As the cloud networking experts, Aviatrix wants to elevate the work of cloud networking heroes who labor to keep networks secure, effective, and performant. We’re proud to highlight people who have taught themselves the necessary skills, designed and managed successful networks, and have the expertise to share, including several who joined Aviatrix in New York at the NASDAQ tower.

Our next hero spotlight is on Michael Clemmer, Senior Information Technology Architect. See our previous hero spotlights here.

Unconventional Beginnings

Michael’s cloud networking journey began somewhat unconventionally.

“Although it wasn’t my primary job, I got started in IT because they needed someone to fit under the raised floor in a Class 10 cleanroom, “he said. “I had the task of connecting several cryogenic sputtering deposition chambers to a token ring network. I worked for a semiconductor company in Florida when I turned 18 as a cleanroom protocol attendant. It just meant I made sure the cleanroom was within the approved limits of static and particle contamination.”

Michael’s opportunity came when the engineer struggled to run a cable under the floor. Michael asked if he could help. “By the end of the first week, I had asked so many questions that I understood how token ring worked better than the engineer,” he explained. “They offered me a job to maintain the network.”

Afterwards, Michael moved back to St. Louis to work for a large department store photography company: Sears. “I was tasked with maintaining the local corporate network (Novell Netware) as well as connecting over 3,000 locations,” he said. “The miles and miles of network cables overflowing out of cabinets in that data center still give me nightmares today.”

A Career of Changes

Over the course of his career, Michael has seen a massive amount of change. He names speed, security, and software-defined networking as three core aspects to change the most.

“I can remember managing hundreds of switches and routers over dial-up with no centralized management and limited security,” he said. “For a large part of my career, security and networking were two different things. Today they go hand in hand. You can’t talk about networking without security. Although it was fun back in the day to sniff packets in plain text.”

As for challenges, change and budgets are some of the most difficult aspects of his role. Moving a large corporation to the cloud is expensive, and comparing real costs of moving data in the cloud to hidden costs of that same data in a data center is difficult.

Over the next ten years, he hopes to see “network as a service,” on-demand routing, and connectivity that opens and closes as needed – securely. “AI will play a big role in NaaS,” he predicts.

The Network is the Cloud: The Foundation of Cloud Computing

When asked how he would define the concept of “the network is the cloud,” Michael offered an analogy:

“Everything has a foundation,” he said. “You can’t build a house starting with the roof. The network is the foundation of cloud computing. It is the core of the cloud. There is no cloud without connectivity. While the network is usually the first thing that gets blamed when things go wrong, its importance is sometimes overlooked.”

Outside of Work

Outside of work, Michael and his wife love to travel.

“Our kids are starting to leave the nest,” he explained. “For so many years every minute outside of work was dedicated to swim meets, Boy Scouts, bowling, and other sports. In 2020 we sold our house in Illinois and bought an RV. We traveled around a bit until we settled down in Central Florida. My wife and I met 26 years ago while working at Disney World. So, we came back here for now.”

They enjoy visiting the different theme parks or finding different local breweries around Florida. “We still have the RV and you might catch me working from the RV while in the Florida Keys or on some beach,” Michael said. “I promise I’m working.”

Curious about other cloud networking heroes like Michael?

• We’ll keep highlighting networking professionals on this blog.
• Learn more about the Cloud Networking Heroes program and apply on The Cloud Network Community.