The Internet of the Machine

Tomorrow, The Internet of the Machine Will Drive Your Business…

 Software as a Service (SaaS) has become one of the key driver behind technology in the last few years. In today’s world companies of all size use SaaS to support their business objectives. The primacy of such objectives rest on the ability for companies to monitor, acquire, correlate, aggregate and analyze data from which companies derive the strategy necessary to support and meet revenue goals.

Subsequently data gathering and processing is either performed thru a network of systems or humans. In many case humans create workflows that performs tasks and actions to deliver a business benefit. As an example, your bank may have setup overdraft protection for which when your account goes below a specific cash level it automatically receives additional funds. Unbeknown to most, the overdraft workflow may create additional activities from which would send an email acknowledging the action taken in addition correlated workflow(s) may also notify a bank employee to check back with you on your account status.

As the aforesaid example shows, most workflows are created by humans; inherently progress in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine-To-Machine (m2m) connectivity  - AT&T/Verizon view cellular Machine connectivity has a boom for their business - has setup the stage for machine to learn, decipher and derive actions or tasks thru Data Collaboration Workflow that are current reserved for human. 

The Internet of Everything (IoE – people, process, data, and things) has accelerated a trend for which other “Entities” must now process and analyze the data to drive tasks or actions as human are faced with a daunting task of digesting and keeping up with the size and speed of data. I’m sure you read every day about Big Data and its effect on business.

Internet of the Machine

I foresee that within 5 years, the Internet of the Machine (IoM) will collaborate on managing retail truck delivery for which the Machine will receive weather forecast data indicating “Heavy Snow Storm”, consequently the machine will check road traffic conditions and reroute products from Colorado to Nevada to a store who has low inventory after having checked online and discovered a high customer demand for those products. Such m2m Data Collaboration Workflow will become common practice and will help increase revenue while providing better cost management.

A new breed of scientists, technicians and engineers are already hard at work fulfilling such foresight but companies must also invest in defining new strategies to support the paradigm of the IoM, this would also include connectivity, architecture, infrastructure and Cloud services. As for the later I would recommend taking a look at one of my favorite Cloud provider, in this case SoftLayer.

Follow me on twitter @thinkahead and let’s continue the discussion or simply RT

Cloud, Your Solution(s) In Motion

 

 

"Cloud, Your Solution(s) In Motion", correlated to the right strategy!!!

This post provides an in-depth while simplified overview of Cloud Technology and Services from which I hope will provide organizations and or individuals a platform from which to drive valuable insights as well as the establishment of a strategy of engagement related to the Cloud.

 “Cloud, Your Solution in Motion” from my perspective and correlated to the right strategy, can help organizations derive tremendous benefits for their business.

 As background for my post I recently had a discussion related to Cloud with a friend of mine who coincidently is also named Eric. Eric runs a small business and like every other organizations looks to the Cloud to help enhance productivity, revenue and at a minimum curb cost. Eric has remained successful thru the years due to his excellent business acumen in terms of brick-and-mortar day-to-day operations, marketing, sales, supplies and demand. Inherently Eric also understands that the time has come to use technology to expand his business online from which would allow him to reach new audiences.

Eric Account Rep (AR) had told him that he could fix all his problem with a one word, “Cloud”. Eric started the conversation by announcing that his company would move its primary LOBs (Line of Business) to the Cloud within 90 days. Eric brimmed with excitement, he was moving to the Cloud and could finally take advantage of Cloud Technologies and Services. Obviously a buzz word does not constitute a business objective.

Obviously a buzz word does not constitute a business objective.

 

I felt that the best way to help Eric was to create a simple but concise overview of Cloud Technologies and Services offerings focusing on Cloud key aspects without diving into the gritty details of the technology.

First and foremost, what is Cloud Technology? At its core and with the most basic definition, Cloud provides access to globally distributed, always available, on-demand computing resources. I believe that it’s also important to denote that the Cloud computing paradigm consistently evolves as new technologies emerge.

The following set of tables covers Cloud Technologies characteristics, services and deployment models from which will help you derive a better understanding of the benefits of Cloud.

Cloud Technology Primary Characteristics:

Characteristic	Value Proposition
Self-Service	ü  Self-provisioning of computing resources by client
Network Delivered	ü  Availability of computing resources thru thin or thick client
Pooled Resources	ü  Computing resources are pooled using a multi-tenant model
Elastic	ü  Unlimited Computing resources are scaled based on demand
Measured	ü  Computing resources are provided based on a metering system

 

Cloud Technology Deployment Models:

Deployment Model	Value Proposition
Private Cloud	ü  Provisioned for exclusive use by a single org for multiple consumers ü  Managed or operated by the Organization or third-party
Public	ü  Provisioned for open use by the general public. ü  Managed or operated by a business, academic or government organization
Community Cloud	ü  Provisioned for exclusive use by a community of consumers from organizations that have shared interests including but not limited to business objectives, data integration, security, policy and compliance
Hybrid Cloud	ü  Combines two or more cloud infrastructures (private, community or public) ü   Use the same technology that provides data and application availability

 

Cloud Technology Service Models:

	Value Proposition
Service Model	Vendor manages or operate	Organization manages or operate
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)	ü  Applications ü  Data ü  Runtime ü  Middleware ü  O/S ü  Virtualization ü  Servers ü  Storage ü  Networking
Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)	ü  Runtime ü  Middleware ü  O/S ü  Virtualization ü  Servers ü  Storage ü  Networking	ü  Applications ü  Data
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)	ü  Virtualization ü  Servers ü  Storage ü  Networking	ü  Applications ü  Data ü  Runtime ü  Middleware ü  O/S

 

As the aforementioned shows, Cloud provides a breath of Technologies and Services to suit any type of business needs. In most cases, your primary interest will rest in the set of Cloud Services offering and how they can better meet your business requirements.

As such SaaS primary value resides in the fulfillment or support of an LOB objectives such as CRM, Helpdesk, Marketing, etc…
PaaS on the other hand lends itself very well in the support of development, implementation, and testing of applications. DevOps activities in PaaS are all the rage these days as it provides rapid and unaltered access to computing resources.
IaaS is an extension of PaaS except you get more control over the Runtime, Middleware and O/S, great for testing third-party integration of data and systems.

Additional considerations must take place related to how the vendor supports Service Level Agreement (SLA), Security Policies and Procedures (SaS Type I & II, SAE116, etc…), Performance guarantees, Network Speed, Disaster Recovery (DR), BCP (Business Continuity Planning). Such considerations are lengthy from a review stand point from which I will discuss in my next blog.

Cloud Technologies and Services has matured in recent years and is now a viable platform for you to conduct your business. Furthermore the primacy benefit of Cloud rest in the fact that an organization is no longer tethered to a traditional IT vendor due to the pay-as-you-go business model that most Cloud Vendors have embraced.

In closing, we are at the beginning of the Cloud Technologies and Services era and big Cloud vendors in the like of IBM, Amazon, Microsoft, Oracle, Google, Rackspace are investing tremendous of amount of time, money and resources to expand their current capabilities knowing that today’s requirement is to support business objectives but tomorrow objectives will requires the Cloud to support, collect, aggregate and analyze the Internet Of Everything (IOE) for which is the networked connection of people, data, process and things.

Connect with me on twitter @thinkahead to continue the discussion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Give someone freedom (to create, to inspire, to dream…) and they will give you hope.

Give someone freedom (to create, to inspire, to dream…) and they will give you hope.

This past week I had the opportunity to attend the IBM Redbooks Cloud Social Media Residency in Durham, NC. Such residency provides an overview of the benefits related to Social Media engagement. Although the sessions were well planned and thoughtful, I find myself even more drawn towards some of the stories, persona and different cultures in attendance. Such attendees came from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, India, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Turkey  and USA to name a few. Their stories and presentations were inspirational and not all focused on technology. As the week progressed I had the good fortune to listen to the stories of two drastically different individuals. One of them Mac Devine (IBM Distinguished Engineer, Master Inventor) provided us with some insights on Cloud, Mac demonstrated such passion for technology as he walked us thru his latest project and why it was so important to him, IBM and the world.

Mac's latest project related to Cloud and the acquisition of Softlayer Technologies, Inc. You could feel how hard Mac had worked towards the acquisition as from his own words “It’s a game changer”, “Its Cloud without compromise”. Furthermore Mac exacerbated his passion, energy and unflappable belief towards the fact IBM had made the right decision. It takes tremendous energy to convince others that you are correct but more important Mac had been given the freedom to explore the value of this engagement especially related to the acquisition from a pricing, strategy and technology stand point. Big companies don’t always move fast but in this case, IBM showed how nimble it could be.

The other individual, John Romaine stayed at the same hotel than I had chosen. John was on business working at RDU International Airport. John’s passion related to soccer for which he helped start a club (South Georgia United – Youth Soccer) with only 2 teams a few years back. John passion with Soccer was truly reflected in the way he sought to teach and coach the game, allowing players to explore and discover the game. Having coached Youth Soccer for over 20 years myself I found it exhilarating to hear someone 2,300 miles away from home talk about the importance of mentoring our youth and walk them thru their own journey.

Win or loss should not serve as a foundation for teaching but more less a more precise focus should be on defining the purpose, the decisions or actions behind every touches on the ball that make the “Beautiful game” so great to watch. Even though John instill a strong foundation related to the fundamentals of the game, he still knows when it is time to just let the players be free and explore as today’s mistakes will turn into tomorrow’s successes.

Regardless of our background, personal or professional acumen I strongly believe in “Give someone freedom (to create, to inspire, to dream…) and they will give you hope”.

I hope you enjoyed this story, follow me on twitter @thinkahead and let’s continue the discussion.

I would like to extend my special thanks to the IBM Red Books team for making the Residency so welcoming, educational and more important inspirational. You can find those individuals on YouTube Channel “IBM RedBooks”.

The human factor as a data point…

The human factor as a data point…

As the world enters a new era of existential and ubiquitous computing, many companies still face the inextricable challenge of managing their assets and facilities with unstructured and uncorrelated data. Although IBM leads the market with well-regarded Integrated Workplace Management in the like of IBM TRIRIGA with well over 2,000 functions and workflow for Real Estate, Projects, Lease Accounting, Facilities Management, Facilities Maintenance and Energy/Environment. IBM’s breadth of vision in the tracking, scheduling and management of such assets has set the stage for IBM’s next innovation in providing customers with a means to more accurately predict a business outcomes. Such outcomes will help reduce costs as well as provide the foundation for smarter buildings optimization. Read more...

 

The next era of existential and ubiquitous computing.

Building a framework to foster an inextricable culture of self-reliance; thus defining the next era of existential and ubiquitous computing.