Chuck's Blog

Towards Thin IT Organizations

As you know, I meet with a lot of customers.  Most of the time, we talk about the growing importance of information, and the new role IT will have to play in the future.  Or we talk about technology: EMC's and others.

But once in a while, we get into the very important (yet sensitive) topic of the IT organization itself -- what should it look like going forward?

And I have seen a noticable and inescapable trend towards what I've come to call "thin IT organizations".

Adventures In Corporate Blogging

So, I thought I'd use this post as an opportunity for a bit of self-reflection.

Maybe a few thoughts on what I and others are doing with this new form of communication.

In itself, this is an interesting topic -- at least to me!  And if you're reading this, it's probably interesting to you as well ...

A Star Is Born

Well, everybody saw it yesterday -- the big VMware IPO.

And, finally, I can get back to blogging a bit more on the topic.

I think there's speculation (at least in my mind) as to why it was so successful?

Wishful Thinking

Back when I was an angst-ridden teenager, I took it upon myself to carve "CH+JD" enwrapped in a heart on a tree in our local park.

At the time, she was the target of all my affections.  Now, I can't even remember what the initials stood for.

Unfortunately, she probably didn't know who I was, and then there was the small matter of her boyfriend and the several-dozen potential suitors who were probably carving similar initials in similar trees.

Our friends at NetApp must believe in the power of positive thinking -- even when the facts might not be in their favor.

Last week, they offered a breathless press release on their new "commitment" to VMware, and did up a splashy number on their home page.

This annoys me on several levels, and I thought I'd share with you just why I'm so annoyed.

I/O Virtualization

Drat! 

I was meaning to get an authorative post out on this topic, but Steven Hill over at Network World beat me to it, bigtime.  Go see an excellent writeup on this interesting arena here.

So why is this so interesting -- at least to me?

EMC Acquires Tablus

Or, more accurately, RSA (a division of EMC) acquires Tablus.  You're welcome to read the press release here.

But what's really going on here?

ITIL for Storage

A bit of commentary has been floating around blogland about the increased need for trained, certified storage administrators.

I thought I'd use this post to share EMC's views on this problem, and what we've been trying to do about it.

Organized By Topic

I was talking to someone who reads me on a semi-regular basis, and they asked for a "organized by topics" page to make navigation a bit easier. 

I hadn't realized that I've got over 100+ posts now, most of them short essays in their own right.

New topical page can be found here ...

Being an Informationist

I was asked to do a short, internal podcast for EMC employees on the concept of "being an informationist", and thought I'd share it with you all.

The audio quality isn't the greatest, and it's definitely slanted towards an internal EMC audience but maybe you'll find it useful!

Find it here

That Sinking Feeling

Like many people, I fly way too much.

Occasionally, the plane will be power climbing, out of the airport, and the pilot for some reason will pull back sharply on the throttle.  I'll go immediately from dozing to a very alert state, wondering "what's next?"

Network Appliance has just had such an experience. 

And I bet more than a few people are wondering "what's next?"