Posted by Brad McMillan on Mon, May 07, 2012 @ 07:40 AM
A recent article I read had some interesting predictions about what IT will look like in the near future. It appears that Cloud computing is changing the landscape dramatically. Here are the predictions that the experts came up with and that are in line with what we see at Apps on Tap.
The IT department won't be physical.
There's a dramatic shift to the cloud, but most of us can still tell you who works in IT, where the department is located and who is in charge. By 2020, there will be a shift from an IT department for end users to a "follow me" IT service provider mentality. In other words, IT itself will move to the cloud. The concept will shift from a department that manages cloud services to a cloud service itself.
CIOs will be managing fewer humans, especially for security.
By 2020, the role of CIO will shift away from one that is mostly about managing humans in a large workforce. While that may seem too far-future for some, the reality is that computing is becoming much more autonomous, requiring less dependence on human intervention for systems to run correctly.
End-users will not be in departmental groups.
That shift will be one of the most critical changes for CIOs, who often meet with teams to collaborate and strategize. Instead, IT will become a service provider to individuals, making sure their gadgets, software and systems work.
Bring Your Own Desktop (BYOD) will be the norm.
In the future IT department, employees will bring their own devices to work and IT helps makes them secure. Today, that remains an exception to the rule in most cases; IT still provides hardware to employees and manages the infrastructure. IT will mostly be charged with managing employee-owned devices. For the most part, workers will find their own computing devices and use them at work.
CIOs will impact business direction.
Many CIOs of today meet with business leaders and contribute to the overall direction of the company. In the future, the CIO won't just contribute. He or she may be the main thought leader, moving from an advisory role to one more focused on direct innovation. The CIO will be involved in every key business decision, from marketing to product design to logistics, because technology will play a pivotal role (or even the major key role) in those areas.
It has never been easier for business to acquire IT. Call today and set up an appointment to discuss how your business can be part of the transformation taking place.
Posted by Brad McMillan on Sun, Apr 22, 2012 @ 06:49 AM
When asked to do a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for comparison between on-premise and hosted IT in the cloud we always mention the intangibles that most companies don’t think about when comparing the two models. I have yet to find a Controller or CFO who has a line item on their IT budget for the cost of ‘under utilized infrastructure’ or the cost of ‘lost business’ when their infrastructure is unable to meet customer demand. 
I don't have anything against corporate IT, but if your cloud runs on your own infrastructure, you have deployed infrastructure ahead of customer demand and are paying for the privilege. The primary value in the cloud is the ability to leverage on-demand capacity of an external provider to align your infrastructure and customer demand. By running your own cloud (a.k.a. Virtualization 2.0), you are betting that your IT department can manage efficiencies comparable to public cloud providers.
With one of the biggest reasons for cloud adoption being cost savings, don’t forget to look at the ‘intangibles’ when it comes to cost as you decide on what your IT budget will include moving forward. At Apps on Tap, we will do a comprehensive analysis of your current IT budget and compare it side by side to our solution. The decision then becomes one of ‘when’ not ‘if’ you should move to the cloud.
Posted by Brad McMillan on Sat, Mar 10, 2012 @ 04:02 PM
Everything you’ve read about who is using cloud computing and why is pretty much true, so says at least two industry studies.
According to a recent Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) survey of 400 public and private companies of varying sizes, flexibility is the number one reason companies adopted the technology in 2011. Cost savings eked out second place.
Of the 31% of respondents who listed flexibility as the top reason for adopting cloud computing services, the majority were SMBs — tiny companies with up to 20 employees (40% adoption) . Such companies tend to have limited in-house technical resources, and cloud offers self-service capabilities, on-demand scalability and the ability to quickly launch new services that might otherwise be delayed or pushed to the backburner completely.
The ability to use cloud technology to launch a completely new service was a draw for 22% of respondents, while only 8% looked to cloud to either offset a lack of internal IT or because it was seen as a low-cost project.
Companies that jumped into cloud in 2011 must be seeing its benefits; 94% of respondents who adopted cloud have plans to expand cloud services in the next 12 months, according to CIF.
In another study, SMBs are jumping in with both feet when it comes to leading the way to cloud. In fact, small and medium-sized businesses are out in front of enterprises, according to a survey of nearly 1,300 staffers at companies with 1,000 or fewer employees.
"It has to save my company money, time and resources ... My CFO won't give me money if I say something is really cool." Justin Davison, senior systems engineer, RJ Lee Group
The survey, which was conducted in the early fall by Spiceworks, a social business network for IT that claims to have 1.7 million users, found that some 46% were using cloud services by the second half of this year. That's up from 28% in the first half of 2011, which was also an increase from 14% in the second half of 2010.
"[SMBs] have less to lose and more to gain because the benefits are more obvious and easier to acquire," said Charles King, principal analyst at IT advisory firm Pund-IT.
"For enterprises, there's an institutional reluctance to engage with outside services, especially when it comes to private information and custom applications," King added. SMBs, by contrast, tend to go with packaged software and are looking to cut costs for infrastructure.
As the studies continue to pour in and adoption rates increasing, it may be time for you to look at cloud computing for your business in 2012.
Posted by Brad McMillan on Wed, Mar 07, 2012 @ 09:30 PM
Cloud computing has definitely progressed from a few early innovators to widespread adoption, but let’s take a look at the classic Technology Adoption Model to understand this a little more closely. Geoffrey A. Moore, in his book entitled “Crossing the Chasm”, divided the market into the following categories in its adoption of new technologies:
New technologies are first embraced by a small group called Innovators, who appreciate the technology for its inherent “bells and whistles.” Business value is secondary to this group.
The next group is called the Early Adopters, and these are visionaries who recognize the business value of a new technology and are willing to take some risk to reap the benefits.
The Early Majority is a large group who are ready to adopt the new technology because the bugs have been worked out, the early risk takers have taken their lumps, many companies have introduced products and services so there are many options to choose from, and this new venture is now a safer decision. This group now enjoys the added benefit of an infusion of competitors which in turn drives down pricing.
The Late Majority has sat on the sidelines, seen the benefits their peers have enjoyed, are jealous and now want the same great benefits for themselves.
The Laggards are those people that are always the last to adopt, are extremely conservative, and want to make sure ALL risks have been removed.
Looking closely at the market today you can see: The early risk takers have taken their lumps, there is a flood of new vendors on the market and prices are being driven down.
According to this widely accepted model, ‘cloud computing’ has now entered the Early Majority phase of the Technology Adoption Lifecycle which means there is a large group of people ready to adopt this new technology.
Because of the options that exist today and the maturity of the offerings, Cloud Computing is enjoying mainstream success. Up to this point, the Early Adopters and Innovators were the primary consumers of Cloud services. This group was primarily interested in the features and functionality and less concerned about market adoption:
Because of the sheer size of the market opportunity that the Early Majority represents, Cloud Computing has now been flooded with thousands of vendors both large and small to capitalize on this spending wave. In recent months, big firms such as Google, IBM, Microsoft, EMC, HP, Dell, and others have introduced their own brand of Cloud services.
For those organizations that are interested in leveraging new technology to gain a competitive advantage but need a certain comfort level before doing so, many vendors are rich with Customer Case Studies, Testimonials, and various endorsements all designed to provide that decision safety. Most importantly, with the introduction of many new players, the price points for Cloud services are at an all-time low.
If you believe in the Technology Adoption Lifecycle, now is the time to embrace the Cloud.
Posted by Brad McMillan on Tue, Feb 21, 2012 @ 02:09 PM
Cloud is a new computing paradigm that opens the door to bold new possibilities. Cloud is already having a broad impact, with implications that are relevant even to the most non-technical person.
As business leaders, we expect technology to deliver cost efficiencies, improve cust
omer experience, drive revenue growth, and foster innovation. At the same time, we expect constant availability and end-to-end security.
This combination of rising expectations and a rapid rate of change challenge traditional approaches for information technology. Business cycles keep shortening, but business system complexity keeps escalating. Information technology is too often described as equal parts business accelerator and business obstructer.
Cloud will change the way the world lives, works, plays, and learns. Imagine having access to nearly unlimited computing power on any device from anywhere. Imagine bringing new products to market months faster than you can today. Imagine speeding up your innovation cycles, with fewer barriers to scaling up successes and shutting down failures. Imagine accessing your content—music, movies, books—from any location. Imagine connecting with friends, family, and colleagues around the globe with a rich and secure experience, accessible to everyone.
A new approach is needed to free individuals and organizations from the constraints of traditional information technology. I believe that Cloud is part of the answer and will play a central role in the next era of IT.
Though Cloud is a reality today, even greater functionality is on the horizon. As Cloud continues to mature into a market-place, we can expect more revenue opportunities, shorter time-to-market, and a richer set of applications and services. We will witness more powerful development capabilities, accessible even to non-technologists. We will experience better quality communication platforms. Lastly, we will achieve more efficient, scalable, and environmentally sustainable IT infrastructure.
Technology leaders have confirmed these points of view with Eric Schmidt, Chairman and Former Chief Executive for Google®, calling cloud computing the ‘defining technological shift of our generation’!
In my next article we will look at whether or not today is the right time to move to the Cloud.
Posted by Brad McMillan on Mon, Feb 13, 2012 @ 08:17 AM
Cloud Service Types
Once you understand the approach to the cloud you would like to take, you then decide on the types of services you would like to receive.
Software as a Service (SaaS): Pronounced “saas” enables users to access applications running on a Cloud infrastructure from various end-user devices (generally through a web browser). The user does not manage or control the underlying Cloud infrastructure or individual application capabilities other than limited user-specific application settings. Also called “software on demand,” it’s the simplest and most common form of cloud computing. You tap software from the cloud (rather than buying it outright and loading it onto your computer), often paying for usage in time increments. SaaS provides a ready-made application platform for users to start using once they sign up for the services.
Platform as a Service (PaaS): Pronounced “pass,” enables users to deploy applications developed using specified programming languages or frameworks and tools onto the Cloud infrastructure. The user does not manage or control the underlying infrastructure, but has control over deployed applications. Rather than just renting individual Web based applications when you need them, you’re tapping an operating system that your applications will use; a network; and a service provider that will perform basic maintenance of this network when necessary.
Infrastructure as a Service( IaaS): Pronounced “Ias,” is closer to the full monty of cloud computing services. You rent just about everything as you need it: virtual servers and storage space, virtual routers and other hardware, networking capabilities, an operating system and applications. Your host (cloud provider) will offer more extensive services and maintenance with an ‘IaS’ model. You still pay as you go (usually hourly or monthly), and you can scale up or down.
Now that we know what cloud computing is, its characteristics and how it is classified, let’s try and understand why we are talking about it so much. In my next article I will discuss why the ‘Cloud’ has become more and more relevant.
Posted by Brad McMillan on Tue, Jan 24, 2012 @ 09:59 PM
The first thing a business needs to consider as they look towards the cloud is which approach to the cloud they want to take. It may surprise some to learn that despite all the press and discussions around the cloud, there are only two classes of clouds: public clouds and private clouds. There are significant differences between the two classes and each has its own unique set of advantages and disadvantages.
Public clouds are cloud services provided by a third party (vendor). They exist beyond the company firewall, and they are fully hosted and managed by the cloud provider. Public clouds attempt to provide consumers with hassle-free IT elements. Whether it is software, application infrastructure, or physical infrastructure, the cloud provider takes on the responsibilities of installation, management, provisioning, and maintenance. Customers are only charged for the resources they use, so under-utilization is eliminated.
However, this comes at a cost. These services are usually offered with "convention over configuration," meaning that they are delivered with the idea of accommodating the most common use cases. Configuration options are usually a smaller subset than what they would be if the resource was controlled directly by the consumer. Another thing to keep in mind is that since consumers have little control over the infrastructure, processes requiring tight security and regulatory compliance are not always a good fit for public clouds.
Private clouds are cloud services provided within the enterprise. These clouds exist within the company firewall and they are managed by the enterprise. Private clouds have similar characteristics to that of public clouds with one major difference: the enterprise is in charge of setting up and maintaining the cloud. The difficulty and cost of establishing an internal cloud can sometimes be prohibitive, and the cost of continual operation of the cloud might exceed the cost of using a public cloud.
As the name suggests, private clouds are designed to be visible only to the organization that creates them. They are essentially private datacenters that an organization creates with stacks of servers all running virtual environments, providing a consolidated, efficient platform to run applications and store data. Private clouds provide a lot of the same benefits to the organization that a public cloud does, but still allows the organization to maintain ownership of the data and equipment.
However, where private clouds differ from public clouds is that private clouds can require a significant investment.
Hybrid clouds combine two or more clouds that remain unique entities but are bound together by technology that enables data and application portability.
A hybrid cloud blends the public and private cloud models. It assumes some level of interoperability between the two.
Due to the demand for the cloud to be more flexible and fully optimized, “hybrid clouds” will give companies an opportunity to pick which applications and IT services they want to provide and which they want to purchase from a cloud provider. These decisions will be based on costs, information risk and the functionality available from cloud providers on a workload-by-workload basis. In this model, your IT staff can keep internal control of data and processes, but you can also tap a public cloud for pay-as-you-go use of applications, computing power and scalable storage. The hybrid cloud leverages services that are in both the public and private space. Hybrid clouds are the answer when a company needs to employ the services of both a public and private cloud. In this sense, a company can outline the goals and needs of services, and obtain them from the public or private cloud, as appropriate.
Once you understand the approach to the cloud you would like to take, you then decide on the types of services you would like to receive. In my next blog article we will look at the three services which make up cloud computing.
Posted by Brad McMillan on Mon, Jan 09, 2012 @ 03:48 PM
Cloud Characteristics?
Almost every IT vendor on the planet has recently announced a ‘cloud’ version of their product. Hosting your product and making it available through a web browser is only one characteristic of cloud computing (broad network access). To be able to call yourself a ‘true’ cloud computing vendor your product must have very specific characteristics.
The five essential characteristics taken from the NIST definition and typically associated with cloud computing are:
On-Demand Self Service - Consumers must be able to consume cloud services at the infrastructure, platform or application level whenever they want without requiring significant assistance.
The buyer can typically set up an account with the seller, establish security and billing credentials, and then select and schedule the use of the cloud computing resources on sale. This is generally done using an easily accessible and user-friendly online system.
Broad Network Access - Network access is needed to establish the initial provider/consumer relationship, for subsequent use of the cloud services themselves, and for use of added services that the consumer may implement using the cloud services. The cloud services must be accessible through standardized mechanisms. This introduces an important consideration for all cloud implementations – the use of standards. Without adherence to standards throughout the technology stack, from the network level up to the client access and presentation level, accessibility from such a variety of devices and applications would inevitably be reduced and broad network access would not be achievable.
With broad network access, a company can implement added services that can be successfully used by anyone, anywhere on the globe, using a variety of devices.
Resource Pooling - The provider’s computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to consumer demand. Efficient resource use is one side of the resource-pooling coin; multi-tenancy is the other.
A traditional IT model is generally centered on the provision of IT services for one enterprise. Because they can assign pooled resources dynamically to meet demand, cloud service providers can maintain maximum service levels with minimum resources. For consumers, this means high Quality of Service at low cost. It is a major reason why cloud computing, unlike other initiatives, is expected to succeed.
Rapid Elasticity - Capabilities can be rapidly and elastically provisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out and rapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can be purchased in any quantity at any time.
One of the key benefits of cloud computing is the ability to have a flexible computing service which can expand or contract in line with business demand, giving you capacity which would be impossible to generate from an in-house implementation without significant investment in resources.
Measured Service - Cloud systems automatically control and optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both the provider and consumer of the utilized service.
If services are to be charged on a per-use basis, it is immediately obvious that usage must somehow be measured. Consumers require sufficient measurements from their cloud computing service providers to enable them to make purchasing and operational judgments.
Sellers of cloud services must provide sufficient information about their charging regimes up-front to allow purchasers to make informed choices. On an ongoing basis, they must provide accurate accounting information to support their bills, and give sufficient usage information to allow solutions to be managed operationally.
In my next blog article we will look at how to classify the cloud computing deployment models and services that are readily available today.
Posted by Brad McMillan on Tue, Jan 03, 2012 @ 12:20 PM
What is Cloud Computing?
Historically, the concepts behind cloud computing can be attributed to John McCarthy who in 1961 said, “If computers of the kind I have advocated become the computers of the future, then computing may someday be organized as a public utility just as the telephone system is a public utility.…The computer utility could become the basis of a new and important industry.”
Just as John described almost 50 years ago, cloud computing is a new paradigm where computing resources are available when needed, and you pay for their use in much the same way as for household utilities. Just as water is piped to your home and you pay for as much or as little as you use, cloud computing resources are available whenever needed and charges are based on how much you use them. When you turn it off, the water that you would have used is available for use by others, in the same way, shared cloud resources can be used by others when not used by you.
The IT industry has a habit of latching onto buzzwords and applying them everywhere. “Cloud” is no exception. After many false starts and bobbled introductions, it is now safe to say that the world has reached the Cloud Age. Everyone is talking about it. Over the last 12 months, just about every IT vendor on the planet has introduced a new product, solution, or service with the word “Cloud” in the title.
To begin to understand the term cloud computing we first need to establish that the ‘cloud’ is a metaphor for the Internet and is an abstraction for the complex infrastructure it conceals. For those of you who have ever seen a computer network diagram, you will remember that the Internet is always depicted as a cloud.
To understand cloud computing further, let’s start with a definition.
As a practical baseline for our discussion, we cite the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) definition of cloud computing published October 7, 2009 which seems to have gained the most traction in defining the cloud:
“Cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.”
I know I already have a few of you confused. The terms convenient, rapidly provisioned and minimal effort are not normally associated with IT.
What we are really talking about here is ‘technology as a service’.
As we move forward, all new IT functionality will come to businesses as an ‘external service’. It will become increasingly illogical to think of IT as outsourced. Companies will no longer think of buying a technology product first and then outsourcing it later but will think of buying the ‘service’ first.
IT Managers and decision makers inside these businesses will have an increasingly vital role because ‘external services’ will more than ever become a core component of business success.
In my next blog post I will look at the common elements which make cloud computing different from its predecessors.
Posted by Brad McMillan on Mon, Nov 07, 2011 @ 02:45 PM
Cloud computing is now within the reach of small business owners. Without having to pay upfront, current and future costs of an IT infrastructure, small businesses can focus on what they do best: serving their customers. They can now develop a competitive edge that helps them gain more customers.
What is It?
Cloud computing refers to sharing files and software applications in a virtual environment. Instead of having a dedicated physical server for your company, your business can use the Internet to host its files and programs. In essence it is ‘technology as a service’.
Access
One benefit of cloud computing is that employees from around the world can access files and programs without being linked to a single company server. Cloud computing spreads the responsibility of storing data across many servers over the Internet.
Costs
You pay for cloud computing services through a subscription-based service. The more you need to store, the more you will pay for your subscription. However, the costs of cloud computing is much less expensive that developing your own IT infrastructure, building it, and paying for the staff necessary to maintain it. As your company grows and you need more storage space, you can simply upgrade your daily or monthly subscription to reflect your increased cloud computing needs. The lower overhead costs of cloud computing versus in-house IT infrastructure make cloud computing the way to go for many small businesses.
On-Demand
Cloud computing lets your employees access information they need right when they need it. On-demand service is something cloud computing does well. Whenever you need access to a file, you can get it anywhere you have Internet access. You don’t have to wait for the server to respond in your office. You can sit at home and connect to the server to do your work in the middle of the night if necessary.
Software
If your company uses a particular type of software for its projects, you can often purchase online versions of software to use. If this is the case, the software can be added to your cloud. You don’t have to worry any longer about updating individual computers with the latest version of the program or loading programs onto computers with a disc, as this is done automatically.
Disaster
In case of fire, flood or other catastrophe, cloud computing comes through for small businesses. Your files and software is not lost forever. It is stored safely in a remote location, and you have access to it any time, anywhere. As soon as you get new computers up and running again for your business, you can see and use your files whenever you want.
Time to Market
Reduce the time it takes your product to get to market with cloud computing. You don’t have to waste time building an internal IT infrastructure, planning its development or staffing it. Focus on getting your product out to potential customers and generating revenue. Cloud computing has what you need already in place.
Finding a Provider
Cloud computing services are offered by large companies and small ones. Each one may offer different benefits that would serve your company well. Research each company’s options and prices well before you buy. You might consider asking for a list of each company’s references. Talk to current and former customers to find out what they think of cloud computing in general and the company’s specific services.
Cloud computing offers small businesses many options and benefits. You can custom design your cloud to serve your company’s needs. Without spending money on back-end technology such as servers, you are free to devote your energies to developing your product and services.
Apps on Tap is a cloud computing provider for small business. Whether you have two employees or 200, Apps on Tap is the better way to meet your IT and computing needs now and down the road.