As enterprises around the world struggle with their digital transformation efforts, many are finding that innovative digital teams are moving much faster than their hidebound IT organizations. Rather than struggling to convince traditional IT to get with the digital program, executives are taking advice from IT research firm Gartner, and encouraging existing IT to continue in their desultory ways.
However, many CIOs are realizing the dangers of following Gartner’s advice. The central challenge with bimodal IT is that it encourages IT management to shift their transformation efforts away from ‘slow’ IT to ‘fast’ digital efforts.
[session] Regaining Control of Storage Performance By @SecurityFirstCo | @CloudExpo #Cloud
Cloud Object Storage is effectively infinitely scalable and boasts the lowest total costs. But cloud SLAs and T&Cs are traditionally optimized for huge customers like Netflix, so applications demanding better confidentiality or higher availability typically can’t reap the benefits of public cloud storage.
In his session at 18th Cloud Expo, Don Martin, CTO of Security First Corp, will provide an overview of innovative technologies available today – secret sharing and information dispersal algorithms – that enable multiple, redundant cloud storage locations to be efficiently harnessed for the most sensitive and most demanding storage applications.
[session] Best Practices in Operating Hybrid Infrastructure By @RackNgo | @CloudExpo #Cloud
The pace of innovation, vendor lock-in, production sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and managing risk… In his session at 18th Cloud Expo, Dan Choquette, Founder of RackN, will discuss how CIOs are challenged finding the balance of finding the right tools, technology and operational model that serves the business the best.
He will discuss how clouds, open source software and infrastructure solutions have benefits but also drawbacks and how workload and operational portability between vendors and platforms give control back to the users and drives innovation.
Ford invests $182.2 million in cloud-based software company Pivotal
(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/VanderWolf-Images)
With a view to improve its software development capabilities and fast track innovations to customers, Ford has invested $182.2 million in cloud-based software company Pivotal. The automaker is working towards becoming an auto and a mobility company. Along with a focus on its core automotive business, Ford is looking to boost its Ford Smart Mobility initiative by pursuing leadership in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience, and data and analytics.
Mark Fields, Ford president and CEO, said: “Expanding our business to be both an auto and mobility company requires leading-edge software expertise to deliver outstanding customer experiences. Our investment in Pivotal will help strengthen our ability to deliver these customer experiences at the speed of Silicon Valley, including continually expanding FordPass – our digital, physical and personal mobility experience platform.”
Ford has collaborated with Pivotal on the development of FordPass that provides new customer services, like remote access to vehicles through a smartphone app, and mobility solutions, such as parking and car sharing. Now, Ford plans to integrate Pivotal’s advanced software development methodologies and technology across the IT, product development, and research and advanced engineering teams. Ford’s on-demand Dynamic Shuttle pilot program will feature Pivotal’s next-generation cloud platform and analytics capabilities.
What are your thoughts on Ford’s investment in Pivotal? Let us know in the comments.
SAP cloud offering lacks clarity – user group survey
The UK & Ireland SAP User Group has released findings from a survey which state only 58% of current SAP users are considering or using its cloud offerings, and 60% said the company were not good enough at communicating the benefits of their products.
The findings showed only 39% were using or planning to use SAP Cloud for Customer and only 23% planned to use S/4 HANA enterprise cloud edition. Just over a third confirmed they were currently or planning to use SAP’s HANA Cloud Platform (HCP), though 32% said they didn’t know what was, and 10% said they believed the company did an effective job of outlining the benefits and use case of the product itself. Overall, 60% of the user group said the company was not good enough at communicating benefits of the cloud suite to the users themselves.
“Over the last 18 months, we have seen more of our members looking to move elements of their SAP estate to the cloud. However, as the survey results show, users still face challenges when it comes adopting SAP’s cloud offerings,” said Paul Cooper, vice-chairman of the UK & Ireland SAP User Group. “For organisations that have heavily invested in on-premise applications in the past, there still needs to be an attractive business case for them to move to the cloud.
“If users are to fully realise the benefits of SAP cloud offerings, they need to understand the company’s roadmap and strategy. For instance, the survey highlighted that just over half (52%) of respondents were unsure that S/4HANA would make them more readily consider using cloud services from SAP in the future.”
While cloud computing as a concept could be perceived as penetrating the mainstream market, it is worth remembering there is a substantial proportion of organizations that are not in a position to make the transition currently. 58% of respondents said they were concerned the strong focus on cloud computing from SAP could result in installed on premise products being left being left behind, and the users of such products missing out on product updates.
Another area which may worry SAP is that of acquisitions, as 44% of respondents highlighted they were not sure as to where SuccessFactors, Ariba, Fieldglass and Concur would fit into future strategies of the business. Concur Technologies was acquired for $8.3 billion, Ariba for $4.3 billion, SuccessFactors for $3.4 billion and Fieldglass for $1.1 billion (estimated).
“SAP is committed to helping deliver business value to all its customers and we welcome the feedback from the UKI User Group,” said Kevin Kimber, Head of Cloud at SAP UK&I. “At SAP, all our solutions can be tailored to our customers’ individual needs – whether that involves on premise, cloud or hybrid models. By offering this flexibility we can support our customers on their individual cloud journey which varies across industry and user.
“We’re encouraged by the results of the survey that show that the majority of SAP users are either already using or planning to adopt our cloud offerings. We believe SAP provides the most complete end to end holistic cloud portfolio and we continue to strive to enhance our offerings through strategic acquisitions and sustained investment with the goal of providing best of breed cloud solutions. We’re committed to engaging in an active dialogue with our customers and the wider ecosystem to share our vision and roadmap for cloud solutions and will continue to promote this message publicly.”
SAP reported its quarterly earnings last month, in which it was highlighted cloud subscriptions and support revenues grew 33% year-on-year to €678 million, and new cloud bookings grew at 23% over the quarter to €145 million. The cloud business, as well as software support revenues, accounted for 69% of the quarter’s total revenues.
The cloud business unit within SAP has been prioritized as the growth engine, though it might be considering a worrying sign for SAP executives that the cloud offerings themselves are not being communicated to their current customer bases who are reportedly confused about the company’s future direction.
Apple bolsters position in enterprise cloud market with SAP partnership
Apple CEO Tim Cook (Left) and SAP CEO Bill McDermott (Right)
Mobile device giant Apple has announced a new partnership with enterprise software vendor SAP to develop iOS apps based on the SAP HANA cloud platform, reports Telecoms.com.
This marks the latest move by Apple to strengthen its position in the enterprise sector, following a similar partnership with IBM in 2014, and other with Cisco last year. The most recent iPad launch was focused squarely at enterprise and with shipments of both iPhones and iPads having apparently peaked, Apple will be hoping an enterprise push will yield dividends.
The SAP partnership is focused on the development of native enterprise apps for iOS that support SAP’s cloud platform HANA. There will also be a dedicated SDK and training academy to assist in the development effort and a version of the SAP Fiori UX platform for iOS.
“This partnership will transform how iPhone and iPad are used in enterprise by bringing together the innovation and security of iOS with SAP’s deep expertise in business software,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.
“As the leader in enterprise software and with 76% of business transactions touching an SAP system, SAP is the ideal partner to help us truly transform how businesses around the world are run on iPhone and iPad. Through the new SDK, we’re empowering SAP’s more than 2.5 million developers to build powerful native apps that fully leverage SAP HANA Cloud Platform and tap into the incredible capabilities that only iOS devices can deliver.”
“We’re proud to take this special partnership between Apple and SAP to a ground-breaking new place,” said Bill McDermott, CEO of SAP. “In giving people an agile and intuitive business experience, we empower them to know more, care more and do more.
“By combining the powerful capabilities of SAP HANA Cloud Platform and SAP S/4HANA, together with iOS, the leading and most secure mobile platform for enterprise, we will help deliver live data to people wherever and whenever they choose to work. Apple and SAP share a commitment to shaping the future, helping the world run better and improving people’s lives.”
Tablet shipment numbers are not much lower than PCs these days but the default enterprise device remains the laptop. For mainly desk-based workers this will probably remain the case indefinitely but Apple will be keen to entrench and expand its foothold in enterprise. The BYOD (bring your own device) era that accompanied the smartphone boom is also a great opportunity for Apple in enterprise, as is the work-provided opportunity created by the decline of Blackberry.
Powwownow claim 77% of employees look for flexible working in next job
In light of Flexible Working awareness day, Powwownow has released research findings which demonstrate employee desires for mobility and flexible working solutions.
The research highlighted while only 25% of brits have the opportunity to work flexibly, 70% believe the opportunity to do so would improve their relationship with co-workers and 62% state they would be more productive if given the option to work outside of the office. 77% of respondents said a job which offered flexible working options was instantly more attractive.
“Flexible working has become a key area now when people are looking for a job and companies in the UK face losing the top talent if they don’t adapt to this way of working,” said Jason Downes, MD at Powwownow. “With the technology now on offer there is no need for people to have to work in an office from 9-5. This is old fashioned and seemingly unproductive and more needs to be done for this to change.”
The benefits of mobility within the workplace has been well-documented by various research and academic institutions, but claims have been seemingly backed up by the research findings themselves. 58% of respondents believe the choice of when and where to work would enable them to think more creatively, and generally be more motivated.
“It’s coming up to two years since the Flexible Working Law was passed in the UK and while there has been progress made, we still see a reluctance from business leaders in terms of adopting flexible working, despite the benefits now being extremely well publicised,” said Downes. “It’s the culture that needs to change and we hope that days such as this will help decision makers sit up and take notice.”
While the desire for enterprise mobility strategies have been on the rise for both employees and leaders within the IT organization, there are still a number of hurdles, both technological and culturally, before it could be perceived as mainstream. A recent survey from Citrix highlighted employee negligence and indifference to IT policy is one of the most significant inhibitors to cloud security.
Although 45% of workers are likely to use passwords to secure documents at home, this number drops to 35% at work, demonstrating the concerns the IT department will have when looking at any mobility opportunities. Until the security of a company’s data can be guaranteed, enterprise mobility is likely to be continued to be viewed through a wary eye.
Vonage agrees to purchase Nexmo for $230m
Vonage has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Nexmo for $230 million in cash and stock, to increase its capabilities in the cloud communications for business market segment.
Nexmo is regarded as the second largest Communications Platform-as-a-Service, CPaaS, company by revenues, a market which IDC estimates will be worth $8 billion by 2018. Nexamo API’s for developers to embed contextual communications into mobile apps, websites and business workflows via text, social media, chat apps and voice, and has a customer base including companies such as Uber, Alibaba and Snapchat. Vonage claims following the acquisition it will have a total addressable market of nearly $28 billion by 2018.
“In 2014, we set out on a mission to become the clear leader in Cloud Communications for business. With the acquisition of Nexmo, we are now uniquely positioned to lead the market,” said Vonage CEO Alan Masarek. “By combining Vonage’s rapidly growing Unified Communications as a Service (“UCaaS”) business, with Nexmo, the second largest player in CPaaS, we are creating the future of Cloud Communications. These companies represent a set of strategic, technology and human resources assets that deliver the broadest services offering in our industry.”
Nexmo currently has more than 350 enterprise customers, 114,000 registered developers and processes 5 billion API calls annually, and its geographical footprint will allow Vonage to expand its influence in the EMEA and Asia Pacific markets.
EMC & Dell execs outline integration plan to create Dell Technologies
Dell’s Chief Integration Officer Rory Read (Right) and EMC’s COO of the Global Enterprise Services business unit Howard Elias (Left)
Speaking at EMC World in Las Vegas, Dell’s Chief Integration Officer Rory Read and EMC’s COO of the Global Enterprise Services business unit Howard Elias offered some insight into the workings of the Value Creation and Integration Office, the team built to manage the integration of EMC and Dell during the course of the merger.
The Value Creation and Integration Office was created following the announcement of the merger last year with the intention of managing the transition of taking two tech giants and moulding them into one efficient organization. Both Read and Elias have experience of overseeing such activities, Read was for example the President of Lenovo during the Intel acquisition, though there are few similarities between the pair’s previous experience and one of the largest mergers in business history.
“Both companies have some extensive experience of acquisitions and incorporating other businesses, but we couldn’t use any of the playbooks for this one,” said Elias of the current merger. But while there are few examples to draw upon to build a blueprint that is not to say it is a more complicated task. In fact, the pair argued the integration of the two organizations has been a relatively smooth journey thus far, with few major roadblocks envisioned moving towards Day 1, the team’s nickname for the deadline when Dell and EMC will cease to exist as two separate organizations.
Dell’s Chief Integration Officer Rory Read
“The collisions or overlaps are very minor, this is why the integration has been very smooth so far,” said Read, with regard to the overlap in business operations between Dell and EMC. The pair drew attention to the current focus areas of both businesses to explain the smooth integration thus far. While Dell and EMC play in the same arena, to date there has been very little direct competition between the two businesses. Read claims this lack of overlap makes their job easier, but ultimately creates a host more opportunities for the new company, Dell Technologies, in the future.
While combining the revenues of the two businesses would certainly make a significant figure, the team believe the cross-selling and up-selling opportunities created by having a single business offering both the portfolios would create more prospects. “Our customer overlap isn’t large and opens up a lot of new opportunities,” said Read
In theory, by cross-selling Dell and EMC’s portfolio’s in one product offering the team believe there is an opportunity to steal market share from Dell/EMC competitors, dependent on which one is the incumbent supplier. This cross/up-selling opportunity will enable the team to exceed the combined revenues of Dell and EMC, the team claims.
The integration will not stop with EMC and Dell as the company plans to merge the channel partners as well. Details of this aspect of the integration have not been released as of yet, however Read and Elias highlighted the channel partner programmes for both organizations would be phased in. Some announcements will be made on Day 1, though the majority will take place at the end of the year, as this is a natural time for the channel partners to expect a change in operating practise.
EMC’s COO of the Global Enterprise Services business unit Howard Elias
The final hurdles the team face are the Chinese regulators, the one remaining body to have not signed off on the merger to date. While Chinese regulators have proven to be a difficulty for other organizations in the past, Read and Elias claim it should be a relatively simple process for the team. Read highlighted the fact that all other regulatory bodies had signed off on the deal 100% with no condition attached, it was a good sign when considering the Chinese regulatory process.
In terms of headcount, although there were no official figures given, Read and Elias did indicate there will be job losses as a result of the merger. Due to there being few areas where the two businesses overlap, the reduction in headcount will be low, according to Read, but as with any other merger it is unavoidable. The team will not be releasing any comments or numbers relating to job losses until Day 1.
There have been difficulties in bringing two vast organizations together according to the team, though this is unavoidable in such a task. The $67 billion deal is one of the largest in business history, and it shouldn’t surprise many that the task of integration is a vast one also, though the team are confident the methodology which is in place to create one organization, will be successful.
“This deal is on time, on plan and on budget, from the schedule we set out in October,” said Howard. “The integration and merger is running smoothly and we’ll be ready to go. Day 1 is not the end of anything, it’s the beginning of our new company.”
Ford invests $180m in Pivotal to bolster software capabilities
US automotive giant Ford has invested $182.2m in cloud software company Pivotal, in a continued effort to diversify its business offerings.
The company has stated it is ‘aggressively’ pursuing emerging technologies as it aims to become a company known as much for mobility as it does for cars and SUV’s. Ford’s ambitions are targeted towards becoming a leader in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience, and data and analytics.
“Expanding our business to be both an auto and mobility company requires leading-edge software expertise to deliver outstanding customer experiences,” said Mark Fields, Ford CEO. “Our investment in Pivotal will help strengthen our ability to deliver these customer experiences at the speed of Silicon Valley, including continually expanding FordPass – our digital, physical and personal mobility experience platform.”
The relationship itself dates back to February of this year, as the team announced a new partnership to deliver FordPass, a platform which offers customers remote access to vehicles through a smartphone app, and mobility solutions, such as parking and car sharing. As part of the new relationship, Pivotal’s cloud and analytics capabilities will be incorporated into new projects such as its Dynamic Shuttle service, which offers employees on-demand ride sharing around its Dearborn campus in Michigan. The team have plans to expand the service to new locations and applications, including delivery services and emergency medical transportation, in coming months.
“Today we are at a major inflection point in global business, and Pivotal is at the fulcrum of that change,” said Rob Mee, Pivotal CEO. “We are collaborating with iconic companies like Ford to help transform their businesses with our unique software development methodology and modern cloud platform and analytics tools. We are thrilled to create a deeper partnership with Ford through this investment as we drive its evolution to becoming both an auto and mobility company – reinventing yet again how the world moves.”
Ford already uses Pivotal’s software in its EcoBoost engines, the SYNC 3 connectivity system and driver-assist parking technologies. The company also claims the F-150 model features more than 150 million lines of code, compared to a typical smartphone operating system has approximately 12 million lines, demonstrating the growing trend of software within the automotive industry.
With autonomous vehicles one of the industry’s growing trends, companies such as Google and Microsoft have made healthy investments in recent months, some corners of the industry will be less surprised with Ford’s moves. Customer experience has long played a role within the automotive industry, though the growth and normalization of cloud technologies, combined with increasingly demanding, digitally orientated customers, Ford’s financial moves could demonstrate the beginning of a new trend of investments for car manufacturers.