Kellyn Gorman: Why I Joined Silk as Director of Technical Advocacy

My introduction to Silk came over 2 ½ years ago, when one of the account leads I work with called me up and asked me if I would take a look at this software called Silk.  He had a feeling he had stumbled across something important, but he wanted my technical opinion.  The customer had been using it at another cloud vendor with some impressive results and he needed to know if Silk Technologies could really do what it was saying: giving fast performance for Oracle databases on the public cloud.  I was highly skeptical of the numbers that were being displayed on the website, so I signed up to download a performance white paper on Silk’s website.  I received a direct email back from Silk’s VP of Strategic Partnerships, Chris Buckel, and he excitedly explained what Silk was and how it could change what I was doing with high IO Oracle workloads on Azure.

As I worked with Silk on customer proof of concepts, migrations from Exadata and other challenging Oracle workloads brought to Azure, it was quite clear that Silk was the real deal:

• Data Performance Silk gives Oracle applications the low latency and high throughput that they need to be successful on the cloud.
• Cost Efficiency The platform allows for the use of less VMs with less vCPUs and offloads certain operations to the data layer to keep Oracle licensing in the cloud to a minimum. In addition, its data services like its instantaneous, zero-footprint snapshots keep cloud usage in check.
• Increased Resiliency Oracle in the cloud users are protected with a no-single-point-of-failure architecture and full availability across zones and regions.

As my 5-year anniversary at Microsoft arrived, I was very aware how extensive my experience had become in transforming ideas and visions into tangible results.  I possess a unique blend of strategic thinking, creativity and practical execution skills, and Microsoft, specifically my direct managers, worked hard to put as many of those skills to use as possible.  I will always provide the most value when I’m building from a larger vision for the company and the customer, so I knew that joining Silk would allow me the flexibility to grow those skills and evolve them to the next level in my career.

One of the reasons I was drawn to Silk is its clear vision and strong commitment to innovation and growth. I firmly believe that a well-defined vision serves as a powerful compass, guiding an organization towards success. As Silk’s new Director of Technical Advocacy, I was captivated by the ambitious goals set forth and the determination to disrupt the industry with groundbreaking solutions, not just for Oracle, but for all workloads that can benefit from the solutions Silk provides.

And of course, I fully anticipate continuing to work with Azure customers and account teams… just from the Silk side.

Thank you for the warm welcome from everyone here at Silk! Together, let’s embark on an inspiring journey, turning visionary ideas into remarkable achievements and setting new standards of excellence. I am thrilled to be part of the Silk team and look forward to the exciting challenges and successes that lie ahead!