Blogs

Extreme Networks recently held its 2020 User Conference, Extreme Connect, the first with Wes Durow, CMO. Keeping in line with the new reality we are all facing, it was a virtual event. However, Extreme took great efforts to give the thousands watching from home the feel of a main stage production and infuse two days' keynotes, breakout sessions, and executive chats with opportunities to have some fun and be entertained.

A really common question this summer has been “What did you do during the pandemic?” Most would respond with projects around the house, maybe learned a new language, etc. However, If you attended the Nutanix .NEXT virtual conference, it would be pretty clear what the team at Nutanix was doing – innovating to deliver new capabilities for their customers. As the image below indicates, Nutanix announced a slew of innovative new solutions designed to enable organizations to Run Better, Run Faster, and Run Anywhere.

The day has finally arrived. Today, Snowflake will IPO under the ticker SNOW. Many knew this was coming, even before Frank Slootman was brought in as CEO. But I don’t think it was expected to have as much fanfare as we’re seeing. Buffet (Berkshire Hathaway) is on board. Benioff (Salesforce) is on board. It’s being called the hottest tech IPO of the year. So, what’s the draw? Is it the differentiable technology? Not really. The number of customers? Nope. Customer growth? Impressive, but no. What about the total market size? Getting there. What about the value propositions it offers customers? Well yes, but I would argue there are several competitors that offer similar value propositions. So, what is it? The opportunity. The opportunity is simply massive.

As we all work through the various impacts of the novel coronavirus – from the depressing and the serious to the merely inconvenient – it's vital that as much industry and business as is safe and possible continues. When thousands are dying, it can seem trite to even consider this, but it is not only important in terms of us having a vibrant post-virus world; IT is an important contributor to sustaining our lives and communications today, and also a vital element to finding ways to overcome the virus.

But that business-continuation demands some very different approaches and thinking; therefore, whenever possible over the coming weeks I'll be asking executives from IT vendors and partners to discuss their thoughts around the marketing changes, challenges, and - yes - also the opportunities that this pandemic is creating. I've called this series "Marketing in Challenging Times" - that's not to skirt around the issue of COVID-19, but to acknowledge the fact that the "challenging times" are likely to extend well beyond the point at which the pandemic is controlled, contained, or beaten...and also of course perhaps some of the lessons-learned and silver-linings-discovered will continue as well. Everyone brings their own perspectives to these conversations; as a minimum we hope they are cathartic, and at best they might provide a new idea or inspiration.

Modern businesses are built on data. This statement should not be confused with the idea that data has long been a necessary byproduct of business activities, something that must be stored and protected. Rather, for today’s businesses, the effective usage of data is fuel that generates revenue, unlocks new opportunities, and creates operational efficiencies.