In this conversation, Adam Jacob discusses his journey in the tech industry, focusing on the development of his company, System Initiative, and the evolution of DevOps and automation. He shares insights from his early experiences with computers, his unconventional education, and the challenges faced in the ISP era. The discussion also touches on the impact of cloud computing and AI on modern development, emphasizing the importance of understanding underlying technologies to innovate effectively. In this conversation, Adam Jacob discusses the evolution of technology and workflows in the context of DevOps and infrastructure management. He reflects on his journey from consulting to product development, highlighting the creation of Chef and its impact on the industry. Adam introduces System Initiative, a new approach to infrastructure management that emphasizes real-time collaboration and automation. He also addresses pricing strategies and the importance of aligning value with customer needs, while identifying the target audience for System Initiative as innovative DevOps engineers looking for better solutions.

00:00 Introduction

01:15 What is Adam Doing Today

05:26 First Memories of a Computer

07:30 Early Interests / Life Growing Up

20:06 Early ISP work

35:20 Dealing with Scale in Tech

47:15 New Age Dev Work

59:30 The Birth of Chef 

1:15:00 Starting System Initiative

1:17:30 Revolutionizing Infrastructure Management

1:26:20 Deciding on Pricing

1:33:40 Target Audience for System Initiative

1:50:15 Contact info

Connect with Adam: 

Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjacob/

Twitter: https://x.com/adamhjk

Mentioned in today’s episode:

System Initiative: https://www.systeminit.com/

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