Insightful conversations. Less snark.

Today Corey is chatting with Allen Helton, a cloud architect at Tyler Technologies by day and prolific technical content creator by night. Corey and Allen dive right into discussing how the public sector is adopting new technology and how to balance technological innovation with security. Allen explains how the fiery opinions he shares online evolve, the benefit of learning from experience, and his current views on API design. Corey and Allen discuss how AWS gets API-first development “astonishingly right” and why companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Google navigate deprecating APIs to varying degrees of success. Lastly, Allen answers the question, “What does the Future Hold for Serverless?”

Corey interviews Ian Smith, Field CTO at Chronosphere and the two dive into the world of observability software and how it differs from legacy monitoring solutions. Ian covers the three pillars of observability and how the right data solution can make engineering teams more effective. Corey and Ian then discuss how the move to SaaS has impacted the observability industry, leading to unexpectedly high bills and “the dreaded platform play”. Ian even reveals how you can gain more control over your data and costs using Chronosphere.

Should you roll your own authentication? According to Corey and Dan Moore, head of DevRel at FusionAuth, the answer is a resounding no. Corey and Dan discuss the critical role of authentication in apps, as well as how FusionAuth has managed to differentiate itself in a space that doesn’t need re-invention. Authentication is more important than ever in a post-pandemic world where people’s lives are mostly online, and Dan explains why outsourcing it to an expert is the best move for the world we live in today.

Corey interviews Anaïs Urlichs, an open source developer advocate at Aqua Security with a unique background - she’s never had to work with AWS. Anaïs explains how this is possible in the world of cloud and her career path from developer advocacy to computer engineering. Corey and Anaïs chat about Trivy, Aqua Security’s main open source project, an all-in-one cloud-native security scanner, and how it differentiates itself from similar offerings. Anaïs walks us through how to solve for security vulnerability fatigue with Trivy, her ultimate career journey back to developer advocacy, and concludes by explaining how Trivy is leading her to AWS after all.

Alex Marshall, Chief Product Officer at Twingate, joins Corey to explain what Twingate does, how it differs from a VPN, and how the product ensures that employees of companies running Twingate can work securely from anywhere. They also discuss how Twingate differs from other companies with zero-trust offerings, at what point in scale Twingate is most effective, how Alex expects the security landscape to change, and more.

Should companies build their own cloud infrastructure or go with the Big Three? This is the new cloud war Martin Casado explores in “The Cost of Cloud, a Trillion Dollar Paradox,” a report he wrote with his colleague Sarah Wang at Andreessen Horowitz. Martin joins Corey to elaborate on their findings, the public reactions, and what’s next in cloud infrastructure.

Corey sits down with Matt Coulter, a senior architect at Liberty Mutual. Matt defines CDK and explains CDK’s supported languages. They discuss Corey’s experience using CDK with his twitter client lasttweetinaws.com and his issues with Cloud Formation. Matt talks about the 6 pillars of the “Well-Architected Framework,” the updated serverless portion of the Well-Architected Tool, and Corey and Matt discuss the results of the community CDK quarterly survey.

Adam Elmore joins Corey to chat about all things AWS, including a course he’s creating for developers to help them learn how to leverage AWS for their businesses. Adam explains how his skills and thirst for knowledge led him to complete every certification that AWS offers in a mere six weeks, how he started contributing to the AWS CDK, and how he hopes to continue helping developers with AWS in the future.

Alex Rasmussen, data engineering consultant at Bits on Disk, returning guest, and a former Principal Cloud Economist for the Duckbill Group, joins Corey to reminisce about working on AWS bills and larger data/infrastructure questions. They compare the value of their opposite areas of expertise and how they complemented one another. They also explore some of the ingenious data solutions Alex came up with in his time at Duckbill and discuss the value of human consulting in an automated industry.

Today Corey is joined by returning guest Steren Giannini, Group Product Manager, Google Cloud. Steren is back to discuss his Google Cloud 20% project: Google Cloud Carbon Footprint, an initiative that is now available for all Google Cloud customers to help them understand and reduce their carbon emissions. Corey and Steren discuss individual versus corporate environmental responsibility, and Steren talks about how Google Cloud’s net operational emissions are zero because of renewable matching. He goes on to talk about Google Cloud’s goal to be net zero in 2030. Steren shares that picking the cleanest regions is one of the simplest actions a customer can take to reduce their gross carbon emissions. They discuss the tool Google Cloud Region picker, which allows customers to identify their priorities with carbon footprint, price, and latency, and then choose the ideal region for their needs. Steren and Corey discuss at what point of scale carbon usage begins to make a significant difference, and they conclude by talking about the relationship between economics and efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

Today Corey chats with Alex Su, Head of Community Development at Ironclad. Alex explains his company, Ironclad, a a digital contracting technology that helps accelerate business contracts. Corey and Alex talk about Alex’s experience getting into TikTok and creating content and how that ultimately led to his job at Ironclad. Corey asks Alex about his unique position in a job that blends the traditionally at-odds fields of sales and legal. Alex discusses what it takes for a person to be a great salesperson, including having the right personality and also the right learning. Alex talks about how he doesn’t prescribe solutions but instead believes in creating conversations, as with his TikTok content. Corey and Alex talk about their shared affinity for shit-posting and its effectiveness, and discuss the way creating content is related to actual sales.

Today Corey chats with podcaster and influencer Jon Myer. They begin by talking about what it’s like for Jon as someone who used to work at AWS and is now exercising his own voice and influence post-Amazon. Jon talks about his current endeavors including valuable content creation for different brands. He shares his unique philosophy for deep-diving products and developing long-term relationships with brands. Corey and Jon discuss the challenges, benefits, and scalability of being associated with and creating content for different brands. They conclude their conversation by talking about Jon’s process for building content.