Cloud visionaries promised us unlimited scalability, but they greatly underestimated the amount of data we would start producing.

Today we sit down with Michael Tso, the co-founder of Cloudian, and he explains why some systems are just too big for the cloud, and how the industry is adapting.  Mike also shares his advice for selling via channel partners, and we talk about the competitive advantages and disadvantages of being a Japanese startup on the global stage.

It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

Show Notes


The real reason we are "drowning in data"
The missing link in connecting cloud and local storage
What kind of apps really need 100's of petabytes of storage
How to pivot successfully in Japan, and why it's so hard to do so
Using Japanese culture as a competitive advantage
The most important difference between Japan and US startup culture
Why US companies hesitate to buy from Japanese software companies
How to expand globally using channel partners and systems integrators
What everyone gets wrong about failure

Links from the Founder

Everything you ever wanted to know about Cloudian
Friend Mike on Facebook
Follow him on Twitter @MichaelTso

 
Transcript
Welcome to Disrupting Japan, straight talk from Japan’s most successful entrepreneurs.
I’m Tim Romero and thanks for joining me.
As a society, as a species, we have way too much data on our hands. A decade ago, our data got too big for our local systems and so we moved it into the cloud. And now, well, our data has gotten too big for the cloud and we're moving it back on premises. 
Now, I promise this will make a lot more sense in a few minutes, when we sit down with Michael Tso, co-founder of Cloudian.
Cloudian makes massive scale storage systems, massive as an hundreds of petabytes of storage that can run on site and seamlessly integrate with Cloud Storage. Cloudian is also interesting, because they're one of only a handful of Japanese startups that have really succeeded in the US and European markets. And Mike and I talk a lot about how they made that happen. 
We talk about the challenges and the necessity of pivoting in a Japanese startup, how Cloudian's Japanese identity and culture both helped them and hurt them in their global expansion. And Mike gives some really great advice about how to sell software through channel partners and what you should really expect from those relationships. 
But you know, Mike tells that story much better than I can. So let's get right to the interview. 
 
Interview 
Tim: I'm sitting here with Michael Tso, the co-founder of Cloudian, which provides object storage for the enterprise. And Mike, thanks for sitting down with us.
Mike Tso: Yes, happy to be here, Tim. 
Tim: Now, object storage for the enterprise is something that gets talked about a lot. But what does that mean exactly?
Mike: Yeah. So I think I need to just rewind a little bit and just kind of talk about why are we drowning in data? Why is there so much data? Well, because actually, if you think about the process of innovation and the process of invention, it's data-based, right? You need to have data to know where you're at, and you can draw inspiration from analyzing your data. And then you go try some invention, and then you have to measure the outcome. And then you go back and kind of either fix it or improve it. So it's a continuous process.
Tim: But, I mean, if you look at kind of like human history, we humans will fill up as much data, well, we've always had data, it's a question of how much we can store. And the easier it is to store, the more of this information we will. So it used to have to be engraving on cuneiform, clay tablets and creating vellum now it's just, oh, we'll automatically just save everything. 
Mike: Well, I think about this a lot, right? It starts with how easy it is to create the data. So if you have to chisel away on a rock,