Stories of what worked and sometimes what did not, in the course of discovering, designing, developing and delivering software based solutions – as shared by practitioners who went through these situations.
Stories of what worked and sometimes what did not, in the course of discovering, designing, developing and delivering software based solutions – as shared by practitioners who went through these situations.
My guest today is Michael Ferranti, VP of Marketing at Unleash. In this conversation Michael recounts his journey from the banking sector to the tech world starting during the 2008 financial crisis.
He explains how the launch of Amazon's cloud services led him to join Rackspace, a leading hosting provider at the time.
Michael emphasizes the importance of culture in a company’s success and delves into his career in developer tools, touching upon the shifts in cloud computing, containerization, and microservices architecture, up to the current generative AI revolution.
He discusses the differences between building software for financial services and for developers, stressing the necessity of upskilling to maintain credible conversations with target audiences.
Key insights shared include best practices for feature management, emphasizing the importance of small batch sizes in DevOps, and the critical need for empathy and strong mission alignment in work culture.
Michael concludes with career advice for those looking to enter or advance in software marketing, highlighting the importance of curiosity and adaptability in the fast-evolving tech landscape.
00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:09 Michael's Journey into Tech
01:29 Early Career at Rackspace
03:28 Transition to Developer Tools
04:31 Differences Between BFSI and Developer Domains
05:42 Understanding Developer Needs
10:04 Feature Management and Testing in Production
13:10 Balancing Technical and Business Requirements
29:30 Building a Strong Company Culture
34:45 Staying Updated with Industry Trends
38:17 Career Tips for Aspiring Marketers
42:15 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ferrantim/
Michael Ferranti is a seasoned enterprise technologist and product strategist with deep experience in the developer tools and cloud-native ecosystems. Across companies like Portworx, Teleport, and now Unleash, Michael has consistently been at the forefront of how modern engineering teams build, release, and secure software at scale.
He’s led product and marketing teams through high-growth phases, acquisitions, and major category creation efforts—often sitting at the intersection of infrastructure innovation and developer experience. At Portworx, he helped define the Kubernetes-native storage and backup category. At Teleport, he worked on reimagining secure infrastructure access by replacing legacy VPNs and PAM tools with developer-first identity-based access. At Unleash, he’s helping redefine how teams manage feature delivery with open-source roots and enterprise-grade scale.
Michael speaks the language of engineering leaders because he’s worked side-by-side with them for over a decade. His approach to go-to-market is grounded in understanding real user workflows, developer psychology, and the shifting realities of enterprise architectures—from Kubernetes to DevSecOps to open-source adoption models.