ViON’s Rob Davies on AI, Cloud & Data Center as a Service Model

Rob Davies, executive vice president of operations at ViON, told MeriTalk in an interview published Tuesday that agencies seeking to leverage artificial intelligence should have a comprehensive understanding of AI and analytics before integrating such technologies into their operations.

“We can start simple–identifying primary objectives and starting pilot programs before implementing more broadly across an agency–but agencies will need both a short-term plan to meet the mandate and a long-term strategy,” he added.

Davies discussed the goal of a multicloud environment and the concept of the data center as a service model.

“DCaaS provides an OpEx alternative to gain next-generation technology (storage, compute, network, hyperconverged infrastructure) along with capabilities such as data management, data protection, back-up, recovery, archiving, and analytics,” he noted.

“It allows organizations to get used to interacting with cloud models, managing workloads, building service catalogues, and creating templates, without worrying about managing compute, storage, and network demands.”

Davies also shared his thoughts on the Cloud Smart strategy, Modernizing Government Technology Act and the Data Center Optimization Initiative.