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Jan 2, 2019 · 25m · a16z

a16z Podcast | Mobile Invades the Data Center

Ramana Jonnala · 8m spoken Peter Levine · 5m spoken
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In this episode of the a16z Podcast, host Peter Levine and industry CEOs Ramana and JR discuss how mobile supply chains, open-source software, and cloud-inspired architectures are transforming data center infrastructure and disrupting legacy enterprise hardware vendors.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. How this is scored →

The host as informed peer 3.7 Guest teaching 5.3 Guest disagreement 5.0 The host pushing back 3.0
05100:0010:0020:003:28–8:22 · The host as informed peer 5/10 Open Architectures vs. Proprietary Lock-In JR immediately pushes back on Peter's premise that mobile phone components will directly power future data centers. Peter holds his ground by clarifying his position using the historical analogy of the PC revolution disrupting mainframes. JR also aggressively interrupts fellow guest Ramana during a discussion on component failure rates.8:22–16:50 · The host as informed peer 3/10 Impact of Commoditization on Incumbent Vendors JR explicitly challenges Peter's framing of a dramatic market inflection point, attributing the perception to an outsider view. JR then schools the host on how incumbent hardware vendors like Cisco secretly rely on old open-source code while failing to maintain proper software hygiene.16:50–22:44 · The host as informed peer 3/10 Enterprise Adoption and Cloud-Inspired Architectures Ramana and JR answer Peter's inquiry about selling into conservative data centers by detailing how cloud-inspired architectures win in greenfield deployments. The tone is collaborative and informative, with low interpersonal friction between the host and guests.3:28–8:22 · Guest teaching 5/10 Open Architectures vs. Proprietary Lock-In JR immediately pushes back on Peter's premise that mobile phone components will directly power future data centers. Peter holds his ground by clarifying his position using the historical analogy of the PC revolution disrupting mainframes. JR also aggressively interrupts fellow guest Ramana during a discussion on component failure rates.8:22–16:50 · Guest teaching 7/10 Impact of Commoditization on Incumbent Vendors JR explicitly challenges Peter's framing of a dramatic market inflection point, attributing the perception to an outsider view. JR then schools the host on how incumbent hardware vendors like Cisco secretly rely on old open-source code while failing to maintain proper software hygiene.16:50–22:44 · Guest teaching 4/10 Enterprise Adoption and Cloud-Inspired Architectures Ramana and JR answer Peter's inquiry about selling into conservative data centers by detailing how cloud-inspired architectures win in greenfield deployments. The tone is collaborative and informative, with low interpersonal friction between the host and guests.3:28–8:22 · Guest disagreement 6/10 Open Architectures vs. Proprietary Lock-In JR immediately pushes back on Peter's premise that mobile phone components will directly power future data centers. Peter holds his ground by clarifying his position using the historical analogy of the PC revolution disrupting mainframes. JR also aggressively interrupts fellow guest Ramana during a discussion on component failure rates.8:22–16:50 · Guest disagreement 6/10 Impact of Commoditization on Incumbent Vendors JR explicitly challenges Peter's framing of a dramatic market inflection point, attributing the perception to an outsider view. JR then schools the host on how incumbent hardware vendors like Cisco secretly rely on old open-source code while failing to maintain proper software hygiene.16:50–22:44 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Enterprise Adoption and Cloud-Inspired Architectures Ramana and JR answer Peter's inquiry about selling into conservative data centers by detailing how cloud-inspired architectures win in greenfield deployments. The tone is collaborative and informative, with low interpersonal friction between the host and guests.3:28–8:22 · The host pushing back 5/10 Open Architectures vs. Proprietary Lock-In JR immediately pushes back on Peter's premise that mobile phone components will directly power future data centers. Peter holds his ground by clarifying his position using the historical analogy of the PC revolution disrupting mainframes. JR also aggressively interrupts fellow guest Ramana during a discussion on component failure rates.8:22–16:50 · The host pushing back 2/10 Impact of Commoditization on Incumbent Vendors JR explicitly challenges Peter's framing of a dramatic market inflection point, attributing the perception to an outsider view. JR then schools the host on how incumbent hardware vendors like Cisco secretly rely on old open-source code while failing to maintain proper software hygiene.16:50–22:44 · The host pushing back 2/10 Enterprise Adoption and Cloud-Inspired Architectures Ramana and JR answer Peter's inquiry about selling into conservative data centers by detailing how cloud-inspired architectures win in greenfield deployments. The tone is collaborative and informative, with low interpersonal friction between the host and guests.

speaking balance: gold is the host, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

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Sharpest disagreement ▶ 3:28 JR rejects host's core thesis

JR directly dissents from Peter's main argument, stating he does not agree that mobile components will drive the future data center.

 Hardest push from the host ▶ 4:48 Peter clarifies and defends his thesis

Peter reframes his argument against JR's objection, insisting that underlying innovations like ARM and Flash mirror the historic PC-driven revolution in data centers.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 12:39 JR corrects host's perception of market inflection

JR corrects Peter's premise about a sudden inflection point by pointing out that Peter is looking at it from the outside rather than from inside the industry.

 The host holds their own ▶ 4:48 Peter cites historical mainframe transition

Peter demonstrates industry expertise by drawing a direct historical parallel between modern mobile technology adoption and the historic shift from mainframes to desktop PCs.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicThe host as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementThe host pushing backWhy
Open Architectures vs. Proprietary Lock-In 5565 JR immediately pushes back on Peter's premise that mobile phone components will directly power future data centers. Peter holds his ground by clarifying his position using the historical analogy of the PC revolution disrupting mainframes. JR also aggressively interrupts fellow guest Ramana during a discussion on component failure rates.
Impact of Commoditization on Incumbent Vendors 3762 JR explicitly challenges Peter's framing of a dramatic market inflection point, attributing the perception to an outsider view. JR then schools the host on how incumbent hardware vendors like Cisco secretly rely on old open-source code while failing to maintain proper software hygiene.
Enterprise Adoption and Cloud-Inspired Architectures 3432 Ramana and JR answer Peter's inquiry about selling into conservative data centers by detailing how cloud-inspired architectures win in greenfield deployments. The tone is collaborative and informative, with low interpersonal friction between the host and guests.

Statements from this episode (7)

Prediction Not checkable as stated
Levine: Mobile phone components will form the basis of future data centers
“Mobile, the components of mobile phones will become the basis of the next generation data center. Really, really inexpensive, sort of, you know, cheap components that require a lot less power, floor space, cooling, But all of that stuff being sort of connected…”
Peter Levine Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 0:38
Insight
Jonnala: Hardware customization value is shifting to software orchestration
“This is where the value is not as much in hardware customizations anymore. It's about commodity components and letting the software be, you know, letting the software be capable of orchestrating ease of management and ease of scale.”
Ramana Jonnala Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 2:27
Assertion Contradicted
Jonnala: Flash memory fails more frequently than traditional spinning hard disks
“Flash actually fails. More than a disk. Disk has been around for 50 years. Flash actually fails quite a lot.”
Ramana Jonnala Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 7:38
Insight
Jonnala: Loosely coupled architecture is better because software handles component failures
“Loosely coupled is just better, because you can then, you don't get sort of obsessed with a single component failure.”
Ramana Jonnala Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 8:07
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Jonnala: OpenStack will become the next VMworld for cloud innovation
“OpenStack Summit this year had 4000 attendees, 5000, more than doubling from the past year. It's going to become the next VMworld, to tell you the truth, because that is going to be the platform for, you know, cloud innovation or an application innovation and …”
Ramana Jonnala Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 12:06
Assertion Supported
Jonnala: VMware ESX hypervisor relies heavily on open-source software
“And guess what, JR, to your point, right, which is the next Cisco VMware sorry, VMware, that's open source too. I mean, literally, if you looked at how much of ESX is based on open source, It's just that, you know, they probably don't come out and claim it rig…”
Ramana Jonnala Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 14:59
Insight
Jonnala: Enterprise infrastructure startups get most traction in greenfield projects
“Enterprise sales is still the same as it was 10 years ago. So, you bring the new technologies, and you bring everything, but it's still, you go You know, the best chance you have is new apps, new developments, and greenfield environments.”
Ramana Jonnala Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 17:44
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