SADA provides all services that prepare companies for AI, says CTO Miles Ward

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 10, ARMENPRESS. SADA, An Insight company, a global cloud consulting and professional services market leader providing solutions powered by Google Cloud, was among the renowned companies participating in the WCIT2024/DigiTec in Yerevan.  

SADA provides various services that prepare companies for artificial intelligence (AI). If customers do not have an efficient development platform, data platform, or security system, SADA helps the companies be prepared for what is next in AI. 

The company has built hundreds of AI applications together with its customers, SADA CTO Miles Ward told “Armenpress” during the WCIT2024/DigiTec. 

Ward presented details on SADA’s activities, how the company is incorporating AI into businesses, its challenges, the company’s participation in WCIT, and the global delivery opportunities of the SADA Armenia office.

Miles, thank you for this opportunity and we are happy to welcome you to Armenia. 

Thank you so much. 

How do you like it here and the atmosphere at WCIT 24 and DigiTec?

The energy is very high. There are a lot of creative people working hard to build what's next in technology. Everyone is excited and interested, just like me.  I really enjoy events like this, so we can all learn about what everybody's working on. 

-Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to reshape industries and your panel is dedicated to incorporating AI into businesses. What do you see as the biggest challenge for businesses when adopting AI into their workflows?

I think for many businesses, there's a long history of trying to become more efficient with their data. AI makes data so much more powerful, so much more useful, and therefore so much more valuable. Maybe there's been a little delay for some companies, they don't quite have all that they want. It's not as easy to get through their data warehouse to find the information that they need. That was pretty important last year. It's really important now, as all of their users, all their employees can be so much smarter if the AI has access to those important data dashboards.

As Google Cloud's leading partner for generative AI solutions, SADA's expertise includes Infrastructure Modernization, Cloud Security, Data Analytics, and other areas. How do you help your clients integrate Cloud AI services for more efficient operations?

Just like we were talking about data, all the different services that SADA provides, prepare companies for AI. If you don't have an efficient development platform, AI will be hard. If you don't have an efficient data platform, AI will be hard. If you don't have an efficient system for security, for financial operations, for all the tools you need to make this stuff reliable, you are going to have a hard time with AI. SADA builds the prerequisites, the necessary first steps needed, and is there to meet you when you are ready to take it to what is next in AI. We have built hundreds of AI applications together with our customers, and it turns out it is much easier to do that when you have a stable foundation. 

What about the ethical aspect of leveraging AI? How should businesses act when it comes to balancing innovation and AI with ethical considerations and data privacy? 

I think privacy is very critical. You think about how complicated these technologies are and how much work it takes to get technical systems to assemble into something useful. 

Think about a car. You could buy tires from this company and a steering wheel from that company and body panels from this company, and maybe they wouldn't quite fit.

Google Cloud has a whole stack. All of the different systems were designed to work together. SADA is familiar with the entire solutions stack, so you don't have to imagine or figure out how to get them to work together. Our expert teams optimize all of that to help businesses keep their data private. If you have one little body panel that doesn't fit maybe that's where the leak comes from. Our systems are hermetically sealed is the technical term for it, to be able to make businesses safe. It would be an existential risk to Google's global brand if they were to have a problem with data. Everybody knows that Google interacts with and organizes and makes useful all of the world's data. If you don't have the best privacy controls in the world, how can they be confident as a business? 

We take great pride in working with Google. I feel much safer making promises to my customers about privacy because of how sophisticated Google's tools are. 

Let's talk about the SADA Armenia office. What are the global delivery opportunities of the Armenian office and what can it offer to the Armenian and regional tech companies? 

We built the Armenia team to be a copy of all of the different technical skills that we offer in our business regions globally. Solutions architects, data engineers, software developers, application designers, AI consultancy, all those different skills are present right here in Armenia and they cross-train with engineers in the United States working together on projects in both locations and globally. If my Armenia team needs help from the United States, they have access to that. If the U.S. team needs help, they can access talent here in Armenia. No matter where customers are in the region, they have access to a great local resource that's in the same time zone, easy to interact with, has all of the right skills to excel. We're growing our global team over time to make sure that as new technologies become available, that we keep pace with all of this innovation.

SADA CEO Tony Safoyan has a strong connection to Armenia. SADA, among other things, was also well-known here as a company which was founded by an Armenian immigrant family. We were saddened to hear about his retirement. Will there be any changes following these developments and how will the SADA Armenia office continue to operate moving forward?

Tony built an incredible business that I'm proud to be a part of. His legacy will last a lot longer than his 24 years of service in this company. Nothing will change in SADA's Armenia vision and investment as we try to help companies in this region be successful. Our team is committed to growing in this business and helping businesses all over the region to be successful, in part because of the technical skills that are available here in Armenia. 

Is there anything that you would like to add?

I think every employer, every business has to imagine how big of a change AI will make. An easy way to think about that change is to imagine that each of your employees gets a promotion tomorrow.

They get to do what their bosses do. My junior developers start to feel like senior developers. My junior marketers feel like senior marketers. My camera operator feels like a film director. They have access to tools, solutions and data that will make them better at their jobs. That change isn't something that many businesses are really ready for. They haven't imagined every one of their employees getting a little better.

So I want to encourage them to embrace their imagination and think about what's next. We can help them with that. Happy to give examples from other customers, but it's critical that it's unique to each company how this technology will move them forward.

Thank you very much. Thank you for this opportunity and again we are happy to welcome you to Armenia.

Thank you, I appreciate it.

As Chief Technology Officer at SADA, an Insight company, Miles Ward leads SADA’s cloud strategy and solutions capabilities. His remit includes delivering next-generation solutions to challenges in big data and analytics, application migration, infrastructure automation, and cost optimization; reinforcing our engineering culture; and engaging with customers on their most complex and ambitious plans around Google Cloud. 

Previously, Miles served as Director and Global Lead for Solutions at Google Cloud. He founded the Google Cloud’s Solutions Architecture practice, launched hundreds of solutions, built Style-Detection and Hummus AI APIs, built CloudHero, designed the pricing and TCO calculators, and helped thousands of customers like Twitter who migrated the world’s largest Hadoop cluster to public cloud and Audi USA who re-platformed to k8s before it was out of alpha, and helped Banco Itau design the intercloud architecture for the bank of the future. 

Before Google, Miles helped build the AWS Solutions Architecture team. He wrote the first AWS Well-Architected framework, proposed Trusted Advisor and the Snowmobile, invented GameDay, worked as a core part of the Obama for America 2012 “tech” team, helped NASA stream the Curiosity Mars Rover landing, and rebooted Skype in a pinch. 

Earning his Bachelor of Science in Rhetoric and Media Studies from Willamette University, Miles is a three-time technology startup entrepreneur who also plays a mean electric sousaphone.

SADA, An Insight company, is a global cloud consulting and professional services market leader providing solutions powered by Google Cloud. Since 2000, SADA has helped organizations in healthcare, media, entertainment, retail, manufacturing, and the public sector solve their most complex digital transformation challenges. 

SADA has offices in North America, India, the UK, and Armenia, providing sales, customer support, and professional services. In addition to being Google’s leading partner for generative AI solutions, SADA’s expertise includes Infrastructure Modernization, Cloud Security, and Data Analytics. 

A 7x Google Cloud Partner of the Year award winner with 10 Google Cloud Specializations, SADA was recognized as a Niche Player in the 2023 Gartner® Magic QuadrantTM for Public Cloud IT Transformation Services. SADA has been named to Inc. Magazine’s Best Workplaces four years in a row.

In 2021, SADA announced the opening of a Global Delivery Center (GDC) in Yerevan, Armenia. The initial goal of the SADA GDC in Armenia is twofold: to provide additional delivery and support services to companies around the world that are adopting Google Cloud and to develop the technical capabilities of aspiring IT workers in a rapidly growing region becoming a popular European technology hub.

Davit Mamyan