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Siki Giunta recently joined Verizon Enterprise Solutions as Senior Vice President, Cloud. Giunta has more than 20 years’ experience in technology and most recently directed cloud services for Computer Science Corporation (CSC). I caught up with Giunta in Ashburn, Va. to ask her about her background, thoughts on the cloud market and what drew her to Verizon.
Kevin King: You don’t have an engineering or computer science degree. How did you get into technology?
Siki Giunta: Yes, I began my career working in an art gallery in France. Not a place where most technology executives begin. However, I have always been curious about how people, organizations and societies work – including how history, art, literature and financial events impact how they view the world. When I had my first encounter with technology, while working in finance in London, I saw its potential for wide reach, the impact on individual lives, the speed of innovation and I was hooked.
That set me on a path that brought me to the United States, fueled my desire to be a two-time IT entrepreneur, and I maintain a belief in the transformative power of technology innovation – specifically cloud computing.
KK: What is the potential for cloud within the enterprise? How do you see that unfolding in the next 12 months?
SG: I believe any move to cloud – large or small – within the enterprise is a transformational episode. Cloud deployments force companies to reexamine their internal processes, how and when they interact with customers, the value of their offering, etc. In this sense, the potential of the cloud is often felt before the deployment even begins.
However, I think where cloud deployments will have the greatest direct impact on enterprises is in innovation. Cloud breeds innovation and keeps costs low for experimentation and trial and error because there is no hardware investment. Now, as more enterprises embrace cloud and integrate it into their IT systems and processes, they will use it to drive innovation – supporting the Internet of Things, IT and data monetization, etc.
KK: What industries will be most impacted by cloud technology? In what ways?
SG: The easy answer here is to say that every industry will be impacted significantly by cloud. In fact, I think that any industry that ignores cloud will ultimately fail. Again, one of the benefits of cloud is that it forces a review of business processes. Businesses need to embrace change – in all areas, not just IT – if they are going to thrive.
That said, I see cloud having significant impact in healthcare, financial services, retail and manufacturing. Obviously, healthcare is a segment that is undergoing major structural changes. Cloud enables many of the innovations the healthcare industry is embracing, from electronic medical records to tele-medicine. The financial services industry was an early adopter of the cloud, but in a limited way. As security continues to improve, the industry will invest more. Retail has the largest potential with cloud, but it requires the largest business transformation. This will involve more than just creating an online store (think big data monetization). The manufacturing industry will lean on cloud for research and development because cloud provides the on-demand resources they need, lowering the up-front cost of experimentation.
KK: Why did you choose Verizon? What excites you about this opportunity?
SG: When I left CSC I was looking to join a company that I felt was ready to harvest the power of the convergence of cloud, security and connected machines. There are only a few companies with the necessary assets to offer enterprise-grade services that address these critical IT needs. Verizon is one.
The network piece is key for Verizon and yet it’s often overlooked. Without the network there is no cloud. Verizon’s cloud, security and connected solutions offerings all run on, and are supported by, its global IP network. That provides an advantage few can compete with.
In my view, Verizon is sitting on a gold mine of potential. I’m excited to join the team that has put the company in this position and help complete the puzzle. My goal is to make sure our clients and potential clients see the true value of our gold mine and understand how we can help them solve their IT challenges.
KK: How will you do that? What will be your focus for the next 12 months?
SG: Every successful company starts with developing great people. I think we have an immediate advantage at Verizon because of our people. We will be able to move quickly to expand our cloud services – either through our own innovation or by continuing to expand our provider ecosystem. Additionally, we will work with customers to understand what they need to win in their markets, and then put our focus to helping them achieve that.
