In the enterprise context, the missing piece of Agile Software Architecture is Agile Enterprise Architecture, where EA brings together the organization, the processes, the technology, and the information in a consistent, business-driven whole. Configurability alone doesn’t provide this consistency. Instead, true Agile Architecture – that is, architecture that supports the business agility requirement – must tie these concerns together using a balanced combination of Enterprise Architecture, governance, and Agile Software Architecture.
Monthly Archives: July 2013
SYS-CON.tv Interview: The Stairway to Cloud
“The thing about cloud is that a lot of it is about designing and operating for the future, so being mindful of where your providers are going and what their strategy is, is part of the decision criteria of partners that you pick. You are providing what people want but anticipating what they will need,” stated Jonathan King, VP Cloud Strategy & Business Development at Savvis, in this SYS-CON.tv interview with Cloud Expo Conference Chair Jeremy Geelan at the 12th International Cloud Expo, held June 10–13, 2013, at the Javits Center in New York City.
Cloud Expo 2013 Silicon Valley, November 4–7, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading Cloud industry players in the world.
Where Are All the Cloud Buyers?
I’ve spoken at several Cloud conferences over the last couple of years, including the recent Informa Cloud World Forum, UBM CloudConnect, Cloud Expo, and several others. And while many of these events attract a good number of attendees, there is something that all of them are missing. Buyers.
Where Are All the Cloud Buyers?
I’ve spoken at several Cloud conferences over the last couple of years, including the recent Informa Cloud World Forum, UBM CloudConnect, Cloud Expo, and several others. And while many of these events attract a good number of attendees, there is something that all of them are missing. Buyers.
Hindsight Is 20/20: Lessons Learned from Sandy
Among the most important factors in finding a home for Information Technology infrastructure is location. The hurricane, or ‘Super Storm Sandy,’ as it is referred to in the New York metro market, created many calamitous events throughout the region, especially those areas close to the water or in-land surrounded by trees. While this natural disaster was not something we could have all planned extensively for, it certainly provided lessons that only a 100+year storm can teach us.
First, let’s consider the location of your company’s data communications infrastructure. This is the equipment that is the core of your business. If it goes down, then everyone is down. Regardless of each end-user’s location, if they are unable to access the company’s communications systems, they can’t perform their jobs effectively. Finding the most suitable location could be challenging, particularly for those in regions with regular seismic activity, but there are other concerns in the New York metro market: rain, wind and flooding.
SYS-CON.tv Interview: Migrating Applications to the Cloud
“Cloud Technology Partners focuses on three key service areas: building cloud for our customers, delivering cloud native applications, and we’re migrating applications to the cloud,” explained John Treadway, SVP at Cloud Technology Partners, in this SYS-CON.tv interview with Cloud Expo Conference Chair Jeremy Geelan at the 12th International Cloud Expo, held June 10–13, 2013, at the Javits Center in New York City.
Cloud Expo 2013 Silicon Valley, November 4–7, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading Cloud industry players in the world.
How to Take Your Enterprise Applications to the Cloud
With so many stories about cloud computing, IT outsourcing, hosting, SaaS solutions and managed services, we should all be well beyond the question of whether organizations should be moving their enterprise applications to the cloud. For those companies that have not yet started to move these applications outside of their own four walls or, worse yet, have yet to develop a plan to do so, a window is ever shrinking on your ability to keep up with your competitors. Why? Because unless your value proposition to your customers is managing data centers, connectivity, routers, firewalls, servers, storage, backups, operating systems, databases, applications, etc., you’ll always be a step or maybe even two or three behind cloud service providers that do this day in and day out as part of their core business model.
When an organization moves its enterprise applications to the cloud and it’s done right, the benefits are compelling and real.
The Rise and Rise of Amazon Web Services
In September 2012 Netcraft reported that Amazon had become the largest hosting company in the world based on the number of web-facing computers. In the last eight months, the e-commerce company’s tally of web-facing computers has grown by more than a third, reaching 158k. The number of websites hosted on these computers has also increased, from 6.8M in September 2012 to 11.6M in May 2013, a 71% increase.
Back Up Data Correctly to Avoid a Disaster, Even When Disaster Strikes
The convergence of increased data stored on company networks and stricter compliance regulations dictating the length of time the information needs to be stored for have helped cloud storage explode in popularity. The cloud offers an easy-to-use, scalable and cost-effective solution for data storage. However, organizations must seriously consider how they manage their storage from a back-up and disaster recovery perspective. While there is no doubt that cloud computing can speed disaster recovery – from reducing the time it takes to restore data, to the fact that information is stored off-site, alleviating the risk of natural disasters – incorrectly managing the storage can often prove more of a hindrance than a help. Whether an employee accidently deletes a file, or a more sinister hack on the company network takes place, for most organizations it is inevitable that data recovery will need to occur at some point. Planning for disaster is essential and having in place an effective back-up and disaster recovery process can save headaches down the line.
What Can MSPs Learn from IT Consumerization?
IT transformation is being driven by modern methods of delivering services and MSPs can lead the way in helping customers.
The growth of smart mobile devices has led to a simultaneous advance of social gaming. Game developers are taking advantage of this trend by building popular products that resonate with youth. Not surprisingly, Facebook has enabled the social component of gaming by allowing their platform to be used via APIs.
Companies like Joyent act as cloud service providers specifically targeting Facebook game developers with a niche solution. For example, an immensely successful social game called Candy Crush Saga recently surpassed Angry Birds to become the most popular game. This shows that consumerization of IT opens opportunities to anyone with a great concept who can quickly assemble and deliver a solution that can scale to demand.
In enterprise IT environments, you can see similar developments affecting Managed Service Providers. For example, Joyent delivers infrastructure cloud services for companies like King (the developer of Candy Crush Saga) for game delivery. The IT ecosystem has to change with services delivered in an easy to use manner that simplifies consumption, since assembling a cloud solution from multiple services requires deep expertise. However, MSPs can fill these needs similarly to how they support social games produced and delivered to consumers.