Podcast

Ep 31 – Verizon’s public cloud journey

December 7, 2021

This week’s guest

Nanda Kumar

Executive Director of Cloud Engineering Verizon

We’ve seen a lot of movement toward the public cloud by CSPs based in the United States. One of the first ones to do so was Verizon, which set a plan for its cloud journey back in 2016. Since then, the company has made steady progress, culminating in its recent iconic launch of the Apple iPhone 13, which Verizon ran 100% on the public cloud.

Today’s guest, Nanda Kumar, executive director of cloud engineering at Verizon, has helped pilot the company’s digital transformation. He sat down with us to talk about:

How Verizon’s cloud plans evolved to encompass efficiency, speed, and innovation (ESI) [2:07];
How you need to change the culture, not just the technology, and how Verizon rolled out its ESI initiative [6:04];
The importance of bringing the finance team along on the cloud journey, and tips for doing it right [10:32];
How the Stanley Cup helps Verizon build internal skills and excitement about its cloud future [14:45].

Links and Resources

You can find the transcript for this episode here.
Check out this blog by @CloudPundit Lydia Leong, which underscores the importance of optimizing cloud costs.
Read about three big cloud deals in telco that happened earlier this year, and 15 examples of cloud moves that telecoms had in the works at the beginning of 2021.
Read this piece from TM Forum on how BT, M1 and Verizon are approaching cloud native IT operations
Watch the top 10 greatest NHL Stanley Cup raises of all time.
Ready for the avalanche of change that the cloud is bringing to telco? Check out this video of an Alaskan avalanche.

Author’s bio

With nearly 20 years of experience in technology strategy and innovation for large corporations, Nanda Kumar is an executive director whose primary focus is global technology transformation initiatives and strategic solutions. Nanda oversees a major modernization program supporting Verizon’s IT transformation strategy that involves building and running scalable applications in modern, dynamic environments. As a leader on the front line of Verizon’s journey to the cloud, Nanda remains committed to implementing advanced technologies and immersing them into the enterprise to drive significant benefit to the business and strengthen revenue, profit, and competitive advantage.

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