Episode 38 | John Engates | Field CTO @ Cloudflare | Former CTO @ Rackspace

Posted on Friday, Jan 31, 2025 | Category: Cloud Technology, AI, Networking | Series: Exploring the Cloud | Cloud, Technology, AI, Networking
Today Chad and Steve are talking with John Engates, Field CTO at Cloudflare and formerly the CTO at Rackspace. Their conversation includes a discussion of his time at Rackspace and what Rackspace might have done differently during the early rise of AWS, how Cloudflare’s network now protects against threats in both directions not just against websites but also against desktop users, and how Cloudflare is bringing AI inference to the edge by putting GPUs in their points-of-presence around the world.

Show Notes

Episode #38 of “Can I get that software in blue?”, a podcast by and for people engaged in technology sales. If you are in the technology presales, solution architecture, sales, support or professional services career paths then this show is for you!

Today Chad and Steve are talking with John Engates, Field CTO at Cloudflare and formerly the CTO at Rackspace. Their conversation includes a discussion of his time at Rackspace and what Rackspace might have done differently during the early rise of AWS, how Cloudflare’s network now protects against threats in both directions not just against websites but also against desktop users, and how Cloudflare is bringing AI inference to the edge by putting GPUs in their points-of-presence around the world.

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Links mentioned in the episode:

Cloudflare 2024 Year in Review: https://blog.cloudflare.com/radar-2024-year-in-review/

Guests

John Engates

John Engates

As a VP and Field CTO at Cloudflare, John explores the convergence of AI and cloud infrastructure, drawing from three decades of experience in Internet evolution. Through global customer and partner engagements, he examines how these technologies reshape business value and human potential. He is very passionate about understanding technology’s role in our collective future, particularly how AI and ubiquitous computing will transform how we work, create, and connect.

John was previously the Chief Client Technology Officer at NTT Global Networks and the CTO at Rackspace. He is also a very active startup investor and mentor with the Techstars Cloud program.