During OpenStack Summit 2015, Brian Gallagher, president of Cloud Management with EMC Corp., sat down with Stu Miniman and John Furrier of theCube to talk about EMC and OpenStack.

Things started off with a look at the shift toward open source software and other emerging trends. “This is in response to the shift that’s occurring in IT,” Gallagher said, referring to the move from the old client-server model to Cloud computing and mobile access. These new concepts are changing how infrastructure and software are built.

The rise of generation three infrastructure

Gallagher explained that the core of what they do at EMC revolves around software. In his experience, customers like Software as a Service and Infrastructure as a Service, but they also want these new technologies to run like their old stack did. This means most businesses prefer a hybrid approach to new software and services.

As for EMC’s role in the OpenStack environment, Gallagher mentioned that while the community understands problems around infrastructure, the platform layer is a different world. People there need a high amount of resiliency built into their applications. EMC is very familiar with this need and brings continuity protection along with an established, trusted reputation.

A shift in mindset

Working in the open source world requires an open mind. Gallagher said the company’s focus was on taking learned concepts and applying them in different ways. One the biggest concepts they’re working with is cross-Cloud portability. “The ability to accelerate innovation is huge,” he said.

When asked about how his team interacted with the rest of EMC, Gallagher replied that they were working together with partners in other divisions across EMC. Their goal was to contribute value with open source software. He then noted that they will be revealing new contributions in the future.

“The level of excitement is huge,” he said.

Watch the full interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of OpenStack Summit Vancouver 2015.