Executive Profile: Feyzi Fatehi, Chief Executive Officer, Corent Technology

SIIA Software Division Executive Profile

 

  Name: Feyzi Fatehi
Title: CEO
Company: Corent Technology, Inc.

 

Bio:
Feyzi Fatehi is a Silicon Valley veteran with 25 years of leadership experience building high performance teams at HP and multiple software start-ups that commanded more than $1 billion in valuation. He has been a speaker at Harvard Business School, Wharton, Stanford, Pepperdine and UCLA Anderson School of Management. Feyzi is a member of the IBM Partner Advisory Council, as well as the UC Irvine Chief Executive Roundtable and serves as the chairman of the Technology Council of Southern California/ Orange County. He has a BS in Solar Engineering, an MS in Software Architecture and an MBA in International Management.

Home town: Laguna Niguel, California

First job:  Software Engineer at HP Cupertino, as a member of the small and elite team that invented the first ever commercial Real-Time Database, the HP Real-Time Database.
What are you currently reading?  Aleph; by Paulo Coelho, Mojo, by Marshall Goldsmith

All-time favorite music:  Imagine, John Lennon

What is the best meal you have had recently? Eggplant Parmesan, at Mama Cella’s Italian Kitchen, Rancho Bernardo, San Diego

What is your next (dream) career? Anything that would push me beyond my comfort zone, and would allow me to learn as well as contribute, while having the privilege of working with genuine, driven, energetic, visionary, and innovative people.

Hobbies: Reading, movies, golf, ski, ocean … and spending quality time with my family and good friends.

What do you think is the hot button issue for the software & services industry going into 2013? Recognizing that the “Cloud” is much more than just a set of virtualized systems hosted by third parties, and start looking at the next gen software platforms that help deliver the promises of the “Cloud” such as tangible and timely benefits that would accelerate and amplify SaaS success.

Why is your company a member of SIIA? The high quality of member companies, a first-class management, and the top SIIA industry events and programs.

All About the Cloud Program Committee: Russell Hertzberg, SoftServe

I recently sat down with AATC Platinum Sponsor and Program Committee member Russell Hertzberg, Vice President Technology Solutions for SoftServe, Inc. to discuss AATC 2013, their goals for the conference and what we hope to see from the program and our industry in the coming year.

Rhianna:Why was it important to you to be a part of the AATC Program Committee?

Russ: Being a part of the Program Committee helps SoftServe give input into the shape, structure, and content of the event agenda, while staying abreast of the latest developments with respect to the event plan.

Rhianna: What are your goals for the conference this year?

Russ: As always, to get some strong new ISV leads, or to further nurture existing prospects. We do this through networking, speaker presentations, and the sponsorship.

Rhianna: What is unique about AATC that makes it so valuable to ISVs?

Russ: AATC is the premier event for ISVs who are just entering or already leading in various segments of the Cloud Computing market. This event has it all: thought leaders, great panels, practical education, and how to content.

Rhianna: What are some of the topics you are excited to see in the program this year?

Russ: Mobile + cloud monetization strategies, the evolution of PaaS technology, a report card on Azure, and the role that Big Data platforms are playing in various SaaS offerings.

Rhianna: What are your industry predictions for what’s in store for 2013-2014?

Russ: 1. SaaS. Large ISVs are in an adaptive race to both build and buy SaaS capability. In this race, the course of 2013 will show increasing gaps between executing leaders and confused or denying followers. This race is the single most important determinant of the future value of the 100 largest ISV providers. The leaders will not simply make more SaaS acquisitions. They will also create hybrid solutions for current install bases. They will deliver new SaaS offerings in the SMB market by refactoring current on-premises technology. And they will adapt channel, sales and marketing models to the economics of the SaaS business.

2. DevOps. Cloud computing is changing the skill set and composition requirements of technical teams. Designing and developing software is now the front end for the long-run challenge: service delivery management and continuous application enhancement. Development operations (DevOps) are one of the critical disciplines for the new technical team. The skill set of a DevOps tech lead includes systems programming, build management, configurations management, service monitoring, security, backup, recovery and more. Over time, the technical team composition for a large SaaS deployment will trend towards an equal number of software engineers and DevOps engineers.

3. PaaS. PaaS remains a clever software technology for rapid application development or refactoring rather than a specific market. Small PaaS players can survive by deploying their technology primarily to create conventional and nimble SaaS solutions in established markets. PaaS technology will be combined with Big Data platforms to create new services and sites in several business and consumer markets.

4. Health Information Exchanges. The firmer establishment and acceptance of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009 (“Obamacare”) resulting from the re-election of Obama is driving acceleration in construction and deployment of Healthcare Information Exchanges and Health Insurance Exchanges. HIE construction and operation is attracting large hardware/software providers and major systems integrators. The cloud-based security and data integration requirements for HIEs will introduce new software and security technology like JSON and Oauth into the healthcare IT market. Other industry-specific community clouds may begin to develop in public education, finance, retail and manufacturing.

5. Social media. The technology behind the massive horizontal scalability of major social and search platforms is driving into the smaller-scale footprints of independent colocation facilities, hosters, ISPs, and enterprise data centers. Enterprises will refactor and redeploy more and more applications into hybrid and private cloud deployments, taking advantage of virtualization, multi-tenancy and horizontal scalability to become more competitive with public cloud-computing metrics and price points.

6. Mobile. Scalable back-end cloud services continue to be the anchor for mobile business and consumer applications. Mobility and cloud computing enjoy a virtuous synergy that can be seen in the rich native mobile applications for popular social networks, the hugely successful online store models for application purchase and delivery from Google/Apple/Amazon, and the overall growth in mobile device traffic on popular cloud-based sites and services.

Tip #10: 10 Tips to Maximizing Your Time at All About the Cloud

Tip 10: Who Wants to be a Cloud Geek?

We have two exciting activities planned to test your Cloud knowledge. First, mark your calendars as May 9th will mark our first “Who Wants to be a Cloud Geek?” game show. The contestants representing “Integration”, “Monetization”, and “Partnership” will be looking to the audience for a lifeline. Be sure to be there to support your cloud contestant and find out who will reign as All About the Cloud’s official 2012 Cloud Geek.

Second, we have a very special guest joining us in the Cloud Showcase this year. IBM’s Watson will be at the IBM booth competing against attendees in Jeopardy fashion. Do you have what it takes to go up against this amazing analytic computing system? It is a rare opportunity to witness Watson in action so don’t miss this unique opportunity.


Rhianna Collier is VP for the Software Division at SIIA.

Tip #9: 10 Tips to Maximizing Your Time at All About the Cloud

Tip 9: Enjoy the City by the Bay

Wow, All About the Cloud is right around the corner. In just a couple of short weeks, executives representing the entire cloud computing ecosystem will converge on the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. While we have a number of activities planned to keep you busy, we want to make sure you make the most of your time in San Francisco. Leave it to us to make you feel like a local with some of our favorite San Francisco treats!

Best Late Night Piano Bar:
“Sing us a song you’re the Piano Man”! The dueling pianos at Johnny Foley’s at 243 O’Farrell Street is a favorite of our attendees. Get ready to sing your heart out!

Best Place to Satisfy a Sweet Craving:
You’ve been networking all day and now you need something sweet to carry you into the evening events. Specialty’s – Just a minute walk from the Palace Hotel (101 New Montgomery Street), they have the best chocolate chip cookies in town. If you don’t believe me just ask Brian Rosenberg who is a regular when in the Bay Area.

Best Place to Meet Your Next Partner or Customer:
ALL ABOUT THE CLOUD! Be sure not to miss the AATC agenda, full of great content and numerous networking opportunities.

Best Place to Experience Real San Francisco:
North Beach, San Francisco’s own Little Italy! Be sure to stop into Vesuvio, a historical saloon that opened back in 1948.

Best Place to eat at 2am:
You survived the Dell Boomi party and the late night piano bar and now you are starving. Lori’s Diner – with great food and a fun theme, Lori’s features counter service, all day breakfast and is open 24 hours. Located on Mason, Lori’s is just a few steps away from that notorious piano bar.

Best Place for a Cultural Experience:
Golden Gate Park – besides the parks trails and beauty it is loaded with cultural activities. The de Young Museum is a landmark art museum in featuring modern exhibits that change regularly. The Academy of Sciences, also located in the park, houses a natural history museum, planetarium, aquarium, and rainforest dome.

Best Place to Get Great Shopping Deals:
Jeremy’s on 2nd is a hidden treasure in San Francisco, where you can find great designer pieces at great prices.

Best Place to Enjoy the Ocean:
If you are lucky enough to tag on some extra time in the city and want to experience the Pacific Ocean head out to the historic Cliff House. Located right on the beach, on the edge of the Pacific, the Cliff House is a great place to grab a meal after a hike or stroll on the beach. Be sure to bring a jacket, I know it is July but I promise you will need it!

Best Route to Go for a Run:
You ate and drank a little too much last night at the various networking events and it is time to run it off so you can do it again today. Head right down Market Street to the beautiful Embarcadero where you can run along the water. If you choose to turn right you can head right up to AT&T park, turn Right on New Montgomery and be right back at the hotel.

 

If I can provide any additional information on the Bay Area, drop me a note rcollier@siia.net, I will be happy to help.

 


Rhianna Collier is VP for the Software Division at SIIA.

Tip #8: 10 Tips to Maximizing Your Time at All About the Cloud

Tip 8: Schedule Meetings Now

The All About The Cloud Online Community is now launched! It’s a fantastic tool to get started on your networking immediately.  Once you have registered you’ll receive an invitation to the community with instructions on activating your profile. I have no doubt you will find the platform a terrific tool to optimize your networking, as you’ll be able to view profiles of fellow attendees and arrange meeting times at the conference with your prospects. You can basically set up your entire schedule, ensuring maximum value for your time at the conference, and do it all three weeks ahead of the conference. We are giving you YOUR prospects at YOUR fingertips! We can’t do much more than that, it is up to you to take advantage of the opportunity.

 


Rhianna Collier is VP for the Software Division at SIIA.

Tip #7: 10 Tips to Maximizing Your Time at All About the Cloud

Tip 7: Mingle with Innovation

The nice thing about All About the Cloud is every person you meet is a potential strategic partner, customer, and/or investor. Some of the most innovative cloud companies will be represented at the conference. In fact, 4 young cloud companies will be featured as the SIIA 2012 NextGen Companies. You will have an opportunity to hear their CEOs discuss growing a cloud business in today’s economy and meet directly with them in the NextGen pavilion taking place in the Cloud Showcase. You will surely want to check out their innovative products.

The 2012 SIIA All About the Cloud NextGen companies are as follows:

  • Indicee is an innovative cloud BI platform that’s leading the shift away from complex and expensive on-premise BI software, towards agile, cloud-based alternatives.
  • NuoDB is a 21st century operational database that addresses the challenges of Web scale applications for the cloud.
  • Real Status’ 3D modeling and visualization software, Hyperglance, reveals every dimension of inter-dependence between applications and infrastructure—all at the same time and on a single screen.
  • The Resumator is a SaaS recruiting platform that helps employers hire with confidence. Over 900 fast-growing employers across all industries trust The Resumator to save time, reduce cost, and build strong teams.

The fact is that every technology company out there today is focused on innovation to keep up with our rapidly evolving industry. All About the Cloud is the perfect venue to discuss your own innovative products with your peers, customers, prospects, and partners!


Rhianna Collier is VP for the Software Division at SIIA.

Tip #6: 10 Tips to Maximizing Your Time at All About the Cloud

Tip 6: Listen to Your Peers

For the past 5 weeks I have been giving you tips on how to maximize your time at All About the Cloud and make the most of your attendance. This week I have ask some of my friends, who have attended for many years, to provide their tips for leveraging the conference to do business, grow your network and have fun.

Feyzi Fatehi, CEO, Corent Technology – “Invest in preparation. Figure out who you want to meet at the conference and why. Set up your meetings in advance. Invest in follow up!

Richard Dym, CMO, SpotlightTMS - “Enjoy the opening reception and blow out party, surprisingly you’ll find the after effects will force you to concentrate during the sessions and actually increase the value of the conference.”

Ralph Hibbs, Director, Marketing, Dell Boomi – “Be sure to attend the Networking Extravaganza on Wednesday night: food, beverages, entertainment, fun and networking all in one location.”

Eileen Boerger, President, Corsource Technology Group, Inc. – “In addition to attending sessions that discuss topics of importance to your business,  network with people who have similar situations or issues that can provide you with very valuable insights and advice.”

Jim Szafranski, SVP, Fiberlink Communications - “The speed networking session is a great way to create unexpected relationships with experts and leaders in our field and you don’t even have to submit a photo and profile ahead of time and be worried about a perfect match!”

There you have it. Don’t take it from me, listen to your peers!


Rhianna Collier is VP for the Software Division at SIIA.