Abhishek Saxena, unSkript | KubeCon + CloudNativeCon NA 2022

This is Textron TV. Hey everyone, welcome back to Detroit for kubecon Club nativecon. We're getting to the end of our day one.

coverage today I'm happy to introduce it well for our audience a new company. and their CEO Abhishek sexina and it's a little cold here. I got to be honest with you see me rubbing my hands.

I apologize, but I don't think they turned the heat on on here and it's cold. It's something in the it's in the 40s outside here in Detroit, but it is almost November right? You would expect it to get colder.

Abhishek is the CEO of a company called unscript and we're gonna hear all about what that is and what they do and a little bit about objects like Abhishek welcome and thank you for being on. Thanks a lot. Let's hear let's start with your story not tell us a little bit about your background.

Yeah. Sure. So I'm coming in from sunny, California.

It's not as cold as it is out here right now. I've been there for about 20 years now leading technology, you know, I'd be companies and small companies. I was at Cisco for a long time doing infrastructure.

I was at a startup called Noah that built like the free Cloud virtualization Hardware. All right, and then after that I went to another startup called in CME that will be sdn platform of today. So that's my big company side of things and after that I decided to experiment a little bit and me and a friend co-founded my first startup called orcas that was in the cyber security space.

Back in 2017. And so, you know, we had a good run. We were Gartner pool vendor.

We got acquired by Austin based company called sale Point sure and from there actually started the story of unscript. So as we got acquired sales team was really excited and I was CTO Foreigner CTO over there. So what I saw was that, you know, the product is doing really well and we were having a lot of challenges on the operation side, right installing new customers trouble shooting incidents, you know, so we did a bunch of work around this we tried to write some Wiki's troubleshooting documents trouble shooting guides.

We try to automate wherever we could but what we realized was that at the end of the day, you know, More and more customers are getting installed and we were getting called vs. Engineers were getting called into these troubleshooting sessions. Right?

And this is really on a zoom or a slack a lot of people on there pressure from the management side. Hey, you know the app is down. What are we doing about it?

So that was really the starting point of unscript. S out here today and they have these things called Vicky's Confluence Google Docs notion all of these guys and what they do is they write these recipes really right? Something goes wrong.

Go. Look at these metrics go search these logs then log into this server run some more commands and then come to some conclusion and restart some service, right? And that's what is happening on a daily basis.

We try to put a lot of thought around how to best automate this and that's what unscript is about right not having to write these tips anymore, but have the system come up with them for you God. So that hence the name unscript hence, the name don't have to write. In fact, I love it.

It's a great story by the way, so This unscript so this has to be about a year old to you're not yeah, we are about 18 months in now, we're deployed at a lot of customers as well. The G8 very recently we came out of stealth about two months ago Okay, so we've been this is our big they don't party right got it. Yeah exactly.

I assume you well you obviously because you were in this the industry you knew the issues. And one thing I might you know, this is the first day we're doing interviews. It's third day of it but one thing that is like, you know very in my face and playing to see is that security has become very I'm a security person.

I've got 30 years in history. It does my heart good to see how important. Most companies here are you know, they're really getting serious about security security is becoming job wanted built into everything.

I'm wondering what do you hearing? And you know, you're here now you've been talking to people what he what are you hearing around this and so security is an interesting topic, you know, as obviously identity based security is the way to go up. We are moving away from firewall and out of that good stuff, right?

We're not all in an office anymore. Exactly and so in my previous startup we built what was like the cloud-based identity government system and so the idea over there is You know you wanted to adjust in time security like a lease privilege kind of thing. Right?

And so at unscript what we are doing is we basically separated the security of the user from the security of the automation. Right? And we use our back system to connect these two things.

And so what it gives you is a way where let's it today. What happens is something goes down. Now I call my devops guy he why because he has the credentials and he's the only one who can make that change, right?

So we are trying to change that so that now I get limited access to production right just that exact one command that I need. Right? And so I give this real small pinhole which is auditable and you know secure and all very good stuff.

It's almost like a play almost like zero trust right? You start you with zero. Yeah, and I give you not the keys to the house.

I give you just what you need. Yes, what you your job another sort of analogy. Heard for this type of offering it's like an old switchboard.

Back when we most people watching you don't remember sports, but you know what, so I have all my connections you make a call and you're calling that person. Well, then I connect you to that person. It's like a private connection.

Yeah. Yeah when you're done I disconnect you and you can't connect to that person so I connect you. Yeah, exactly but there's a certain extent we could do that with with permission.

Yes, right. This person needs this connect to that service resource. But only he doesn't need it forever exactly exactly for a little bit.

Yeah for this time period. Yeah, and after that I disconnect the switch for it. So I mean, it's an analogy obviously but yeah do models that I'm seeing one is the just in time one and the other is like the Federated identity right?

Where you log in all the way through to the end device. And so you are always auditable, right? So that gives like, you know, obviously for compliance use cases also, that becomes nice because I always know who login it's their credential it's never a bot credential right?

And then the Border engine come in when there's a just in time type for use case I get it I get it. With the Justice not just the time with the Federated the Federated like that. So that's something that's been around a while right heard about it for a long time.

In a world where we work from anywhere on anything. I'm on my tablet here, but I'll be on my phone in a little bit and I'll be back on my laptop later and on another left. Does the Federated identity model scaled or that does my identity follow me?

Or is it too tight into my device? It's a good question. You know, it's a problem that we are still grappling with.

Right, and you know, that's why vpns exist. Yeah. You know, I look at vpns and again, I'm in a security a long time.

The idea of so I'm I'm here in Detroit. I'm gonna dial back into my network and in Florida for us. via VPN and then go back out into the cloud just seems wasteful correct and I don't know.

I just I feel we're on the cusp of people saying you know, what if it doesn't make sense We're not gonna do it. We're gonna come up with better ways. It's a new this new ways.

We got to be able to work on anything from anywhere. It's got to be secure. I'm not gonna give anyone keys to the kingdom because they don't need it, you know.

So what I guess I'm saying is for me the Justin Time model. Is probably a better model. I think it just creates less complications That's true to an extent because when the Justin time goes away, there's some frustration that keeps yes, there is right and I think you got to measure the frustration level versus the security level.

Yeah, but it's an interesting conversation app. Now that's not to say that someone doesn't come across with something else better. Um, maybe unscript us right?

It's something you guys. Well, we're definitely seeing lot of now like passwordless Solutions coming up seeing that too. Um, that's definitely something that's coming a lot.

So let me ask you a question honestly between you and I don't they're not just you think will it be possible in my lifetime that we're gonna go password Blitz. I know for a fact that folks are trying for it. I know I understand where I said I get a great view our interview a lot of companies who raised a lot of money.

To lick this, you know figure it out. I just And every day I'm making more and more passwords my last pass password manager is is this one? I just you know, I begin to like think it will never really work.

Well, so if you look at like A modern workplace. Let's call it a modern workplace. Okay, most of the tools are fast delivered.

Yes, and you get access to them through like a single sign on. Yeah, something like that right two factor and all that and all that good stuff, right? So so we are kind of getting to an identity Centric world and now they're now password is just another mechanism of authentication.

Yeah, right. So it's a you know, it's a crossover process. Okay take time.

But I think it's headed in the right direction. It will take time too mature to a point where the big Enterprises can actually go fast. It will it will so what's new with unscript any new releases or news to share?

Absolutely. So yeah, we just came out of stealth a couple of months ago, right? We are releasing some new features we so we open sourced a bunch of our run books.

Oh you did. Yeah. And so we are on GitHub.

You can find our unbox open. You can try them out. There's a Docker version and then obviously there's a free trial, you know, which gives sandbox access so folks can play with it.

com and there's a little bit better there. Just one the repo is called awesome Cloud Ops automation. Okay, actually um, so now that you've been here as an exhibitor for unscript forget for kubecon as soon as I get up the UConn, Any Lessons Learned so far?

I know it's early in the week, but let's learn. It is a little early in the week. The lesson I learned is bring your hoodie.

Well, it is I'm sitting in my legs are cramping up. I'm freezing bring a hoodies a good give out for any vendors out there drink hoodies. But are you satisfied with the number of people with their level of knowledge?

Coupon is a great place, right? There's so many practitioners who come here and there's lots to learn lots of ideas to trade around. I've been walking floors today meeting people learning a lot of things.

So for sure, you know, it's a great place to come and grow yourself. Right? And I think the traffic is back this year.

You know, I was there in LA last year, but don't come early covid. Yeah this so I was in Valencia in Spain. for kubecon Europe May I think this is similar in size to that.

I think that about 6,000 people in Valencia. And I from what I've been told there's about 7,000 live here and about 7,000 online. So interesting yet, but I mean great to see that.

You know, people are back a lot of faces to meet in person, you know, because nothing replaces that you know talking face-to-face there is no wait. Sorry be with you 100% So if you're watching this come to the next few come Cube contract for people who didn't catch it. It's upscript is u p s it's a unscript so you and ever again, right?

But the important is it's okay. com. com.

Yeah. Excellent. Thank you so much.

Thank godulations. Look you've had a lot of success. I'm sure this will be great.

com with a K. We're live in Detroit where it's very cold. We'll be back.

I think we have one more interview to wrap up the day.