and you're having human life sensing to devices in the sense. Good morning. We're setting up just a few minutes. I wanted to start by saying how excited I am to be here to be able to share our work at Intel on the areas of the SENS and autonomous machines and intelligent devices. We'll get started as soon as the slides come. Okay, so how are you? Good morning. I think we are here as an industry at the onset of a very exciting revolution which our late visionary leader Andy Grove might have called an inflection point. I want to share with you a particular aspect of that which is to add human life sensing to computers. We of course at Intel and worldwide among partners have been doing a lot of work to enhance computing technology and a lot of focus has been on processing, the processor, computing technologies. Just to put things in perspective, it's been about 40 years since the introduction of the first microprocessor and we've gone from literally a couple of thousands of transistors on a chip to more than 10 billion of them. It's an enormous scale as the technology has improved allowing us to do amazing stuff in terms of computing. Form factors, things have gone from roomful of computing devices to devices in your pocket. But today I'm going to talk about the other aspect of it, being able to add sensing capabilities so the devices can see and the devices can understand. And I want to first start by looking at the examples of applications that are here and now and then give you a glimpse of what's ahead of us in the future. These are a few examples of a bit of devices that are shipping now. I'm proud to say that all of them have Intel Welsons technology and getting ahead of myself and telling you about what the technology is. But since I have a short time here, I'm going to just quickly go through these applications and then come back to the applications later. I'm going to go into a few categories there in a little bit of time I can tell you about. First is this area of 3D sensing computing devices. And I picked three devices there. Up on the top is Razer, Stargazer, Peripheral. It's a small little peripheral that can connect with your Windows PCs to the device from 3D systems for a handheld 3D scanning device that also connects with your PC and allows you to read 3D model of physical objects and you can print out on a printer. And the device on the bottom is one of many millions that you've shipped over the last couple of years with depth sensing technology built inside the PCs. This one is from HP and allows you to scan humans into 3D models so you can post them on Facebook or interface with the devices with gestures, login with technologies like Microsoft Windows Hello, which could not have been possible with just 2D cameras. I think it's going to flicker a little bit, so it's just a very good technology. It's still allowed us to tell the story. The second category we're going to talk about are reading this exciting area of autonomous machines. We have been dreaming about this for decades, but those of us that have dedicated our work in developing machines that have the intelligence and capabilities to navigate, understand the world. I've showed a few devices there, drones and robots. I'll talk about them, so they're with me. And the third category I'm going to talk about is this emerging yet very exciting area of virtual, augmented and virtual reality devices. And I'll tell you where I'm going to use them sometimes. Last, but not the least, I promise, I'll show you the glimpse of how your mirrors are going to be. And again, devices that are already in the market and something of that kind. Mirror's department have to be just a pure, dumb device that reflects light, but we can put smarts into them. I'll show you an example of that. Okay, with that, let me just step back and share just one slide that inspired us this work. And when you think of Intel, you probably think of microcosters. But we've been working on this for almost half a decade. And it's a pretty significant new product development and business evening now. And this is the slide that we put together at the beginning of this project that inspired us. What makes us the humans? We have some amazing sensors. These are perceptual sensors, eyes that allow us to not just collect photons from the environment, but reconstruct the world in 3D. To me, you are just what the light is conveying information. Getting emitted from there, getting reflected from your faces, chairs and floors. My visual system is capturing that light so that's the sensor part. But then I'm doing a whole bunch of stuff with that information. I'm actually understanding running some software in my visual cortex to recognize and understand the environment. I see you as humans, not just a collection of 3D objects. And then I'm using the data to interact. Walking around, not falling down from here. I'm saying hello, Rabu. That's part of interaction as well. So as engineers, we'd like to then decipher that into steps that we understand and we can attempt to build. Sensors, so we focused a lot on really understanding the electro-optics and the mechanics of the 3D visual sensing subsystem of humans. Those of your 3D visual system, consisting of the two eyes and the visual cortex at the brain. It's really a collection of electro-optics and processing technologies that are optimized for the function. And then in the speed of going fast, we're able to type into this, but also vestibular motion sensing that you have close to your inner ear. Those are prematurely perpendicular range that have filled with fluids. And as you move in one direction, it senses you six degrees of freedom of motion information. We're really using the data from all of these perceptual sensors as we navigate, understand the world. And if we understand the world, then we could potentially build devices that do the same. We're working around machine learning and artificial intelligence with the developments in sensors and computing technologies combined with neural network-based deep understanding technologies is what's now making this possible. So just bear with me as I take it through a very rapid journey of how all of this is coming together in bringing about this revolution. Translating those into technologies, we're building the real-sense technology to actually define two or few things. One, capture the world in 3D. You're all familiar with this color picture that I showed in the middle, which is the picture of a human hand. It's captured with the real-sense imaging device. But what's linked to the real-sense camera versus the phone or a webcam or your PC is that it also captures a depth image corresponding to the color image. So all the depth images for those of you who are not in 3D computer vision, although it looks like a basic picture, every pixel on the picture, it's an 8-bit picture, so values range from 0 to 25. That's an indication of where in space that point is. So now you not only know the color of every point that you're looking at, you also know where in the 3D space that point is. That's the fundamental building block of our visual system. When I'm looking at you at the room, obviously everything is colorful. So I've got color sensors, the cones and the eyes. But the stereoscopic vision plus the processor in my visual cortex that does very low-power, efficient calculation of binocular disparity, and hence calculates the 3D coordinates of every point I see, allows me to understand the world in 3D. So I know exactly where what point is that allows me to deconstruct. Also, motion sensor. When I'm going fast, it's a very critical part of the sensing system, subsystems of humans. So the goal for us, again, the engineering view of real sense, this is actually counter-real sense, is that we need to be able to see with this device a solid reconstruction of the 3D wall. That means I want to know the 3D structure real-time, just like humans do. And obviously I stick the color there. We also have the color picture, the texture map, the color of every point. So we see the wall in 3D, in color, like humans do. So I just wanted to show you an image of how to capture the real sense camera. So one of these real-sense devices. We have a bit of these sensors that I show on the left. Three generations have shipped in the market. We've shipped a few billions of them. But just to give you a sense of how big they are, or small they are, the first one that you see up on the top is the real-sense SR300 camera. We started with the F200. We replaced that with a better device, SR300. Don't have a lot of time. It's a beautiful technology. But in short, it includes, it's based on coded light technology. So we actually project invisible binary codes, special temporal codes of infrared light. It has the world's tiniest MEMS projector that has 307,000 meters of them. And we can clip one of them, each one of them, thousands of times per second. And then we have an IR camera that you can take pictures of that, of the special temporal code at 600 frames per second. Result? With a processor that's built right inside the sensor, we can capture 18 million 3D points per second. So if you just compare that with other 3D sensors, the visual sensors that are in the market, this is generations ahead in terms of what it can do into the fault factor, 100 times smaller than the first Kinect product that you might be having. A single USB device that it can connect, provide power and move data. This has been built into PCs and those kind of devices that I showed you. In the middle is the real-sense LR200 camera. We've done two IR sensors with a laser projector coupled with a diffuser.  And we have a very low power stereo correlation chip that's right inside here that does low power 3D point calculations. It's going to be very fast, but I have a short plan. The one at the bottom, but the one in the middle will put on drones. I'm going to show you examples of this. The one at the bottom includes a 3D motion sensors as well and a fisheye camera for a wide field of view motion tracking. This is what is ideal for robotics. So we'll get these hardware devices. For the system makers, they'll buy these modules and put it inside.  So you connect with your PC or any embedded computer board to develop applications. So for you also have a bunch of software libraries that you build to take full advantage of the 3D data that some of them are shown on the right on your right, on my left. And some libraries, for example, are full 3D hand-scaled on tracking, real-time. So you know exactly what I'm doing with my fingers if you're developing and just an interactive application to facial feature and a motion recognition library to full body tracking for robots, to video conferencing with background segmentation. You could be at a bar, but if you have a 3D sensor, you could be having your office picture as a background, green screen effect. To full 3D reconstruction, the picture in the middle is a 3D constructed version of our CEO. To jump to the bottom right, a full 3D understanding and bearing me on that, I'm going to explain to you what that does. So I'm going to just quickly go through a few applications that we have partnered with the industry to take full advantage of this 3D-sensing technology. Virtual reality. Any of you have a virtual reality device you've tried on? Very few for the rest, you have to. It's quite amazing how this is shaping up. You talk about screens, and you're going from the small screen to bigger screen to curved screens by bother when you can be inside the content or with your hands at arm. It's quite amazing for the gamers for people who like to watch videos. What is this screenshot? Anybody watch the movie metrics? Who has not watched? Most of you have. So I go with both of you, and he asks, so what is real? He goes on, how do you define real? We like that, we're engineers. So here is his definition. If you're talking about what you can feel, smell, taste and see, then nearly simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain. So that's kind of profound for us. Because if that's what is real, to me what's now real is the light reflected from your faces being interpreted by me with electrical signals in my visual cortex, then I should be able to engineer this experience. I should be able to create sensations and signals in my cortex that fool me to be leaving something to reveal when it is not. That's really the premise of actual reality. So to prove to you that it's possible, I brought my friend for those of you that have listened to my presentations before you might have seen it, VL Frog. Not very much so. I hope the sound is on, it's enjoying our friend. Can you hear the sound? So I get an idea, so I want to make sure that you hear the scream from the guys when the frog bit his finger. Because I want to show you that it's VL Frog. So why is this relevant to VL? Well, we were pulling the frog there. And to be leaving that is surrounded by insects. I don't have a lot of time, but I have a lot of proof that it's not just frogs, we can fool ourselves. I left out those slides, but we could really fool your visual and auditory sensory system into thinking something exists when it doesn't. And that's what we VR engineers are tapping into. But in the short time I have, I wanted to show you something very specific in the VR. VR is already exciting. It's going to change a lot of things. Gaming experience, India consumption experience is going to change virtual tourism or being able to put a headset on and go about watching your own things that you could not have done before. But we essentially are a project alloy in a sense. We are building as Intel a complete new, much reality experience. And we focused on just enhancing the experience of VR. Number one we want it to be fully undetermined and unconnected. That means we want competing systems inside. We see class processor graphics and sensor accelerators on the device itself and showing you a blown up view of project alloy. Number two we put real sense technology for inside out tracking. For those of you that have played with VR you need to equip your room with tracking systems. We don't like that. We want to be able to just stand up and go on a walk and the device needs to be able to track by its sensors inside which real sense can allow. Next, we need to be able to just lift our hand and see our hand and manipulate things with our hand. When you have a VR headset on and you are reliant on using these very heavy controllers for every sort of manipulation and control, it breaks the realism. So that's been the focus for project alloy. We have just shown up the device. We announced that next year we'll bring it to market. So I'm going to show you just maybe one video of many demos that are quite awesome about how we can push the virtual reality experience and make it market reality. Those of us that have played with VR need to manipulate things with our hand. So I picked that example. It's quite powerful. So here we have the virtual world and metal plate and that's the real of the hand. I'm just manipulating a virtual object with my real hand or anything real for any object for that matter. So this combines the virtual world with the real one. And that's just one example. There are many other examples. The one lower right I'm going to show you. But that's a physical scan of a gigantic castle in Germany and I can put my project alloy headset on and I can walk around it and experience that castle as if I'm visiting that area. It's going to be a transformative experience. But let me move forward because there are quite a few areas I have to hit. Autonomous robots and drones. Anyone here flies drones? You guys work too hard. Well, millions of you do because drone marketing is over a few billion dollars operating. And the consistent feedback from consumer drone companies are drone users are they not safe to fly because when you're flying them you're constantly struggling to make sure of their controller trying to make sure it doesn't fly into the tree or doesn't fly into the building and it's very hard when the drone is so far. How far is it from the tree from the building? So you can fly to an open space and it limits the applications. Two areas like inspections. You would like the drone to automatically go and inspect create 3D models of bridges so you can inspect them later on to see where they're at and your roof. Why don't you have people to go and walk and break the tiles on your roof? Go to sit safely in front of your screen and see what the drone sees that's flying around without running into the roof, of course. So we have added real-time 3D visual sensing with real-sense to drones. And I want to show you one example. From our partners in Beijing Unique, they are one of the largest consumer drone companies. They are now shaping Typhoon H just selling like hot cake. They are already a very popular drone except the Typhoon H model includes real-sense for autonomous 3D reconstruction seen understanding in college and awareness technology. I'm showing a video of new drones. So essentially what you put low power 3D scene capture and with deep learning technologies being able to understand what the drone sees unitary transformed drones from what they are today to the drones that you want them to be. That's what we are doing for us. And quite a few other examples. Anybody who has stayed in the Cupertino's A-Loft hotel, or a number of other drones that are now deploying Samuel Robot to help deliver stuff to your room. And last time I was presenting there was a lady in the audience saying, yeah, I stayed at A-Loft hotel and yes, I did order to ask the front desk to deliver an air dryer and the robot showed up to deliver it. With real sense, it has the complete 3D map of the hotel and it can autonomously navigate and go around delivering things to your room. This is the signs of autonomous machines to come and help you in your daily lives. ASUS Robot that's a consumer robot. They show it off at Computex and I'm probably going to show you the video of it. That's ASUS Chairman Johnny Sheen on this week. But let me show you their office device. Zephyr and we managed to take some time out of the show to check out the uploads at ASUS headquarters where Chairman Johnny Sheen gave us a quick demo. You know obviously Zephyr can do a lot more than just introducing himself by using simple voice commands he's able to control home appliances cast media to the TV take photos play music on guns into it Ember is essentially an Android tablet on Windows it also features several sensors for object avoidance, while strong avoidance a depth camera for object recognition and a portal for future add-ons. So I get the idea. I'm going to do a quick experiment on bringing companion to your home that can auto-muscle navigate, communicate with you and make your life easy. The future smart homes you're starting to see the beginning of that. Minors, why should we leave that category out? You're spending time in front of it doing a lot of things here and you put on the suit to see how you look. So what is unique with this picture here is that it's not just a bare reflection it can actually change your thoughts and we have several of these in deployment already on the left I show MemoBe's memory mirror and literally a live sharp of a demo here digital memory a red swenor that then quickly flipping through a digital menu of other thoughts and getting a sense of how he's going to look wouldn't you love that to be able to quickly flip through hundreds of pieces of clothes and then finally deciding which one you really want to try? The feedback is from the shoppers. It's amazing. That's going to transform your experience in shopping. I'm going to show you this a demo from here of partners in San Francisco a company called Naked Labs and they're focusing on a mirror that can scan your body to a 3D shape with precise measurements and help focus allows you to track on a day to day basis how you're progressing and they want to interview you on TV so let me just show you that video can you please all of it you keep doing it and you see the changes and then you go back turning and you get things and you do that again you'll see things come to consumer homes that do not exist today only allow devices to see and understand so with that there's quite a few developers here I understand people who are leading the wave of building new type of systems but I did want to bring the glimpse of what to come so I'm going to show you for the next few minutes things that are not available yet but very soon in a few weeks to a month will be I'm going to show you the real estate camera that we just announced the next generation and there's a lot of feedback on 3D sensors I really want long range well you are seeing here our next generation which I'm clipping off the depth at 60 meters and I'm going to try to show you how it can deal with outward right sunlight and high contrast areas of black to get a good flip factor in depth map so you see another picture on the left and the corresponding depth picture on the right and let me just play this video so we're taking it on the right and it's creating a real time 3D map of everything that it sees around you can imagine what other applications you're going to bring the assets into there, what can you get from us? well, intel.com slash real sense the kits that you can get for developer purposes the cameras themselves packaged inside easy to use peripheral devices of course if you want high-volume modules or intervention we'll serve that to you as well but these are just developer kits this one includes the fisheye camera motion sensor this one includes a computer board running your robotics applications that's our next generation atom processor inside easy to use and we'll also now stay drone development kit I'll have something more to say about that and I'll have more to say about this as well this little device which I'm holding up here our CEO called it a developer dream because it includes a real sense camera a wide field of view fisheye camera a motion sensor a view plus an atom processor plus Wi-Fi and Bluetooth all inside this little device so take any dumb robot and program this in and put it on it and it becomes an autonomous machine and I'm going to show you an example of what you can do first of the two that I'm going to show you one is the drone kit excited as we are I have the $2,000 $1,500 consumer drones that you buy $1,000 commercial drones that are going about inspection work we also decided to make and sell a low cost, ready to fly developer drone so if you'd like to if you're a drone maker you might want to just buy the drone board that has the processing electronics and the vision kit which is the real sense cameras or if you're an application developer and rather not waste time building a drone you could buy this complete set from us ready to fly drone drone kit for your experience it's available in December so you could actually open for pre-order already on intel.com slash real sense ok this is what I'm showing finish my talk in the beginning I started with a with a grand slide claiming to slowly work towards human like sensing and understanding how far are you from that so here I show you what we captured in a building with a device like this again remember this has depth sensing, color sensing, motion sensing onboard processing and wireless connectivity all inside this device we're going to take it around in this room and we're going to look at where things are we're going to create a 3D map of the environment and I'm going to show you the top view of that which is in the computer it's called the 2D occupancy map pretty much like a layout of your room and then once we're also going to learn deep learning on it to recognize things I need to be able to say that's a chair that's a pillow, that's a bathroom that's a picture frame, that's a door and I need to be able to automatically label the room let me show you where are we with that technology so we are walking through as you can see on here on the right is the 2D occupancy map that pops down here in the layout that's being created from the data that has been captured I'm going to speed it up but here you see the coordinates 3D coordinates are exactly where those recognize points are it's creating a layout and it's marking things like pillows, bed, table I'm speeding it up now as the robot or a drone or EU with your phone with this real system inside it walked around your floor you have automatically created a full 3D map reconstructed model with full understanding of where is what guess what when you go to a new environment whether you just checked into your hotel room last night this is exactly what you do you open the door, you come in and you actually create a 3D reconstructed model you go check it out, I realize that's a window there's my bed, that's the TV set and that's the lamp, here is the switch you are creating 3D 3D model of the environment you cannot take it for granted but when you want to build something like that you realize how complex it is now you are talking about building sensor systems deep learning technology to be able to recognize what you see building a map why do you do that? because that's the foundation for autonomous machines robots, drones, 3D scanning devices that could be now built because what we have to delivery is a human-like perceptual system the brain and the sensor module of the autonomous machine interactive systems so with that I'd like to give an open invite to collaborate with us we, as Intel, are an open company we try by partnering with the ecosystem we build the technology, we partner in companies that build applications and systems we really work together broadly all of the things I have shown here are available to you either as developing kits or experimenting with them or if you want to go into high-quality business as low-cost products these are the links let's work together to lead the future faster thank you


Hey friends today, I am hanging out at the Grand Floridian the Christmas tree here actually came up last night So I immediately had a rush over here. I went to the world of this lodge and checked out their tree already So this is both in my favorite resorts during the holidays have their Christmas trees up. I'm so excited Let's go do this They have some beautiful lights and garland and a port-a-corsche. I absolutely love it here It's so elegant and even the Christmas decorations is elegant Can you hear the Christmas music? What do you even make it in yet? Oh, I'm getting so excited You can see the lights reflecting. Oh Wow, it's a beauty guys You got these two smaller trees right here and then the main attraction right in the middle of the lobby. I Love it so much. This is the small tree out front Then you got the big one in the middle and then another one right over here on this side So elegant I'm also gonna stop in the basin and see if they have any holiday soaps available And maybe look at some merchandise because you never know what you're gonna find here They even have another little baby tree right here next to the elevator Look at how it's like lined up perfectly with the big tree right in the middle That's cool. I Also believe that the ornaments at the Grand Floridian Christmas tree are like the most beautiful and probably the most mixed Like when it comes to a different variety, we have the 12 days of Christmas ornaments We've got the bird cages a lot of classic Christmas ornaments and even Stop looking at me swan And on top of that I see a little hidden Mickey here too I don't know if it's technically a hidden Mickey.  Those are two separate. Wow. That's really cool Hidden Mickey, but boy. Oh boy. Like I said This is uh, probably the best you're gonna get On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me A portrait in a pear tree On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me Two turtle doves and a portrait in a pear tree I can go all day, but I think I'll save you guys Five golden rings I also noticed that they have two more trees on the second level And then take a look at all the garland going all the way around the club level here It is beautiful And you can also appreciate the tree from like the different levels in here We can't get up to those top three levels, but we can go up to the one And normally I would take the elevator, but that staircase over there is so beautiful I always love this stairway at the Grand Floridian It's my favorite stairway of all Disney world, but add a little Christmas to it and uh, I just love it even more Look at that I always feel like I'm somebody important when I'm walking up and down these steps If you've ever been lucky enough to see Cinderella or Prince Charming actually coming down these steps That's what I mean. Like I feel like I'm somebody important But there it is Can you hear the music even You normally can't hear the music down the lobby right now because it's like very busy down there But if you like tuck to the side here, you can hear it a little bit better I tremendously will miss the Grand Floridian Orchestra here this year, but Don't worry in a couple of days a future vlog possibly We're gonna be seeing the Grand Floridian Orchestra. That makes me so happy But isn't it just a sight for sore eyes I'm so happy to see the Christmas trees and the garland and everything like that like normally Uh, I get excited about the holidays, but this year is a lot more different like We need Christmas more now than ever. I feel like And since we're on the second floor, we'll hit up the mercantile Look at all the holiday displays and then bounce over to basin and see if they have any holiday soap Look at Mickey in the window here. I like that little milk thing down there ice-cold milk for Santa That's really cool. I bet you that's for the gingerbread set, but wow, it's so festive in here too, isn't it? I love it They've got their own special decorations just for the mercantile in here and you know what? I think I'm gonna buy this Santa hat Sold oh I love it. I absolutely love it. This now this can't be my wintertime hack It's way too hot. There's no way I'd be able to wear this in the parks But when I visit the resorts and stuff like that, I'm all about it So now let's take a look inside basin white and maybe they got some holiday soaps and of course we're gonna wash our hands And here's all the holiday soaps. You know, it's funny. I didn't even break out my Halloween yet But I think I'm gonna have to pick one up. I don't know which one I should go with the mistletoe Or this one That's tough. I think I might just stick with the whole whole whole run Yeah, wait, wait. Oh, it tells me the different flavors. Hold on. Hold on So this one's like a forest cedar. This one is cinnamon. This one is an icy blend of citrus This one is a Sugar plum and this one is a refreshing meat refreshing mint Maybe this one that's the one Now that we discovered they're actually selling holiday soaps at basin Maybe we'll go down to the different gift shops and see if any chance they might have a gingerbread shingle for sale Like I know that they sell them sometimes And since they're not doing the gingerbread houses, it'd be good if you can just at least buy one Wait a second. That wasn't a swan. That was a geese And take a look at this little geese reed. And it's not even a little one That's like actually a very big wreath. My mom likes making wreaths. Oh, and I'm with my friend Hi, and she has a channel life with presley Yeah, normally they used to sell the gingerbread like the shingles inside sandy cove So we're just gonna take a peak. See maybe they're here Unfortunately, they're not going to be selling the shingles in sandy cove But they did say if they do end up selling them, it's going to be over at gas burrellas So that's good to know there's hope there is hope and speaking of gas burrellas They actually aren't doing any holiday things right now while they're doing Thanksgiving holiday stuff They have a cinnamon apple almond tart a pumpkin pie cake pie and a maple leaf cookie sandwich I'll duck into the enchanted rose just to see if they're actually going to be doing any holiday drinks But I highly doubt it only because they keep to the theming inside there But you never know I can see like a beast winter wintery like mixed cocktail. That would be really cool Oh now, this is fun. Look at right in the elevator. We're getting like a full scan of the tree Actually at the actual enchanted rose they're doing their seasonal Fashions and this is kind of like a holiday old fashion with a little cranberry twist So I'm excited to try that but other than that there are no special holiday drinks Here it is the seasonal old fashioned. It's a cranberry with widow Jane some brown sugar They don't actually tell you what it is It just tells you seasonal old fashion on the menu, but I'm excited to try it This is actually presley's first old fashioned So you got a fancy one to try Cheers All right, I'll go ahead It is a very good old fashioned it is 25 dollars though So you kind of have to put that in a price point comparison It's like a very good drink. So you're going to enjoy it. You know what I mean for 25 dollars That's what you're getting At the end it got super super delicious And I think it was because you had all of that like kind of like Orange peel and cranberries just resting at the bottom But the last couple sips That's where it was at and I'm gonna take this ice cube home And take it home with me Put it in your purse put it in your purse But now I think we're gonna move along. Yeah Enchanted rose was delicious the seasonal old fashion is a good touch I wish I came here and tried that for maybe halloween if they had a pumpkin old fashion that I missed I'm a little disappointed And we're gonna take the stairs so we can enjoy all the beautifulness Man, I just love it Isn't it like don't you feel important walking down these steps? Like you just feel like you belong Yes, the queen. Oh, look at that. Oh, I like that. You're doing a great job. Hello Normally this place would be so busy and the gingerbread house would be in the center And there'd be a line of people trying to get their shingles It definitely seems different, but like I feel like christmas trees are like a symbol of hope Like honestly, that's really sad because I've always appreciated christmas Like I said, but we definitely need christmas more this year than we probably ever had And that means a lot that we're actually getting some of it Even if it's not the whole shebang. It's just good to be able to sit back Relax and enjoy the tree Listen to the music This is good stuff Another really good thing about the lobby at the Grand Floridian is the mixture of different seating places So like you can have these fancy chairs right here Or you can actually sit down on a nice little couch. Look at this couch This is really classy stuff here folks And with that friends, I think we are done here today. I had so much fun We've now gotten the wilderness lodge done and the Grand Floridian So all we have to do is really check out Animal Kingdom Lodge when they put up their tree And the grandestino and we basically covered all of our favorite holiday resorts Anywho, I hope you enjoyed the video. I enjoyed making it. We'll see you next time. Bye But as I was leaving the Grand Floridian, look at the decorations for the shades of green This is amazing guys I'm gonna give you oh, you can see the lights from Magic Kingdom over there Yeah, over here watch. You'll see all the cadets once you get down here a little bit Isn't that pretty guys? I absolutely love it


Stephen, we can't hear you. You're muted. Congratulations to the U32 class of 2021. I'm Daniel Gripate, U32 Sprincl, and I want to welcome parents and everyone else who's joining or viewing our ceremony tonight. It has to be the largest crowd in Central Vermont in at least 15 months, and it is so wonderful to see you. So I want to take special notice of our location today. If you see on our press box or on our scoreboard, you are sitting around or inside of the Chaplain Topping Track in honor of two of our long-term teachers, one who is retiring this year and one who retired last. And so at this time, I would ask that you stand a fable for the singing of the National Anthem by Delaney Hill and Bethany Atwood. With broad stripes and bright stars. Delaney and Bethany, at this time I would like to welcome our Superintendent, Brian Olkowski to the podium to give a few remarks to tonight's graduates. Good evening, everyone. Before I begin, I just want to also let's give another round of applause for Delaney and Bethany. That was a beautiful introduction. Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge here tonight. We first of all have some of our esteemed Board of Education members here tonight. So I just wanted to extend my thanks for this work that we've had through this very challenging year. So up floor Diaz Smith, Scott Thompson, Kari Broadley, Jonathan Goddard. And I think I saw or heard that Vera Frazier was here as well, but I also wanted to acknowledge them and thank them for being here tonight. I would also like to thank Steven Dellinger-Pate, Principal of U32, and the amazing U32 administrative team, and the amazing teachers and staff for U32 here tonight. Thank you for your support throughout this year. I would also like to thank our parents and families because without you, these future graduates wouldn't be here tonight. So thank you for all of your hard work and dedication, not only this year, but throughout their entire lives. So thank you.   And I know it means even more to your teachers, administrators, aides, volunteers, and others who have watched your progress over these past years.  And I can assure you, class of 2021, this will be long be remembered for its adaptability and tenacity of this amazing class. I would like to open my official remarks this evening with a personal thank you and congratulations to your principal, Stephen Dellinger Pate, who also just happens to be Vermont's 2021 principal of the year. You do not earn that title, that kind of recognition, just sitting behind a desk. You earn it by being where you need to be and who you need to be whenever it is needed, whatever it happens to be in that moment. And if anyone embodies everything a principal is meant to be, an educator, a leader, a visionary, an advisor, and maybe most importantly, a friend, it is our very own Stephen Dellinger Pate. Thank you, Stephen, for guiding this school through so many changes and challenges over the past year, especially Act 77, Act 46, and what else? How about the most craziest challenging pandemic we've had in our lifetime? So thank you, Stephen, for your leadership. And to the class of 2021, it is my hope that U32 High School has prepared you for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. And let me assure you, there will be plenty of both.  As you leave here today, I hope you will keep doing your best work. I hope you will look to the future with confidence and anticipation. And I hope you will live every day of your life with a sense of gratitude and appreciation. Take the opportunities that come your way with confidence and face your challenges in the same way. You'll discover that both of them will give you opportunities to learn and grow. Offer your friendship to those who need a friend. Be kind and always be mindful of and open to people whose opinions, politics, beliefs, and values are different from your own. Through them, you'll learn many wonderful and profound life lessons. But most of all, be true to yourself. The road of life takes many twists and turns. Some you can prepare for. Others will take you by surprise. We know what we're talking about by surprise. But if you hold fast to your values and beliefs, you'll find not only that they'll carry you through the toughest of times, but when you look in the mirror, you'll like the person looking back at you. George Bernard Shaw, an Irish playwright and critic once wrote, The reasonable person adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable person persists in trying to adapt the world to themselves. Therefore, all progress depends on the on on the unreasonable person. Sometimes holding fast to our values and beliefs makes us seem a little unreasonable. But it is those moments that real life progress can be made. Finally, I would like to say that everybody here today, as well as to so many people who could not be here, first and foremost, I would like to thank our dedicated teachers and staff. They gave so much over this past year to get us to today. We couldn't have done it without their sacrifice and selfless dedication to each and every student here at U32. In every sense of the word, they are heroes. And you have been my heroes this year. And while I may not have said it enough, I certainly do mean it and will mean it to the last of my days. I would also like to thank to our school directors here today and not here today, businessmen and women who've offered their time and expertise to help you prepare for life after high school to our communities for supporting us year after year and especially to our parents who juggled jobs, postponed vocations, did the daily temperature checks, kept you safe and did whatever was asked of them to keep our schools open and running smoothly. You are the reason we were at only one of five school districts in Vermont to remain open for instruction this past year, and we are profoundly grateful. But my biggest thank goes to the class of 2021. Thank you for stepping up this past year. Thank you for taking care of your friends and taking care of each other. Thank you for making the best of one of the most difficult and challenging years in American history. And thank you for never giving up. If you bring that same determination and positivity with you into the world, I have no doubt whatsoever that you will succeed in all that you do. Have a great summer class of 2021 and congratulations. Thanks Brian. So when we began this year, I couldn't even imagine standing here before you without a mask at the largest gathering in 15 months. And this is a day that I'm proud to celebrate with you. There are countless people to thank for their work to get us and you, our graduates, this point in life. And I particularly want to thank the wonderful staff at U32 who have worked with this graduating class to help them reach this milestone. We have a bunch of them sitting here and a few that are interspersed throughout this hillside. And I just really appreciate all the work of this staff to make us to get us to this point. So as we began to experience a post COVID world here in Vermont, we should remember that we are privileged in many ways. Our community has done what is necessary to keep us safe and healthy this year. And I want to encourage each of our graduates to give back to that community that has supported you throughout your education. We want you to take the lessons learned in your time at U32 and continue to build communities that are kind, supportive and inclusive. I could not have ever imagined the challenges of this class faced and ultimately conquered. There are no doubts in my mind that the graduating class of 2021 is ready to fulfill the vision of U32. You have the passion, creativity and power to contribute to both our local and global communities. And as I stand at this podium now, I have new images of who you are and what you will become. You are going to be some of the most resilient graduates that U32 has ever produced. You are going to enter a world that is struggling right now with issues of race, poverty and disease and you are going to make a difference. I know that there is no challenge that you are not ready for because you have faced and conquered all the challenges that you have faced so far. I can think of no better group of students to send into the world right now to make a difference. Remember what you have learned during the last several years both in and out of the classroom. U32 and the Greater Central Vermont community has prepared you well for your next challenge. The entire faculty and staff of U32 is proud of you and we wish you the best as you embark on your next challenge. So congratulations to the graduating class of 2021 and at this time I would like to introduce our student speaker Nathaniel Allen Rice. Hi guys. You know I was originally going to bring my goats here but there's a strict anti-goat policy at school so no graduation goats unfortunately. What a year huh? Or what a weird couple of years I guess. Don't worry this isn't going to be like a really nice trying time speech.  I'm sure everyone won't remember our schooling fondly. Be completely honest I don't blame you. There are aspects that I remember and wish I did. Aspects that are cringy, sad or just terrible. Sorry about all that stuff in middle school by the way that was rough. But dudes we're missing out on something. When we cringe desperately and try to forget all like the bad stuff that's happened we're missing out on the good stuff too. Yes there was good stuff. I believe that good can be found everywhere no matter how bad the event itself. Let me give you some examples. The DC trip. I know everyone hated the bus rides to and back. Hot weather, the marching and the micro tv screens on the bus spouting Olivia Newton, John's incessant screeching at 1am. Do you guys remember the museums? You remember hanging out in the dorms or out in the city with your friends? Or maybe you remember the somber atmosphere of the holocaust museum and the countless memorials we visited? Or that hysterical show we watched where a certain student on the taller side was called Harry Potter by one of the classmates. You remember that Thompson? Or how about the spring days? Do you guys remember hanging out in the sunshine signing one of those year books? That's pretty nice. You remember the seventh grade when we made those goofy little books for the first graders and then had to read them to said first graders? Or the hunger mountain hike? Or I'll give you some more recent examples. How about the elation some of you felt when you got passing scores on your SATs? Or when you were accepted into your favorite college or second favorite college or third favorite college? Or school work? Yep, said it. You may remember being frustrated by homework that seemed impossible. But do you remember the teachers that helped you every step of the way? I know I do. And that stuff still sticks with me even after like a few years. Shout out to Carrie Wilson, by the way. Thanks for helping me with the algebra too. That stuff was largely impossible and it's still time to go. So thanks, Carrie. I know that school despite all the cringe, despite all the bad stuff, there's some good stuff all genuineness. A robotics class where we messed around with weird robot stuff. Biology where I explained in glorious detail the tyrannosaurs rise to conquest of Asia and North America in front of my mortified classmates. Or horticulture when Isaac and I tried in vain to maintain a bearable jungle of mustard greens and turnips that put the Amazon rainforest to shame. Or pilot where I turned out no shortage of man-sized catfish and woolly mammoths and giant horse-eating birds. Or being accepted into Norwich's biology program. Or writing for Ben Heintz and the Chronicle. You get the idea. So those are things that I remember and those are things that I'll keep with me. But what are your memories? What are the things you'll keep with you?  So remember this stuff. In our haste to forget the assorted miscellaneous cringe. Let's not forget these sort of cool stuff and good memories.  Don't forget the teachers who helped you every step of the way. Don't forget the people who said hi to you in the hallways. Heck, don't even forget the class work because all that stuff forged everyone here into the person they are now. Uh, one more thing. I'm gonna close off with a request that I wrote down in the yearbook. If by chance anyone's uh, puttering around here 20, 30 years from now, stop by. Name your visit. I'll be hanging out on my front lawn. One with the Tyrannosaurus skeleton out front. You'll recognize it in a heartbeat. Ignore the e-muse. T is at four. And don't bother knocking. It's been a pleasure working with all of you. Thanks a lot everyone. It made the force be with you. At this time I would like to ask Ruby Singer to join me up here on the stage or I guess at the podium to introduce our guest speaker for this evening. Good evening everybody. I'm here to introduce our guest speaker. This speaker came to you 32 six years ago just like the graduating class you see before you, which is why we are so happy to have her speak at the closing of this chapter of our lives. She is someone who has shown time and time again her love for this school through her bright spirit in and outside of the library. She's the smile that greets you at the door, the enthusiasm in your corner, and the good book in your hand. But what I love most about this speaker is her true passion for connecting to us students. So it is my pleasure to introduce to you our librarian, our speaker, and I'm happy to say our friend, Meg Allison. Greetings parents, family, and friends and congratulations to this radiant class of 2021. Thank you for giving me one of the greatest honors of my career to be your commencement speaker. I'm a flawed, profoundly imperfect, but humble and happy human being and I am delighted and only slightly terrified to be speaking to you tonight. And I'm really, really happy that you all returned your overdue library books or otherwise you wouldn't be sitting here at all. Good job on that. I have asked some of you what you want to hear from me tonight. Avery told me to be inspiring and Nora advised me to just be myself and speak from my heart. And at the end of the day, that's all I've really got my friends, my heart, and a library full of books that inspire us to grow into our better selves. So as Ruby was saying, many of you know I started U32 the same year as you in August of 2015. We kind of showed up here together. Many of you know me as your librarian. Some have known me as a coach, a few as a mentor, and a small special group has known me as LTA. But way before all of this, I was a children's librarian at the Calico Good Library in Montpelier. And it wasn't until our very first open house in the seventh grade that I realized that I knew many of you from my story times. But it wasn't because I recognized you. It was because I recognized your parents. Now your parents like me had gotten more wrinkles and more gray hair, but suddenly it all fell into place. I began to feel like I too belong here. And then I belong here. While these last 15 months have been tumultuous and unsettling, not just with the massive disruption of the pandemic, but also feeling that we as a people have become irreconcilably divided, that we can't trust our leaders, that our injustices of oppression of oppression seem insurmountable, or that world leaders have forsaken planet earth for the good of the few. So I'm going to offer you an antidote and a tool that you can use for wellness and wisdom for the rest of your lives. You can always travel back to a children's book. When you begin to lose your focus or sense of purpose with playfulness, read or listen to a children's book. I know some of you are looking at me like, come on man, we just graduated from high school. It's time to move on. But here's the thing. That's how you're going to tap into the magic. There'll always be Hogwarts, Narnia, Middle Earth, and no matter how fantastical the story, you can always find a thread of your story and someone else's story. And when you find that connection, well, that becomes the basis of our common humanity. It's really all that simple. Our stories and our willingness to listen to each other's stories is what matters, especially in a culture that is trying very hard to divide us and filter out others that don't think like us or who aren't like us at all. So there are three children's books that I'm going to draw upon for this celebratory occasion. Think of these as your final library lesson. It was hard to choose only three. Some of you will commiserate with me, only three books Meg. It's like when you come into the library and you ask me for one book recommendation and like 10 minutes later you're leaving with a stack. So I promise you this, the terrific class of 2021.  Lesson number one, it's from Harry Potter. Professor Dumbledore teaches us that it takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. Standing up to your friends can be tough. We are friends with people because we share connections, experience, laughter, and a special bond. We love our friends. I mean that's why we have them. So many of you have built such beautiful friendships with each other from the core to the boys, from friendships built as cast members and teammates. The truth is most of us just go along with things just to get along and not cause conflict. Love makes us inclined to just avoid conflict and the truth of things about those we love can be very hard to face. We have a tendency to withdraw rather than challenge those that are close to us. However Dumbledore knows that it's not always the best way to go about things. He is teaching us that our inner integrity is perhaps the most essential part of our core and that being honest with a friend is a lot of courage. If we are to succeed at being the best versions of ourselves, we have to learn how to lean into conflict with those closest to us and most especially when it means going against the status quo. Put your trust in Professor Dumbledore's wisdom. Help each other become accountable for the mistakes you've made. This is how we begin to heal and grow together stronger, individually, and collectively. Every single day ask yourselves, what am I willing to stand up for? Lesson number two is coming to you from Charlotte's Web by Hebe White. So to drive your memory, that's the story about the pig and the spider. You have been my friend, replied Charlotte. That in itself is a tremendous thing. After all, what's the life anyway?  What can we learn from Charlotte's Web? From the very first slide we know that things are not looking too good for Coral Wilbur. He's a pig and well that bacon in the cafeteria on bacon Friday, y'all love so much, has to come from somewhere. Of course, Pa is going off to the slot to slaughter the runs of the litter because as the mother puts it, he's very small and weak, and he'll never amount to anything. Well, Fern steps into the action declaring this the most terrible injustice that she's ever seen. And as children listening to the story, we not just feel Fern's desperation to save him, but we also feel Wilbur's despair. He just wants to live for the love of God. So an agreement is made for him to live on Zuckerman's farm, but only temporarily, his butchering date simply being put off until he fattens up. Well, struggling with loneliness and rejection, he just wants love. He wants a friend, but none of the other barn animals are interested. Then hanging just out of sight of the barn rafters is a common gray spider, and she offers to be his friend. And in doing so, she saves Wilbur not just from the axe, but from himself. She weaves proclamations about Wilbur into her webs. Some pig, terrific, radiant, humble.  And what did it take to change the force of his destiny? Charlotte sees him. He mattered to her. And then he starts to believe it too. Yet despite this tender friendship, in the end, Charlotte dies alone. Brutal, right? That's children's books for you. But it's so honest, isn't it? Charlotte's web is a story about the cycle of life by dealing directly with the reality of death. And in telling this story, Eby White imparts wisdom to us about how to create a meaningful life. What it teaches us is existential and that deep down in the mirror of our bones, we know that we are born, that we get to live a little, and then when our time comes, far, far off in the future, we die. What Charlotte teaches us is that the true path to our purpose and thus our happiness is in helping others and that the small act of showing up for someone can be a matter of literally life or death.  Some of you are here because your friends saw you and reached out when you were in despair. You are here. Thank God you are all here. The final lesson, number three, is from Where the Wild Things Are by Maura Sundack. And now, crybacks, let the wild rumpus start. Let the wild rumpus start and see. Let's whoop it up, my friends, whoop it up. See, my friends, right here, right now, this June feels so much more liberating and hopeful than last year's graduation when we were still in the great unknown with the pandemic and things were only projected to get worse and there was no vaccine in sight. And we were also experiencing a traumatic racial reckoning as a nation, with people taking to the streets by the million to demand police accountability. Things seemed as if they would not hold as a nation, as a community within our own hearts. And now, Vermont has achieved a feat no other state has done. More than 80% of us are vaccinated and everything seems to be opening up at last. And just yesterday, a new federal holiday was signed into law, making Juneteenth a national holiday commemorating the end of slavery and making new members of the painful past a shared experience. And there it can be so much to celebrate and look forward to. Things that we might once have taken for granted, we no longer do. So, members of the Humboldt Class of 2021, what Max teaches us is that there's always a little time to let loose, to go a little wild. And this is one of those times. It is time to celebrate all your accomplishments. But, before you start to party, do you remember how the book ends? So, yeah, Max has a little bit of fun. And then he returns home. Why does Max return home? After all, he was pretty pissed at his mother and stomped off to his room in a huff, only to be transported to a magical place where he can make a wild rumpus without a care in the world. Why leave that place of freedom and frolic? Why be tied down to places where there are expectations and rules? I think it's because after the rumpus was over, it was time to go home. And at home, that's where Max was loved, where his sufferer was waiting for him, where he still was. We are part of the universe, my friends, a part of something much bigger than all of this. Now is the time for you each to create something new, have thrilling adventures, and explore new lands, help others with less power than you along the way, and make space at the table for everyone to join in the feast. Learn that conflict helps us grow and lean into discomfort of not knowing all the answers because that's how we become wiser. From time to time, tap into that sense of childlike wonder that isn't all of you, but still within me, and take in the world not as bored tourists, but as wide-eyed wonder. Life is really one heck of a wild and precious ride. And always remember, home is where the heart is, no matter how big or grown you get. So please come back and visit every now and then. It'll be no problem at all to warm up your sufferers. So until we meet again, may you be happy, may you be healthy, may you experience joy, may you be free, may you be loved. And from the bottom of all of our hearts, congratulations to you, the terrific radiant humble class of 2021. Now let's get this wild rumpa started. All right, thank you Meg. At this time, we are going to present an award that is usually given at an awards night, but for this year, we've included it into our graduation ceremony. Also, please collect the will of everybody to keep the rain away for just a little bit longer for us. But we would like to present this award tonight because we had a virtual award ceremony for our seniors. And for this, I would like to invite Nick Holk with stuff to give our TA award. Hello everyone. I've been blessed with the most incredible group of TAs, and I'm immensely grateful to have had the opportunity to know each of them on a personal level. I feel especially lucky to get to know Aaron Levine. He's an inspiration to me. I could not be prouder of this young man. When I first got to know him in seventh grade, I never imagined that he would become the thoughtful, determined and academically proficient young man that I now know today. He has overcome many obstacles, both personal and academic, because of his determination to succeed. He never wanted any extra help and insisted that all of us help him to the highest of standards. I would like to thank his family, all of his teachers, coaches, and administrators who have helped support him over these last six years. Aaron, you have truly come a long way. Aaron, and thank you, Nick. At this time, I would like to invite Claudia Smith, our board chair, to present the Gahagan Award. And Luches, I am grateful to be able to share this ceremony with all of you as we all continue to rise through this global community of honor to be here and present the Gahagan Award. Here is a little history. The Gahagan Award was created in 2000 in honor of Jackie Gahagan, who was a teacher and an associate principal of U-32 from 1971, when the doors first opened until 2000. Jackie believed that this school called for all its students to be caring, involved people willing to contribute to the betterment of the school by supporting and reaching out to others. While developing their own personal sense of self, we present this award each year to that graduating senior who best exemplifies the true spirit of U-32. So each year, the actual Gahagan Award, a gift to the recipient varies, intended to be a very special gift that also recognizes the extraordinary talent at U-32. The award itself is a piece of art created by a U-32 student, artist, or a woodworker. This is an unusual year for the ArtStar U-32. We had many talented artists create beautiful artwork, often at means of responding to the difficulties of this year and challenging those problems with positive solutions and perseverance. Our country and our world face significant problems that we could only imagine coming to surface in your art. An unusual year called for an unusual process in selecting the Gahagan Award. In a normal year, we will select a senior artist to present their work to the recipient of your work. But what do you know when the recipient is one of those artists? As you can imagine, the overall artwork produced this year had themes of darkness, pain, and uphill. And while this winner of this award is known to work through all these barriers with strength and fortitude, we wanted to make sure the artwork chosen highlighted those characteristics. We chose to celebrate this student and the artist by reaching back to his own artwork created last year. Before the pandemic hit, as an artist, this senior is exuberant, experimental, and excited. In photography, he pushes his boundaries of portrait by balancing light and dark. His contagious personality helps push his fears to try new things. And his curiosity continues to challenge the curriculum at U32. It is our pleasure and my honor to award the 2000 Gahagan Award in behalf of the school board to Noah Francis McLean. Some individual comments about Noah from those who know him. Noah is funny, outgoing, personable, kind, honest, ethical, moral, hardworking, and responsible. He thinks about other people and generally cares for their well-being. Noah uses his engaging, magnetic personality to bring others in. Noah is a tireless worker, a student leader, a person who truly wraps himself within the values of U32 community. Noah is like the mayor of U32. Everyone knows him. You can find him socializing and chatting with anyone in and out of the building any time. He's inclusive of all groups. Noah challenged himself to take several AP-level courses this year. Ending with a 3.2 GPA did excellent work with everyone. Community-based learning internships in sports, broadcasting, and journalism. He was at four sport varsities in athlete soccer, basketball, track field, and baseball. Volunteer at U32 for many activities such as mentoring, meet your PA night, and that was a unified sports field coach. Noah was also a member of Seeking Social Justice and was on the youth committee. Noah was elected to represent U32 at the Vermont Student Athletic Leadership Conference and was an American Legion Boys State Program participant. When Noah McLean leaves U32, it will be a tremendous loss to our school and local community. Noah has a level of caring and compassion that you do not often see in high school AP students. And I can only hope that other students will follow his example. While many students gave recognition for what they do in the classroom or the field, and Noah is one of those students, is what he does outside those areas that set him apart. Finally, they see. Noah's PA says it best. And I quote, Noah is the type of human being that we should all aspire to be, one that cares without judgment or prerequisites. He is naturally motivated to do what is right and just. He wants everyone to feel good about themselves, care for, important. He shows this by never leaving anyone alone or regardless of their age group or social standing. He is someone I am proud to know and have my children know. When it comes down to what is really important, being kind, socially aware, compassionate, human being, Noah has it all. Noah McLean is an extraordinary student, one that represents us as a whole, as an artist, a learner, a spirit. Noah puts his whole heart in everything he does. We wish you the best of luck, have you head off to the University of Rhode Island, where you will be studying broadcasts in court. Congratulations Noah. And the recipient. Power through. At this time, I would like to invite Scott Thompson, WCUUSD School Board Member and Brian Olkowski, Superintendent to the stage. This year, Claire Obedoble and Mae Lam will read the names of the students receiving their diploma and joining them is the senior class advisor, Heather Clark Warner. We're going to hold off the rain. We're going to make it. Gerard Dunham. Carter Little. Cameron James McLeod. Jacob McCoy. Nathaniel Allen Rice. I'd like to welcome Teacher Advisor Beatrice David to the stage. Samantha Tracy Adams Green. T Abigail Lanson. Bruce Pandia. Liz Marko Van Houten Shackle. Boone Solven Kemple. Advisor Ann Decker to the stage. Leo James Chaffee. Ben Hawkins. Tyler Daniel Heading. Lillia Mae Lam. August Davis Thompson. I'd like to welcome Teacher Advisor Krista D to the stage. Lick D. Benedict. Please welcome School Board Chair Flor Diaz-Smith to the stage. I'd like to welcome Teacher Advisor Adam French to the stage. Yeah, Frenchie! Advisor Nick Holquist to Joseph Levine. Elizabeth Vivian Young. I'd like to welcome Teacher Advisor Nate Lovitz to the stage. T Vazauzaro. I'd like to welcome Teacher Advisor Christiana Martin to the stage. Lynn Marie Chevalier. Lucy Krokenberger. Jed Haywood Kurtz. Donovan Morris. John Torre. School Board member Tari Bradley to the stage. I'd like to welcome Teacher Advisor Amy Molina. Former Teacher Advisor Kenny Sack. Imperate Educator Laura Garan to the stage. Niels Jeffrey Young. I'd like to welcome Teacher Advisor Daisy Scarzello to the stage. Tini Kay Archer Atwood. And Kirby. This is Mom Megan McLean. Savannah Rae Premont. Christian John Streisberg. Sage Elizabeth Winner. Kristen Blumenfahl. I'd like to welcome Teacher Advisor Chris Williams to the stage. Caitlin Rose Dodge Prescott. Carmen Elizabeth Gallagher. Free Olivia Grandboy. All Lighty. Bee Winters.  And if I could have you rise. No, don't look at your envelopes now. Look at that in the car. It's raining. I just want you to know that it's there. Okay, so family, friends, everybody who's here. I present to you the graduating class from U32 of 2021.


From around the globe, it's theCUBE with digital coverage of VeeamOn 2020. Brought to you by Veeam. Hi everybody, this is Dave Vellante and you're watching theCUBE and our continuous coverage of VeeamOn 2020. It's the VeeamOnline version 2020. Of course, we've had a pivot to virtual, Bill Largen is here. He's the CEO of Veeam and Jim Kruger is the Chief Marketing Officer.  So thanks for coming on. Yeah, the next best thing. Thank you, Dave. Yeah, thank you, Dave. Glad to be here. Well, first of all, Bill, I got to congratulate you. It was the first time really we've talked, you know, blockbuster acquisition, inside capital growth minded, awesome, you know, private equity. So congratulations on the new role and, you know, best of luck. Hey, well, thanks very much. Greatly appreciated. I've been with the team since bounding in 2006. So it's a, well, it's a new role. It's a good older team that we're very experienced with. Yeah, indeed.  You know where to take the ship. So we wish you the best. And then Jim, I got to ask you, I mean, everybody says, okay, it was a really hard decision to go to the virtual. You actually had no choice, but maybe the harder decision was, do we postpone or do we go forward? You guys chose to go forward, which I think is the right call. And I'd also think it seems like you're taking the approach of, you know, we're not just going to try to plug the physical into the virtual. We're going to think about the halo effect and really keep this discussion going. But maybe your thoughts on that pivot to the virtual. Yeah, yeah. It didn't take us too long to decide. And we felt rather than postponing it and trying to do a large event before the end of the year, which was not really realistic. We decided to go with the virtual and actually just a month after for the most part after what the real event was supposed to happen in Las Vegas. And yeah, we're really looking at it from, you know, keeping the discussion going with our customers, keeping them updated. We're going to be highlighting some of the new releases that are going to be coming out, making some key announcements. And it actually gives us an opportunity to draw in more of the crowd from around the entire globe. I think we have 148 different countries that are represented. So, yeah, it's a, I think a new platform and I think it's working very well so far. So Bill, you know, you came into this role and immediately you're dealt with a pandemic. And I want to sort of talk a little bit about, you know, how you're dealing with that. And we'll get into maybe what you're seeing in your business. But, you know, in a way, there's a silver lining here because it really kind of forces change, changes you said in your keynote as a constant. But you know, you might have, you know the business obviously very well and you might have had some gut feels as to where you wanted to take it, but change is hard. But boy, everybody has to change now. So in a way, that's sort of an accelerant to change. But your thoughts, what was your first move out of coming into this pandemic? Yeah, coming into the pandemic, it was one of making sure we understood what the issues were, getting people home and in safe working environments. So our big move was that some of our team had a desktop so they did not have laptops, which made it a little more cumbersome multi-screen. So it's really a physical activity to have moved these people. So we moved our whole team 4,300, about 1,300 or so of those people our employees were already working out of their house. So the big move was, let's get them home, let's make sure they're efficient, good connectivity. And with that, we were off and running. I don't believe we missed much of a beat at all, considering we started this really mid-March, we were finishing our first quarter, which came out right about on plan, which we were really excited about. So that was the first move I would say we make. A few more to go, but the big first move. I want to share some data with you guys if you bring up that first slide. This is data from our data partner, ETR, every quarter we go out and we talk to customers. And this is a survey of over 1,200 end practitioners, buyers. And they're about 120 or so Veeam customers in there. What I'm showing here is data, the gray bar is data from a year ago, April 19 survey. The blue bar is January 2020 and the yellow bar is the April 20 survey that was taken right at the height of the lockdown. And what this is showing is customers that are spending more by the percentage of those customers that are doing business with Veeam. And you could see at the gray, it was 50% it dropped slightly to January. Now it's back up in the height of the lockdown. And so what you saw is that new adoptions and people spending more, i.e. more than 6% is actually up since the pandemic hit. And Jim, I, or a bill rather, let's start with you. I wonder if this is what you're seeing kind of in your businesses, a little bit of an uptick, not all businesses obviously are seeing that, but seems like yours is. Yeah, our April was up just amazingly so. And I think it allowed us to get the transition out of the way at the end of March while also closing the quarter. But yeah, we had a double-digit gain in April that was extremely nice way to start out the first month of the second quarter. So that's exactly what we're seeing, very positive activity. And you know, I think that if we talk about, Jim, some of the data that you showed in your keynote, you talked about some of the challenges that your data showed, you guys get this new survey and we'll talk about that, the data protection report. But what stood out was cyber threat, the number one challenge that came up. And I often say that the lines between security, cyber security and data protection and backup and recovery are really starting to blur. You guys aren't known as a cyber company, but increasingly people are thinking about data protection and backup and recovery as part of their overall cyber strategy. Yeah, yeah, I agree. And I think from our most recent release, version 10, we've built in some new capabilities around ransomware protection and cyber security. So yeah, I would say those lines are blurring, but we're definitely not a security company. Although, as you mentioned, a backup definitely provides that security and customers want to be able to do scans prior to putting things into production. And that's some of the new capabilities that we've provided in our latest version.  Later on we're interviewing Gil Vega, who's your newly minted CISO. And you're seeing that role expand. It's not just sort of off on the corner, okay, it's IT's problem or it's the security SecOps team's problem. It really is, the tongue in cheek is it's a team sport, but you really have to take a broader view of cyber, don't you? And especially Bill, given something that you shared in your keynote talk, you shared some IDC data, a 5x increase in Zettabytes over a seven year period, I think 33 in 2018, up to 175 in 2025. And I've taken bets that IDC is probably low in that number. Yeah, yeah, probably low. Well, that's what we're seeing. You brought up a good point. It's Veeam's evolution into a much larger entity and protecting many more customers, well over 375,000 customers. And that's bringing Gil Vega on our CISO. And a major step for us to focus on external and internal threats that exist out there. So major activity for us in bringing Gil on. So you're right, our growth, we think that's where growth continues to evolve is we have our customers and what we're trying to make sure we do is we protect them, which talk about security, it's a little bit of that, protect them and then make sure they have access to their data. And same with our employee count, what are we trying to do in back to the COVID-19 issue? Is that we're trying to make sure we protect our employees as well as make them productive in this whole process. But the cyber threat is clearly playing into the security. Well, Bill, staying on the COVID discussion for a minute, you talked in your keynote about, there were three things that stood out there, the resource management, security and governance and digital transformation, all very relevant in the context of this pandemic. My question is, can you add some color as to Veeam's role in those areas? Yeah, well, clearly in the governance piece of it that's built in our product and orchestration and all the product offerings that we have, our primary concern does go back to protecting data and making it accessible. So I think that's where it's the most common place for us to see our focus has been not security. As Jim said, we're not a security company, but it's really availability, data availability and it's data availability throughout any platform back to the hybrid cloud conversation we talked about is that we want to make data available over hybrid cloud. And I think with the COVID-19, it's showing that the cloud-based activities are going to be more critical versus in addition to on-prem. So that's an answer to that one. So Jim, I want to ask you about something you talked about in the keynote, which is the data protection report. I referenced it earlier. Tell us a little bit more about this study. You guys are like I am, you love data, but what was that study all about and what were some of the key takeaways? Yeah, so just a few months back, so it's fresh off the presses. We surveyed about 1500 IT pros across the world and wanted to just get a good feel for where their head is, what are some of the key concerns they have. And so we kind of bucket it into three key areas. One was around downtime threats, which you talked about the security and ransomware threats is definitely top of mind for customers. We also drilled down a little bit into the move to the cloud and then also digital transformation. And what's clear is that, I think in the past, people thought that their most important data was the only data that needed to be protected and we're seeing some compression there relative to customers thinking they need to basically protect all data. So the difference between sort of the critical data and just normal data is really blending together. And so they're looking to drive efficiencies from that perspective. And I think about 49% of the customers are backing up to the cloud today. So that's a pretty good number, but that jumps to I think around 76% in two years of customers who believe that they'll be using the cloud for backup. And then on the digital transformation side of things, I don't think there's a company out there who doesn't have some sort of digital transformation initiative, but they are struggling a little bit. They're struggling with the resources that they have and those resources being competent to really take companies in a new direction because a lot of those resources are focused on existing projects and keeping the business up and running. So that's a key area that they're looking to like free up resources to focus on digital transformation. And then we get into some of the benefits that they're seeing from that and so forth. So yeah, it's a good all-around report to really understand the state of the market. I want to stay in this survey for a minute if I can and then have Bill tie it into the company strategy. One of the other things that stood out was one of the blockers, if you will, the customer cited, they said lack of skills, so talent shortage, legacy IT or maybe that's technical debt as well, and then budget constraints.  You've been amazing at maintaining relevance, you're whatever, a 10 plus year old company, but you're right there with all the upstarts and the big portfolio companies and then, of course, budget constraints. I was talking to Anton earlier, just really focused on the economics of protecting data, but maybe you could add some color to those sort of things that the customers referenced as their challenges to moving forward. Yeah, yeah, so you mentioned one big one, which is skills. So I think training and education is definitely, it's certainly one of them. I think from Dean's perspective, we definitely help in all of those areas because our solution is easy to use, easy to manage, easy to deploy. And so, when you look at the resources in comparison to some of the legacy solutions that our customers have, they're typically able to save a significant amount on the budget side and significant amounts on the resources, they just simply don't need as many people to operate a Veeam backup solution, so they can redeploy some of those resources into other areas, which has been definitely an attraction to them. And you mentioned the IDC data that Bill talked about, but that's one of the reasons, if you look back in the second half of 2019, we actually grew three times as fast as the market average, I think mainly because of that. And a lot of people are switching from their legacy over to Veeam because of those reasons. Yeah, so Bill, I want to tie that into company strategy. You guys have been sort of unapologetic about the core, which is backup, and it's kind of, obviously recovery is part of that, but there's a lot of discussion around data management, trying to sort of expand the notion of the TAM, and you guys obviously participate in that as well, but it's sort of three things, protect, manage, and transform with some of the things that you guys talked about in your keynote, but the core is protect. You're all about backup, recovery, data protection, the examples at GNC, for example, and some of the other keynote discussions were all about protecting some of that core data, but then you get into management, which is that sort of TAM expansion, if you will, and then the transform. You know, I think we get the protect pretty well. It's the manage and transform that sometimes is a little bit more opaque to people, but I wonder if you could sort of add some texture to that. Yeah, well, we've always had a very, our focus has been on the protect side and the manage transform is key pieces that we've added on over the time period. So we want to play in that bigger TAM, that bigger market, that cloud data management market that says 30 plus billion dollar marketplace. So I think you'll see, and that's where we've expanded, but those 365, all those 365 are protect category. So it is one of moving on up into that, but we will stay with that core piece of our business on the protect side. It's extremely important to us. We stay focused, it's allowed our development team to stay focused and bring forth products that we believe are superior to any of our competitors and we'll continue to move that way. So, Bill, I mean, Veeam has always been known for punching above its weight class. I mean, the very clever naming of the company, the renowned parties, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.  So maybe the strategy is to continue to punch above the weight class, which would be a great thing, although you're now a mainstream, you know, 375,000 customers, you're adding at a very, very rapid pace.  What can we expect going forward from Veeam?  So we want to make those license portable, take them with you, be able to use them in a different setting. So I think we'll work on always punching above our weight. That was really started with our founders, Retmar Timbyshev and Andre Berenoff. We clearly were number one. People might not have believed that in the beginning, but we grew right to it. So I think you'll see us with more product innovation in that space and working very aggressively to take command of the multi-cloud environment. Well, you know, your business practices have always been pretty leading edge and forward thinking. You mentioned the flexibility and from licensing, you know, that's something that you're known for. Even partners, when I talk to your partners, they say, oh yeah, you know, Veeam has made it very simple for us to do business, not worrying about so much about who gets paid, where they've sort of made that transparent. So you get very high marks for that. And so there's a, you know, you're known for your tech, you're known for the products, but there's also some innovation on the business model side as well, isn't there? Absolutely. Our partners, a significant number of partners have been with us a long time. We do like to make sure that everybody in that distribution channel, and we are two-tiered distribution, makes good profitability. And keeping it simple becomes more challenging. I think the larger you get, we work very hard at making it simple. And it takes some time, a little bit of iteration for us, one of our core values, innovate and iterate, is to make it simple and to keep it that way. But we want our partners to be comfortable working with us in making good economics and knowing that we're gonna bring, we're gonna bring that roadmap of products into them when we get our products ready and they are the products in the marketplace that you put us in any situation in the lab. We're going to work, we're going to work first time. We're going to work well for them, so. Jim, I wanted to ask you about some of the customers that you referenced in the keynotes. I mentioned GNC, you guys showed a video of that. It was pretty cool.  And then IBM Cloud was really interesting to see them in there, IBM is a partner, they're a customer, I guess, they're a competitor on one side of the house. So that was kind of an interesting example. Some of the customer takeaways can share. Yeah, yeah, so when you look at GNC, some of the things that they referenced was a six-figure ROI over a three-year period. And again, that was one of the key drivers as to why they went with Veeam again, just more efficient. And yeah, Hero Motor Corp, very interesting, they're the world's largest manufacturer of two-wheel vehicles, and they do produce a motorcycle every two seconds. They've produced over 90 million. So they're a large organization, I think they have close to 10,000 employees. And Veejay Sethi, who is their CIO, among other things at their company, you know, as you heard, he talked a lot about how they're managing through COVID-19, and he really is a big believer that number one, you got to take care of your people and make sure that they're safe and make sure that they're set up so that they can work from home and so forth, but then also really planning for, not just managing through the crisis, but also preparing for recovery, which is really important. That was some of the advice that he gave, of course, to the attendees of Veeam, which I think is really good advice. And then IBM Cloud has been, yeah, they've been a great partner and a customer for quite some time, we're working very closely with them as backup as a service. They're leveraging kind of the full suite of Veeam products and getting great traction. And as we saw from some of the data, backup as a service is going to continue to grow and be a great opportunity for both IBM and Veeam working together. Well, guys, exciting time for you. I mean, I, like many people, I first bumped into Veeam at a V-Mug. Who, that was years and years and years ago and to watch your ascendancy has been pretty astounding, great products, a very well run company, good vision and just awesome customers. So, Bill, you're on deck when we get to 2030. What do you want this to look like? Well, Veeam ought to be multi-multi-billion by 2030. That's a long way out. It'll be interesting in the transformation that is made and we'll see what happens really globally with the whole work from home, how that moves, how office space plays into it, product innovation and delivery. We think we're at the forefront back when we started in the virtualization space back in 06 and brought forth some really creative project products. I think we'll continue to continue to see that. So what's 2030 bring? Yeah, multi-billion and we're going to continue to add employees throughout the world. We've got over 4,300 employees as I mentioned keynote that are in a multitude of countries and it's just an absolute thrill to be part of them and help us work as a family organization and building and bring good products. Well, we really had a great deal of fun following Veeam and participating in the Veeamon and really appreciate you guys having us here at the digital event. So thanks guys for coming on and sharing your insight. Yeah, thank you very much. Appreciate it. Thank you for watching the cubes continuous coverage of Veeamon 2020, the virtual digital version. Keep it right there, right back right at this short break.