DevOps is fantastic, but the
one constraint DevOps has been unable to address is data management and
delivery. DevOps can automate the delivery of the ones and zeros of your
applications and databases, but those bits and bytes can only travel so fast on
the network. DevOps has allowed us to apply the laws of physics and maximize
efficiencies to close to their breaking point for new environments. We try and
build faster networks and accelerators to squeeze the last drops of speed out
of silicon, copper and fiber, with diminishing returns. Even Moore's law is being
re-evaluated as technology just isn’t able to make the same speed gains with
our current understanding of physics. But what if we can change the equation?
I liken DevOps to
the automobile. It was a tremendous innovation replacing the horse drawn
carriage with the "horseless carriage," but that is truly what it
was. They got rid of the horse, and improved or eliminated the many touch points
associated with arriving at your destination (care, feeding, stabling, dying of
typhoid fever, etc), yet you still had the same amount of miles to cover on the
same roads. But, like DevOps, you were
now able to do it at breakneck speeds. That's all the current knowledge of
science and physics would allow.
Before the turn of the 20th century, the
Wright Brothers saw technology like the automobile, marveled at it, but asked
themselves the question "The engine is fantastic, but is this as good as it gets? What if there is a
better way to use the engine? What if we changed the equation? What if we can eliminate the constraint of roads?" Can you imagine the
skepticism and derision they must have endured? I even recall reading where
people referred to their "flying machines" as witchcraft. Despite all the nay saying, People came from
many miles away to attend their air show demonstration just to behold the
miracle. The Wright brothers persevered, got the science right, and completely
changed the way we perceive the world.
I draw a parallel to
when we invented Data Virtualization at Delphix. We asked, "What if we can eliminate the constraint of moving the same data over and over again? What if we could make this happen in minutes? Why do we move data around the same way we have for decades? What if we could take the engine of DevOps and liberate it from the constraints holding it back from its real potential?" Our questions were similar to those the Wright brothers must have asked themselves. And once we
figured out the science of how to do this, we set out on a mission to share our
creation with the world.
I truly love sharing
that message. A first meeting with a customer usually begins with a complete
lack of knowledge that Data Virtualization exists (flight), almost always follows with a proclamation
that Delphix is some sort of "magic" (witchcraft), and then a request to see it live and working
in their environment (the air show). After they have witnessed Delphix in
action begin telling everyone they know about "the next
big thing" they just witnessed.
And as amazing as
our technology is, Delphix is far more amazing because of the people that work
to make it happen. I am really proud of all the people I work with. They are
some of the most talented and dedicated people I have ever known. And we owe all of our success to people like the
Wright brothers that paved the way before us and dared to ask
"Why?" And fittingly, I am
writing this while on a flight home from one of those meetings. A tip of the
hat to you both, Wilbur and Orville. Thank you for allowing our dreams to take
flight.
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