Sumo Logic Hires Ex-VMware Exec as CEO

Sumo Logic has appointed former VMware (VMW) executive Ramin Sayar as president and CEO, the company announced this week. Sayar will be responsible for helping the machine data intelligence provider to strengthen its cloud-based analytics platform for enterprise customers.

“The cloud-native, purpose built analytics platform from Sumo Logic is the bridge for companies to accelerate their journey to the cloud and, more importantly, is enabling a new class of analytics that were previously unaffordable or unattainable with legacy, disparate on-premises approaches,” said Sayar, in a statement. “I’m thrilled to work side by side with the talented Sumo Logic team to continue to exceed expectations as we execute on our vision to provide great analytics tools for mission critical apps and services to companies around the world.”

Sayar previously served as the senior vice president and general manager of the Cloud Management business unit at VMware, where he was responsible for creating the company’s cloud management vision and overseeing the development of its products and go-to-market strategy. Sayar has also held executive-level positions at companies including Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Tibco Software, iPlanet, AOL and Netscape.

Sumo Logic also is shifting to a pay-as-you-go model for customer billing, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal, switching from the perpetual-license model the company has employed until now. The new billing model is currently being piloted, according to the WSJ article, and Sumo Logic plans to roll it out in its first quarter, which starts Feb. 1.