Saturday 26 November 2011

Next week

Looking forward to attend to the Swedish TUG next week (30th Nov to 1st Dec) at Djurönäset conference. Always feels like a sheep in wolf's clothing when cruising with the tech guys. ;)

http://www.tugsweden.se/

Key notes by Citrix, VMware and Microsoft.

Always nice and I will send a lot of posts and even more tweets; hopefully with a deep deep underlying virtual touch!

Friday 18 November 2011

Opinions about pads

Tweeted a quite aggressive article from ZDNET called 'Who really needs a stinking tablet, anyway?' by James Kendrick.

Short version: he says he love his pad, he won’t give it up but thinks he wouldn't miss it if it disappeared.

Result from the tweet:

- 1 RT with the comment 'interesting'.
- 1 disagreement saying the article is more or less rubbish. (As I read it)

I love my "real" keyboard and laptop and would definitely not survive writing without it. No, I can't use a pad to write long stories. Many people love pads and can write long stories. And - it's ok. Taste of the day: vanilla. It's ok.

I would say the main reason was to create debates. You got to have some courage to question tablets now days. I encourage people who dare to tell their opinion or question things.

So, no, the article was according to me not rubbish. And the opinion that it was rubbish wasn't rubbish either.

The author created at least one to me known discussion and probably many more. So the author accomplished his mission; to tell he loves tablets and probably to get more people to use tablets.

Successful lobbying?!

The art of writing.

Quite fun "fog attack"

A driven and strong article about cloud by Brian Katz: 'Cloud Schmoud – Why no one really cares'. Quite fun too. ;)

Break out:

"People are talking about cloud as the next big thing that will solve all your problems. You need to save money, use the cloud, you need to secure your data, use the cloud, you want to make it easy to access your data use the cloud. It’s all bullshit. If you use cloud for any of these reasons and you don’t understand your fundamental business problems that you are trying to solve then all you’re doing is spinning wheels.

It’s time to start focusing on what you are trying to accomplish and less on whether you have the latest greatest thing. No, that doesn’t mean that cloud computing is irrelevant; on the contrary, it has a huge intrinsic value if it is used properly. But as a good friend of mine, George Reese, recently pointed out on Twitter, let’s stop calling it cloud computing and just call it computing. Does it really matter where it takes place in the grand scheme of things? Let’s spend a little less time waxing philosophical about Cloud or Big Data or whatever comes next and start looking at the best tools to allow you to solve your business problems and all the issues that accompany them."

Sorry but I really love when people cut the crap. :)

I don't totally agree with all this but it kind of gets to the point and the important thing; kill customer pains!

At least; do care about the customer and enjoy your weekend!

Thursday 17 November 2011

"10 steps for dealing with criticism"

'10 steps for dealing with criticism', a really good article about dealing with criticism by Alan Norton.

Break out:

"I am not going to tell you that dealing with criticism is easy. On the contrary. Analytical thinkers are convinced that their way is the only way. I have seen it all too often in my own family when a discussion amongst the analytical thinkers soon becomes contentious. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Follow these 10 steps to get a better grip on the unwanted and unsolicited critical words hurled in your direction."

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-steps-for-dealing-with-criticism/2834

Wish I followed some of them sometimes... ;)

Wednesday 16 November 2011

#CloudWisdom 10

Virtualization will continue to emerge and will be the key to UI cloud services.

#CloudWisdom 9

Services and systems integrate. Ask yourself: can you or your provided service handle integrations or know how to answer if you/it can't?

Thursday 10 November 2011

BYOD 1 – What is, why trend

Can BYOD be all things good? I would say; yes for the individual hip young guys but in general; no.

I have been thinking a couple of weeks about BYOD. Right now I cannot really say; yes, I like it and it’s the future – hurrah!

First; this article will be more on a philosophy and maybe even on a political level. Some might even call me bad things. It is based on how society’s and employment works and I know it differs a lot between countries, definitely Sweden versus the US. Since being Swedish I’m more familiar with the Swedish society and if I fail trying to put this on an international level I apologize. The main purpose is to look at BYOD from another perspective and not to discuss societies and country rules and laws. Neither will I focus on technique nor how software works. It is about the trend BYOD.

The article is build up in three parts. In the first part I will focus on what BYOD is and why it has become a trend. The second part will be about for whom the trend is available for and has a relevancy in a 1-5 years perspective. Third and last part will be about when the possibility becomes a demand and have a relevancy in a 5-15 years perspective, maybe even less.

What is

Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD, is what it says; you can bring your own device and this to your work. It started with BYOC (bring your own computer) but today we have pads, smart phones and computers so Device wraps it up better. The own device can be your true own device and it can be sponsored or loaned from your employer. When sponsored the employer gives you x amount of money to buy the computer equipment you want and need. When loaned the employer loans you x amount of money to buy the computer equipment you want and need. Beware of; who owns the device if you end your employment; taxes if your government counts it like benefits above your salary. BYOD is about to use the computer/device you want and fits your needs best.

For the employer BYOD means they have to solve compatibility issues and license agreement rules when delivering the IT services to different communication links, operating systems and devices, owned by other than the company. Some functions and systems to be considered:

- Storage and security solutions to store company and user data
- Security to be sure connecting devices and users are the correct ones. Attacks might increase because of BYOD
- Virtual desktop solutions to provide IT services to multiple device standards
- Orchestrator-tool to support and manage all the different devices

And they all have to be excellent.

The trend

Well, is it a trend? Yes, definitely.

I really don’t know why BYOD has become a trend and why people really want to bring their own device to work. Is it only the choice of freedom that calls or is it an underlying lobby organization making the call. Well, in some way it is true but the “organization behind” spells consumerization and the explosion of tablets. Consumerization is when consumers bring trends and technique to business instead of the opposite. The BYOD trend should really be ascribed to Apple and as Victoria Barret says; “thanks Apple”.

Victoria Barret, Forbes, ‘Thanks Apple: The B.Y.O.D. Trend

“This might be what makes the B.Y.O.D. short-hand so apt. It is like a B.Y.O.B. dinner. Your IT department will supply the meat and potatoes (think chunky, salty ERP systems), but if you want to have a really good time, you’re left to your own devices.”

I would say the trend has evolved and emerged because of Apple and young people born in late 80’s and early 90’s. Young people who love the choice of freedom and who definitely love Apple, which many employers don’t, or haven’t implemented. Remember these users are the early adaptors and should really be handled with respect. They represent present and future users and leaders. If they continue loving the choice of freedom or gets “boring” when they grow older, like me, we will notice. But they are the influencers of BYOD and many things right now and next x0’s will probably inherit their strength. To the young people’s influence add social networking that are easy to use on pads and smart phones. Social networking you want to bring with you everywhere even to work. So thanks Apple for the BYOD trend, whether you like it or not.

My point

Personally I’m really not that keen bringing my own devices to work with. One of many reasons is because I’ve paid for it and no one has told me my salary should go to working equipment’s. But hey, I’m 41 years “young” so maybe I’m not the primary target. Anyway, some might say; “but you wearing your own clothes”. I am not going in to that discussion…

It might be like Victoria Barret says, or maybe; you might feel so. You want to use cooler or better devices than your employer can offer. Or maybe; you want to use Mac’s and almost every employer offers Windows PC’s. And maybe; you want to use a tablet or smartphones but your employer only uses PC’s and standard phones/mobiles.

As an employee you can always ask yourself; are you responsible for making meat and potatoes or making really good times?

As an employer you definitely should ask; how can we attract good people? Offer attractive devices or go for the BYOD? Should we give the employees really good times even if they only should make meat and potatoes?

What happens if employer offers more attractive devices i.e. iPad’s, Galaxy’s, iMac’s etc.; will the BYOD trend drop dead?

What happens when vendors only sell one hardware and one license instead of two; will the BYOD trend drop dead?

Reading articles

I have read about 10-15 different BYOD-articles the last couple of week, some of them sponsored. I would say all of them either praises or tell us “think about’s” about BYOD but no one questions the concept. Here are some examples.

Citrix BYO - www.citrix.com/byo

"Trying to cope with the flood of personal and non-traditional devices at work? You don’t need an IT floodgate. Embrace employee-owned devices. Rising employee expectations, virtual workstyles and limited IT budgets all require a radical shift in business processes.”

Basically Citrix virtual desktops/apps with a BYOD touch.

Gartner in there ‘Gartner Report BYOC checklist’ (you have to register)

“Key Findings
The benefits of an employee-owned notebook program include freedom of managing nonstrategic assets; more time for IT staff to focus on high-value, high ROI initiatives; a more attractive workplace to attract new hires; and increased user productivity.


Lots of embracing and great recommendations but…no critique. And Gartner is in contrast to Citrix an analytics company. Of course this is a guide so no real analyze about BYOD itself, and it is a really good guide everyone should read before even thinking about a BYOD roll out.

Charles Bess, Enterprise CIO Forum, ‘Are there 5 top reasons CIOs should allow a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy?

“I was reading a post from one of the security experts at HP titled: Top 5 Enterprise Security Challenges with "Bring Your Own Device." When it comes to allowing employees to use their own devices at work, there are some real support, data control and security issues, but the blog post made me wonder: Are there 5 top reasons CIOs should encourage a “bring your own device” policy?”

Bringing some issues up…but drops them a bit too easy.

Jeffrey Burt, eWeek, ‘HP Unveils Business Services for Mobile Applications

"HP and its rivals, including Cisco System and Juniper Networks, are rapidly rolling out solutions to help businesses deal with the growing BYOD trend, which has been fueled by the rising use of Apple iPhones and Google Android-based smartphones and, more recently, tablet PCs driven by the popularity of Apple’s iPads. The trend is toward greater use of mobile devices, and a greater demand by workers to use their own devices—rather than ones issued by employers—to access the corporate network.”And so it continues. Of course companies developing devices and management tools can’t speak negative – this is business. But I’m a bit confused about the general “fresh” attitude from journalists and analytics.

A good one about challenges with BYOD by Paul Schwartz, HP, which Charles Bess refers to: ‘Top 5 Enterprise Security Challenges with "Bring Your Own Device"’, here’s one of them:

5. Who pays? – enterprises need to decide who should pay for the mobile device, who pays for data charges, and who should pay for business related apps. Data charges while roaming abroad can be particularly significant.”

I will end up with a great debate between Ken Hess and Heather Clancy on ZDNET called ‘Reality vs Pipe dream

Ken Hess: “Almost everyone owns an advanced phone and a laptop, netbook or tablet, so why not allow employees to use those devices in corporate work environments? Bring your own device is a new strategy being used by or considered by corporate IT departments. It allows employees to use devices with which they're comfortable and at a lower overall expense to the employee's company. It's an intelligent change in the corporate landscape to lower the costs associated with acquiring, deploying and maintaining devices, to reduce the number of required support personnel, and to decrease the possibility of single vendor lock-in.”

Heather Clancy: “Be honest: Do you want someone telling you what you can and cannot do with your personal technology? BYOD seems like a great idea for productivity, until you try manage it.


So

Is BYOD the future? Might be but watch out for the possible consequences. Will it be available for more people than the young and “cool guys”? And what happens when the BYOD becomes an employer’s demand? Might be scary. Watch out for my upcoming posts about BYOD.

Meantime; if you consider a BYOD roll out program read Gartner’s ‘Gartner Report BYOC checklist’

Monday 7 November 2011

Working on the BYOD post

Currently I’m working on the BYOD post. It takes more time than I expected but I hope it will be worth reading.

The article will be build up in three parts. In the first part I will focus on what BYOD is and why it has become a trend. The second part will be about for whom the trend is available. Third and last part will be about when the possibility becomes a demand.

Friday 4 November 2011

#CloudWisdom 8

Embrace the hybrid, win in the cloud. Lobbying.

#CloudWisdom 7

"All in" versus "We're in and we are serious about it", gambler versus trusted?

"All in" is seldom the right approach in business. Trustworthiness is.

Rose & Born

If you visit Stockholm, Sweden, and are looking for real nice clothing for men; visit Rose & Born. Really stylish and with a people who know what they are doing and can help you, all this to a reasonable price.

Top notch!

I have a dream

Have you ever build your car or just for fun the car of your dreams with a web app? Several of the biggest company offers this service. I’ve tried several of them and the best one, according to me, is the one from Audi (build your car web app).

I have a dream;

What if someone could build an application that was able to put a complete IT outsourcing app? An app who could handle sourced private clouds, public clouds etc. Choosing Service B Service A becomes NA. Choosing Cloud service A “forces” you to choose Communication Service A, B or C where C might be the customers’ existing WAN. And so on… During the end of the configuration session you have to pass some questions; how about customer specific applications, options suitable for the solution etc. When finished you get an overview to verify. Click print and you have a proposal for your customer.

If the proposal gets accepted you open the solution again and choose to create an agreement.

I know this is complex but wouldn’t it be nice? This would be thee app for the Orchestrator.

Tuesday 1 November 2011

Will the "Facebook era" end?

First; as a person I'm allergic to too hyped trends. That's why I try to not blow up things in general because it is a fact that when something gets to hyped and trendy it will fall down sooner than later. Important is that if you develop and exceed the user experience you might continue to attract the market for a longer time, but you have an EOL of products and services. Sometime you have to release a completely new product or your company will EOL… (see my earlier blog post The nib and the ballpoint) Here is some example on short and long EOL:

- Music and movie really can't be re-launched with new features etc. so it will be a hit for a short time. Music re-mixes isn't really a "new feature". After that you have to come up with a new song or movie. And you have no chance to bug fix after release.

- Cars can be a long time hit because cars have long life cycles and can be re-developed, but still; sooner or later a new model has to be launched. And you definitely compete with other brands. You have the possibility to bug fix, but probably because of really bad and unhealthy user feedback… So bugs will hurt your business badly.

- An IT product has to be developed all the time and normally have short EOL in its specific version. You can release a buggy version…it’s in some way ok… (weird). The product “model” can last quite long. Good example is Windows XP.

Have this cycle in mind; early adaptor individuals adopt new product > more individuals do > early adaptor companies do > more companies do > early adaptor individuals move to new product > more individuals move to new product.... and so on.

A company who is good at developing their product is Facebook. The product Facebook is more than a product, it’s a lifestyle too. I'm not a regular user of Facebook and not a freaky fan of it (maybe because I'm "old") but I do mean Facebook is a big success, phenomena and a milestone in the history, not just in the IT history. But as I mentioned products do have EOL sometime, even if they are more than a product because peoples mind changes, especially the young ones. I think Facebook have run out of good ideas in its current model (Note! Not version). They are struggling and act more and more like the Big Brother. But I’m too novice to tell when it might EOL.

To me Facebook is a tool developed by young driven people and is used by primarily three types of users:

- Young people who see it like a natural way to socialize with friends, work etc.

- "Old" people who try to make money out of it. With this I mean companies and innovators who say Facebook is the future for business. I think they’re only struggling to make money out of it acting like "wiseguys". Sorry, but I do.

- "Old" people who is struggling to find a way to socialize, but they don't do it as natural as it is for the young ones.

Since the young people use it like a natural way they most likely will feel it's natural to use another tool to socialize. And when you lose the young ones what will then happen to Facebook?


 
Therefor; I'm interested in how long the Facebook-phenomena will last and have a couple of questions I would love to have comments about. Note! I don’t want to discuss the general social media, it will continue in some way, this time I’m focused on Facebook as the leading socializer tool.

The questions;

- Who are the real competitors to Facebook? Will they succeed and how will they act to succeed?

- Will there be private Facebook clouds or will you not trust Facebook and others or maybe; don’t you care at all?

- Will people stop to "socialize" their private life in the future? Is it people’s mind who is the real competitor to Facebook?

- Will Facebook be more of a professional than a private thing in the future? And if a pro thing; will it survive then?

- Will all big software providers accept Facebook as a portal for their services and products?

- Will Facebook start to charge users?

- Will the "Facebook era" end? And if so; when?

How about Microsoft Windows and Office, they have been around for a couple of years now? I’m sure they will EOL sometime. But there are two big differences; they are, in the main versions, developed for business use and they are not free. Though the biggest difference is, and it’s based on the business track; they have never been hyped trends, successes and dominators but not hyped trends. The “more companies”, where the money is, seldom goes for hyped trends.

Praise or raze

We see it in politics, we see it in business and we see it in IT. Company A attacks and disgrace Company B. Company A gathers with Company C to get more power to harras Company B. Both Company A, B and C delivers X (something (or everything? ;) (see earlier blog post))) to similar level of price, quality.

Of course you have to defend yourself if getting attacked. But who do you think truly deliver the best X; the one who attacks or the one who tell their strength and what you can do with it? Who do you think is the best buddy to run your country or deliver IT services to you?

Attack is the best defense?! Sorry...so old.