Cloud, Complexity and What’s Coming Next

The Channel Chat Episode 6: Cloud, Complexity and What’s Coming Next

AI is accelerating. Cloud costs are climbing. VMware disruption continues to reshape infrastructure strategies. For IT leaders, the challenge is no longer choosing a cloud. It’s deciding where every workload belongs.

In this episode of The Channel Chat, Aptum’s Global Channel Chief Vicki Patten is joined by Aptum CEO Jeremy Pease for his first live conversation with the partner community. Together, they explore the market forces driving infrastructure decisions in 2026 and why a hybrid, application-first approach is becoming the new standard for modern IT.

In this 30-minute session, they cover:

• The Five Cs shaping customer decisions today: Cost, Complexity, Compliance, Customer Service, and Consolidation
• Why AI success depends on building the right infrastructure foundation first
• How VMware and Broadcom changes are influencing virtualization and cloud strategies
• Why more organizations are re-evaluating public cloud costs and considering repatriation
• How application requirements should dictate infrastructure choices, not vendor preferences
• Why hybrid cloud gives organizations greater flexibility, visibility, and long-term control

This session is for channel partners, technology advisors, IT leaders, and CIOs looking to better understand today’s infrastructure landscape and have more strategic conversations around cloud modernization, AI readiness, and hybrid cloud.

Host: Vicki Patten
Global Channel Chief, Aptum

Guest: Jeremy Pease
Chief Executive Officer, Aptum

Related Content:

• Episode 1: Cloud Repatriation in Practice
• Episode 2: How Cloud Repatriation Leads to Workload Rebalancing
• Episode 3: Exploring Kubernetes and the Next Era of Hybrid Cloud
• Episode 4: Why Companies are Re-evaluating Their Cloud Strategies and How TAs Can Win
• Episode 5: Mid-Market Hybrid Cloud Reality Check