Tuesday 28 February 2012

Why why why?

Why is there always short, not so well explained, comments like "it's not secure enough" when someone push for adopting cloud services?

Yes;
- There are issues / concerns like security, service levels, laws etc
- Users might not think about all the above

But;
None of these are insurmountable issues!

You can read tons of posts telling you what to think about. Isn't this one of the IT departments' key assignments; to find out what to adopt, how to adopt and when to adopt in a secure and good way to meet business needs?

Comment to @DavidLinthicums post 'Employees get the cloud, but IT -- not so much'

David Linthicum (@DavidLinthicums) published the post 'Employees get the cloud, but IT -- not so much' on InfoWorld about that IT departments are slow in the adoption of cloud services. I think this a very interesting topic to discuss more. IT have to less conservative in their mind, it's not good for business - it's time for change.

Short break out:
"As in the case of most productive uses of new technology, such as the rise of the PC, the rise of the Web, the rise of mobile devices, and now the rise of the cloud, employees will drive ahead first. IT will follow. Call me crazy, but I think it should be the other way around."

#CloudWisdom 15

Will you lose your IT-job just because the company adopts cloud?

Answer: No. But your role might be different.

OR

Ask yourself: Doesn't cloud service providers need IT-pro's?

Don't fight the cloud, find the best solution.

Friday 24 February 2012

BYOD-commented...I couldn't resist

Sorry, but I couldn't resist to comment another BYOD-post. Why? Because it was really good and spot on it why BYOD, not consumerization, might not be thats success everyone's buzzing about.

The post: 'BYOD: Good for whom exactly?' by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols on Computerworld.

Short breakout:
"It would be one thing if companies paid for users' personal equipment and services, but I really fear BYOD is becoming just another way to shift costs off the company budget and onto employee's backs. Worse still, I can see BYOD actually blocking people from being hired.
So, even though I'm a BYOD user through and through, I can't really get behind the idea that BYOD is that great an idea for everyone."
My comment:

First; great read.
 
I’ve promised myself to not comment or write any more “negative” posts about BYO. I don’t want to become the “old grumpy guy”, but BYO has become my windmill (Don Quijote) for the moment. But finally I’ve found some guys who been doing some thinking, beyond the possibility. My point is that almost everyone points to the choice of freedom but never takes the time to think of the possible consequences of implementing a BYO-program.
 
My biggest concern is when the possibility becomes a demand. When the employer demands you to bring a device and the different between keeping the job is a golden support contract connected to the device.
 
I’m pro consumerization and evolution but I’m not that keen to BYO. Instead of a BYO I think companies should consider to implement a wider device policy a CYO (Choose Your Own)-program where employees can choose from a ending list of devices (smartphones, pads, PC, Mac etc.).
 
If you want to read more about my BYOD opinions you can find them on inmaxmind.com. Latest post is the “Last windmill attack!”. But it seems it didn’t become the last one… I couldn’t resist… ;)
 
Short break out from “Last windmill attack!”:
 
“My biggest concerns with BYOD are:
- When it becomes an employer demand that you should bring it and no longer is a possibility.
- Who are able to bring their devices – “the cool guys”?
- Will the support contract connected to your device be equal to keeping your employment or not?
- The IMHO administrative mess.
- Why people should bring devices. Don’t employers earn the money to provide it, isn’t that included in budget? Shouldn’t then the employer get paid and the company board higher the company revenue demand?
 
With these bullets I stop the main attack. But please keep them in mind.Other people’s concerns seems to be more at risks like management systems, company data access on private devices and how to access the company services. My opinion; these are all techniques and policies issues which can be solved.”

Thursday 16 February 2012

Comment to ZDNet-post 'Multitenancy & Cloud Computing Platforms: Four Big Problems'

Made a comment on the ZDNet post 'Multitenancy & Cloud Computing Platforms: Four Big Problems' by Eric Lai (@ericylai).

Short break out:
"Outside of the application space, things are well, more stormy. Take the Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) space. Providers here include Google App Engine, Windows Azure, Salesforce.com’s Database.com, and others.
For enterprises - who usually have much more rigorous requirements than consumers - multitenant cloud platforms have plenty of disadvantages. That goes double for the developers serving those enterprises."
My comment:

Upcoming post: Outsourcing

Soon on inmaxmind.com: "Outsourcing! Hu! What is good for? Absolutely…everything. Say it again…"

Monday 13 February 2012

10 great cloud infographics

Reading tweets I found this '10 Incredibly Insightful Cloud Infographics' on evolven.com by a tweet from @cloudwebops. All gathered on one view. Worth a view for the cloud geek as well as the cloud novice.

A peak:

Cloud Computing: What Is It & Why Should I Care?

Friday 10 February 2012

Last windmill attack!

If you’ve been following me you most probably noticed I’m not that keen to BYOD. You then also know I written a 3 step BYOD-story and commented every BYOD post I’ve met.


I’m getting a bit tired of myself in this subject know so I won’t write another article in my “crusade”, my attack against thee windmill BYOD. So this will be my last windmill attack (Don Quijote). I might comment some posts though.

In this last post attacking BYOD I will also defend it.

My biggest concerns with BYOD are:

Orchestration

Read a new post (Cloud Orchestration starts to play its tune!) on 'how to build a cloud' about orchestration pointing on the systems named or aimed as orchestrators. Interesting and wise read. I recommend the site (orchestrated ;) by @BuildaCloud) for those who like to read about cloud and trends.

Short break out:

"Think of cloud orchestration as an amazing CTO with a wand standing at the front of the IT room directing his team of IT people through the symphony of 24/7 consumer facing IT service. The difference is no amount of people and no size wand is ever going to direct the symphony as well as a nice tidy piece of software specifically written for the job.

Orchestration of your cloud is only part of the puzzle, a big part granted but there is more cool stuff I like to see in my clouds, specifically around reporting and billing so I’m going to stick with cloud enablement as my main catch phrase until such time I find something better!"
As you might know I focus more on the assignment than systems when I talk about orchestration so my comment to this was:

Monday 6 February 2012

'Outsourcing – Is it an Advantage or a Disadvantage?'

Read a short post about advantages vs disadvantages of outsourcing which I of course commented. One of the reasons I started to blog was to tell stories about outsourcing and the importency to choose wisely once the decision is taken.

Short break out:
"Outsourcing can be both beneficial and non-beneficial depending on your reason why you choose to outsource. To begin with outsourcing, according to Wikipedia, “is the process of contracting a business function to someone else”. But why outsource if the job can be done in your own company by your own employees? Therefore, the reason behind outsourcing plays a vital role in the decision to avail of services outside the company."
My comment:

Thursday 2 February 2012

'Think the cloud will cut your IT costs? Not so fast, say CIOs'

Wise article on TechRepublic by Nick Heath 'Think the cloud will cut your IT costs? Not so fast, say CIOs'.

Short break out:
"Listen to the hype about cloud computing and you’d think it provides a quick fix for the CIO who needs to cut costs in a hurry.
And while its on-demand model offers the promise of reduced spend and freeing the IT team from the drudgery of looking after physical infrastructure, CIOs remain wary about getting carried away chasing savings in the cloud."
My comment: