Exclusive Interview with Vishwa Kapadia, Chief People Officer of Platform9

The economic, organizational, and societal impact of the pandemic will continue to catalyze digital innovation and the adoption of cloud services. Public clouds are walled gardens, and DIY is difficult and time-consuming. Platform9 offers a third option—an open and faster option—enabling a better way to go cloud-native. Platform9 is the world's #1 open distributed cloud service, offering the power of the public cloud on the infrastructure of customers' choice—powered by Kubernetes and cloud-native technologies. Analytics Insight has engaged in an exclusive interview with Vishwa Kapadia, Chief People Officer of Platform9.

Kindly brief us about your role at Platform9 and your journey in this highly promising sector.

I recently joined Platform9 as the company's Chief People Officer. In this new role, my highest priority is developing an innovative, diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. Strengthening Platform9's people strategy is pivotal in continuing to foster a high-performing work culture that not only promotes growth but creates an engaging environment for each of our employees as we head into our next phase of exciting growth.

Before joining Platform9, I was an HR leader at Maxim Integrated (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Analog Devices Inc.) for its India and Singapore markets. During my tenure, I engaged with stakeholders across various international locations, translated business objectives into people strategies to grow the business, and implemented change management initiatives. Throughout my career spanning over two decades at global technology companies like Intel, Dell Technologies, Infineon, and GE John F. Welch Technology Center, I partnered with senior business leaders to drive business results through innovative people practices and employee development programs such as talent management and HR business partnering, while also driving people and employee development programs.

What're Platform9's growth plans for the next 12 months?

The demand for rapid digital transformation across all industries continues to grow with more and more enterprises adopting cloud-native technologies that require them to operate diverse multi-cloud, hybrid, and edge deployments. Platform9 provides a faster and easier way to go cloud-native, eliminating complexity and lowering operating costs.

Another issue is the shortage of talent in the areas of cloud-native technologies and new skills like DevOps, platform engineering, and Kubernetes. As enterprises accelerate their journey toward cloud-native technologies, Platform9 will continue to see steady growth focusing on our mission to democratize cloud computing in the market.

Can you throw light on the latest employment trends in key sectors?

Worker shortages have been a lasting hallmark of the pandemic, with many candidates leaving their roles during the 'Great Resignation' in search of better positions, higher wages, and increased flexibility. The technology industry, in particular, has been hit hard by talent shortages, leaving many companies stuck in a 'talent war,' scrambling to hire and keep up with the ever-growing demand for skilled tech employees.

Hiring is especially difficult in the competitive cloud-native market, which demands a high level of skill with emerging technologies. As these technologies go mainstream, companies struggle with balancing DevOps, cloud-native development, platform engineering, and legacy technology skills. According to our recent '2022 Enterprise Trends in Cloud Native' report, a top priority in 2022 for respondents is staffing the necessary skills to enable their company to go cloud-native. The secret to attracting and retaining highly sought-after talent against major players lies within the people practices of an organization. As Platform9 continues to break out as a leader in the highly competitive cloud-native market, I plan to aid the company's rapid growth and expansion by continuing to promote an engaging workplace of choice for employees and developing people-centric programs that encourage the all-around well-being of every employee. These programs will help to foster a high-performing work environment and build upon Platform9's entrepreneurial culture, allowing us to attract and retain top talent in a highly competitive market.

What is the edge Platform9 has over other institutes in the industry?

In an industry with such large companies as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, Platform9's entrepreneurial start-up culture gives us an agility and innovation edge in where we are working to establish the open, distributed cloud category. What is great about our start-up environment is that young employees can take on real responsibility right from the start of their career, working on cutting-edge technology. We are truly a global organization and our engineers in India get the opportunity to work on core projects, just like their US counterparts, which is a key differentiator.

Platform9 gives employees the space and opportunity to try new and exciting things to expand their skills and grow their professional careers. Several employees at the company have expanded their skills by rotating to new functions and taking on new and expanded roles.

At Platform9, we have a young, talented, and dynamic workforce. Our India internship program is very successful in attracting Generation Z directly from top engineering universities, who bring in fresh perspectives and innovative ways of doing work, which is crucial in today's growing talent war. Through this program, our interns are provided with a unique hands-on experience, to learn on the job and forge a meaningful role in the organization. These young professionals have huge aspirations, so we work to ensure they not only reach those goals but exceed them at Platform9. Expanding our internship program globally is one of the initiatives I am excited to implement in my new role. Growing this program will allow Platform9's entrepreneurial and startup spirit to continue to thrive.