If there's one thing I've learned over the past decade working with grid computing and virtualization technologies is that innovation isn't easy. Cloud computing is an innovation initiative. It's not one thing but rather the implementation, configuration, integration, and automation of several things. It's not avaialble from one provider, off the shelf, in an easy to install and support package.
No. Cloud Computing is more like a jungle. Lots of custom scripting and some custom development. Lots of building interim and bridge utilities. Lots of pushing vendors to deliver what you need rather than what they want to provide. Add to it the confusion over what cloud is (as recently as Vegas InterOp in April I heard someone state cloud was just another name for server virtualization) and it's no surprise it's a jungle.
Cloud only makes sense when it's done right. It needs a solid architecture at it's foundation. It needs a strategy and roadmap to ensure it's built from the start to deliver real business value. It needs to align with business and technology goals. And it needs to pay for itself where nobody wants to pay for infrastructure. It can be done, just ask Bechtel, but it's not easy.
First there's the skills gap. Many, if not most, organizations plan to go the cloud computing route on their own. The underlying strategy is vendor driven mistaking the vendor's best interests for their own. Whether it's Amazon, VMWare or Citrix I assure you tying to their strategy only ensures you'll be a profit generator for them. The most prominent skills gap is in enterprise architecture which is where cloud's rubber should be hitting the road. But we don't have enough EA's in the world and especially not enough with cloud skills. So instead companies forge ahead on their own with predictable results:
- lack of synchronization between technology teams
- lack of security standards and policies which address the technology footprint of cloud
- poor or missing governance structures
- growth of stealth IT in the form of expensed SaaS and even IaaS cloud services
- lack of understanding by the business how cloud can enhance what they do today
Second there's the focus on cost takeout. True, cloud optimizes the infrastructure stack which means more bang for the buck. But doesn't lower cost mean you can perform more iterations for the same budget? Learning is an iterative process so if we can learn more for the same dollar, don't we become smarter? Isn't this the foundation of innovation? Trying something new, tweaking it, and trying again until we have the better mouse trap?
Third there's the belief that IT controls technology. Technology goes wherever the money is, and today with a credit card anyone can move to the cloud.
Fourth and most scary there's the "Cloud at any cost" crew who are innovating in the cloud without proper planning and strategy, exposing their companies to massive risk which cannot be quantified. Who owns the data? Is the company properly indemnified from patent infringement? Where does the data go? Who has the authority to ramp usage up or down? Is any regulated data involved? What if the cloud vendor disappears or goes bankrupt?
Cloud ain't easy. It requires planning and strategy. It requires both a business and technology point of view. Most of all it requires people to realize as a new, disruptive technology the old rules don't apply. It's time to throw out the nice, easy to use cookie cutters we've created for the Internet.
Cloud simply ain't easy, but it sure is compelling!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
But It's Not About the Technology
Today the conversation on cloud computing continues having migrated slowly from definitions and scope to adoption and migration. The primary focus of IT professionals from the CIO and CTO through system administrators is cost reduction; maximizing the use of existing hardware. Secondary, in fact a very distant second whom only a few really seem to understand, is the application of cloud technologies to reduce complexity by drawing distinct lines of responsibility between the layers of the IT stack. Both goals are reasonable, even commendable, but they only breach the surface of the value of cloud computing. With Cloud, it isn't about the technology.
So what is it about? The business. As with so many other technologies that have come before we are again falling into that time honored trap of applying technology for it's own sake. Saving a few dollars here and there may sound like the interests of the business are first, but that's a very myopic point of view. Very few IT organizations have taken the time to explain cloud computing to their business leaders and engage them in the discussion. In fact I am actively looking for my first example so I can praise them, learn from them, and write about them. Stay tuned but don't expect any posts on the topic in the near future.
Cloud Computing provides a new model to loosely couple organizations providing them a dynamic, opportunity based model to share services and data. As the landscape in various industries shrinks through competition and acquisition pure head-to-head rivals fade replaced by the new model of "co-opetition". Companies today find themselves increasingly competing as well as cooperating with their partners. The concept isn't new but instead of being a rare exception it has emerged as a predominant model. How do you draw distinct lines in the sand to separate you from a competitor in one area when you want to share information and assets with the same company in another area. In the past we have created physical partitions which, by their static nature, often limited the growth of the partnership because the partitions either didn't or couldn't change easily. Workarounds become common which lead to wasted labor, inefficiencies, and increasing complexity. Cloud technologies with virutalization at the core provide the toolset required to dynamically map and remap resources. Adopt a cloud model whereby each partition becomes a cloud and the opportunities explode.
I am a firm believer the value of cloud computing lies in its ability to take collaboration further, extending our model of human-to-human cooperation between companies to our technology assets. Integrations between companies today are based on a steady state business process: accounts receivable, purchase order, shipment notification, etc. A new model will emerge, Cloud Keiretsus, whereby federations of companies will be loosely coupled with clouds providing the foundation. Data will move into, around, and out of the cloud as necessary to fulfill the objectives of the organizing principle whether it's to bring a product to market, manage a financial service offering, or develop a new drug. In this model when two or more organizations begin working together a collaboration cloud is provisioned as a foundation to facilitate the sharing of information; emails, prior work, document management, etc. As the relationship progresses and opportunities to share data emerge the cloud operates as both a repository and gateway managing the flow. New applications can be rapidly developed in the cloud to fulfill new needs and existing services can be exposed to automate processes as they cross over into the scope of the relationship.
An important advantage of this model is the ability to share and enforce standards, even when different, on both sides. Mapping the workflow of a process between organizations will enable compliance without requiring either company to abandon their own standards. Company A can map it's SDLC to that of Company B without explicit conversion. Exceptions where Company B has additional requirements can be mapped into the workflow of Company A. For example, such an approach would reduce the ramp-up time and cost of establishing the Program/Project Management Office for new projects and simplify the execution of the project.
As the world becomes smaller companies are pushed to cooperate combining resources to compete effectively. The next weakest link in the chain is the rapid integration of processes to ensure everyone involved is "singing from the same sheet of music." Cloud Computing provides a new architecture enabling collaboration between companies at the business process level. Those who see and take advantage of the opportunity first will be the best positioned to redefine their markets.
So what is it about? The business. As with so many other technologies that have come before we are again falling into that time honored trap of applying technology for it's own sake. Saving a few dollars here and there may sound like the interests of the business are first, but that's a very myopic point of view. Very few IT organizations have taken the time to explain cloud computing to their business leaders and engage them in the discussion. In fact I am actively looking for my first example so I can praise them, learn from them, and write about them. Stay tuned but don't expect any posts on the topic in the near future.
Cloud Computing provides a new model to loosely couple organizations providing them a dynamic, opportunity based model to share services and data. As the landscape in various industries shrinks through competition and acquisition pure head-to-head rivals fade replaced by the new model of "co-opetition". Companies today find themselves increasingly competing as well as cooperating with their partners. The concept isn't new but instead of being a rare exception it has emerged as a predominant model. How do you draw distinct lines in the sand to separate you from a competitor in one area when you want to share information and assets with the same company in another area. In the past we have created physical partitions which, by their static nature, often limited the growth of the partnership because the partitions either didn't or couldn't change easily. Workarounds become common which lead to wasted labor, inefficiencies, and increasing complexity. Cloud technologies with virutalization at the core provide the toolset required to dynamically map and remap resources. Adopt a cloud model whereby each partition becomes a cloud and the opportunities explode.
I am a firm believer the value of cloud computing lies in its ability to take collaboration further, extending our model of human-to-human cooperation between companies to our technology assets. Integrations between companies today are based on a steady state business process: accounts receivable, purchase order, shipment notification, etc. A new model will emerge, Cloud Keiretsus, whereby federations of companies will be loosely coupled with clouds providing the foundation. Data will move into, around, and out of the cloud as necessary to fulfill the objectives of the organizing principle whether it's to bring a product to market, manage a financial service offering, or develop a new drug. In this model when two or more organizations begin working together a collaboration cloud is provisioned as a foundation to facilitate the sharing of information; emails, prior work, document management, etc. As the relationship progresses and opportunities to share data emerge the cloud operates as both a repository and gateway managing the flow. New applications can be rapidly developed in the cloud to fulfill new needs and existing services can be exposed to automate processes as they cross over into the scope of the relationship.
An important advantage of this model is the ability to share and enforce standards, even when different, on both sides. Mapping the workflow of a process between organizations will enable compliance without requiring either company to abandon their own standards. Company A can map it's SDLC to that of Company B without explicit conversion. Exceptions where Company B has additional requirements can be mapped into the workflow of Company A. For example, such an approach would reduce the ramp-up time and cost of establishing the Program/Project Management Office for new projects and simplify the execution of the project.
As the world becomes smaller companies are pushed to cooperate combining resources to compete effectively. The next weakest link in the chain is the rapid integration of processes to ensure everyone involved is "singing from the same sheet of music." Cloud Computing provides a new architecture enabling collaboration between companies at the business process level. Those who see and take advantage of the opportunity first will be the best positioned to redefine their markets.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
You need it real time? Really? Real Time???
Business intelligence and executive dashboards are all the rage soon to be complimented, if not already, by customer dashboards. Although I'm no ERP specialist I get involved in all kinds of projects and one of the most glaring inconsistencies I face is the demand for real time data that changes daily or even weekly.
First we need to drop the term real time and focus on the term most recent. Real time to a guy like me from the plant floor automation/data acquisition/embedded systems/engine control module world means something TOTALLY different. Real time means just what it says, in the moment. No delays.
Second business people need to think about data with the fourth dimension of time. Why ask for a data update when the data hasn't changed? Whenever I hear the request for real time data I push back by asking "How often does the data change?" Sometimes it's hourly, sometimes periodic throughout the day. Most often its daily or weekly. Rarely does the data change minute to minute. More important to understand is how the data drive a decision. In one project we grabbed real time service data when all the executives needed was an hourly update. In return that hourly update was used to perform daily staffing analysis, and even then only when the service data exceeded set boundaries. Since the designers never asked, it was just assumed the data had to be real time. We changed from a real time posting to the executive information portal to an exception based alert and made everyone's life that much easier. This is one of hundreds of examples from healthcare to consumer packaged goods to retail that I have in my work history.
Why is this a big deal? Speed costs. It does in racing and it does in technology. The faster you want to go the more it's going to cost you. In IT we're not doing our jobs if we comply with the request just because the business "wants it". When we load up systems with unnecessary requests we slow everyone down; the opportunity cost of bad design. A great architectural option is the data intermediary which sits between the application and the data store to cache query and service results (if the data hasn't changed, the service response won't either)
Educate the business, add the time dimension to all data, and consider how the data drives decisions when building interfaces, services, reports, and dashboards. And the added side benefit? Less complexity!
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