Chuck's Blog

The Big Themes Of 2010

As we all wrap up the year, I thought it'd be fun to go back to all the posts I wrote, and surface a few of the bigger themes and ideas that I ended up continually writing about during 2010.

If you're a regular reader, you know I write a lot.  Perhaps too much, in the eyes of some.

Regardless, it was fun to go back over 2010, and pick out the big, resonant themes that I think will carry forward into 2010 and beyond.

Welcome to EMC

Dear Isilon Team:

Today is the day that we're announcing that the acquisition is mostly complete.  Sure, there are still a few procedural things left to be done, but I'm told it's OK to come out of our cone of silence and start talking.

You'll probably be receiving all sorts of official communications over the next few days welcoming you to the EMC family.  I thought I'd add my personal thoughts as well.

Advice For Dealing With Mean Girls

Stepping outside of the IT world for just a second, I thought I'd share a parenting story with you.  Parenting can give you unique insight on how people interact in the adult world as well.

Those of you with older kids will smile and nod at this story; those of you with younger children might want to prepare yourself for this very likely event.

And, like all stories, there are parallels everywhere.

From Cost Center To Value Generator

I spend a lot of time with customers, partners and prospects.  Many of them represent the senior ranks of sizable IT organizations.

In turn, a lot internal EMC people (and our partners) sometimes turn to me to help them better understand -- what do senior IT leaders really want?

My answer is simple: they want to make a difference.  

More On The Atmos Cloud Delivery Platform

Earlier this week, EMC announced an important new feature for Atmos: the Atmos Cloud Delivery Platform that makes it far easier to create and deliver Atmos-based cloud storage services.

Unfortunately, I was locked away in a set of marathon planning meetings when the news hit, so I was unprepared for a blizzard of questions and interest.

Now that I've got a few moments, I thought I'd share my internal e-mail interview with Leo Leung, who does bizdev for Atmos here at EMC.

How Do People Get To High End Enterprise Storage?

One of EMC's core storage strengths is in high-end enterprise-class storage, as best exemplified by the Symmetrix VMAX.

But, in discussions with others in the industry, I've noticed a persistent "I just don't understand it" when it comes to this particular topic.  They openly wonder why *anyone* would need a device that powerful and that sophisticated.

For those of us at EMC, it's quite the opposite.  We meet these customers every day, and have been working closely with them for many years, sometimes for more than a decade.  For us, it's rather obvious why people continue to demand devices of this sort, and why interest is picking up.

So, in a non-salesy sort of way, allow me to attempt to bridge the gap?

Of WikiLeaks and Information Ownership

I happened to kick off a rather spirited discussion yesterday, when I tweeted that there were strong parallels between WikiLeaks and Pirate Bay -- both decided to widely distribute stolen information, and both are now in trouble for it.  

From my point of view, I couldn't see much of a difference.  I quickly found out that there were many alternative views on this topic, which -- for me -- makes it even *more* interesting!

Debating The Cloud Dividend

One of the more fascinating pieces of work that EMC has recently become involved with is working with a leading macroeconomic forecasting consultancy in an effort to quantify the benefits of pervasive cloud computing in terms of macro vs. micro effects.

While there's always room to debate methodology, results (or anything else), there's no arguing that it's a refreshing and unique perspective -- one we'll undoubtedly see more of in the future.

Creating A New Generation Of Cloud Professionals

Cloud changes everything.

It changes how IT is built, operated, consumed -- and ultimately governed.

New roles are required, and new skill sets.

And, today, EMC announces its initial contribution towards the goal of creating a new category of cloud-oriented IT professionals.

Looking Ahead To 2011

Yep, it's that time of year when pundits and wannabe pundits start making their prognostications about the year ahead.

Since I'm in the latter class (wannabe pundit) part of me feels obligated to offer up my somewhat unique and biased views.  In some sense, you can see this as a preview of many of the themes that I'll be inevitably exploring during 2011.