Many conversations about cloud computing and conventional data centers are phrased as "either-or": enterprises must choose one or the other. In this talk, Jeff Nick will outline a strategy for avoiding this dilemma. In particular, he will describe how to architect cloud computing not simply as a replacement for the data center, but as its reinforcement – a way to deliver a rich set of information services with unbounded processing power into the very fabric of the data center. Following the same reasoning, the data center should be considered not just as old infrastructure that the cloud supersedes – but as a new unit of management that the cloud sustains and supports. The next revolution in computing is a "both-and": cloud computing meets the virtual data center.
Jeff Nick is Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at EMC Corporation. With 2008 revenues of $14.9 billion and approximately 40,000 employees, EMC is the world's leading developer and provider of information infrastructure technology and solutions that enable organizations of all sizes to transform the way they compete and create value from their information.
Nick leads EMC's Corporate Office of Technology, which is responsible for defining the company's evolving information infrastructure technology vision and strategy. He works directly with customers, EMC's executive team, and leading technologists across EMC's storage platforms, software products and global services divisions to develop future products and solutions.
Nick chairs EMC's CTO Council, which is the company's internal forum for technical collaboration on information infrastructure design initiatives. He also chairs EMC's external Industry Technical Advisory Council (ITAC), a select customer forum for tackling industry technology trends affecting EMC and its customers alike. In his role as CTO, Jeff drives EMC's internal Innovation Network, linking all of EMC's R&D efforts worldwide through the leveraging of Web 2.0 collaboration tools. He also oversees EMC's sponsorship of university research globally as well as EMC's involvement in industry standards bodies. The Office of the CTO also evaluates emerging industry trends and plays a major role in setting technical direction for EMC's M&A activities.
Nick founded and chairs EMC's corporate Fellow and Distinguished Engineer Review Boards, which are responsible for recognizing and leveraging EMC's top technical talent in shaping integrated technology solutions for EMC's customers. He is based at corporate headquarters in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and reports to Harry You, Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy.
Nick joined EMC in September 2004 from IBM, where he held the distinguished title of IBM Fellow, the highest technical honor that IBM bestows on its IT innovators. During his 24-year career at IBM, he held a wide range of technical leadership positions with skills developed across a broad array of computer technology disciplines, including software development, microcode, systems architecture, clustered and distributed systems, database sharing algorithms, and transaction processing. Nick was Vice President, Architecture and Design, responsible for IBM's On Demand infrastructure initiative. He also led IBM's Grid Computing strategy. Nick began his IBM career as a software engineer focusing on the System 390 MVS operating system, and he eventually became the lead architect for the S/390 z-series platform and IBM's industry-leading Parallel Sysplex data-sharing platform.
Nick graduated Magna Cum Laude from Marist College. He currently holds more than 80 U.S. patents in computer systems technology.