The digital frontier is one that keeps moving, making those who work to advance the frontier pioneers. With such a constantly evolving playing field, it takes a certain kind of person to keep up with all the changes. It may be harsh, but it essentially has become “evolve or die,” according to Amy Lewis, director of Field, Channel, and Influence Marketing at SolidFire (a NetApp Company). Professionals have to keep evolving their skill sets and their way of doing things, not only to compete with their rivals, but also to keep their customers happy.

Lewis spoke to John Furrier (@furrier) and Brian Gracely (@bgracely), cohosts of theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team during DockerCon 2016 in Seattle, Washington.

Settling new territory

Just as the pioneers of old eventually found places to settle, so too are customers settling into new digital territory. And as Lewis pointed out, they’re settling faster than ever. “What is amazing is that what is considered ‘cutting edge’ moves so quickly to the norm,” he said. In order to match the customers’ gait, enterprises must continue advancement.

One such advancement is the move toward infrastructure as code. This is more and more the case, Furrier suggested. Lewis agreed, adding that people are less and less tolerant of traditional structures and there’s really no going back at this point. “At the end, the dollar speaks and you want to be where the customer is,” he said.

Culture of growth

DockerCon embodied this advancement with Lewis’ observations about the community there. In one hour she saw more women at DockerCon than she had at entire conferences before, she noted. In addition, there was a sense of growth buzzing around the conference, with a community of people excited and willing to learn. As Lewis said, “We’re not cynics yet.”

Watch the full interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of the DockerCon 2016. Plus, join in on the conversation by CrowdChatting live with theCUBE hosts.

Photo by SiliconANGLE