This episode of the Pure Report features a conversation with Eugene McGrath, a nine-year veteran of Pure Storage and a Field Solution Architect. Our discussion delves into Gene’s diverse background, starting from his early days in IT racking and stacking servers at companies like Microsoft and Pixar, and how that hands-on experience shaped his career. We compare the evolution of his role and the industry, emphasizing the importance of a versatile skill set in the ever-changing tech landscape, particularly with his focus now on converged infrastructure solutions like FlashStack. We then dive into the partnership between Pure Storage and Cisco, specifically around the FlashStack converged infrastructure solution. Gene explains why this decade-long collaboration works, attributing it to a shared philosophy of simplifying infrastructure and improving the customer lifecycle. Our conversation also touches on the recent shift in Cisco's mindset, with Pure Storage taking a more prominent role, including the recent Nutanix partnership announcement. We further explore the concepts of "Day Zero" and "Day One" challenges in infrastructure deployment, emphasizing how Cisco Validated Design and automation mitigate risks and accelerate implementation for customers. Our discussion concludes with the "Hot Takes" segment, where Gene discusses the growing trends of "hypervisor fatigue" and the repatriation of workloads from the cloud due to cost and performance issues. He predicts a significant shift towards containerization as companies seek more agnostic and flexible approaches to their IT infrastructure. Gene also shares a memorable "oops" moment from his career, involving 3,000 servers racked upside down, and offers advice to his younger self about the explosion of data and the increasing importance of data management. For more information, visit: https://www.purestorage.com/products/integrated-platforms/flashstack.html Check out the new Pure Storage digital customer community to join the conversation with peers and Pure experts: https://purecommunity.purestorage.com/ 00:00 Intro and Welcome 04:55 Cisco and Pure Relationship 06:48 Stat of the Episode on Cloud Repatriation 12:35 Solving Day 0 and Day 1 Challenges 17:25 Using Cisco UCS in FlashStack 24:37 Cisco Validated Designs 26:54 Nutanix and Pure Partnership 32:35 Hot Takes Segment