Introducing - Daniel Berg, Executive Technical Sponsor for Vodafone globally

May I introduce - Sun's new Executive Technical Sponsor for Vodafone, Daniel J. Berg. He completes our Sponsors team by joining Sun's CEO and President, Jonathan Schwartz, who is and remains Vodafone's Executive Sponsor. We have had the pleasure to Interview him recently during Sun's Customer Engineering Conference (read Dan's blog about it ).

Making the right connections

He’s a best-selling author – but does not enjoy writing. He’s also one of Sun’s leading technical experts - but admits to feeling ‘intimidated’ by his new role … as Technical Executive Sponsor for the Sun/Vodafone global team. However, he’s a good listener and has the know-how and skills to get the right people talking to each other. Connection caught up with Daniel J. Berg to discover more.

Q: Daniel, can you tell us about your other roles for Sun?

DJB: Sure, I really have two primary roles at Sun. One is the Chief Technology Officer for Global Sales & Services, looking after the technical strategy and direction of the GSS organisation. The other is the Vice President of EMEA Systems Engineering, in which I am responsible for the technical pre-sales organisation.

Q: We understand that you are also a Distinguished Engineer?

DJB: Correct, I am a DE, which means I am lucky enough to be a part of a small group of incredible engineers at Sun. The DE program has been a great way for Sun to recognise its top engineering talent.

Q: We have seen other DEs present at JavaOne and other conferences. Do you do this sort of activity as well?

DJB: Yes, I consider that a big part of my job. Interacting and speaking at conferences on all kinds of subjects (Java, middleware, internet computing, etc) is a great way to let people know about Sun's technologies as well as to meet with some really great people in our industry.

Q: How do you feel about joining the Sun/Vodafone global team?

DJB: Like many other people, I’m a big mobile user. I have two handsets: one for the US and one for Europe (my family lives in Prague). So from that perspective, it’s a great match, but as for the role, I’m intimidated! This is a very important account for Sun and an important company in the industry. Vodafone knows where it’s going and what it needs to be successful. For the moment, it’s right for me to listen rather than wax poetic!

Q: Even so, do you see issues likely to be high of the agenda?

DJB: Yes. Like many other large organisations, it’s likely that Vodafone will view IT increasingly as a service, which raises lots of technical issues, from remote management to the complexity of architectures. However, this understanding of computing becoming a utility will become more widespread. The good news is that it’s right in line with Sun’s strategy and vision.

Q: Are there any other major changes we can expect?

DJB: I believe that innovation in ‘general purpose’ computing will once again disrupt our industry. I think we will see general purpose hardware and software mixed together in new and interesting ways to create unique solutions and applications. For example, breaking down traditional views of what servers actually ‘do’, like our new X4500. The possibilities are intriguing and may make bespoke computing services much cheaper for customers such as Vodafone.

Q: Vodafone is working towards a global standard and centralisation of IT. How do you see Sun helping in the process?

DJB: Standardisation and consolidation is key. As an industry, we not only have standards for software and hardware but also standards for operations management. Sun is and has always been an open company, meaning that we adopt open standards and always give our customers a choice. We are very well positioned to help Vodafone specifically in this area with our best practices, industry standards-based hardware, software and services. However, this is also where the Sun/Vodafone team can teach me about its needs – and I can leverage this back into Sun. In my role as Chief Technologist I report directly into Greg Papadopoulos (Sun's CTO and EVP of R&D) and his CTO team. So this is a short link for anything that colleagues can tell me in helping to drive Sun's R&D strategy and direction. Sun will be very responsive to what’s needed and I see it as my role to get the right people talking to each other.

Q: We’ve heard you’ve written a few books. Do you have time for more?

DJB: I hope I never write another book in my life! I just don't enjoy writing. It started a number of years ago when I was looking for a book on multi-threading and realised none were available. Someone suggested I write one myself – which I did. But then publishing companies come after you to do more. I’ve written seven books covering multi-threading, Java & Java threads and Internet architecture and development methodologies. The last one was in early 2000. But I hope it really is the last. I think as an engineer it is critical that you communicate, however at this point I would rather talk to people rather then write.

Q: But you still write for the web?

DJB: Yes, I have a blog at http://blogs.sun.com/djberg which is good for sharing what’s on my mind, what happens in my travels and of course plenty of drivel. It isn’t writing a book but it’s a good way to stay connected to people you would never have the time to meet individually.

Thank you Daniel.

You can find this interview and more on the Accounts Website http://www.sunandvodafone.com. Also read Dan's Blog.

Posted by mobiletechnology ( Oct 19 2006, 01:50:40 PM CEST ) Permalink