Defining The Problem
“We have developed a system to evaluate the system from an end user’s perspective.“
Marlin McFate
Federal Chief Technology Officer, Riverbed Technology
Industry working with agencies to help optimize hybrid networks Most federal information technology professionals have seen hybrid networks develop over...
Most federal information technology professionals have seen hybrid networks develop over time. The data center down the hall has been augmented by the cloud, virtualized systems and even mobile devices.
Managing a local data infrastructure can get one accustomed to a set of tools and diagnostic utilities that work fine for that well-defined basic system.
The traditional method of focusing on one domain doesn’t allow accurate diagnosis of user problems in today’s complex, hybrid systems. Federal networks must respond to rapid changes in a flexible manner while providing optimized service to users.
For the past decade, system administrators have based decisions on machine-centric knowledge, such as if a server is running. Many other factors must be considered once the server is moved to the cloud.
Differences in enterprise-sized hybrid clouds vary. For example, a commercial company can go right to a cloud environment; a federal agency will have to pass through some security intermediaries. This concern can be a problem of physical distance and not a networking issue.
Also, some federal agencies are looking at hundreds of thousands of users, not just a handful. What happens when a federal system attempts to scale?
Inevitably, federal managers will be presented with complaints about a system in one form or another. Is it a problem? If so, how much of a problem? Where is it? How can one establish baselines for performance to respond to issues, whether real or just perceived?
ThunderCat Technology Chief Technology Officer Kurt Steege and Riverbed Technology Federal Chief Technology Officer Marlin McFate recently joined Federal News Network to discuss these questions and more.
“We have developed a system to evaluate the system from an end user’s perspective.“ Federal Chief Technology Officer, Riverbed Technology
Defining The Problem
Marlin McFate
“Baselines depend on the network you are on – one issue is how to quantify what is normal.”
Federal Chief Technology Officer, Riverbed Technology
“What is important is understanding who your customer is and designing your system for a specific persona. Is it an analyst? Is it a command person?”
Chief Technology Officer, ThunderCat Technology
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Chief Technology Officer, ThunderCat Technology
Federal Chief Technology Officer, Riverbed Technology
Host, Federal Tech Talk, Federal News Network
Chief Technology Officer, ThunderCat Technology
Kurt Steege is the Chief Technology Officer at ThunderCat Technology, is a Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business that delivers technology services and solutions to the federal government and Fortune 500 companies. At ThunderCat he is responsible for driving technology value for our clients through evaluation, architecture and outreach. Prior to joining ThunderCat, Kurt was the Chief Information Officer of MacAndrews and Forbes Inc., a diverse global holding company, based in New York City. During his time there he led a complete IT transformation and brought the company a modern standardized infrastructure upon which the business can depend. In the government space, Kurt served as the Chief Enterprise Architect at the FBI. Under Kurt’s leadership at the FBI the EAPO created roadmaps for IT Transformation, strategic direction for Shared Services, Mobility, Storage, and User Experience. Over the rest of his 20+ year career in Information Technology, Kurt has held roles within private industries for technology, financials, and education to help drive value and efficiency into small, medium and large organizations.
Federal Chief Technology Officer, Riverbed Technology
Marlin McFate serves as Federal CTO at Riverbed Technology. Prior to his current role, McFate was a Technical Director for the Advanced Technology Group in the Office of The CTO for Riverbed Technology, responsible for being a subject matter and industry expert to Riverbed’s largest and most complex customers.
Prior to Riverbed, McFate worked at Circadece for 7 years ending as the Systems Engineering Manager where he led the WAN optimization systems engineering teams for both commercial and government business units.
Through his career McFate has also worked as a Systems Engineer and Software Engineer for public sector customers ranging across the civilian agencies, the IC and the Department of Defense. Prior to working in the technology field McFate served as a Fire Direction Control Specialist for the United States Army. McFate brings 20 years of engineering and management experience and holds a Bachelors in Software Engineering.
Host, Federal Tech Talk, Federal News Network
John Gilroy has been a member of the Washington D.C. technology community for over twenty years. In 2007 he began weekly interviews on Federal News Network called “Federal Tech Talk with John Gilroy.” His 428 interviews provides the basis for profitable referral business. In 2009 he created a successful breakfast club of previous radio guests called The Technology Leadership Roundtable. He has been instrumental in two of his guests forming their own radio shows: Derrick Dortch with “Fed Access” and Aileen Black and Gigi Schumm with “Women in Washington.”
In 2011 he began teaching a course in social media marketing at Georgetown University; in March of 2014, John won the Tropaia Award for Outstanding Faculty. John conducts monthly corporate training for large companies on how to leverage social media to generate revenue.