As more applications move to open source and cloud continues to rise, data professionals find themselves faced with more complex security issues than ever. While it is simple to make the decision to move data out of data silos and into the cloud, many businesses find themselves constrained by international data sovereignty laws. Navigating these emerging guidelines can be a challenge. That’s where Rackspace US, Inc. comes in.

Darrin Hanson, VP and GM of OpenStack Private Cloud at Rackspace, and John Engates, CTO of Rackspace, talked with Stu Miniman (@stu) and Brian Gracely (@bgracely), cohosts of theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, during the OpenStack Summit in Austin, Texas, about these issues and more.

The fear and uncertainty of open source and cloud

Hanson encapsulated the topic by addressing the “fear and uncertainty” many organizations experience when dealing with open source and the cloud. According to Hanson, there are two tracks: “DIY” or “deploying as a service.”

For those executives who have anxiety about making the move to cloud or open source, Hanson remarked that with OpenStack they will “not be alone in the room.” Hanson also reminded theCUBE hosts about the dissonance between cheaper open-source programs and full-service fee-based applications. Part of the debate is the less known start-up costs to “teach” and an open-source application’s specific parameters.

Engates commented on Edward Snowden’s disclosure, calling it an “eye-opening experience” for “companies and countries alike.” Engates explained the fallout of the amount of data available to the savvy individual. Since then, Engates had observed a change in how people think about Big Data on a “world scale.” More specifically, he talked about a growing concern about “where data sits.” Engates declared a real interest in seeing “how this plays out over the next few years.”

Additionally Engates and Hanson discussed how Rackspace has evolved recently as multi-cloud and international data centers. Certainly this company is one to watch as data sovereignty continues to change as new developments arise.

Watch the full interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of OpenStack Summit — Austin. And make sure to weigh in during theCUBE’s live coverage at the event by joining in on CrowdChat.

Photo by SiliconANGLE