Editor’s Note: Over the next few weeks leading up to the 2014 NexGen Cloud Conference, we will be publishing exclusive interviews with many of the speakers scheduled to appear at the conference. We have prepared six questions for each speaker related to the cloud and cloud services for solution providers, and they have been generous enough to share their answers. 

Below is the first interview in our series featuring Netrepid President/CEO Sam Coyl. 

Meet The Speaker

• Name: Sam Coyl
• Title/Company: President & CEO, Netrepid
• Session Topic: How To Compete Against AWS, Google, And Azure
• Date And Time: Thursday, Dec. 4 from 2:00p – 2:45p PDT
• LinkedIn Profile: www.linkedin.com/pub/sam-coyl/1/652/7b0

1. Why is it so important for tech companies to embrace the cloud?

The legacy model of building and owning technology is quickly fading. Companies are all-too-often still tied to the mentality of over or under buying technology because they are forcing themselves to forecast technology needs for the next 3 to 5 years. That is nearly impossible, impractical and unpredictable due to variations in business operation, manpower, technology, etc.

Leveraging cloud technology allows a company to utilize technology as it is needed, in the quantities that are needed. The result is a cost structure that more closely matches operational needs. It also greatly reduces the costs for testing new technologies and nearly eliminates most capital expenditure needs for infrastructure. All of these pool together to form a more responsible, dynamic, efficient and cost effective model for technology.

2. How do solutions from Netrepid accelerate the future of the cloud for today’s solution providers?

Netrepid has developed and implemented technologies that leverage and embrace the dynamic nature of technology. Virtualization, hosted applications, and elastic infrastructure give companies the ability to test technology and, when implemented, leverage a more scalable cost model. The result is that companies can step into technology sooner than they would with traditional models. Once they do, technology truly becomes a tool that scales with operational needs.

3. Which of the six pillars of the cloud should service providers be most concerned with adding to their portfolio?

Netrepid is a Cloud Service Provider. We own and operate our own data centers. We started doing this years ago at the introduction of more scalable virtual technologies. To that end, we have already learned many of the lessons others are still working through.

If a technology company has not already invested in a data center infrastructure, it may be an overwhelming undertaking at this point. Partnering with an existing infrastructure provides a faster path to market and almost instant profitability. Understanding the tools, methodology, and skillsets necessary to implement these technologies, and most importantly integrate them, is critical to the success regardless of whether the infrastructure is owned, leased, or resold.

3. What partners have been instrumental in helping your business take its steps forward with cloud technology?

It would be hard to narrow this answer to a specific partner. However, the growth and maturity of virtualization has been largely the most instrumental technology. Without that, almost all of this would be impossible to implement at a scale and speed necessary. Netrepid leverages virtualization from Microsoft, Citrix, and VMware. All play critical roles in different parts of the infrastructure.

4. What excites you the most about the NexGen Cloud Conference? Why did you decide to get involved?

The conference is exciting for a variety of reasons – not the least of which is the assembly of so many thought leaders and peers in this industry. We wanted to be involved to help, not only to tell our story, but to make sure that others entering this race know that there are more options and methods than those provided by the bigger players. The growth and success of cloud technologies and philosophies requires disruptive thought. Being able to meet with and talk with other peers is invaluable.

6. Can you give me a preview of what attendees are going to learn about competing against the biggest names in cloud services during your presentation at NexGen?

There is a fine line between competing with and leveraging the larger names in cloud services. Clients are looking for those innovative solutions and disruptive ideas to help give them an edge in their respective markets. Simply being a “me-too” technology provider just adds to the noise and confusion in our industry.

There are many other companies that have built – or are starting to build – their own infrastructure. I want to help outline the methodologies, lessons learned, and strategies that we have successfully employed to rise above the noise.

To register for the NexGen Cloud Conference, please visit nexgencloudcon.com. Click here to view the full list of speakers scheduled to appear at the conference.