Guests: Grace Andrews (LinkedIn, Twitter) | Adam Bozanich (LinkedIn, Twitter)
Companies: Equinix Metal (Twitter) | Akash Network (Twitter) 
Show: Let’s Talk
Keyword: Web3

Akash Network is a decentralized and open-source cloud, which is also known as the Airbnb of Cloud. The company has chosen Equinix Metal to  showcase how users can get high performance, stable systems at a good price. With Equinix Metal’s on-demand bare metal service, Akash will be able to provide developers, companies and projects across the blockchain ecosystem with a more efficient cloud alternative. Akash now has access to many data centers around the world providing an alternative to some of the big cloud services owned by one person. The infrastructure Akash is putting in place aims to power Web3.

In this episode of TFiR Let’s Talk, Swapnil Bhartiya sat down with Grace Andrews, Principal Product Evangelist at Equinix Metal and Adam Bozanich, Founder and CTO of Akash Network to discuss Akash Network’s integration with Equinix Metal to provide a decentralized cloud solution and how it is driving the evolution of Web3. Bozanich says, “I think one of the underlying things that many people have in mind when they think of Web3 is, A, people giving people the option to use the technology that they want to use, and B, transparency.”

Web3, which represents the next generation of the internet, is still very much in progress and it is still not clear exactly what it will look like. Key concepts include decentralization within systems, running with consensus and protocols. It is also expected that hardware will move away from traditional dedicated services and systems that lay stagnant. At this point, it is not certain whether Web3 will see entirely new architecture or the way it is utilized will evolve to changing requirements. Web3 is expected to be multi-cloud enabling a new flexibility not experienced in Web1 or Web2.

One of the key challenges in the progression towards Web3 continues to be security. However, even though cyber attacks continue to make the headlines, Bozanich believes there is a lot of security in the fundamental tooling they are using. He believes that it does need to be easier for people to access and use correctly, though. Network security does continue to play a critical role and a lot of tools exist to help secure the network. Having a protocol for action in case things do go wrong is equally as important. One of the recommendations Equinix Metal has for its customers is having a disaster recovery plan that leverages automation to help automate the process.

Both companies agree that their solution will give a private internet feel and service to their customers, with autonomy being a key component of their visions for Web3. The companies are keen to give customers what they need, not just what is offered. They believe that Web3 technologies and infrastructure will create a more personal internet again.

About Adam Bozanich: Adam is co-founder and CTO of Akash Network, where he drives the technology behind the world’s first Supercloud for serverless computing. Prior to Akash, he led software development at Symantec, One King’s Lane, and Marketron. Before that, he worked as an engineer and developer for music monetization platform Topspin, which was acquired by Apple in 2014 following an initial acquisition by Beats. Adam holds a U.S. patent for the invention of network protocol fuzzing, a security analysis methodology that dynamically tests a system’s resilience to protocol abuse.

About Grace Andrews: Grace is a seasoned storyteller with a passion for people and technology. Her career is deeply rooted in infrastructure, data and non-traditional models for training and enablement. As an enthusiastic technologist, she is always looking for ways to bridge creative technical solutions with deep understanding.

About Akash Network: Akash Network is a Distributed Peer-to-Peer Marketplace for Cloud Compute

About Equinix Metal: Equinix Metal empowers digital leaders to deploy automated, interconnected infrastructure at software speed with a first–class developer experience.

The summary of the show is written by Emily Nicholls.