Hi, I’m Varun Jain.
I lead GTM strategy and operations at Palo Alto Networks, where I evaluate the go-to-market, IT, and sales compensation proposals that shape how the company scales. Before this, I spent close to a decade building enterprise data and AI products — at Microsoft Fabric, at Amazon, and as a strategy consultant at Deloitte.
I write about where enterprise software, AI, and product strategy are headed. Separately, I keep a slower, stranger practice: a 100,000-word (and counting) series of essays on meaning, work, and everything in between.
Featured Writing
A few pieces, grouped by what they’re actually about:
AI & the Future of Work
- The AI-Powered PM — how AI is radically rewiring product management
- A New Type of Work — how work is being rewritten in the age of AI
- The Liminality of AI SaaSocalypse — what IT spend trends tell us about the future of SaaS
GTM & Product Strategy
- Lock In Your Product Positioning, or Endure Sub-Par Sales Cycles — lessons from building Microsoft Fabric
- Usage-Based Pricing: How to Not Screw It Up
- Notes from Gartner’s Data Governance Magic Quadrant
On Writing & Meaning
- 100,000 Words! — a milestone, and what 100 essays taught me
- Beyond the AI Lure
- The Pathless Path
More on enterprise tech & AI → · The full personal essay series →
About Me
After MBA and moving to USA, I started in strategy consulting at Monitor Deloitte, doing technology and market due diligence for Fortune 500 clients. From there I moved into product — first at Amazon, then at Microsoft, building data infrastructure and governance tools for the Fabric platform. I’m an engineer by training (IIT Kharagpur) and a strategist by instinct.
Today I sit at the intersection of product and GTM at Palo Alto Networks, reviewing the strategic proposals that determine what actually ships. I also volunteer as a career coach at Upwardly Global, helping skilled immigrants and refugees re-enter their professional careers.
What I Do
- Strategy & GTM review — evaluating go-to-market, IT, and sales compensation proposals before they scale company-wide
- Data platform & infrastructure thinking — observability, identity, and governance in the modern data stack
- Customer-backed roadmapping — built with enterprise customers in mind, not just internal priorities
