Insights from a Vendor Insider with Ian Smith

Corey Quinn sits down with Stephen Barr, Chief Evangelist of CloudFix. With his extensive history in the cloud, the pair delve into Stephen's journey with AWS, relatable anecdotes on optimizing cloud costs, and the complex role of tech evangelists in fostering better communication between engineering and finance teams. Corey and Stephen also weigh the pitfalls of early AI adoption, how to come up with effective content creation strategies, and even postulate a hopeful vision of a tech-driven future (from a Trekkie’s point of view at least).Show Highlights(0:00) Intro(0:40) Gitpod sponsor read(1:52) How Stephen defines his role(4:26) Breaking down recent shakeups at AWS and the ever-growing promotion of AI(9:36) How will AI impact how we teach younger people about coding?(13:45) AI marketing, crypto, and other professional grifts(16:56) Stephen's history with AWS and the cloud ecosystem(20:42) Wiz sponsor read(21:30)Oversights that can easily inflate a cloud bill(25:32) Acting as a marriage counselor between engineering and finance(30:09 Stephen's creative process as a Chief Evangelist(33:54) Stephen's thoughts on the future of technology(35:28) Where you can find more from StephenAbout Stephen BarrStephen Barr, Principal Architect and Technical Evangelist at CloudFix, is known throughout the technology industry for his joyful frame of mind and deep expertise in data engineering, machine learning, LLMs, systems architecture, and all things AWS.Even as a teenager, Stephen’s digital curiosity and drive landed him at an email hosting startup working on network administration. He also worked at Microsoft while still a high school student.After graduating from the University of Washington, he continued graduate studies at the University of Rochester and Washington. Stephen has also worked as a data scientist, software developer, technical consultant and more.When he’s not researching or communicating about the power of AWS, Stephen enjoys spending time with his family at home in Seattle. His interests outside of work include science fiction, 3D printing, and the outdoors., Stephen Barr, Principal Architect and Technical Evangelist at CloudFix, is known throughout the technology industry for his joyful frame of mind and deep expertise in data engineering, machine learning, LLMs, systems architecture, and all things AWS.Even as a teenager, Stephen’s digital curiosity and drive landed him at an email hosting startup working on network administration. He also worked at Microsoft while still a high school student.After graduating from the University of Washington, he continued graduate studies at the University of Rochester and Washington. Stephen has also worked as a data scientist, software developer, technical consultant and more.When he’s not researching or communicating about the power of AWS, Stephen enjoys spending time with his family at home in Seattle. His interests outside of work include science fiction, 3D printing, and the outdoors., Stephen Barr, Principal Architect and Technical Evangelist at CloudFix, is known throughout the technology industry for his joyful frame of mind and deep expertise in data engineering, machine learning, LLMs, systems architecture, and all things AWS.Even as a teenager, Stephen’s digital curiosity and drive landed him at an email hosting startup working on network administration. He also worked at Microsoft while still a high school student.After graduating from the University of Washington, he continued graduate studies at the University of Rochester and Washington. Stephen has also worked as a data scientist, software developer, technical consultant and more.When he’s not researching or communicating about the power of AWS, Stephen enjoys spending time with his family at home in Seattle. His interests outside of work include science fiction, 3D printing, and the outdoors.Links ReferencedLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenjbarr/AWS Made Easy: https://awsmadeeasy.com/SponsorsGitpod: gitpod.ioWiz: wiz.io

Corey Quinn chats with Dylan Etkin, CEO and co-founder of Sleuth. He joins this episode of Screaming Into the Cloud to share his insights on reshaping engineering metrics to prioritize team success. Sleuth emphasizes team-level productivity over individual output, sidestepping controversial metrics like lines of code and focusing on alignment and iterative improvement. By aggregating data from tools like GitHub, Jira, and Datadog, Sleuth provides actionable insights, helping leaders reallocate resources for optimal impact without disrupting unique team workflows. Designed for collaborative review, Sleuth’s slide deck-like interface supports meaningful discussions around DORA metrics and deploy tracking. Show Highlights(0:00) Intro(0:51) Sleuth sponsor read(1:12) What Sleuth is(2:02) How Sleuth evaluates engineers’ work(5:41) The value that evaluations brings to a business(9:34) Who Dylan usually discusses results with(11:04) Sleuth sponsor read(11:30) The day-to-day experience of using Sleuth(14:23) The importance of meeting people where they are(18:21) The actual outcome of implementing Sleuth(20:27) Why engineering teams should care about metrics(24:27) The interface that people have when they're working with Sleuth(26:23) Where you can find more from SleuthAbout Dylan EtkinDylan was one of the first twenty employees of Atlassian, and a founding engineer and the first architect of Jira. He has led engineering at scale for Bitbucket and Statuspage. He has a Master's in Computer Science from ASU. Dylan is a bit of a space nut and has been seen climbing around the inside of a life-size replica of the Mir space station in Star City Russia.SponsorSleuth: https://www.sleuth.io/ 

On this Replay, we’re revisiting our conversation with Jason Yee, Staff Technical Advocate at Datadog. At the time of this recording, he was the Director of Advocacy at Gremlin, an enterprise-grade chaos engineering platform. Join Corey and Jason as they talk about what Gremlin is and what a director of advocacy does, making chaos engineering more accessible for the masses, how it’s hard to calculate ROI for developer advocates, how developer advocacy and DevRel changes from one company to the next, why developer advocates need to focus on meaningful connections, why you should start chaos engineering as a mental game, qualities to look for in good developer advocates, the Break Things On Purpose podcast, and more.Show Highlights(0:00) Intro(0:31) Blackblaze sponsor read(0:58) The role of a Director of Advocacy(3:34) DevRel and twisting job definitions(5:50) How DevRel confusion manifests into marketing(11:37) Being able to measure and define a team’s success(13:42) Building respect and a community in tech(15:22) Effectively courting a community(18:02) The challenges of Jason’s job(21:06) Planning for failure modes(22:30) Determining your value in tech(25:41) The growth of Gremlin(30:16) Where you can find more from JasonAbout Jason YeeJason Yee is Staff Technical Avdocate at Datadog, where he works to inspire developers and ops engineers with the power of metrics and monitoring. Previously, he was the community manager for DevOps & Performance at O’Reilly Media and a software engineer at MongoDB.LinksBreak Things On Purpose podcast: https://www.gremlin.com/podcast/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gitbisectOriginal episodehttps://www.lastweekinaws.com/podcast/screaming-in-the-cloud/chaos-engineering-for-gremlins-with-jason-yee/SponsorBackblaze: https://www.backblaze.com/

In this episode of "Screaming in the Cloud," we’re making sure things are nice and secure thanks to Ryan Nolette, Senior Security Engineer at AWS Outreach. As a part of the Outreach team, he’s responsible for making everyone understand the nuances of AWS's Vulnerability Disclosure Program. Corey and Ryan explore the intricacies of AWS's approach to security, including the emphasis on communication with researchers. You’ll also get an overview of what goes into Vulnerability Disclosure Programs and how it courts security researchers over “security researchers.” If there’s anything you can take away from this episode, it’s that Ryan takes great pride in AWS's commitment to transparency and collaboration when it comes to resolving potential security flaws.Show Highlights(0:00) Intro(0:38) Blackblaze sponsor read(1:06) The role of AWS' security team outreach group(2:21) The nuance of the Vulnerability Disclosure Program(4:05) Will the VDP program replace human interactions(10:08) Response disclosure vs. coordinated disclosure(15:26) The high-quality communication of  the AWS security team(17:33) Gitpod sponsor read(18:45) Security researchers vs. "security researchers"(25:54) What's next for the VDP Program?(29:26) Avoiding "security by obscurity"(32:08) Being intentional with security messaging(36:16) Where you can find more from RyanAbout Ryan NoletteRyan is AWS's Senior Security Engineer for the Outreach Team and CoAuthor of AWS Detective. He has previously held a variety of roles including threat research, incident response consulting, and every level of security operations. With almost 2 decades in the infosec field, Ryan has been on the development and operations side of companies such as Postman, Sqrrl, Carbon Black, Crossbeam Systems, SecureWorks and Fidelity Investments. Ryan has been an active speaker and writer on threat hunting and endpoint securityLinksAWS VDP on HackerOne: hackerone.com/aws_vdpAWS VDP inbox: [email protected]: www.linkedin.com/in/cloudy-with-a-chance-of-securityAWS Vulnerability Reporting site: https://aws.amazon.com/security/vulnerability-reporting/Give your feedback on the recently expanded VDP program: https://pulse.aws/survey/MOOFGRLMSponsorsBackblaze: https://www.backblaze.com/Gitpod: gitpod.io

On this Screaming in the Cloud Replay, we revisit our chat with Forrest Brazeal. When this episode first aired, Forrest was the Head of Content at Google Cloud, but today, he helps run Freeman & Forrest, an influencer marketing service focused on enterprise tech. In this trip down memory lane, Forrest goes into detail on how he is working to give back to the cloud community. Forrest discusses his time at A Cloud Guru, his time as an AWS Serverless Hero, and the technical excellence he brings to his vast-ranging and prolific content. Forrest is also a successful author of a newsletter and multiple books, including a children's book about the cloud! Needless to say, Forrest is an incredibly varied personality in the cloud community, tune in for a chance to get to know him better!Show Highlights(00:00) Intro(1:10) Backblaze sponsor read(1:36) Starting a new job as the Head of Content for Google Cloud(2:32) Forrest’s background as a cloud consultant(3:57) Writing endeavors and The Cloud Resume Challenge(6:30) Being authentic and helpful in the cloud(11:43) Forrest’s experiences with Google Cloud(13:18) Being a thought leader in the cloud community(16:44) The interview process for Google Cloud(20:24) Creating online cloud content(25:51) Having creative freedom at Google(29:07) The viability of Google Cloud(31:52) Where you can find more from ForrestAbout Forrest BrazealForrest is a cloud educator, cartoonist, author, and Pwnie Award-winning songwriter. He’s also led some of the world's most innovative developer content and community teams at companies like Google and A Cloud Guru. LinksThe Cloud Bard Speaks: https://www.lastweekinaws.com/podcast/screaming-in-the-cloud/the-cloud-bard-speaks-with-forrest-brazeal/The Read Aloud Cloud: https://www.amazon.com/Read-Aloud-Cloud-Innocents-Inside/dp/1119677629The Cloud Resume Challenge Book: https://forrestbrazeal.gumroad.com/l/cloud-resume-challenge-book/launch-dealThe Cloud Resume Challenge: https://cloudresumechallenge.devTwitter: https://twitter.com/forrestbrazealOriginal Episodehttps://www.lastweekinaws.com/podcast/screaming-in-the-cloud/creatively-giving-back-to-the-cloud-community-with-forrest-brazeal/SponsorBackblaze: https://www.backblaze.com/   

Corey Quinn chats with Miles Ward, CTO of SADA, about SADA’s recent acquisition by Insight and its impact on scaling the company’s cloud services. Ward explains how Insight’s backing allows SADA to take on more complex projects, such as multi-cloud migrations and data center transitions. They also discuss AI’s growing role in business, the challenges of optimizing cloud AI costs, and the differences between cloud-to-cloud and data center migrations. Corey and Miles also share their takes on domain registrars and Corey gives a glimpse into his Raspberry Pi Kubernetes setup.Show Highlights(00:00) Intro(00:48) Backblaze sponsor read(2:04) Google’s support of SADA being acquired by Insight(2:44) How the skills SADA invested in affects the cases they accept (5:14) Why it’s easier to migrate from one cloud to another than from data center to cloud(7:06) Customer impact from the Broadcom pricing changes(10:40) The current cost of AI(13:55) Why the scale of AI makes it difficult to understand its current business impact(15:43) The challenges of monetizing AI(17:31) Micro and macro scale perspectives of AI(21:16) Amazon’s new habit of slowly killing of services(26:55) Corey’s policy to never use a domain registrar with the word “daddy” in their name(32:46) Where to find more from Miles and SADAAbout Miles WardAs Chief Technology Officer at SADA, Miles Ward leads SADA’s cloud strategy and solutions capabilities. His remit includes delivering next-generation solutions to challenges in big data and analytics, application migration, infrastructure automation, and cost optimization; reinforcing our engineering culture; and engaging with customers on their most complex and ambitious plans around Google Cloud.Previously, Miles served as Director and Global Lead for Solutions at Google Cloud. He founded the Google Cloud’s Solutions Architecture practice, launched hundreds of solutions, built Style-Detection and Hummus AI APIs, built CloudHero, designed the pricing and TCO calculators, and helped thousands of customers like Twitter who migrated the world’s largest Hadoop cluster to public cloud and Audi USA who re-platformed to k8s before it was out of alpha, and helped Banco Itau design the intercloud architecture for the bank of the future.Before Google, Miles helped build the AWS Solutions Architecture team. He wrote the first AWS Well-Architected framework, proposed Trusted Advisor and the Snowmobile, invented GameDay, worked as a core part of the Obama for America 2012 “tech” team, helped NASA stream the Curiosity Mars Rover landing, and rebooted Skype in a pinch.Earning his Bachelor of Science in Rhetoric and Media Studies from Willamette University, Miles is a three-time technology startup entrepreneur who also plays a mean electric sousaphone.LinksProfessional site: https://sada.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milesward/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mileswardSponsorBackblaze: https://www.backblaze.com/   

Seth Eliot, Principal Resilience Architect at Arpio, and former Global Reliability Lead at AWS, joins Corey to discuss cloud resilience. He emphasizes that Multi-AZ setups are typically sufficient, with multi-region configurations only necessary for specific risks. Seth highlights the importance of balancing cost and resilience based on business needs, while cautioning against making resilience a mere checkbox exercise. Together, they explore disaster recovery challenges, noting that many companies fail to account for real-world complexities during testing. Seth also stresses the importance of avoiding control plane dependencies and warns that poorly designed multi-cloud setups can introduce additional risks.Show Highlights(0:00) Intro(1:12) Backblaze sponsor read(1:40) Seth’s involvement in the Well-Architected sphere of AWS(4:43) Well-Architected as a maturity model(6:46) Cost vs. resilience(10:37) The tension between resiliency and the cost pillar(13:26) Legitimate reasons to go multi-region (18:31) Mistakes people make when trying to avoid an AWS outage(24:07) The challenges of control planes(25:04) What people are getting wrong about the resiliency landscape in 2024(26:31) Where you can find more from SethAbout Seth EliotCurrently Principal Resilience Architect at Arpio, and ex-Amazon, ex-AWS, ex-Microsoft… Seth has spent years knee-deep in the tech trenches, figuring out how to design, implement, and launch software that's not just fast but also bulletproof. He thrives on helping teams tackle those "make or break" technical, process, or culture challenges—then partners up to solve them. As the Global Reliability Lead for AWS Well-Architected, Seth didn’t just work with customers; he scaled his insights via workshops, presentations, and blog posts, benefiting thousands. Before that, as one of the rare AWS-dedicated Principal Solutions Architects at Amazon.com (yep, not AWS, but the mothership itself), he rolled up his sleeves with engineers to fine-tune the AWS magic powering Amazon.com’s immense stack. Earlier? He led as Principal Engineer for Amazon Fresh and International Tech, and before that, helped bring Prime Video into homes everywhere.LinksPersonal site: https://linktr.ee/setheliotLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/setheliot/Twitter: https://twitter.com/setheliotSponsorBackblaze: https://www.backblaze.com/ 

On this Screaming in the Cloud replay, we’re looking back to our conversation with Cassidy Williams, a Senior Director of Developer Advocacy at GitHub and the co-founder and chief product officer of Cosynd, Inc. Prior to these positions, she worked as the principal developer experience engineer at Netlify, an instructor and senior engineer at React Training, director of outreach at cKeys, a senior software engineer at CodePen, head of developer voice programs at Amazon, and a software engineer at Venmo, among other positions. Join Corey and Cassidy as they reflect on what Netlify is and what a developer experience engineer does, how JavaScript started off as a toy language and why everything that can be built with JavaScript will be moving forward, the benefits of using low-code development tools, how discovering TikTok helped Cassidy drum up a major following on social media, how Cassidy's humor is never directed at people or organizations and why that's the case, the differences between recording a podcast and live streaming on Twitch from the speaker's point of view, and more.Show Highlights(0:00) Intro(0:22) Backblaze sponsor read(0:49) What is Netlify and its role of a principal developer experience engineer(2:50) Is JavaScript the future?(7:46) Using low-code tools for web development(12:12) Having a goofy internet presence in a serious field(17:23) Social platforms as a means to teach(24:50) Twitch streaming and its inherent challenges(28:16) Cassidy’s online coursework and how she answers, “So, what do you do?”(32:12) Unique ways of tracking Twitter followers(37:15) Where you can find more from CassidyAbout Cassidy WilliamsCassidy is a Senior Director of Developer Advocacy at GitHub. She's worked for several other places, including Netlify, CodePen, Amazon, and Venmo, and she's had the honor of working with various non-profits, including cKeys and Hacker Fund as their Director of Outreach. She's active in the developer community, and was one of Glamour Magazine's 35 Women Under 35 Changing the Tech Industry and LinkedIn's Top Professionals 35 & Under. As an avid speaker, Cassidy has participated in several events including the Grace Hopper Celebration for Women in Computing, TEDx, the United Nations, and dozens of other technical events. She wants to inspire generations of STEM students to be the best they can be, and her favorite quote is from Helen Keller: "One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar." She loves mechanical keyboards and karaoke.LinksTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cassidooNewsletter: https://cassidoo.co/newsletter/Scrimba: https://scrimba.com/teachers/cassidooUdemy: https://www.udemy.com/user/cassidywilliams/Skillshare: https://www.skillshare.com/user/cassidooO’Reilly: https://www.oreilly.com/pub/au/6339Personal website: https://cassidoo.coTwitter: https://twitter.com/cassidooGitHub: https://github.com/cassidooCodePen: https://codepen.io/cassidoo/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassidooOriginal Episodehttps://www.lastweekinaws.com/podcast/screaming-in-the-cloud/memes-streams-software-with-cassidy-williams/SponsorBackblaze: https://www.backblaze.com/ 

On this Screaming in the Cloud Replay, we’re revisiting our conversation with Stephanie Wong. When she first sat down with Corey, she was the Head of Developer Engagement at Google, but today, she serves as the company’s Head of Technical Storytelling. While Stephanie is certainly a key player at such a massive company, her passion lies in her own advocacy for women in tech as well as making tech more approachable to larger audiences. Stephanie is not one to put her job title first. Her bio covers the spread from dancer, to hip-hop medalist, to podcast host. Stephanie gives us the birds eye view on her own non-traditional and interdisciplinary path that led to her work both in and outside of Google. Stephanie’s focus on producing content that reaches across a wide spectrum of participants is crucial to how she has broken the mold on what tech can do, and her lessons are ones we can all learn from.Show Highlights:(0:00) Intro(1:06) Backblaze sponsor read(1:32) Explaining the Head of Developer Engagement(2:13) Stephanie’s background and authenticity in tech(7:11) Approaching developer relations from a non-”traditional” tech background(11:04) Building a personal and company online presence(14:41) Corey’s perceived contradictions with Google Cloud(22:29) Through engaging your audience through media and storytelling(27:23) Helping find the next generation of tech talent(29:23) The cloud and the inflection of tech(38:51) Where you can find more from StephanieAbout Stephanie Wong:Stephanie Wong is an award-winning speaker, engineer, pageant queen, and hip hop medalist. She is a leader at Google with a mission to blend storytelling and technology to create remarkable developer content. At Google, she's created 100s of videos, blogs, courses, and podcasts that have helped developers globally. Stephanie is active in her community, fiercely supporting women in tech and mentoring students.Links:Personal Website: https://stephrwong.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/stephr_wongOriginal Episodehttps://www.lastweekinaws.com/podcast/screaming-in-the-cloud/breaking-the-tech-mold-with-stephanie-wong/SponsorBackblaze: https://www.backblaze.com/ 

Corey is joined by cloud economist Eric Pullen to discuss Eric’s journey at AWS that led to his current role as a cloud economist at Duckbill Group. They explore Eric’s early career building data centers and learning IT finance, highlighting how today’s cloud-first world has transformed career paths. The conversation also addresses the hype around cloud repatriation, with Eric arguing that enterprises are unlikely to return to on-prem due to the efficiency of cloud solutions. Additionally, they touch on cloud cost optimization, AWS service deprecation, and the importance of aligning cloud spending with business value rather than cutting costs blindly.Show Highlights:(1:35) Eric Pullen’s background before joining The Duckbill Group(3:22) What’s going on with cloud repatriation(6:39) Eric’s advice for getting into the IT industry(7:08) How Eric got involved with AWS(10:51) Different aspects of Eric’s time at AWS, including Well-Architected(15:02) The rise of service deprecation in AWS(17:47) Why Eric joined The Duckbill Group(22:42) Eric’s concept of consulting at scale(26:23) How cost can affect performance(32:32) Problems with standardization in enterprises(39:10) Where to learn more about Eric and his workAbout Eric PullenI'm Eric Pullen, and I live just outside of Louisville, Kentucky. I've been following Duckbill Group for a while now, and when I saw an opportunity to join as a Cloud Economist, I couldn't pass it up. Before AWS, I worked at Appriss, Inc. for over 14 years, where I was the Director of IT and helped grow several SaaS products, including VINE, JusticeXchange, and MethCheck. In 2015 I joined AWS, where I worked as a Senior Cloud Infrastructure Architect, the Global Performance Efficiency Pillar Lead for the AWS Well-Architected Framework, and most recently as a Global Solutions Architect in their Healthcare and Life Sciences (HCLS) division. During my time at AWS, I had the chance to work with some of their biggest customers, including GE, Siemens, and AstraZeneca.Outside of work, I've been married to Kelly for almost 19 years, and we have two daughters: Jordan, who is 26 and fully embracing adulthood, and Myia, who is 15. We also have two pets: Rocky, my charcoal Lab, and Turbo, our Lionhead bunny.LinksPersonal site: https://www.ericpullen.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericpullen/Twitter: https://x.com/ericpullenSponsorsBackblaze: https://www.backblaze.com/