In the past decade, many companies have moved towards the agile method of development rather than the traditional waterfall methodology. Even companies that do not strictly adhere to agile development will usually use a blend of both agile and waterfall techniques. Agile development has many characteristics that make it more suited to modern technology than the waterfall method. Today, agile development is very closely related to DevOps and the cloud.
Agile development allows companies an adaptability and flexibility that is simply not possible through traditional waterfall methodology. In a world that moves as fast as the modern tech industry, the ability to turn on a dime during the development process is invaluable to any company. The waterfall method requires a linear project schedule that advances from one stage to another while the agile method is modular and fluid. It is this same fluidity that ties agile development into enterprise DevOps and the public cloud.
Cloud Computing Takes Not-for-Profits to New Heights
Not-for-profits and cloud computing seem to be made for one another.
The cloud IT delivery model is well suited to not-for-profits (NFPs) for a number of reasons, according to an article on CMO.com. There are little to no upfront costs with cloud services and consumption is usually billed on a monthly subscription basis, allowing for predictable budgeting.
There are also fewer IT staff requirements; this is ideal for NFPs who might not have the resources to hire skilled technical staff. In the specific case of server hardware, no servers need to be purchased, maintained, or recycled with a cloud service.
Other tangible benefits of the cloud for NFPs include rapid deployment of services, and the convenience of being able to use the service from any location – ideal for staff and volunteers.
Six Daily Tips for DevOps
At its core DevOps is all about collaboration. The lines of communication must be opened and it takes some effort to ensure that they stay that way. It’s easy to pay lip service to trends and talk about implementing new methodologies, but without action, real benefits cannot be realized. Success requires planning, advocates empowered to effect change, and, of course, the right tooling.
To bring about a cultural shift it’s important to share challenges. In simple terms, ensuring that everyone knows what everyone else is doing can create a real team spirit and social cohesion that will drive DevOps forward. Here are six tips that can be implemented to help you get there.
Enterprise Mobility 2014 Is Going to the Cloud
Do you like opinions? I have asked my UK based colleague and opinionated enterprise mobility expert, Peter Rogers, to share some of his personal views and predictions for enterprise mobility in 2014 in this guest post. Do you disagree or agree with Peter? We would love your comments. Enjoy!
First, the days of the million pound MADP (mobile application development platform) are over. Customers want to see solutions with flexible cost models starting at a 250K entry point in Europe (probably double that in the US). They don’t want a black box take-it-or-leave-it approach for a million pounds.
Second, the virtues of MADPs have been greatly overstated. Customers now realise they can develop their own hybrid mobile applications using powerful yet inexpensive development tools, and they can manage the development themselves or with trusted SI partners.
The MADP business case is dead. However the original MCAP premise of putting the power into the developers’ hands for cross-platform apps and combining this with a Mobile Cloud Platform for life cycle management is alive and well today.
Cloud Storage: The Truth About Your Security
In light of the recent NSA snooping scandal via their PRISM program regarding private cloud computing security, many people are left wondering if their sensitive data is actually secure. In fact, the statistics points to this startling fact: businesses and individuals alike have been scrambling to remove their data from the cloud and away from any potential threats. Industry analysts have recently stated that the cloud arena is slated to lose roughly $35 BILLION (with a ‘B’) because of this debacle alone.
Red Hat Pathway to IT Modernization
Over time, every IT portfolio gets bogged down in the chaos of servers, platforms, and software that make up the current IT landscape. Legacy systems, disparate architectures, and aging technologies slowly eat away at returns, reduce your ability to respond to shifting demands, and limit how quickly you can scale to meet new market opportunities. IT modernization lets you reboot your portfolio for greater agility, reduced cost, and operational excellence. This frees up your time and money to focus on innovation, not implementation.
Selecting Cloud Security Brokers: ‘All-in-One’ or ‘Best-of-Breed’?
When we set out to build the PerspecSys Cloud Data Control Gateway, we faced an important design decision: would the market prefer an “All-in-One” or a “Best-of-Breed” Cloud Security Broker?
In the “All-in-One” camp, IT professionals have come to learn that the bundled modules from a single vendor have significant gaps in features that frequently lead to critical capability holes with implications ranging from operational scalability to compliance and security. Failing to address these shortcomings can be devastating for companies, potentially leading to financial loss and brand damage. This is because ”All-in-One” products tempt enterprises by offering multiple solutions, many of which the customer was not even considering using. Most of these complimentary modules do not make any of the industry-validated lists (e.g., Gartner Magic Quadrants) for capability or quality, and as a result are frequently not even mentioned in research or analyst rankings.
Cloud Development Using SCM 12.5
Recently, I was asked by Mr. Peter Hastings (NH DoIT Commissioner) to take a look at cloud development concepts and see if there was any benefit for our development teams across the enterprise. After some investigation I could see that if all users/developers were on one server that contained all the licenses for the tool and the assets were centralized, and the SCM tool was standardized, the state could save money in various ways on activities related to software development and transform state government with more status accounting and visibility into software development not only for state developers but contractors as well.
I met with Commissioner Hastings and explained that developers would have less of a learning curve from department to department if the tool was standardized. The only thing the developer would have to learn is the application to develop code. The tool would already be known because SCM supports all the development platforms used at the state today. The state develops in Java, multiple versions of Visual Studio, COBOL for legacy applications, multiple versions of PowerBuilder, Visual Basic, etc. The list goes on with every agency that gets implemented in the enterprise as there are new tools I was unaware of and new ways of using SCM integrated with them.
ERPfocus.com Named “Association Sponsor” of Cloud Expo NY & Silicon Valley
SYS-CON Events announced today that ERPfocus.com has been named “Association Sponsor” of SYS-CON’s 14th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 10–12, 2014, at the Javits Center in New York City, New York, and the 15th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 4–6, 2014, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
ERPfocus.com gathers together the latest thinking and research about ERP software. Whether you’re new to the world of ERP or an industry veteran, you’ll find exclusive articles, white papers and downloads designed to help you expand your expertise.
Hopefully We Will Find Out Strong Encryption or Tokenization Was in Place…
Like millions of other Americans, I learned the other night about the massive data breach at Target. The Washington Post is reporting that sensitive details on over 40 million credit and debit cards were exposed. While the information associated with the crime is still coming out, the implications of this breach could be enormous.
Forrester’s John Kindervag was quoted in the Washington Post article I read saying that “whatever money Target thought they were going to see the holiday season just got flushed down the data breach toilet.” The costs they potentially face include everything from fines, reimbursement to the major card schemes (Visa, MasterCard, American Express), legal fees, system and infrastructure costs to bolster security (once they determine what went wrong) and, perhaps most significantly, brand and reputation damage that could very well impact their top line.