Open Source In-Memory Database Systems with Redis Labs Chief Product Officer Alvin Richards

08/16/20 • 50 min

We're back with How I Launched This: A SaaS story! This week, Stephanie Wong (@stephr_wong) talks with Alvin Richards about Redis Labs, a company optimizing the Redis open source in-memory database system to build better managed tools for enterprise clients.

Alvin begins the show describing how his love of solving complex development problems and great people skills have put him in a unique position to act as intermediary between engineers and clients, gaining insights into real-world problems and how to solve them. Looking to the future, Alvin's team also anticipates client needs, creating database products that will continue to help clients as their projects evolve.

Later in the show, Alvin describes how the Redis system built in the cloud was reworked to also provide on-prem offerings. We learn how Redis Labs was able to fill a gap in the market by offering a database product that both developers and clients could understand, adapt, and use. Alvin introduces us to other Redis Labs products, including Redis for Enterprise which allows tiering between memory forms, in-memory caching, scaling, and more for a flexible database experience.

We wrap up the show with a discussion of what it's like coordinating the development of such a large open source project and why Redis Labs supports open source. Alvin offers advice to other companies, stressing the importance of building solutions with both the creator and client in mind and educating clients and developers to use the software effectively. We talk about the future of open source in SaaS companies and how important it will be for scaling SaaS technology. Alvin concludes by encouraging everyone to ultimately find joy in what they do.

Episode Links:

RedisRedis LabsDockerMemorystoreMongoDBElasticRedis University

Episode Links:

RedisRedis LabsDockerMemorystoreMongoDBElasticRedis University

Previous Episode

Distributed Search with Elastic Field CTO Steve Mayzak

Carter Morgan (@carterthecomic) and Stephanie Wong (@stephr_wong) are back this week with another episode of the SaaS Podcast! This week, we're speaking with Field CTO Steve Mayzak about Elastic and how they're perfecting the thorough search of data in distributed systems.

Steve starts the show explaining the role of a Field CTO and how he helps develop strategies for the future of Elastic. He describes the function of Elastic in detail, sharing that the search capabilities they've developed can do anything from satisfy your curiosity on Wikipedia to protecting submarines from attack. Whether it's online shopping, sifting through years of web logs, or detecting threats to your project, people expect to find exactly what they're looking for fast, and Elastic has the power to do that.

Later, we talk about why open source is so important to Elastic and how it led to the development of programs like Logstash, software that can manipulate and search through logs, Kibana, software that improves UI and simplifies data organization for any system, and Endpoint, security software that searches out threats to the system. Steve talks about real-life use cases of these Elastic products and how companies like car manufacturers can use the system to predict machine maintenance, thus decreasing downtime. We discuss the future of Elastic and learn how these use cases influence future product development.

We wrap up the show with a detailed discussion of the Elastic stack, including the technologies they use to keep the system running smoothly, ensure data is well indexed and organized, and perfect the scalability of Elastic. Steve talks about roadblocks the company has faced and the solutions they found, as well as Covid-specific changes they've made and how they're helping other companies deal with issues caused by the global pandemic. He offers advice for companies now facing this work-from-home scenario and ways to run efficient teams no matter their location, as well as the future of data management.

Episode Links:
Elastic
Elasticsearch
Logstash
Kibana
Elastic Security

Next Episode

Cloud-Native Enterprise Imaging Platform With Change Healthcare VP Archie Mayani

This week on How I Launched This: A SaaS story, Carter (@carterthecomic) and Stephanie (@stephr_wong) are talking all about their journey in creating a cloud-native medical imaging management platform and clinical applications, and how Change Healthcare is improving the space for both providers and patients.

With a passion for helping people, Archie Mayani, VP of product management at Change Healthcare, tells us how working in healthcare has driven the pursuit of purpose for her. Her mother's cancer plight led Archie to realize the need providers had for a better way to share large images to secure more accurate diagnoses. The goal for Archie at Change Healthcare was to create a platform to provide access to the right images to the right physician at the right time to save lives.
Archie describes Change Healthcare's journey to becoming a powerhouse medical services platform for everything from image storage, analytics to revenue cycle management. The focus has always been on making life easier for providers so they can focus on patients, she says. Change Healthcare has continued to expand their offerings, building new solutions as customer needs develop. Archie describes challenges the company has had along the way, including the struggle to find right talent with health care knowledge.
The partnership between Change Healthcare and Google Cloud has been important in the growth of the company, Archie tells us. We talk about the effects of Covid-19 on the industry and on Change Healthcare, and Archie offers advice to other SaaS companies, stressing the importance of making good technology choices early.
We wrap up the show with a discussion of the future of Change Healthcare and how AI can benefit the health care space.
Episode Links:Change HealthcareGoogle DocsGoogle Hangouts

How I Launched This: A SaaS Story - Open Source In-Memory Database Systems with Redis Labs Chief Product Officer Alvin Richards

Transcript

MUSIC UP
Alvin Richards [00:00:06] You got to think about the business goals of the customers and your partners, what are they trying to achieve, because if they're not successful, you're not successful, doesn't matter what you think your strategy is, right? If your strategy is not aligned with what the market and your consumers need, it doesn't matter how right you are. Nobody remembers the right people, they remember the success of people, and successful people are ultima