By Murilo Cunha, Bart Smeets
🎙️ New DataTopics podcast episode! Listen to it here
Welcome to the cozy corner of the tech world where ones and zeros mingle with casual chit-chat. Datatopics Unplugged is your go-to spot for relaxed discussions around tech, news, data, and society.
In this episode, we’re joined by a special guest: Alex Gallego, founder and CEO of Red Panda. Together, we dive deep into building data-intensive applications, the evolution of streaming technologies, and balancing high throughput and low latency demands.
Key topics covered:
- What is Red Panda and why it matters: Red Panda’s mission to redefine data streaming while being the fastest Kafka-compatible option on the market.
- Batch vs. streaming data: An accessible guide to understanding the classic debate and how the tech landscape is shifting towards unified data frameworks.
- Scaling at speed: The challenges and innovations driving Red Panda’s performance optimizations, from zero-copy architecture to storage engines.
- AI, ML, and streaming data integration: How Red Panda empowers real-time machine learning and AI-powered workloads with ease.
- Open source vs. enterprise models: Navigating licensing challenges and balancing business goals in the hybrid cloud era.
- Leadership and career shifts: Alex’s reflections on moving from technical lead to CEO, blending engineering know-how with company vision.