In any industry, the companies that succeed are led by gifted individuals. Sometimes it is a transcendent talent, but more often than not, it is a seasoned veteran, somebody skilled in many areas, with the ability to give oversight. Under strong leadership companies are able to flourish and innovate, incorporating new ideas while staying true to their core values.
One such leader is Ajay Chhabria, currently employed at Oracle as a Principal Product Manager, who specializes in Kubernetes and containers. Hailing from India, Chhabria received his Masters in Computer Networks from Northeastern University and has continued his education through Stanford’s Continuing Studies program. His well rounded background has allowed him to expertly guide Oracle Cloud Services from “Niche Players” to “Challengers” on Gartner’s Magic Quadrant. Less fantastical than it sounds, the Magic Quadrant is a visual tool that helps businesses understand how technology providers compare to each other in a specific market.
What the product manager brings to the table is experience. Having spent years in technical roles, Chhabria believes “I gained invaluable hands-on experience with the latest technologies, tools and practices.” He has worked in a variety of different roles throughout a myriad of industries, and uses this experience to help him guide solutions.
“Having a diverse working background allows me to view problems from all angles,” he states. This is especially important in tech industries as people focus on what is happening internally and lose sight of the consumers and markets. Understanding market trends and customers needs has led to Chhabria being able to “identify gaps and opportunities for improvement.”
Upon arriving at Oracle, the Indian born product manager was tasked with improving OKE (Oracle Kubernetes Engine) and moving the company up towards the Microsoft Cloud services segment of the Magic Quadrant. His first step? Go right to the high value customers and ask their opinion. “I collaborated closely with the high-value customers building features that directly addressed their feedback.” This in turn demonstrated the company’s business value and provided marquee success stories to build on.
Chhabria continued to push innovation by improving integration with AI leaders Nvidia. This integration helped to simplify GPU workloads on Kubernetes and helped to “attract AI/ML and cloud native customers.” This has helped to validate OKE and make it a bigger player in what is a rapidly emerging industry.
So what has Chhabria’s leadership meant for Oracle in the competitive field of Managed Kubernetes Services? Well for one it has firmly entered them into the conversation as a strong force in the industry. They provide a more economic approach and allow for flexibility for their clients to scale according to their needs. Furthermore, Oracle believes in having access worldwide without a price bump. This has differentiated them from most cloud service providers and has helped to boost them to new heights.
Ajay Chhabria’s diverse background has given him a unique perspective and ability to problem solve. “I am lucky that I have a rich tapestry of insights that have helped fuel creative solutions.” This has allowed him to lead efficiently and push Oracle to new levels. His dedication to continued learning signals to those working with him that he is willing to go the extra mile.
It is under these leaders that success is born. Dedicated individuals who have spent their lives constantly improving. Ajay Chhabria is one of these individuals, who is constantly evolving and elevating those around him. His time at Oracle helping them to improve their Managed Kubernetes Services has put the company firmly in the “Challengers” category of Gartner’s Magic Quadrant. Despite his storied career, it feels as if Chhabria is just getting started, shaping the future of Cloud Services and leading from the front.
