This week on The Business of Cloud Native, I spoke with Abby Kearns, CTO at Puppet, about the changing role of technology in the enterprise and how that changes things for software companies like Puppet. 

Highlights

Whatever the exact definition of cloud native, ultimately it is a way to improve scaling and resilience. 

The increasing importance of software for enterprises, because customers simply expect to use software to connect with companies of all sizes. 

Why cloud native is tied to digital transformation — because you can’t do one without the other. 

Picking tech and deploying it — that’s the easy part. But the people part is hard. Changing organizational structures is hard, but the companies that are succeeding in the new digital environment have to do the hard work. 

Why enterprises that are successfully using software to build a better relationship with your customers have top company leadership, from the CEO on down, investing in the transformation and incorporating technology into the company’s vision. 

How the changing role of technology in the enterprise has changed things for technology companies like Puppet. 

How technology decisions have now become board-level decisions, rather than decisions that made in a basement among technologists. 

How the changing landscape has forced Puppet to change its go to market strategy, positioning and messaging. 

The speed of change in the technology space seems to be accelerating and can lead to a lot of uncertainty. 

Why open source can be extremely rewarding, but requires companies to give up a huge amount of control that can be unnerving for enterprises. 

What is the role of a CTO at a technology company — is it tactical? Is it visionary? 

Links

Abby Kearns on LinkedIn

Abby Kearns on Twitter

Puppet