Wasabi Program Manager Vivian Thompson: Why Wasabi is More than a Product

Our #WhyWasabi series highlights different members of the Wasabi team to get to know more about them, what they do, and how they are helping Wasabi transform the cloud storage industry. Next up is Vivian Thompson, Wasabi’s Senior Technical Program Manager. She works with the engineering team on internal and client-facing projects, helping to keep the teams organized and meeting deadlines. The Bucket editorial team sat down with Vivian to chat about her Wasabi journey and her experience working closely with the Wasabi product.

Q. Tell us about yourself and your role at Wasabi.

A. As a program manager for almost 10 years, I have a natural talent for organizing events, special occasions, personal projects, and more. Working at Wasabi has been an important challenge for me for multiple reasons, but I will name two. First, it is my first job in the US! Second, this is the first time I am working on the product side of a company. Adapting to a different culture and way of working while understanding a product from a different perspective has presented many learning opportunities. I work with cross-functional teams that have different expertise and focus. People live in different time zones, come from different cultures, and have a variety of different backgrounds. I learn something new from my colleagues every day; the Wasabi team is very well-rounded and has many different types of people working towards a common goal: store all the world’s data!

Q. What were you doing before joining Wasabi?

A. I was working with a Colombian consulting company that builds apps and websites, with clients across the U.S., specifically in the FinTech industry and media industry.

Q. Why did you join Wasabi? What do you think Wasabi is offering to cloud storage customers that isn’t already out there?

A. After working in consulting, I wanted to learn more about the product side specifically. Wasabi caught my attention as an up-and-coming leader that was innovating in the cloud storage industry, with a repertoire of 10.000+ clients across the world and a very interesting list of partners (The Red Sox, wow!). I was incredibly excited when I was offered the position.

Wasabi doesn’t make customers jump through hoops with complex tiered pricing. Our easy-to-understand platform of no egress charges and no API request charges is incredibly attractive for our clients and keeps things simple. Everyone likes simplicity. Also, the ‘bottomless’ video storage service is really cool and paramount for the surveillance industry. Who wouldn’t like bottomless anything?

Q. You grew up in Colombia. How did your upbringing prepare you for life and work in the States?

A. Even though I am from Colombia, I’m familiar with the American culture from previous jobs. Most of my clients were American, and I had to interact with people from companies based in the US and Canada before. This made the transition from a job in Colombia to a job in the US easier, but I still became resourceful and found solutions on my own very early on in my career. I’ve learned that no one is expecting me to have all the answers, and that feeling comfortable with asking questions and trusting and relying on the team and the people I work with is a strength.

Q. Tell us more about your team and the engineering team at large at Wasabi?

A. I have worked closely with a few teams, and I’m impressed by the level of commitment and teamwork I have seen from them. Of course, the team is driven when we are aiming to complete projects or big milestones, but what is even more impressive is our day-to-day commitment to this company and our goal. I have learned so much from my colleagues; everyone is constantly brainstorming about new technologies and solutions, enhancing features that can be improved, and bringing laser focus when we want to achieve a goal.

Q: What are three words you would use to describe your team?

A. Committed, Focused, Collaborative.

Q. What about the future and growth of Wasabi in the cloud industry excites you the most?

A. Wasabi is growing rapidly and will continue to evolve exponentially. There are so many opportunities in this industry as companies continue to scale and look for high-performing, cost-effective, and secure storage solutions. Aside from cloud storage adoption, sustainability and energy-efficient solutions are becoming more and more important by the day. Cloud storage companies, including Wasabi, are investing more and more in energy-efficient data centers to ensure the minimization of power consumption. The storage industry will see continued efforts to design and operate more energy-efficient data centers with a reduced carbon footprint, and Wasabi will continue to grow and innovate in this area.

Q. What should customers look forward to on the product side of Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage?

A. We are always looking to enhance our user experience, and we will continue to do so, so they can always expect our portal to continue to evolve based on their needs and to be easy to use. This will range from improving the look and feel to adding new features. Also, Trial users will have access to advanced features under their trial period; this also aims to improve our experience and allow users to be able to interact with our capabilities.

Follow and connect with Vivian on LinkedIn!