Larik-Jan visits VMware, NVIDIA, Equinix, and Google in Silicon Valley

VMware

“My trip began at VMware. The common thread of this visit is the message that every organization is working on cloud transformation. The key here is: keep it simple and focus on which cloud fits best. Is that, for example, a local (sovereign) cloud or one of the public clouds? If you choose a public cloud, it is also important to consider which one you pick, especially if you want to purchase additional services later. For instance, Google is incredibly strong in Kubernetes, the integration of AI, and machine learning. For VMware, it is important to always be able to support this. 99% of the technology we touch in our daily lives involves VMware. If you want to add a public cloud to that, you need a VMware solution for it, such as VMware Cloud on Google/AWS/Azure or, of course, the Sovereign Cloud from Fundaments."

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NVIDIA

“At NVIDIA, I was particularly struck by the fact that we are truly at the beginning of AI integration. I held the computer for level 5 autonomous driving in my hands (nearly 10 kg of chips with the computing power of 150 laptops). I also learned how NVIDIA made the journey from 3D image rendering to building a computer capable of high-performance parallel processing. A new CPU with 72 cores was sitting on the shelf: and that parallel processing is exactly why AI has become so big now. NVIDIA is a driving force in supporting the training of artificial intelligence, which is why language models like ChatGPT are developing so rapidly: a great deal runs on NVIDIA hardware. If you take that further, you see that the applications are enormous: for example, ensuring you always look directly at the camera during a video call or live translating a participant in a conversation within an international group. We are truly on the cusp of these types of applications. And as for the computer for autonomous driving, it’s already driving around at night!

The next chapter in this will be ethics: who is this AI, and what if it does something wrong? Who do you hold responsible, and how do you verify that the choices and outcomes are correct? I predict we will hear a lot about this."

Google

“The visit to the Google Campus was also mind-blowing: working there is just truly different. My daughter Nele even said during a FaceTime session, 'Are you in a hotel, Daddy?'. The facilities are certainly like that. A swimming pool, a full wellness center, personal trainers, and so on. Nothing is too crazy.

Regarding developments in AI, I notice that Google has a somewhat more defensive stance. Because they have been using AI for their search algorithms for a long time, they know this technology very well and are aware of the downsides, but the strength of Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI has forced them to accelerate as well.

From the product managers we spoke to in infrastructure, we see that they are closely looking at integration with the VMware ecosystem; VMware on GCP is an example of this, and it brings the new and more traditional worlds together. Therefore, don't overcomplicate your transformation: don't try to put everything into one cloud immediately, and don't use all sorts of new concepts. This is a recipe for delay and failure; ensure a lift-and-shift first, and only then start transforming.

I also learned a lot from the other participants on this study trip. What exactly? That is to be continued! I can already reveal that we are going to do some things differently. Have you become curious and want a sneak peek? Over a cup of coffee in real life, I’ll take you on a cloud journey.” Get in touch with Larik-Jan here.

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