About the show

Welcome to the DataCentric podcast, where we delve into the latest developments in information technology, offering insights into its intricate workings and broader implications.

Hosted by Steve McDowell, Senior Analyst at NAND Research, our podcast explores new technologies, influential trends, and provides expert commentary on the forward trajectory of the technology industry.

Join us as we navigate the complex landscape of IT. Whether you're an industry professional or simply curious about the future of technology, DataCentric is your trusted source for informed discourse and forward-thinking analysis.

DataCentric on social media

Episodes and Blog Entries

  • Keeping your Data Center Cool with 2-Phase Immersion Cooling

    Episode  |  February 23rd, 2023  |  Season 2023  |  39 mins 12 secs
    cooling, datacenter, enterprise, immersion cooling, information technology, it, liquid cooling, servers

    How can a datacenter increase density while managing HVAC and electrical costs, all while processors and GPUs continue to increase power consumption? How to you bring high-performance computing to the edge? Liquid Cooling is the answer, but which flavor? Today we talk to Mears, a Quanta Services company, about their approach to 2-Phase Immersion Cooling, which allows for some of the greatest densities of any other cooling technology available today.

  • Taming Digital Transformation: A Conversation with Persistent Systems' Dominique Bastos

    Episode  |  February 16th, 2023  |  Season 2023  |  44 mins 32 secs
    cio, cloud, datacenter, digital transformation, enterprise, information technology, it

    Digital Transformation is full of promise, and full of challenges. One of the biggest challenges is around cloud – when to use, and to what extent. This week’s podcast has hosts Matt Kimball & Steve McDowell speaking with Dominique Bastos, Senior Vice President at Persistent Systems.

  •

    Taming the MultiCloud Problem, with Nutanix's Lee Caswell

    Episode  |  January 25th, 2023  |  Season 2023  |  31 mins 50 secs
    cio, composable infrastructure, convergence, data fabric, datacenter, enterprise, hci, information technology, it, processor, servers, storage, technology

    There aren't many solutions that can tame the multi-cloud management problem, but Nutanix is one of them. Hosts Matt Kimball and Steve McDowell have a wide-ranging conversation with Nutanix's Lee Caswell about the challenges that face IT administrators and architects in 2023.

  •

    HPE and Nutanix Expand the Potential of Greenlake & as-a-service offerings

    Episode  |  January 5th, 2023  |  Season 2023  |  37 mins 47 secs
    aas, cio, datacenter, enterprise, greenlake, hci, hewlett packard enterprise, hpe, information technology, it, ntnx, nutanix, processor, servers, storage, technology

    What happens when two powerhouse offerings collide? The TLDR answer is that it's goodness for IT administrators. Hosts Matt Kimball and Steve McDowell bring HPE and Nutanix together to talk about the combined power of Nutanix on HPE's industry-leading GreenLake as-a-service offerings.

  • Inside MySQL Heatwave: A Conversation with Oracle's Nipun Agarwal

    Episode  |  October 30th, 2022  |  Season 2022  |  27 mins 3 secs
    cio, database, enterprise, information technology, it, mysql, mysql heatwave, oracle, oracle cloudworld, technology

    MySQL is the most popular open source database in the world. Oracle's new MySQL Heatwave makes MySQL the only cloud service with a built-in, high performance, in-memory query accelerator—HeatWave. We talk to Oracle's Nipun Agarwal, Oracle's SVP of MySQL and Heatwave about what it all means.

  • Exploring Edge Computing, with Stratus's Jason Andersen.

    Episode  |  September 6th, 2022  |  Season 2022  |  50 mins 27 secs
    cio, cloud, datacenter, edge computing, enterprise, information technology, infrastructure, it, processor, servers, storage, stratus

    Matt, Steve, and special guest Jason Andersen, VP of Strategy and Product Management at Stratus, have a wide-ranging conversation about what’s happening in the world of edge computing. There's something for everyone as the guys talk about standards (or the lack of), the evolution of edge architectures, the fragmented edge market, the colliding worlds of IT & OT, and how Stratus helps its customers navigate through this confusing world.

  • Smart Buildings are a Big Data Problem, with Embue CTO Larry Genovesi

    Episode  |  July 14th, 2022  |  Season 2022  |  45 mins 59 secs
    cio, composable infrastructure, convergence, data fabric, datacenter, enterprise, hci, information technology, it, processor, servers, storage, technology

    Buildings are becoming intelligent in ways that aren't always obvious, but that can make a huge difference to both tenants and property managers alike. Intelligent buildings are the epitome of the modern edge-to-cloud story, blending together process control, SaaS, and big data analytics to solve very practical problems. Nobody knows this space better than this week's guest, CTO and co-founder of Embue, Larry Genovesi.

  •

    Cyber-Security at the Edge

    Episode  |  June 3rd, 2022  |  Season 2022  |  32 mins 44 secs
    cio, cybersecurity, edge, enterprise, information technology, it, ot

    Nowhere is cybersecurity more critical than at an enterprise's edge, yet that's also an area with multiple owners. IT and OT engineers each have different responsibilities and views of this world. CFE Media senior editor Gary Cohen joins the podcast to give us his perspective.

  • Modern Data Architecture: A Look at NoSQL & Couchbase

    Episode  |  May 16th, 2022  |  Season 2022  |  35 mins 42 secs
    cio, couchbase, database, datacenter, enterprise, information technology, nosql, technology

    Data is more critical, more abundant, and less structured than at any point in history. The attributes and uses of data are shifting, stressing traditional relational database management tools that we've come to rely on. NoSQL promises one answer to modern data management. Couchbase's VP of Product & Solution Marketing, Jeff Morris, joins to the podcast to talk us through what's happening.

  • The Changing Face of Cyber-Security

    Episode  |  May 5th, 2022  |  Season 2022  |  25 mins 19 secs
    cio, cyber-security, data protection, datacenter, enterprise, information technology, infrastructure, it, technology

    There is nothing more critical to IT administrators (and their bosses!) than cyber-security and data protection. Old methods of securing our infrastructure are no longer as effective as they once were. Instead, we're moving into an era of AI-based decisions about what data and traffic to let in, and keep out, of our networks. Hillstone Networks is a strong innovator in this space, and in this episode HIllstone's Tim Liu and Gary Wang help us understand cyber-security.

  • High Performance Storage, with Infinidat's Eric Herzog

    Episode  |  April 29th, 2022  |  Season 2022  |  30 mins 24 secs
    cio, cyber-resilience, cyber-security, datacenter, enterprise, flash, information technology, it, storage, technology

    There is (arguably) no faster mainstream storage available than Infinidat's just-launched InfiniBox SSA II array. Infinidat CMO Eric Herzog walks us through just how Infinidat is able to increase throughput and IOPs by more than 50% in the new array, while also ensuring a compelling level of data protection and cyber-resilience.

  • The Data Center is Changing: Are You Ready?

    Episode  |  April 21st, 2022  |  Season 2022  |  39 mins 8 secs
    cio, cloud, datacenter, enterprise, equinix, hci, hyperscale, information technology, it, servers

    The Data Center is changing, becoming more virtual, fungible, ephemeral... a whole load of adjectives that describe flexible infrastructure, whether delivered via the public cloud, an on-prem consumption-based model, or even a hyper-scale data center provider like Equinix, and its Equnix Metal offerings. Matt & Steve are joined by an expert in this field, Zac Smith, co-founder of Packet, and the current head of Edge and Metal Infrastructure at Equinix.