We have some exciting news! Wences Michel is coming to Tech Field Day Extra at VMworld US 2019. Wences is an enterprise architect and consultant with a long list of experience, expertise, specialties and professional certifications and qualifications! In addition to all that, he is multi-lingual! His native language is English, but he also is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese! And, Wences is a Mariachi Singer! Maybe we can get him to sing at Tech Field Day Extra at VMworld US 2019 next week?
Connect with Wences at wmichel on Twitter, the web, or the Tech Field Day web site.
What do you do in your current role?
I am currently in a director level position as a consultant for a large beverage company in North Texas serving as a Cloud Architect on the Cloud Center of Excellence Team. Wearing several hats and performing various roles/tasks from Program Management, Cloud Architecture and Design, to project management, proof of Concepts/pilots and implementations.
How did you get into Technology and IT?
I started my technology in the US Marine Corps as a Ground Radio Technician working on crypto-gear. After Marines, I joined a DoD project at Texas Instruments, where I started my IT career building out secure mini design center compute hubs (mechanical, electrical and software engineering CAD systems) across North Texas, utilizing several different hardware platforms running various UNIX Flavors, Linux and Window Servers.
What are your biggest challenges?
Biggest challenges are culture change for enterprises, to understand cloud and DevOps. Educating end users and management is key to helping them understand that Cloud is not a silver bullet. The Cloud requires effective management and governance (cost management being a top challenge). In some cases cloud can be cheaper, and in other cases it can be more expensive, the thing is to show the value and select the “right tool for the right job”. It is key to understand business drivers and map them appropriately to key technologies be it public/private/hybrid and/or multi-cloud scenarios. The goal is to optimize cost while providing faster time to market for competitive advantage.
Where do you see IT going in the next 3-5 years?
Everything is going to the cloud; this is a multi-cloud and hybrid cloud world. That said, there will always be customer data centers as not everything belongs in the cloud.
What are you most excited about seeing at the event?
I am most excited to see the thought leader candidates, the networking and learning from their experiences. Looking forward to great technical talks and excellent speakers. The most excited thing about Tech Field Day is the outstanding staff, thank you for all the hard work and setting up an awesome event. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to participate! Thanks!
If you weren’t working in IT, what would you be doing instead?
If I was not in IT? Well, when I was in college, I took a test that said I should be a preacher or a politician. I think I would rather be a mariachi singer!
Here is link to an old Mexican love song I sang acapella to my wife several years ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcEaw2i2dbE&feature=youtu.be (Beautiful!)
What do you do in your spare time (hobbies)?
Honey-do’s, play with my first grand baby boy, try to keep pulse on cloud industry and core cloud infrastructure technologies. Need to focus more on DevOps.
How do you manage your work/life balance?
Work/life balance is tough, but not so much if you have a job that you are passionate about, because most of the time it does not really feel like work. I am also blessed to have the support of my wife and family. I have no regrets! Sometimes I wish there were more hours in the day because at my age it seems like Christmas and New Years come and go so quickly.
What is your favorite kind of ice cream?
I like Cherry Garcia, eat it couple scoops at a time from the container.
What is your favorite movie?
I love all types movies from Rocky, the God Father, Raiders, Hobbit, Star Wars to the Guardians of the Galaxy. This is tough. I guess since I am a grandpa now and I like the Lion King and love the concept of the Circle of Life. Actually, I mentioned this to my eldest son and he said, “yeah, but you do understand the father dies in the movie”. LOL!
If you could have ONE super power, what would it be?
I would love to be able to communicate better, learn things at a faster pace with minimal effort, to help grow and give back to community. I truly believe in paying it forward.
Thank you for your service in the US Marine Corp, Wences!
We look forward to seeing you at Tech Field Day Extra at VMworld US 2019 next week!
