Chuck's Blog

Why Cloud Was So Darn Confusing

Many of us have watched trends wash over the industry landscape.  Some come and go quickly; others make more substantive changes.

I've had the unfortunate privilege of observing many different waves hit, and I'd like to think I can learn a bit from each one.

As we sit here in 2013, it was only four short years ago that the first vituperative cloud arguments started to erupt online: true clouds vs. fake clouds, clouderati, accusations of cloudwashing -- remember all that?

From my perspective, the root cause was simple: collectively we were using a single term with multiple meanings -- and thus being perceived very differently depending on your viewpoint.

History may not repeat itself, but it does rhyme: the same phenomenon was evident when the big data conversation erupted a few years back.  Once again, a single term was being stretched and tortured to mean very different things to very different audiences.   Frustration and cynicism is an inevitable by-product.

I suppose the most recent phenomenon is software-defined anything.

Those of us who are vendors and industry-watchers historically have matters much worse for everyone else.  We focus on one shiny aspect or another of the discussion, and often don't take the time to construct a broad enough perspective for the less-entrenched participants.

Since IT is an industry powered by big ideas, I think we're doing ourselves a disservice.  People can't act on a concept until they understand it -- in their terms, not yours.

The New "How Can We Help?"

Historically, I've done a *lot* of direct customer and partner interaction.  I've always found that you can't fully appreciate what's really going on in the IT marketplace unless you spend a lot of time with the people that matter.  Reading analyst reports (no matter how good) can only get you so far :)

All this frequent interaction gives me the opportunity to spot subtle yet persistent shifts in the gestalt of enterprise IT.

Good news: I've started to regularly encounter an entirely new class of post-transformational IT leadership team.  They recognized the need for substantive change a while back.  They knew what needs to be done, and took on the hard work involved.  Their journey was not an easy one.

But -- and here's the good part -- they're visibly moving ahead on a wide variety of initiatives, and clearly starting to reposition the IT function from a cost-center to a value generator.

And we, as vendor/partners, are inevitably starting to adjust our engagement model around their new reality.

NYSE Technologies and The Community Cloud

Almost two years ago, I wrote about how NYSE Technologies was launching a "community cloud" targeted at the financial trading community.  At the time, it was a brave experiment, with powerful ideas behind the offering. 

I was duly fascinated.

Now, two years later, they're now reaping the benefits of being the first mover in their industry: many customers, expanded services, increased investment -- success is clearly at hand. 

Could the dynamics behind their success lead to similar community clouds for other industry sectors?

I think so ...

Information: The Third Pillar Of Business

You study a situation, you make assertions about what will likely happen -- and then you see real-world examples of those predictions becoming reality.

The big notion?  Traditional enterprises will be forced to recognize their aggregated information as a strategic asset, much in the way they think about money and people.

Enterprises with digital business models already view the world this way.  Traditional enterprises are evolving into digital ones.  Ergo, as they evolve, one of the visible markers should be a pronounced shift in how they view their information resources: from ancillary to strategic.

I now have enough observed examples at hand to claim at least partial validation of this effect.  And, as a benefit, I think I can now start to make more confident assertions about what more organizations will be likely seeing in the next few years.

What I Mean When I Say "Enterprise Storage"

The recent announcement of the VMAX 10K brought up an interesting discussion for us storage folks: what -- exactly -- might "enterprise storage" be?

I find that the definitions offered by the industry analysts are incomplete and unsatisfying at best. 

And there's certainly strong motivation for any storage vendor to slap an "enterprise" label on their product in an effort to attract more potential customers.

My credentials to offer an informed perspective are substantial, but not impeccable.  I've been in the storage business now for almost twenty years.  I meet over a hundred customers and partners every year, and I've been doing that for many years.  My biases are to be expected: I've been at EMC now for 18 years, and have worked closely with the Symmetrix and VMAX product lines for virtually all of that time.

Like another infamous quote, I know an enterprise storage requirement when I see it.

The Big Picture

This year, I was very honored to receive multiple invitations to speak at customer events. 

Many of the larger IT organizations EMC works with have their own internal kickoffs for the new year.  Frequently, they go looking for someone who can bring an outside perspective -- a context -- to their situation. 

Somehow, they find me.  And I am very flattered to be considered worthy for that task.

But it's not an easy gig.

You can't just show up wearing your IT vendor badge, and blather on about your various products and technologies.  I've seen vendors do that before, and I'm pretty sure they won't be invited back.

Nor can you go too "big picture" either -- you can start with big ideas, but you have to bring those same concepts back to their world and make them relevant and somewhat actionable.

And, of course, you've got to do all of this in about 25 minutes, while holding people's attention.

Unfortunately, this year I only was able to accept a few of these invitations. 

For everyone else, I thought I'd do the next big thing -- share my 2013 keynote presentation via this blog post.  If you're a regular reader, you'll certainly see familiar material -- just re-assembled and re-packaged to be more consumable.

Even if you're not part of a large IT organization that's having a kickoff, you might find this material worthwhile to consider as you start the new year.

Does IT Need A New Concierge?

There's a new business model brewing in the ranks of the enterprise IT marketplace.  In some ways it's a new idea; in other ways it's a linear extension of familiar concepts.

As with any emerging model, you'll hear it described in many different ways: a cloud services broker, ITaaS-as-a-service, a new variation on the outsourcing model, front-desk-and-back-office, and so on.

The core idea is conceptually simple: a new, external IT service that makes other external IT services easier to source and easier to consume by the broader enterprise. 

An "IT services concierge" service, if you will.

Will some IT leaders be interested in such a thing?  Inevitably. 

Does the model have long term growth prospects?  That's more debatable.

Building A Executive Digital Literacy Program

Being perceived as a visionary is a relatively easy task.  All you have to do is identify a handful of clearly visible trends, extrapolate a bit, and then loop back with practical advice on what to do about it now.

Example: I have a friend who's currently looking at oceanfront property.  He showed me a place that was right on the water.  I suggested he might consider a house with a bit more elevation?  Sure, it might not be a visible problem now, but if you think out a few years ...

Here's the point: there's rapid and unprecedented climate change in the business world.  Our society is forcefully transforming to a digital world.

Our current business models -- designed for the physical world -- now have to be dramatically re-engineered to adapt and thrive in this new economy.  A palpable sense of urgency is at hand.

IT can supply the platforms and tools, but do our leaders and management teams have the necessary skills and context required to lead the way forward? 

If you can answer "yes", you're quite fortunate -- the rest of us have some heavy lifting to do.

Just like we had to learn to thrive in a global economy, and a sustainable economy -- we now have to learn how to thrive in a digital economy. 

And that's something they didn't teach us in business school.

I wish I could point to a proven body of knowledge and delivery mechanisms to achieve this important goal, but no such luck

I've been looking, and there isn't much out there at the executive level -- sure, there are pieces here and there, but they certainly don't fit together as I'd like to see.

At some point, this will surely change, but in the meantime, it's a roll-your-own proposition.

I've now been asked several times -- if I were constructing an agenda for mid-to-senior level leaders -- what would I put in it?

So, in an effort to kick-start the discussion, here it is:

Why There Shouldn't Be A Single Version Of The Truth

Legacy thinking can get you in trouble in so many ways.  The challenge is that -- well -- there's so much of it around.

Maxims that seemed to make logical sense in one era quickly become the intellectual chains that hold so many of us back.  Personally, I've come to enjoy blowing up conventional wisdom to make room for emerging realities.

I'm getting into more and more customer discussions with progressive IT organizations that are seriously contemplating building platforms and services that meet the broad goal of "analytically enabling the business" -- business analytics as service, if you will.

The problem?  The people in charge have done things a certain way for a very long time.  And the new, emerging requirements are forcing them to go back and seriously reconsider some of their most deeply-held assumptions.

Like having "one version of the truth".  I've seen multiple examples of it get in the way of organizations who need to be doing more with their data.

E&Y: Trust And The Cloud

I'm lucky to meet a wide range of IT organizations scattered across all sorts of industries.

Some are bravely charging ahead into the new world of cloud-based IT service delivery: transforming their internal operations, consuming more external IT services, and learning quickly as they go.

But others are holding back, and for what turns out to be very sound reasons. 

A tough set of regulatory concerns, for example.  Challenging security and data privacy laws.  Compliance and auditability.  High-risk IT applications that can't afford any sort of a bad day. 

These IT groups believe they can't move ahead unless *all* of this is sorted out -- ahead of time.

If you're reading this and nodding your head, you know who you are.

For these organizations, the move to a modern IT model has to be done with trust and confidence.  It's not an IT thing, it's a business thing -- and it's not optional.

Enter Ernst & Young

More known for tax, audit and regulatory consulting, they've developed an interesting set of IT transformation consulting services precisely targeted at these more risk-sensitive industries. 

While perhaps not known as a technology powerhouse, they do bring deep expertise in establishing the required "trust assurances" across the organization needed for a move to any form of cloud.

As I've started to work with their team, I've gained a new-found appreciation around a an entirely new path to the cloud. 

By focusing on a tough set of business concerns first and foremost, they may end up being far more successful in helping their clients get to cloud than us technology-focused types.