Interview with Pat Gelsinger, CEO VMware
by Helmuth Fuchs
On the Internet of Everything and the threats of Cyberterrorism
«We as an industry must do a better job. We at VMware are working to build some of the basic security capabilities directly into our products.»
«The disappointing thing is that almost all the breaches that have occurred have been the basics, not the hard stuff. It becomes imperative that we significantly raise the bar of the cyber infrastructure and do that as we extend into the domain of IoT.»
On the winners and losers of the evolving self driving cars
«One of the car industry executives I just met described the new cars as CASE: Connected, autonomous, shared and electric.»
«All of a sudden, the car industry, that has been fairly stable for a number of years, is being hit by a confluence of major technology driven changes and social driven changes.»
«We are excited. In a broader context we believe that technology is breaking out of technology, its entering more and more areas of consumer and business.»
On the effects of these developments on the business model of the car manufacturers
«The customers may change. Somebody is going to buy the car, but it might be a car service. So that becomes an opportunity for the manufacturers to become the provider of these new services.»
«I think overall, any time there is major new technology disruptions that deliver users significantly new experiences, it will be good overall for the industry.»
On how President Trumps politic influences the US position as a global hub for IT innovation
«Five of the top ten market cap companies in the world are tech companies. You better figure out how to be tech friendly if you are going to be business friendly. I think President Trump is starting to realize that. We had a very productive set of meetings.»
«Technology is not American, technology is neutral, it is global.»
On the impact of travel bans and restrictions on getting access to the best talents
«I think pragmatism will rule.»
On whether digitization will be the biggest job killer or a path to higher wealth for everybody
«I believe very strongly that technology becomes an opportunity to both: Improve the quality of jobs as well as the quality of life.»
«In the context of history, technology has over and over and over again enabled steps forward in productivity, efficiency and improvements of quality of life.»
On the fundamental restructuring of the finance industry and how it should deal with new competitors
«Somewhat my advice is the same for every industry: Embrace technology, figure out how to apply it to your business problems and then be able to step forward.»
«The financial industry is much more technologically sophisticated than others, so it is better positioned to address some of those challenges.»
On how blockchain might change the role of banks and insurances
«I think blockchain is a very fundamental algorithmic breakthrough. Financial institutions probably are those most near term in benefiting from it.»
On which problem he would solve if he would run a startup with unlimited resources
«The one that is closest to my heart would be Health Care.»
«Bringing technologies together to radically improve the quality of life and health care and your longevity; I think those are some of areas that are the most significant in touching every human on the planet.»
On the freedom of choice when technology takes over more of the decisions
«I think everybody always has freedoms to choose.»
