Startups that envision future tech trends to follow and develop for tomorrow’s businesses might be wise to take note of the research conducted by the University of California at Berkeley.

The seven co-founders of Databricks Inc. have been previously researchers at school, motivated by a common mission to find value inside data. The group created Apache Spark, built a new company based on a unified platform for data and AI, guided Databricks to a valuation of $ 28 billion and is now positioned for an impending IPO.

The CEO of the company – Ali Ghodsi – has maintained ties with Berkeley, and two of Databricks’ co-founders recently released a research paper which highlighted the concept of sky computing as the next chapter of the cloud. The core concept behind sky computing is that the resources of multiple cloud providers can be leveraged to create large-scale distributed infrastructures.

“There is the cloud and then there is the sky above,” Ghodsi said. “That’s what multicloud is. I think you’re going to see a lot more innovation at sky level than at computational level.

Ghodsi spoke with Jean Furrier, co-host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s live streaming studio, during the opening session of AWS Startup Showcase: The Next Big Things in AI, Security, and Life Sciences. He was joined by co-hosts Dave Vellante and Nathalie Erlich, and they also questioned Jeff Barr, Vice President and Chief Evangelist at Amazon Web Services Inc., and S. Somasegar, Managing Director of Madrona Venture Group. The main discussion focused on future trends in cloud computing, data management and enterprise security. (* Disclosure below.)

Architect of the future

In the short term, Databricks is working with its clients to navigate the choices between cloud, edge, and on-premises compute platforms. The firm’s approach revolves around its “Architecture of the lake house”, which is designed to apply machine learning and data science to massive amounts of enterprise data and gain valuable business insights.

“This Lakehouse paradigm is a cloud native way to organize your data. It’s different from what you had on site, ”Ghodsi explained. “Don’t just emulate what you had on-premises in the cloud; the architect for the future. In the cloud, you can try before you buy.

This same philosophy of experimentation and innovation has guided AWS and the public cloud giant’s approach to solving customer challenges. Wednesday, the company general availability announced from AWS Wavelength on the Vodafone 4G / 5G network, which is designed to enable developers to build ultra-low latency applications for mobile devices across the UK.

It’s a builder culture, according to AWS Barr, similar to the experience when venturing into a home improvement store.

“I just let my creativity run wild,” Barr said. “If I had these different pieces, what could I build with them?” I suspect our clients are in the same vein. It’s about putting the power in the hands of customers.

Decipher the company’s code

The challenge for start-ups is to find a way to create technology that will open doors for business and propel growth.

Decision-making in the enterprise has become decentralized, with developers increasingly center of the work flow. Startups need to understand this, Somasegar says, and create a product that’s easy to use, where self-service really works.

“Think about what businesses want today,” Somasegar said. “The bottom line that concerns most businesses is how to engage and sell with customers and how to do it in the most optimal way. Stop thinking about technology and start thinking about a customer problem that you want to help solve.

The Somasegar point was also taken up by Ghodsi. Databricks is already considering the innovation it can create on its platform, taking into account customer needs based on cloud tools that are now an integral part of the business.

“How do I get multicloud disaster recovery?” Ghodsi asked. “How can you apply machine learning to machine learning? There are a lot of innovations out there that we haven’t announced yet.

Stay tuned for a full video interview, and be sure to check out more of the SiliconANGLE and theCUBE coverage of the AWS Startup Showcase: The Next Big Things in AI, Security, and Life Sciences (* Disclosure: Amazon Web Services Inc. sponsored this segment of CUBE. Neither AWS nor other sponsors have editorial control over the content of CUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE