Ignition Venture Management today announced that Frank Artale has joined the firm as a general partner.  Artale has played a leadership role in the development of numerous technology startups as an executive, investor and advisor.  Artale brings more than 26 years of experience to Ignition with a deep expertise in cloud and virtualization software.

I spoke with Artale to find out more about what he will be doing at Ignition Venture, and I was fortunate to also be able to ask him even more questions about the cloud and virtualization markets.  

VMblog.com:  What will you be focusing on at Ignition Ventures?

Artale: I will be focused on software, primarily infrastructure, cloud, and virtualization, and making investment decisions as part of the Ignition Venture Partners IV fund, which is $400 million.  We work as a team so I'll also spend time on other areas of the portfolio where my industry relationships can add value. A few of our current cloud portfolio companies include Skytap and Azaleous.

VMblog.com:  What about the cloud industry interests you most?

Artale:  The thing I really like about the "cloud" is the opportunity to do things that just aren't possible in a siloed, on-premises only world.  Many people look at cloud computing as simply a way to reduce CAPEX and OPEX. While that's important, there is also a big picture that is much bigger. A key attribute of cloud computing is instantaneous and ubiquitous access to applications and data wherever a user or datacenter is connected.  This will be a strong driver of the creation of new applications and business models that are not possible using traditional techniques.

VMblog.com:  Now that virtualization has reached a mature stage in the market, where do you see the cloud market right now (as far as maturity) and in terms of risk and reward?

Artale:  Virtualization is mature and IT understands its benefits in all areas of the data center, and we are extremely early in cloud. The initial opportunities we see today that are most beneficial are how the cloud can be used to enable businesses of all sizes to leverage cloud-based infrastructure and services that are analogs of what on-premises services do today. The big rewards will come down the road when new solutions and models come into existence (for businesses of all sizes) that are cloud-only and utilize things like network effects and social mechanics in new ways.

VMblog.com:  What types of companies are you looking to invest in?

Artale:  I really like companies that build products and services that work with what customers have today and add value without requiring wholesale behavior or infrastructure changes. This allows new value to reveal itself to customers incrementally and the products become super sticky as a result.  I also like technology that builds on existing collections of processes or data that a company is already using and working with as opposed to requiring the end-user to do something completely different to realize the benefit(s).

VMblog.com:  What advice do you have for startup entrepreneurs just getting started in this space?

Artale:  My main advice is to think about things that are only possible because the implementation of the product is cloud-based and ground that idea/product against what you know customers are willing to adopt given the phase of cloud adoption we are in. It never helps to have in incredible product 10 years too early, and timing is a big part of success.

I'd like to thank Frank Artale for taking time out of his busy schedule to speak with me today about this latest news.  It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to ask him questions.