as Vice Chairman of the OpenStack Foundation. Lew spoke yesterday, and for me, the two most interesting ideas he shared […]

April 18, 2016

CLOUD

Hybrid devops? Containerized microservices? What?

2 min read

I’m so glad I’m not a programmer. I mean, the money would be great, the constant job offers would be nice, and I suppose the freedom to show up to work wearing anything you want would be a bonus, but the actual programming? Ick. It seems awfully tedious. I can’t imagine the patience it would […]

April 8, 2016

CLOUD

Ready to go Cloud Native?

1 min read

Sure, your first concern when you embrace the whole notion of private cloud is how you’re going to port your legacy apps into your new environment. But what then? Your team can’t just keep developing applications the way they always have and then moving them over. They need to take that next step and build […]

March 24, 2016

CLOUD

Batteries Included

1 min read

If you’ve spent any time on Cisco Cloud blogs at all, you’ve heard about Metapod. It’s our production-ready, OpenStack-based, on-premises private cloud solution. We engineer it, deploy it, and remotely operate it 24×7 on your behalf. It’s the perfect solution for companies that enjoy the public cloud experience, but need the security and performance advantages […]

March 15, 2016

CLOUD

The Votes Have Been Counted!

1 min read

And it looks like the Foundation has used that input to assemble a Summit schedule jam-packed with relevant and interesting presentations about OpenStack. There will be a lot of NFV material this time around, a lot of SDN, and yes–we’ll all still be talking about containers. If you’d like to hear from Cisco speakers at the event, you’ve […]

February 10, 2016

CLOUD

OpenStack Summit – Vote Now Speaking Sessions and Topics

3 min read

You know the drill. It’s one of the great things about the OpenStack Summit. Unlike most other conferences, where organizers single-handedly set the agenda based on what they think you want to hear, the OpenStack Summit agenda is based on what you actually want to hear. Curious about containers? Intrigued by NFV? Wondering what’s next […]

February 9, 2016

OPEN AT CISCO

YOU Decide Who Speaks in Austin

3 min read

You know the drill. It’s one of the great things about the OpenStack Summit. Unlike most other conferences, where organizers single-handedly set the agenda based on what they think you want to hear, the OpenStack Summit agenda is based on what you actually want to hear. Curious about containers? Intrigued by NFV? Wondering what’s next […]

October 14, 2015

CLOUD

Take a Stand on Private Cloud

1 min read

The cloud has become inescapable. Email about it clutters your IN box, headlines about it adorn your magazines, colleagues chatter about its merits in the hallways, and meeting after meeting is held to determine just what—if anything—should be done about it at your company. Should you be using public cloud? Building a private one? Going […]

September 3, 2015

CLOUD

Catch These Cisco Speakers at OpenStack Summit Tokyo!

1 min read

OpenStack Summit Tokyo is just eight weeks away now, and we’re happy to say that event organizers have chosen about a dozen of Cisco’s OpenStack pros to speak at different breakout sessions during the event. And believe it or not, these sessions are not all about networking. Oh sure, I can see how you’d think that. It is our thing after […]

July 9, 2015

CLOUD

Behind the cloud: Interview with Cisco engineer John Schofield

4 min read

Cisco OpenStack Private Cloud delivers a true public cloud experience in a private cloud environment—on your premises, behind your firewall. We handle the engineering, setup, and ongoing operations, so you can focus on building and running your applications. It’s a core component of Cisco’s growing cloud portfolio. Today we meet with one of the real people […]

July 2, 2015

CLOUD

Cisco OpenStack Private Cloud – June Update!

2 min read

What if car ownership was like being a Cisco OpenStack Private Cloud customer? You’d do your research and buy the car that was right for you. You’d drive it and love it because it was reliable and functional and had all the safety features you were looking for. But then one day you’d walk out to the garage, and BAM–you’d find […]

May 21, 2015

CLOUD

Three Things I Learned at the OpenStack Summit – Day 3

4 min read

Want to liven up a boring conversation? Bring up OpenStack appliances. That will get people talking. In an enthusiastic manner. With vigorously-defended opinions. The appliances talk was by far the most interesting one I went to all day. And you’d think that with the panel consisting entirely of people whose companies offer or are planning […]

May 20, 2015

CLOUD

Three Things I Learned at the OpenStack Summit – Day Two

3 min read

Your love of OpenStack is not enough. You’ve had your “Aha moment.” You get the OpenStack value proposition. You’ve listened to other customers talk about their success with it. You can see the problems it’s going to solve for your organization. You are all in. But it’s not enough. Just know that. Even if you’re […]

May 19, 2015

CLOUD

Three Things I Learned on Day 1 of the OpenStack Summit

3 min read

Defcore is Totally Vanilla and it’s about to get REAL Defcore is indeed Vanilla OpenStack. That is what panel participants conceded when asked about it in the Defcore session I attended yesterday. They don’t necessarily love the characterization (apparently they’re asked it on a regular basis), but bottom line: that’s what it is. It’s a […]

May 5, 2015

CLOUD

A Kilo of Cisco Contributions

3 min read

“Voices of Cisco” is a short-term blog series that will feature insight from Cisco OpenStack experts in the lead-up to the OpenStack Summit in Vancouver. The intent is to shine light on our involvement in the project, explain some of the newest features that are coming out, and explain how our own products are engineered […]

March 26, 2015

CLOUD

The results are in! OpenStack Summit Speaker Update

2 min read

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read through the OpenStack Summit speaker submissions and cast votes for their favorites. The Foundation notified the selected speakers this week, and I’m happy to say that the Cisco team fared quite well. We will be represented in 25 presentations (as of Monday, 3/23*), including the […]

February 18, 2015

OPEN AT CISCO

OpenStack Summit Vancouver: Cast Your Votes Today!

3 min read

The OpenStack Summit is happening from May 18-22nd in Vancouver, with sessions submitted and chosen for the community, by the community! What interests you when it comes to OpenStack? Do you need a deep dive in a particular project? Are you wondering if the economics make sense? Are you trying to figure out how to […]