Snowflake & Trends on Data Cloud & AI in the Asia Pacific with Jon Robertson
Jon Robertson shares the business footprint of Snowflake and important trends in data warehouses and AI for the enterprises in the Asia Pacific and Japan.
Fresh out of the studio, Jon Robertson, President of Asia Pacific & Japan for Snowflake discussed the company's global vision & mission and their current expansion into the Asia Pacific and Japan region. Jon discussed the customer stories and how Snowflake's cloud data platform facilitates diverse workloads, from artificial intelligence to cybersecurity. Continuing the conversation, he explored the evolving trends in the data and AI landscape, amplified by notable advances such as ChatGPT and where it is heading. Last but not least, he shared what great would look like for Snowflake in the Asia Pacific region for the next 3-5 years.
"But today, the clouds are the new silos. They're like the silos in the data center, only they're public. But AWS is a bit of a data silo, as is Azure. We used to call it Hotel California - you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave. Right? A big part of what Snowflake does is tear down those silos to allow customers to have the data where they want it. Because if it's on Snowflake, it doesn't matter which physical infrastructure is behind it; and to share that data easily around the world, that's a major change in the whole kind of cloud-silo infrastructure problem that we're facing today.” - Jon Robertson
Introduction
- Jon Robertson, President, APJ, Snowflake (Linkedin)
- We want to dive into your origin story, how did you start your career and eventually lead up to this role with Snowflake?
- What are the interesting lessons you can share with our audience on your career journey?
Snowflake and Trends on Data Cloud & AI in the Asia Pacific
- Let’s start with the market opportunity for Snowflake, which has become a global force to help mobilize the world’s data. Can you describe the total market opportunity in why enterprises need to harness their data for insights and build innovations on the data cloud specifically globally down to the Asia Pacific region and Japan?
- Can you provide an overview of Snowflake, and share its global mission and vision such that it addresses the total market opportunity? [Reference: Snowflake About page]
- Can you briefly explain how Snowflake’s cloud data platform works and how it powers the eight different workloads, for example, artificial intelligence and machine learning, cybersecurity, data cloud, lake and warehouse?
- What is the one thing you know about Snowflake that very few people know?
- How would you describe Snowflake's current footprint in the Asia Pacific and Japan region?
- How does Snowflake's product offering resonate with the needs of businesses in the APJ region?
- Are there any region-specific features or customizations that Snowflake is working on to cater to the APJ market?
- How does Snowflake plan to differentiate itself from competitors in the APJ market?
- Are there any specific industries or sectors within APJ that Snowflake is focusing on?
- What are the unique challenges and opportunities that Snowflake faces in the APJ market?
- Can you share some success stories or case studies where Snowflake has made a significant impact in the APJ region?
- Since we have you here, let’s segue to trends of data and AI in the Asia Pacific region, with the recent advances in generative AI brought about by ChatGPT, what are the most interesting trends you are seeing in businesses in their adoption of AI?
- What would be your advice to the enterprises in thinking about how to use AI based on their data and what are the challenges that they need to work through?
- Our traditional closing question: What does great look like for Snowflake in the Asia Pacific and Japan region moving forward in the next 3-5 years?
Closing
- Any recommendations that have inspired your life?
- Jon's recommendation: Inspired by the leaders with whom he has worked: Pat Gelsinger (now CEO of Intel, former VMWare), Carl Eschenbach, Frank Slootman (CEO of Snowflake) and his book Amp it Up.
- How can my audience find you?