"Life's journey is often hidden within the questions we ask."
At Ververica, the Original Creators of Apache Flink®, Alexander Walden is a catalyst for business transformation and innovation in the stream processing sector.
In his role as CEO, Alex has drawn on his transformational leadership ability to fuel a diverse and collaborative culture. Continuously innovating and pushing the boundaries of data streaming technologies, providing unparalleled customer service and fostering a vibrant ecosystem of partners and developers are other topics high on his agenda.
Before embarking on his journey with Ververica, Alex’s career spanned across various roles in IT architecture, IT sales, and business management within leading software companies, professional services and Cloud providers across the globe.
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We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Alexander Walden: With over two decades in technology and stream processing, I’ve seen firsthand the evolution of this field. A pivotal moment in my career was my time as sales executive here, shaping my approach as CEO of Ververica.
Before that, I held various executive roles and senior-level technical positions across the globe, which led me to land my first role at Ververica as Sales Exec and Head of Partner Management in 2021.
My enduring goal is to revolutionize the stream-processing sector, adapting swiftly to globalization and the growing frequency of major black swan events. And I am proud to say Ververica’s solutions do exactly that. My appointment as CEO of Ververica in 2022 was a culmination of successful leadership, outstanding growth, and a reflection of my commitment to innovation in the field.
Ververica, founded by the original creators of open-source Apache Flink®, is committed to unlocking the immense potential of data for enterprises.
With its advanced stream processing technologies, including Ververica Cloud (cloud-native and serverless) and Ververica Platform (on-premise), businesses can harness real-time data insights at scale. Ververica is deeply dedicated to the growth of Apache Flink® and other open-source technologies.
This dedication encompasses supporting software development and leading the evolution of the Flink Forward, the conference dedicated to Apache Flink and the stream processing community, held in three flagship regions globally. Ververica further nurtures the community through ‘Ververica Academy,’ a comprehensive learning platform for those seeking to expand their knowledge in stream processing and analytics.
In the past year, what is the greatest business achievement you’d like to celebrate with your team? Please share the details of that success.
Alexander Walden: There are two I’d like to share.
This year, we launched our cloud product, Ververica Cloud, to the market. Our Ververica Cloud offering enables enterprise businesses to reach speeds of up to 2x faster than open source Apache Flink® – the leading open-source framework for the stream processing industry.
Ultimately, this represents a transformative leap forward for enterprises striving to remain competitive in the era of real-time data analytics.
It marks a significant advancement in the industry, especially given in today’s fast-paced and data-driven business landscape, enterprises demand more than just analytics tools—they require real-time solutions that can keep up with the speed of data.
Following the release of these updates to Ververica Cloud, we earned recognition as a ‘Contender’ in the Forrester Wave Streaming Data Platforms, Q4 2023 Report, which cites our strengths in stream processing, streaming analytics and throughput.
Ververica’s inclusion in this report serves, in our opinion, as a testament to Ververica’s capability in driving the industry forward.
What advice do you wish you had received when you started your business journey and what do you intend on improving in the next quarter?
Alexander Walden: The answer is funnily enough in the question – everything is a journey. Next quarter is only the next stage in our “Tour de Veverica”. The next stage will see us deliver new features to Ververica Cloud, re-creating our web presence and most importantly upgrading our content and messaging.
Online business keeps on surging higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for the year to come and how are you capitalizing on the tidal wave?
Alexander Walden: While the online realm burgeons, a key concern is the pace at which businesses adopt robust security measures. In fact, it’s truly in its infancy. I imagine the online landscape will look very different in the decades to come, but my fear is that businesses are not adapting fast enough on the security end of things.
If we look back on 2020, the lessons learned during this period of time, especially during the global pandemic, now underscore the far-reaching consequences of inadequate data protection.
In 2024, consumers are likely to be less forgiving, given that organizations have had ample time to prepare and rectify previous mistakes.
We are working extremely hard to educate businesses on how they can protect themselves through the use of stream processing technology. It is indispensable for safeguarding data integrity and ensuring robust security measures.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as THE real challenge right now?
Alexander Walden: Data security. The contemporary landscape demands solutions capable of handling over half a million assets in various forms. A comprehensive and adaptive approach to real-time data processing is not just a strategy for thwarting imminent threats; it is a fundamental requirement for organizations aspiring to navigate the evolving cybersecurity landscape successfully.
Cybersecurity companies must evolve their approach to exposure management, showcasing how attackers leverage and combine misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, identity exposures, and other factors to compromise critical assets.
Pinpointing the precise areas where remediation is imperative and this process should demand only a fraction of the effort traditionally associated with such tasks. The adoption of real-time data processing offers organizations a proactive defense against the ever-expanding digital threat landscape.
In your experience, what tends to be the most underestimated part of running a company? Can you share an example?
Alexander Walden: Even after many years, I find letting go of people the hardest thing. This people-first approach, while challenging, has led to a positive company culture, reaffirming its value. These are hard decisions, especially in larger organizations where individuals may not have seen it coming.
In such cases, my approach has always been to speak with the individual first and then see how we can solve the situation in an equally beneficial way. I know this sounds strange – but often, low performers have a strength they can use better elsewhere.
And then it is a matter of either guiding the person to that insight or even finding that “new position” for them. Unfortunately, it is often more coaching and mentoring than finding – but this is also a satisfying takeaway in the difficulty of such a decision.
What does “success” in 2024 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
Alexander Walden: As we stand on the precipice of 2024, the world faces an alarming truth: data breaches are on the rise, and the United States leads the pack. In a digital age where data is the lifeblood of organizations, this statistic carries grave implications for cybersecurity and global privacy. It’s no longer a matter of if, but when the next breach will occur.
The question we must answer is, are organizations prepared? It is essential for leaders to understand why real-time stream processing has transitioned from a luxury to an absolute necessity for safeguarding data, enhancing resilience, and securing our digital future.
For Ververica, success in 2024 involves aligning with the broader vision of enhancing cybersecurity through advanced real-time stream processing.
Real-time stream processing plays a crucial role in protecting organizations from various threats and vulnerabilities. Processing times are now quantified in microseconds (equivalent to one-millionth of a second).
This is a stark departure from the previous ‘norm,’ batch processing, that delayed the decision-making process by waiting for data to make decisions. Which, by then, could be considered ‘old data’ as measured processing durations in hours or days to come through. Beyond that, it allows organizations to look back and reconcile in a much more effective way while planning ahead.
Jerome Knyszewski, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Alexander Walden for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Alexander Walden or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
Disclaimer: The ValiantCEO Community welcomes voices from many spheres on our open platform. We publish pieces as written by outside contributors with a wide range of opinions, which don’t necessarily reflect our own. Community stories are not commissioned by our editorial team and must meet our guidelines prior to being published.
