This speech was delivered as the keynote speech at the 2012 Software Architecture Symposiums International (SASI) "Cloud Architecture Without The Hype" conference. The purpose of this presentation was to show that IT has faced major changes in the past and that cloud computing is another major change. The impact on what IT staff will do in the new era of cloud computing is then explored...
Key questions to ask when designing for connected products/hardware-enabled services:
Is it a product, or a service?
How does your product work……and how can it fail?
Is your business model a good fit for user expectations?
How do we design not just for individual UIs but for distributed UX?
How often do devices connect? How responsive are they?
How do we give users transparency and control?
Key questions to ask when designing for connected products/hardware-enabled services:
Is it a product, or a service?
How does your product work……and how can it fail?
Is your business model a good fit for user expectations?
How do we design not just for individual UIs but for distributed UX?
How often do devices connect? How responsive are they?
How do we give users transparency and control?
The network as a design material: Interaction 16 workshopClaire Rowland
Exploring the UX challenges which the properties of networks and connectivity patterns pose to connected products/the internet of things: latency, reliability, intermittent connectivity
How to survive your technology career transition from old-school IT to the new-school of cloud and devops using the power of community and side projects.
A home computer is by far the most complex item that an average consumer is likely to own. Unfortunately, many of the possible uses of the standard home computer require a level of technical understanding that the average user does not have. Also a computer requires a level of routine maintenance that is more than many people can or will deal with. Security problems abound and require a vigilance that many do not exercise. Also, the economic interests of the computer industry often do not coincide with the best interests of the consumer.
Direct manipulation is broken: O'Reilly Design Conference Jan 2016Claire Rowland
Why connected products/the internet of things asks consumers to think like programmers, and the UX challenges this creates. With acknowledgement to Alan Blackwell of Cambridge University
IT Consumerization – iPad’ing the Enterprise or BYO Malware?Barry Caplin
Companies are increasingly encouraging employees to purchase their own devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptops to use at work according to a recent survey by CIO magazine. The acronyms BYOC and BYOD (like Bring Your Own Beer - Bring Your Own Computer/Device) have become mainstream technology terms. But what does BYOD mean for the enterprise? Can we mix personally owned devices and enterprise workstations/cellphones in our environment? How do we control configuration and data on personal devices? What about malware and other security concerns? What about improper disclosure of private data and intellectual property? And how will staff get work done when they are busy playing Angry Birds?
Is BYOD the flavor of the week or is the future of end-user hardware? Regardless of how security leaders may feel about the concept, we need to be prepared. We must understand what is driving BYOD, how it may, or may not, fit our environments, and have policy and tools ready.
In this interactive session we will discuss: What is IT Consumerization/BYOD? What are the benefits and concerns? Is there a cost savings? What are the Security concerns - BYOMalware? How do we protect data? And how can I start BYOD in my organization?
And yes, you can Bring Your Own Devices to this session!
Secure360 05-13-2013.
Tutorial from JBoye Aarhus 2012.
Covers:
Introduction to mobile & touch
Identifying mobile-friendly tasks
A look at smartphones and UI/UX
Mobile wire-framing exercise
Tablets as a "form factor"
Tablet debate exercise
Workshop on designing for consumer IoT, covering value, designing the system UX/interusability, and handling network issues such as latency/reliability and intermittent connections.
Learn 6 critical steps to successfully inspiring corporate culture change.
These are the steps I have identified as being necessary during major LEAN implementations and can provide a meaningful path to any major change within your company.
The accompanying blog post for this presentation can be found by visiting:
https://www.lisamachos.com/single-post/2016/1/28/6-Steps-to-Successfully-Inspire-Corporate-Culture-Change
The network as a design material: Interaction 16 workshopClaire Rowland
Exploring the UX challenges which the properties of networks and connectivity patterns pose to connected products/the internet of things: latency, reliability, intermittent connectivity
How to survive your technology career transition from old-school IT to the new-school of cloud and devops using the power of community and side projects.
A home computer is by far the most complex item that an average consumer is likely to own. Unfortunately, many of the possible uses of the standard home computer require a level of technical understanding that the average user does not have. Also a computer requires a level of routine maintenance that is more than many people can or will deal with. Security problems abound and require a vigilance that many do not exercise. Also, the economic interests of the computer industry often do not coincide with the best interests of the consumer.
Direct manipulation is broken: O'Reilly Design Conference Jan 2016Claire Rowland
Why connected products/the internet of things asks consumers to think like programmers, and the UX challenges this creates. With acknowledgement to Alan Blackwell of Cambridge University
IT Consumerization – iPad’ing the Enterprise or BYO Malware?Barry Caplin
Companies are increasingly encouraging employees to purchase their own devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptops to use at work according to a recent survey by CIO magazine. The acronyms BYOC and BYOD (like Bring Your Own Beer - Bring Your Own Computer/Device) have become mainstream technology terms. But what does BYOD mean for the enterprise? Can we mix personally owned devices and enterprise workstations/cellphones in our environment? How do we control configuration and data on personal devices? What about malware and other security concerns? What about improper disclosure of private data and intellectual property? And how will staff get work done when they are busy playing Angry Birds?
Is BYOD the flavor of the week or is the future of end-user hardware? Regardless of how security leaders may feel about the concept, we need to be prepared. We must understand what is driving BYOD, how it may, or may not, fit our environments, and have policy and tools ready.
In this interactive session we will discuss: What is IT Consumerization/BYOD? What are the benefits and concerns? Is there a cost savings? What are the Security concerns - BYOMalware? How do we protect data? And how can I start BYOD in my organization?
And yes, you can Bring Your Own Devices to this session!
Secure360 05-13-2013.
Tutorial from JBoye Aarhus 2012.
Covers:
Introduction to mobile & touch
Identifying mobile-friendly tasks
A look at smartphones and UI/UX
Mobile wire-framing exercise
Tablets as a "form factor"
Tablet debate exercise
Workshop on designing for consumer IoT, covering value, designing the system UX/interusability, and handling network issues such as latency/reliability and intermittent connections.
Learn 6 critical steps to successfully inspiring corporate culture change.
These are the steps I have identified as being necessary during major LEAN implementations and can provide a meaningful path to any major change within your company.
The accompanying blog post for this presentation can be found by visiting:
https://www.lisamachos.com/single-post/2016/1/28/6-Steps-to-Successfully-Inspire-Corporate-Culture-Change
Keynote at Digital Workplace Conference 2016 on Change Management for Digital Transformation. I looked at examples of transformation around the world, and explored the direct and indirect effects across work practice, organisational structure, corporate culture, and business model.
Corporate Culture Presentation 2 24 11Cindy Gordon
How succinctly do your actions, strategies and communications depict your intended corporate culture? How clear are your mission, vision and values? Are all members of your organization acting in accordance with your values? Do you monitor the impact your culture is having on your employees, customers and potential customers?
Your corporate culture is the foundation of your company - the message of who you are, what you stand for and what makes you unique from your competitors. Because of its significance, it is vital that your culture impacts its audience as intended.
This presentation will offer an increased understanding and awareness of:
- The importance of having a codified corporate culture;
- The significance of having business strategies that supports your corporate culture;
- The difference between an authentic culture and a marketing-based culture;
- How your corporate culture is perceived by others;
- The "unsaid rules" in your organization that are really formulating your corporate culture.
They say Culture eats Strategy for breakfast. This is true because the biggest leadership challenge to improving an organisation's internal environment is culture. Without a supportive culture even the most brilliant strategy will not get implemented successfully. Without cultural allignment to changing landscape, at best you will get compliance and with it stress, dysfunctional waste and entropy.
Cloud computing: Advantages and challenges in the software industry and mobil...Annie Pham
Through the majority of publications and studies, this writing presents the understanding and assessment of changes in the mobile business under the impact of cloud computing technology.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere, promising self-driving cars, medical breakthroughs, and new ways of working. But how do you separate hype from reality? How can your company apply AI to solve real business problems?
Here’s what AI learnings your business should keep in mind for 2017.
JAXLondon 2015 "DevOps and the Cloud: All Hail the (Developer) King"Daniel Bryant
Last year we talked about DevOps, what it was, why it was important and how to get started. Boy, was it scary. Now we’re wiser. More battle-scarred. The scale of the challenge for application writers exploiting cloud and DevOps is clearer, but so is the path forward. Understanding the DevOps approach is important but equally you must understand specific deployment technologies. How to exploit them and how they effect the design of applications. Whether creating simple applications or sophisticated microservice architectures many of the challenges are the same.
Presented at JAXLondon 2015 with Steve Poole
Intuit QuickBase at MassTLC Cloud Summit - Drivers of Cloud Adoption with All...QuickBase, Inc.
Intuit QuickBase VP and General Manager, Allison Mnookin, presented at the MassTLC #cloudsummit where she also debated the future of PaaS with other cloud leaders.
The influence of consumerization on enterprise appsMichel de Goede
In a world where consumerization surpasses 'traditional IT' in the workplace, what are the risks and how to unlock synergies from the combination? Presentation delivered at Enterprise Apps World, Berlin on 29 September 2015
Brighttalk converged infrastructure and it operations management - finalAndrew White
How Converged Infrastructure Will Change IT Operations Management
Over the past decade, Enterprises have leveraged a shared service model to make IT more cost effective. The emergence of “Converged Infrastructure” and “Fabric-Based Infrastructure” will allow IT to offer purpose driven solutions rather than the function driven solutions of the past. To do this, IT will need to evolve towards more modular designs, rely more on open standards, and rethink their approach to management frameworks.
In this session you will learn:
How converged infrastructure is used to create purpose driven solutions
Why new operational challenges are faced as this new approach is used broadly
What changes need to occur to succeed with this new paradigm
Solution Connect Indonesia - June 2015 - The Hidden AdvantageDenny Muktar
DevOps enables continuous delivery of software-driven innovation that drives such initiatives as mobile, social, big data and cloud. In other words, it powers your ability to compete.
Enabling the dynamic test environment and help to do a rapid and continuous delivery of your software.
What skills are essential for a successful career in information technology.docxSurendra Gusain
If you want to have a successful career in the information technology sector, you must have some essential skills to have a successful career in the information technological field. The information technology industry is a good career choice for those individuals who are looking for a long-term career and dynamic growth. To get succeeded in the IT industry, you need to have a perfect combination of hard and soft skills. If you have a good grip on important IT skills, you can easily stand over the other candidates. In today’s blog, we will be discussing ‘What skills are essential for a successful career in information technology?’ So, without wasting any time let’s get started!!!
F5 VMworld Super Session - The Network’s Rapidly Evolving Role In ITaaSF5 Networks
Presentation slides from F5 Networks' Super Session at VMworld 2011. The slides illustrate the importance of IT-as-a-Service, and how dynamic networks, applications, and user environments can be managed effectively.
Cloud Scars: Lessons from the Enterprise PioneersDave Roberts
Cloud computing is revolutionizing the IT market. But if you aren't careful, you're cloud project can end in disaster. This presentation gathers some lessons learned by the early adopters, so you can avoid their mistakes and double-down on their successes.
Cloud scars: Lessons from the Enterprise PioneersServiceMesh
ServiceMesh's Dave Roberts presented for Focus webinars, June 27, 2011.
Cloud computing is revolutionizing the IT market. But if you aren't careful, you're cloud project can end in disaster. This presentation gathers some lessons learned by the early adopters, so you can avoid their mistakes and double-down on their successes.
Adding Value to Cultural Heritage (the 2012 edition)Olaf Janssen
Lecture for the masters' course Digital Access to Cultural Heritge (DACH) for Leiden University, 22nd March 2012.
In this presentation I use the BMICE-ring model and Tim O'Reilly's Web2.0-priciples to explain how cultural heritage institutions (GLAMS), and libraries in particular, can add value to their Web1.0 online services.
Macroeconomics- Movie Location
This will be used as part of your Personal Professional Portfolio once graded.
Objective:
Prepare a presentation or a paper using research, basic comparative analysis, data organization and application of economic information. You will make an informed assessment of an economic climate outside of the United States to accomplish an entertainment industry objective.
Model Attribute Check Company Auto PropertyCeline George
In Odoo, the multi-company feature allows you to manage multiple companies within a single Odoo database instance. Each company can have its own configurations while still sharing common resources such as products, customers, and suppliers.
A Strategic Approach: GenAI in EducationPeter Windle
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as Generative AI, Image Generators and Large Language Models have had a dramatic impact on teaching, learning and assessment over the past 18 months. The most immediate threat AI posed was to Academic Integrity with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) focusing their efforts on combating the use of GenAI in assessment. Guidelines were developed for staff and students, policies put in place too. Innovative educators have forged paths in the use of Generative AI for teaching, learning and assessments leading to pockets of transformation springing up across HEIs, often with little or no top-down guidance, support or direction.
This Gasta posits a strategic approach to integrating AI into HEIs to prepare staff, students and the curriculum for an evolving world and workplace. We will highlight the advantages of working with these technologies beyond the realm of teaching, learning and assessment by considering prompt engineering skills, industry impact, curriculum changes, and the need for staff upskilling. In contrast, not engaging strategically with Generative AI poses risks, including falling behind peers, missed opportunities and failing to ensure our graduates remain employable. The rapid evolution of AI technologies necessitates a proactive and strategic approach if we are to remain relevant.
Embracing GenAI - A Strategic ImperativePeter Windle
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as Generative AI, Image Generators and Large Language Models have had a dramatic impact on teaching, learning and assessment over the past 18 months. The most immediate threat AI posed was to Academic Integrity with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) focusing their efforts on combating the use of GenAI in assessment. Guidelines were developed for staff and students, policies put in place too. Innovative educators have forged paths in the use of Generative AI for teaching, learning and assessments leading to pockets of transformation springing up across HEIs, often with little or no top-down guidance, support or direction.
This Gasta posits a strategic approach to integrating AI into HEIs to prepare staff, students and the curriculum for an evolving world and workplace. We will highlight the advantages of working with these technologies beyond the realm of teaching, learning and assessment by considering prompt engineering skills, industry impact, curriculum changes, and the need for staff upskilling. In contrast, not engaging strategically with Generative AI poses risks, including falling behind peers, missed opportunities and failing to ensure our graduates remain employable. The rapid evolution of AI technologies necessitates a proactive and strategic approach if we are to remain relevant.
Read| The latest issue of The Challenger is here! We are thrilled to announce that our school paper has qualified for the NATIONAL SCHOOLS PRESS CONFERENCE (NSPC) 2024. Thank you for your unwavering support and trust. Dive into the stories that made us stand out!
June 3, 2024 Anti-Semitism Letter Sent to MIT President Kornbluth and MIT Cor...Levi Shapiro
Letter from the Congress of the United States regarding Anti-Semitism sent June 3rd to MIT President Sally Kornbluth, MIT Corp Chair, Mark Gorenberg
Dear Dr. Kornbluth and Mr. Gorenberg,
The US House of Representatives is deeply concerned by ongoing and pervasive acts of antisemitic
harassment and intimidation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Failing to act decisively to ensure a safe learning environment for all students would be a grave dereliction of your responsibilities as President of MIT and Chair of the MIT Corporation.
This Congress will not stand idly by and allow an environment hostile to Jewish students to persist. The House believes that your institution is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and the inability or
unwillingness to rectify this violation through action requires accountability.
Postsecondary education is a unique opportunity for students to learn and have their ideas and beliefs challenged. However, universities receiving hundreds of millions of federal funds annually have denied
students that opportunity and have been hijacked to become venues for the promotion of terrorism, antisemitic harassment and intimidation, unlawful encampments, and in some cases, assaults and riots.
The House of Representatives will not countenance the use of federal funds to indoctrinate students into hateful, antisemitic, anti-American supporters of terrorism. Investigations into campus antisemitism by the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Ways and Means have been expanded into a Congress-wide probe across all relevant jurisdictions to address this national crisis. The undersigned Committees will conduct oversight into the use of federal funds at MIT and its learning environment under authorities granted to each Committee.
• The Committee on Education and the Workforce has been investigating your institution since December 7, 2023. The Committee has broad jurisdiction over postsecondary education, including its compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, campus safety concerns over disruptions to the learning environment, and the awarding of federal student aid under the Higher Education Act.
• The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating the sources of funding and other support flowing to groups espousing pro-Hamas propaganda and engaged in antisemitic harassment and intimidation of students. The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is the principal oversight committee of the US House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X.
• The Committee on Ways and Means has been investigating several universities since November 15, 2023, when the Committee held a hearing entitled From Ivory Towers to Dark Corners: Investigating the Nexus Between Antisemitism, Tax-Exempt Universities, and Terror Financing. The Committee followed the hearing with letters to those institutions on January 10, 202
Welcome to TechSoup New Member Orientation and Q&A (May 2024).pdfTechSoup
In this webinar you will learn how your organization can access TechSoup's wide variety of product discount and donation programs. From hardware to software, we'll give you a tour of the tools available to help your nonprofit with productivity, collaboration, financial management, donor tracking, security, and more.
Synthetic Fiber Construction in lab .pptxPavel ( NSTU)
Synthetic fiber production is a fascinating and complex field that blends chemistry, engineering, and environmental science. By understanding these aspects, students can gain a comprehensive view of synthetic fiber production, its impact on society and the environment, and the potential for future innovations. Synthetic fibers play a crucial role in modern society, impacting various aspects of daily life, industry, and the environment. ynthetic fibers are integral to modern life, offering a range of benefits from cost-effectiveness and versatility to innovative applications and performance characteristics. While they pose environmental challenges, ongoing research and development aim to create more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. Understanding the importance of synthetic fibers helps in appreciating their role in the economy, industry, and daily life, while also emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and innovation.
2. A Brief History Of Outsourcing…
A Company
Human
Legal
Resources
Accounting Marketing
Mail
Sales
Delivery
Data Plant
Processing Maintenance
Security IT
3. What Does IT Do Today?
1. Provide IT help desk support
2. Create backups of mission critical business data
3. Apply patches to workstations and servers
4. Maintain firewalls, network routers, wireless routers
5. Design, build, and maintain computer networks
6. Plan and replace / upgrade aging equipment
7. Build and maintain internal and external web sites for the business
8. Maintain the email system including creating new email accounts
9. Install and maintain printers
10. Provide network security services
11. Maintain, and backup databases
12. Manage IT vendor contracts and evaluate new vendors
13. Evaluate new technology to determine how it would impact the business
14. Create databases
15. Write custom code to support business functions
Image Credit; http://vimeo.com/33717632
4. Image Credit: http://fairwindsweb.com/free-reputation-management-tools.html Image Credit: http://futuregiraffes.com/2011/12/04/sunday-tips-updates/revenge-of-the-nerds/
No Free Software
We’re Too Different
What’s Wrong With IT?
We Say “No” – A Lot
We Get Blamed For Failures
Image Credit: http://marchforfreedom.wordpress.com/2011/05/22/say-no-to-the-propaganda-offensive-against-tibet/
5. What Is Going To Happen If
IT Doesn’t Change?
Outsourcing /
Value of IT? Costs Consultants
Offshoring
Technical Business
Complexity Complexity
IT Department
7. What Would A Solution Do?
IT needs to have the ability to grow without having to…
1. Invest In New Infrastructure 2. Train New Personnel
3. License New Software
8. What Needs To Go Into A Solution?
Provide Implement Portable
General-Purpose SOA Workloads
Computing
9. A Solution: The Software Part
1. False: Web based applications won’t need any IT staff
2. False: The web is free, isn’t it?
3. False: Web app performance is never a problem
4. False: Security is no big deal
5. True: Software development speeds up by 4x (Salesforce.com)
Image credit: http://www.iclbd.com/
10. A Solution: The Hardware Part
Goal: create an IT infrastructure that is “workload agnostic”:
• Commodity x86 servers
• Single 10G Ethernet connection
• Network convergence around IP
• Converged storage technology
Companies can invest in a whole new class of technologies
for the same cost of maintaining what they already have.
11. A Solution: The People Part
Consultants Project Developers
Managers
Image Credit: http://consultgenie.wordpress.com/2010/02/04/consultant-vs-employees/ Image Credit: http://www.georgiahealth.edu/itss/news/2012april/projectplan.html Image Credit: http://www.skadate.com/blog/skadatecs-com-developers-wanted.html
12. What Will The World Look Like?
Performance
Scalability
Communication
Security Environment
Reuse
Standards
13. The Era Of The Cloud Has Arrived
*: Study by CIO Research Center
Why did any of us go into an IT career in the first place?Getting a degree in business or even in accounting would have been much easier!What the world of IT offered to all of us was change: we knew that we wouldn’t get stuck doing the same old thing over and over again.However, as we’ve all learned by now, change has a dark side.Just when you’ve gotten very good at something, along comes change and suddenly your set of skills don’t matter and you have to start all over again.We find ourselves standing on the edge of one of those big changes once again. We have to make a choice: do we fight it or do we go with it?If we choose to fight it, then we can hold on to the skills that we have today with both hands and keep finding companies that will employee us until finally all of those companies have gone away.Or we can face the future and tell it that we want to learn how we can change the world. 1,825 days seems like a long time, but it’s really just 5 years. I’m going to show you how you can change your world for the better in just 5 short years…
Outsourcing started during the Industrial revolution in the 1700’s. Manufactures used external suppliers for tasks that were essential, but of a secondary nature.1990’s – Firms started to outsource the functions that were required to run the business (secondary services), but which were not related to the core services provided by the business. This included such departments as: accounting, HR, data processing, mail, security, and plant maintenance.Most firms agree that they should not outsource their core competency: those tasks that give a company it’s strategic advantage or make it unique. Many of these core competency functions are defined as being the ones that allow a company to get close to its customers.1989 – Eastman Kodak outsourced its IT departmentThings that no longer matter when it comes to outsourcing: distance / time / cultural barriers
I’m pretty sure that just like me, you consider the IT function to be an important part of any company. However, it does beg the question: how important is IT?Perhaps we can answer this question by taking a look at just exactly what an IT department does for a business.The role of IT has evolved over the years. What IT started out doing, processing data for the company using mainframes, has evolved.I sat down and tried to think of just exactly what I though that an IT department did. I was able to come up with the following list of 15 functions. Can you think of any things that an IT department does that is not on my list?Where things tend to get really scary is when we think about what tasks an IT department does that are non-core. Those that can be outsourced.Of the 15 functions that I could think of, only 4 are what you would call “core” – the rest could be done by any 3rd party firm.This means that the IT department is at risk of going away. What happens next may be determined based on how the rest of the company views the IT department…
We’re Too DifferentIT staff actually enjoy being different from everyone elseIn many cases, IT does not have to work with the rest of the companyHowever, help desk services and others require business and IT to come togetherSlow IT response to business problems causes a riff to occurIT people are hired for technical skills, not interpersonal skillsWe Say “No” A lotIT has to say “no” to request quite frequentlyBudget and time limitations require IT to push back on requestsConsumer technology has surpassed what is available at the officeEmployees are tempted to go rogue and end up causing major security problemsNo Free SoftwareFree downloads that are not permitted cause a riff (e.g. IE 9)What about compatibility issues? What about testing?We Get Blamed For FailuresEasy for CEOs to blame IT for big failuresAll too often there were people and process issues that didn’t get changedDid people put information into the systems so that it could manage it properly?
I don’t like change and I’m willing to guess that you don’t like it either.What would happen if an IT department said that it wasn’t going to change? Forget this cloud stuff, we’re going to stay the same.We can say for sure that technical things are going to become more complex: this technical thing is going to rely on that technical thing.We know that businesses are going to become more complex: longer supply chains, more outsourcing, more complex products and servicesBoth of these increasing complexities are going to make supporting the company much more difficult for a traditional IT department to do.Outsourcing: establishing servers and coordinating the exchange of requirements and completed work with multiple firmsValue of IT?: IT costs will continue to increase as more staff has to be added in order to keep up with the increasing requests for faster serviceCosts: the cost of equipment, software, and 24x7 personnel will continue to rise even if the level of support stays the same as it currently isConsultants: as software tool and network design complexities grow, additional consultants will have to be brought in to help for longer times
In the end, no matter how much time energy and effort are put in to improving the traditional IT department, the two most critical flaws will still remain.First IT will always be too expensive. Would you like that change to be made? That will be $1M. A traditional IT department by necessity has a great deal of overhead and therefore the expense of that overhead needs to be spread around to everything that the department works on.Secondly, the IT department will forever be too slow. As the world has started to move faster and faster, IT will forever be constrained by the simple fact that every action may have many unintended consequences and therefore IT can never react as quickly as the rest of the company wants them to.As we move more and more into an age where information rules and the company that can process the most information in the least amount of time will win, the demands on the IT department will only grow.Being too expensive and too slow today with no clear solution to either of these problems on the horizon seems to spell doom for the IT department. Clearly, being a CIO is a rough job…
If we could create a perfect solution to the problems that an IT department is facing today, what would it look like?Don’t bother constraining yourself to any one future solution, let’s dream the big dream and allow our imaginations to soar without being limited.Let’s start this exercise by considering one critical problem that every IT department will be facing: they’ll need to grow as the demands on the IT department continue to increase.If your IT department is growing, what do you not want to have to do?The first is to buy more boxes – buying infrastructure is like having a baby, it’s fun to do but once it shows up you’re going to have to send it to college and that’s going to get expensive.The next thing that you don’t want to have to do is to be continuously investing in a lot of expensive training for your staff. This is expensive to do and you’ll always be shorthanded when people are in training.Finally, you’ve got to get out of the business of licensing and then installing new software. Yes you want your customers to have access to the software; however, you don’t want to be in the business of supporting it
Let’s take our mind game just a little bit further. If you were going to design the perfect IT infrastructure for a company, what would it look like?I would propose that it would have three major components.The first is a general purpose computing infrastructure. What this would mean is that all of your computing resources would look the same. It would not matter where you ran your applications because all computing platforms could be used to do any task.Secondly, the too rarely heard term “SOA” would be used more. What this simply means is that services-oriented architecture needs to return. What this means is that common functionality is created once and then reused many times. This can be applications to allow users to log on, along with messaging, security, and database access. Finally, all applications would need to be coded so that they were portable. This means that you could pick them up from where they are currently running and then plop them down anywhere else on the company’s general purpose computing infrastructure and they would still run.
Web based applications won’t need any IT staff:For a business that uses many cloud apps, internal IT staff is still needed to manage and integrate the services. Some IT managers may start to see themselves more as vendor managers. These "traditional" IT pros might find their roles shifting to business unit support, making sure every employee has the right cloud tools to do his or her job. Another obvious point is that, over time, as technology resources shift from customers to vendors, the vendors will have a greater need for IT pros, creating more jobs on the vendor side. The web is free, isn’t it?:Licensing is not the only cost of using a cloud service. There are also hidden legal costs, because there is generally an increased risk profile when you move applications from the enterprise data center to the cloud. Storing data in the cloud brings new security and litigation risks.Web app performance is never a problem: Even if your Internet bandwidth is solid, other factors can degrade performance. as the number of connections to a cloud service goes up, response times also go up. This is perhaps not surprising, but some of the response times lagged to as much as three to five seconds.Speeds up: this is true for a number of reasons. All of the tools that a developer needs are immediately available to them and a fixed ecosystem where everything works together has been created for them to use.
Just imagine having a large computing environment where every server was the same.What this means is that when the end of the month or the end of the year arrives and the company’s processing needs double or even triple, you have the boxes that you can throw at the problem.Maintenance and support become much simpler.You start to get the benefits of economy of scale.Training your staff and performing routine servicing becomes much easier to do.Spare parts and disaster recovery planning become much easier to handle.
ConsultantsIT professionals are expensiveToo many experts leads to too many “No’s”Traditional IT administration and support functions will be outsourced to 3rd party consultantsFirms will rent out data center capacity and IT professionals to deploy, manage, and troubleshootProject ManagersMost IT workers at traditional companies will be project managersLocated not in IT, but in different business unitsBusiness analysis who will help to make good technology decisionsGather requirementsEvaluate new technologiesPOC for vendors and consultantsDevelopersDevelopers, programmers, and coders will be responsible for creating web-based apps that work smoothly.Will develop mobile apps: native based and web-based mobile appsMore power shifts from those who deploy apps to those who build apps
So what will this IT world of tomorrow look like – it’s going to be different from the world that we’re living in right now.Performance has always been a critical part of any IT shop; however, now it’s no longer going to be in our hands. We’re going to have to monitor it, detect slow downs, and then work with cloud providers to fix it.Scalability is critical. Not only are we going to have be able to expand quickly, but we’re also going to have to be able to shrink when the need is gone.Communications which have always been important will now be crucial. If we can’t communicate with our servers, then we’re dead in the water.It goes without saying that security is very important. Now we’ll have to work with 3rd party cloud providers to make sure that we stay safe.Environment decisions that are made will have far reaching and long lasting impacts. Do we model our IT environment after someone else or do we define our own?Standards will show us the way. But we’re going to have to be able to make some tough decisions when the standards are lagging our needs.Reuse becomes even more important in order to ensure productivity of developers and security of applications.
It’s not just IT that is driving the move into the cloud.What makes things so very interesting is that the CEOs are now starting to get involved. The magazines that CEOs read and the shows that they watch have taught them to expect great things from the arrival of cloud computing. This chart shows that it starts with an expectation of reduced IT costs and then it really gets interesting.The arrival of cloud computing is no longer a question of “if” but rather a question of “when”.
The skills and the certifications that have gotten you this far will not take you to where you need to go to in the future.Yes, having IT skills will still be important, but having the right IT skills will be what really matters.Understanding how clouds are built, how they work, and how to create and move things around inside of one or more clouds will be the new currency of the coming age of IT.It’s going to be your responsibility to identify what trends will be with us over the long haul and to avoid topical fads.Once you know what’s important, it’s going to be up to you and nobody else to get yourself trained on everything that has to do with that service or tool. Nobody else is going to take care of you.The good news is that once you become an expert in this new era of cloud computing, you’ll become a valuable employee who will never need to look for your next job – it will come and find you.
I’m almost done, but before I wrap up, let’s talk about you.If you really want to change the world, then you’ve got to get busy – time’s running out and you’ve got a lot to do.You can make a difference and you can be remembered long after your time on this planet is over.The first thing that you need to do it to accept that the era of cloud computing has arrived. No, we don’t know all of the answers yet, but we are getting much better at asking the right questions.The second thing that you need to do if you want to change the world is to make sure that you make many new friends. Cloud computing is all about moving quicker to better meet customer needs. That means that you are going to have to know who your customers are and what they really want from the IT department.Finally, you need to change the world. Take the time to study just exactly what cloud computing is and you’ll know more than most of us do. Use your new knowledge to help your company to make the right decisions as they prepare to move their IT tasks into the cloud. Congratulations, the world is yours to change…