Chuck's Blog

When Cloud Meets Big Data: The Opportunities Ahead

When two of the biggest ideas in IT meet, interesting things can happen.

Although there will undoubtedly be challenges with information logistics and perhaps new strategies for managing risk, I thought it important to finish on a more positive -- even optimistic -- note.

Because -- when it comes to new technologies -- it's all about creating new possibilities, isnt' it?

When Cloud Meets Big Data: New Strategies For Managing Risk?

Most IT people by nature are reasonably and justifiably risk-averse.  And, if they weren't that way when they started their careers, they certainly become that way over time.

When the brown stuff hits the fan, it's their phone that rings.  Fast moving business people aren't always aware of what a really bad IT day can be like, and they expect the IT team to essentially de-risk whatever is being discussed.

Put cloud on the table, and the perceived IT risk profile goes up signficantly.  Put big data on the table, and you'll see a similar anxiety-raising profile.  Put them next to each other, and you're asking for an IT Nervous Breakdown.

My assertion is two-fold.  First, that's where things appear to be inevitably going for many organizations, and the industry as a whole. 

And, second, new strategies -- and new enabling technologies -- will most definitely be required.

When Cloud Meets Big Data: Information Logistics Revisited

Mix two powerful themes in IT today -- "cloud" and "big data" -- and all sorts of interesting new conversations pop up.

For example, any meaningful cloud discussion will eventually hit on the difficult tradeoffs involved in moving information to the right place at the right time.

A while back, I wrote a well-received post on the subject ("That's Information Logistics" ) which sparked some interesting discussion.

Certainly, the provisional topic of "information logistics" can be interesting enough when we're talking modest amounts of relatively important information.

But change the view point to enormous amounts of very important information, and it's a very compelling discussion indeed -- one that will likely require new forms of enabling technology.

When IT Gets Really Strategic

In one sense, many vendors can talk a pleasant-sounding game around making IT more efficient, more effective, more agile and so on.  Whether or not they can actually deliver on that rosy picture is always an interesting question to ask.

But that's not the point here.

Because -- occasionally -- I am getting more involved in scenarios where "IT being strategic" takes on a whole new level of seriousness.  It's not about IT supporting or aligning or enabling the business.

It's when IT becomes the business.

EMC and Customer Support

Ever since I've been blogging, I've been itching to do a deeper dive on EMC's renowned customer support function. 

For starters, I don't think that the whole topic of customer support gets enough airtime in our broader IT discussions -- certainly not to the degree that our customers care about it!

But it's more than that.

For me, it's very personal -- my interactions with EMC's customer support organization has been an integral part of my EMC career, and has significantly shaped how I see the world these days.

Is there a lot to talk about?  Certainly. 

Will I do it justice?  I'll try ...

Ten Questions On Big Data

Today's twitter stream is chock-full of commentary from GigaOM's Big Data conference in NYC.  Add that to the previous Strata conference, and it's easy to see that interest in Big Data is rising, and sharply.

Outside of those industry events, not only is the pace of conversations picking up rapidly with customers and partners, the industry press is starting to show some interest as well.

I thought I'd share with you an email interview I just did on the topic.  Maybe it'll get published, maybe not -- but I thought a few people might get some value out of it.

The Coming Shift To IT Value Generation

The proliferation of clouds and external service provider appears to be causing a fortuitous shift in more than a few IT organizations: they now have a clear mission to generate value from IT.

This is a sharp contrast from earlier days when the majority of IT's effort was spent the inevitable treadmill of operations, maintenance and upgrades.  

And the discussions are now starting to take an interesting -- and promsing -- turn for the better.

Just Getting On With It

I love the fact that I often get to meet with the same customers and partners repeatedly.  You get to see what's changed for them, and -- hopefully --  if you've been able to help out in any small way.

Such was the case earlier this week. 

Last October, they were all up for extended briefings around private cloud, Vblocks and all of that.   In December, they pulled the trigger.  In January, their Vblock got installed.    And now -- in mid-March -- they were back in EMC's briefing center.

What had changed?

Their story was a unique insight in how key decisions can make surprising impacts, and very quickly indeed.

Creating New Capabilities With An Analytics Lab

There are always fascinating discussions going on in EMC's executive briefing centers. 

Sure, there's plenty of traditional bread-and-butter updates: virtualization, security, cloud, backup, storage et. al.

But, more frequently these days, we get customers and partners who put some interesting challenges in front of us, and encourage us to be our very creative best.

And, from those stimulating brainstorming sessions, we frequently come up with repeatable patterns to new opportunities that are customers are encountering.

Such is the case with the concept of an analytics lab. 

And I think we'll be seeing more of these before long.

HP Throws Down Its Cloud Hand

Not that I obsessively track EMC's competitors in the IT industry, but HP is a different beast altogether. 

By revenue, they're the largest IT company in the world.  Although they may not have the panache of a Google or Apple, like IBM, they've got a boatload of potential capabilities.

And, after more than 30 years in the IT industry, you learn to treat very large elephants with respect.

So, it was with more than passing interest that I pawed through the various commentary from Leo Apotheker on how HP intends to play their "cloud hand".

The good news: he was very clear.  The problem: I think in some respects HP might have made the wrong strategic choice.