Bi-Modal IT

Bi-Modal IT / CIO Strategy / Cloud Computing / Cloud infrastructure / DevOps / Digital Transformation / IT Governance / IT Strategy — Comments Off on InformationWeek – Software Delivery Depends on Infrastructure and Trust
17
Oct 18

InformationWeek – Software Delivery Depends on Infrastructure and Trust

Cloud infrastructure plays a major role in a company’s ability to execute a high performing software delivery cycle.

An advanced cloud architecture allows developers to spin instances up and down as needed and provides the bandwidth necessary to experiment and test an application or software update before pushing live.

According to a report by LogicMonitor, 58% of respondents to their survey said DevOps was somewhat/significantly driving public cloud engagement in their company, only ranking below digital transformation (63%) and IT agility (62%).

It makes sense that DevOps would be a large driver for cloud engagement. Many companies run software and applications hosted in the cloud, which serves as the main portal where they engage with their customers, whether they are internal or external.

More of the InformationWeek article from Emily Johnson

Bi-Modal IT / CIO Strategy / Cloud Computing / Cloud infrastructure / Digital Transformation / IaaS / IT Security / IT Strategy — Comments Off on TechTarget – Serverless technology obfuscates workflows, performance data
25
Apr 18

TechTarget – Serverless technology obfuscates workflows, performance data

I’m hearing that IT infrastructure is dead. And who needs it anymore, really? The future is about moving up the stack to microservices and serverless technology, as we continue to abstract, embed and automate away all the complexities of explicit infrastructure layers, such as storage arrays and physical servers.

On-premises, Capex-style IT is shrinking, while rented and remotely managed hardware and cloud transformation set new standards for modern IT. All the cool kids use end-to-end orchestration, advanced machine learning, real-time management data streams, microservices architecture and insanely scalable container environments. And now we even have serverless computing, sometimes called function as a service (FaaS).

More of the TechTarget article from Mike Matchett

Bi-Modal IT / CIO Strategy / Cloud Computing / Cloud infrastructure / Data Center / Digital Transformation / IaaS / IT Governance / IT Security / IT Strategy / Shadow IT / Technical Debt — Comments Off on InformationWeek – For IT in 2018, Think Change and Change Again
15
Feb 18

InformationWeek – For IT in 2018, Think Change and Change Again

Even with the ongoing new developments in core technologies, IT organizations are facing dramatic changes in how they work in 2018 as they embrace new business concepts and strategies.

We just might be at a point where IT professionals — from the overworked help desk staffer up to the CIO in the fancy office — long for the good old days. You remember those days, when technology, that “T” in IT, ruled the day.

That was when the to-do list was filled with tasks such as configuring hardware, testing compatibility of software packages, upgrading databases, responding to “stupid user” complaints, and fighting to keep hackers out of a system. Even the move to the cloud often was a bits and bytes and connections challenge. Today, a whole new layer of IT complexity has landed on top of all those pure tech issues.

More of the Information Week article from James M. Connolly

Bi-Modal IT / Business Development / CIO Strategy / Cloud Computing / Cloud infrastructure / DevOps / Digital Transformation / Disaster Recovery / IaaS / IT Governance / IT Security / IT Staff Retention / IT Strategy — Comments Off on ZDNet – Cloud computing: How to build a business case
28
Nov 17

ZDNet – Cloud computing: How to build a business case

Like any other major tech project, moving workloads into the cloud needs a solid business case — one that takes into account all the likely costs and benefits — before a company can decide whether it’s the correct move.

Cloud migration may be a tougher proposition than a standard IT project because companies have to consider a wider variety of issues — like what to do with all those servers, or even entire data centers, that may be made redundant by the move.

The business case should calculate the costs of migrating to the cloud — which include the cost of moving systems over, as well as the cost of running services in the cloud after migration — and then compare them to the costs of keeping systems in-house.

More of the ZDNet post from Steve Ranger

Bi-Modal IT / CIO Strategy / Cloud Computing / Cloud infrastructure / Digital Transformation / IaaS / IT Staff Retention / IT Strategy — Comments Off on TechTarget – Upgrade your IT admin career options with these tips
27
Nov 17

TechTarget – Upgrade your IT admin career options with these tips

As anyone who has been working in the Microsoft space in the last few years knows, the rate of change for a Windows sys admin has accelerated greatly, and it’s time to buckle in or fall behind.

Gone are the days of an environment that remains static for years. We’re now in a cloud and “as a service” world. With DevOps and Agile deployment methodologies in vogue, administrators get many small updates more frequently rather than the occasional, giant update every few years.

Due to this new world — which usually makes business sense due to the economics of scale — IT admins need to update their skills to stay current. How can you stay afloat in this rapidly changing environment and prepare for advancement in your IT admin career?

More of the TechTarget post from Adam Fowler

Bi-Modal IT / CIO Strategy / Cloud Computing / Cloud infrastructure / Digital Transformation / Get Better / IT Governance / IT Security / IT Strategy — Comments Off on HBR – How to Spot a Machine Learning Opportunity, Even If You Aren’t a Data Scientist
27
Oct 17

HBR – How to Spot a Machine Learning Opportunity, Even If You Aren’t a Data Scientist

Artificial intelligence is no longer just a niche subfield of computer science. Tech giants have been using AI for years: Machine learning algorithms power Amazon product recommendations, Google Maps, and the content that Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter display in social media feeds. But William Gibson’s adage applies well to AI adoption: The future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed.

The average company faces many challenges in getting started with machine learning, including a shortage of data scientists. But just as important is a shortage of executives and nontechnical employees able to spot AI opportunities. And spotting those opportunities doesn’t require a PhD in statistics or even the ability to write code. (It will, spoiler alert, require a brief trip back to high school algebra.)

More of the Harvard Business Review article from Kathryn Hume

Bi-Modal IT / CIO Strategy / Cloud Computing / Cloud infrastructure / Digital Transformation / IaaS / IT Strategy / Uncategorized — Comments Off on IT Business Edge – Clouds Vie for Critical Workloads
06
Sep 17

IT Business Edge – Clouds Vie for Critical Workloads

Editors note: Like the Skytap illustration in the article, Expedient clients are using public and private cloud services RIGHT NOW to improve application performance, reduce maintenance workloads, and improve uptime. These organizations don’t have the luxury of waiting for their development teams or primary software vendors to rewrite their mission critical apps from the ground up.

It seems that cloud providers are no longer fooling around when it comes to getting enterprise workloads. With new migration packages and services optimized for mission-critical data and applications, CSPs large and small are eager for your business.

The question for most enterprises, however, is whether to stick with the hyperscale providers like Amazon and Microsoft, or go with a not-so-large firm that may have a bit more flexibility when it comes to matching infrastructure with customized user needs.

Skytap, for one, is hoping that the one-size-fits-all approach will not be enough for most enterprises as they embrace crucial service offerings like Big Data and the IoT. CEO Thor Culverhouse argues that the cloud giants are overlooking key market segments like the legions of mission-critical apps that are stuck on legacy systems but will have to move to hybrid infrastructure in order to keep up with the speed of business activity. His plan is to offer specialized infrastructure optimized for the 75 percent of the enterprise workload that is not likely to become cloud-native any time soon.

More of the IT Business Edge article from Arthur Cole

Bi-Modal IT / CIO Strategy / IT Governance / IT Security / IT Staff Retention / IT Strategy — Comments Off on CIO Insight – A Practical Alternative to Two-Speed IT (Part 2)
04
Aug 17

CIO Insight – A Practical Alternative to Two-Speed IT (Part 2)

In part one of this series, we explored a pair of competing requests many modern IT leaders receive from their stakeholders:

We investigated one “buzzwordy” solution—two-speed IT—and how implementing this solution often creates more problems than it solves. We proposed an alternate five-step framework for handling these requests. In steps one and two of this framework, we revealed how the above two competing requests are old problems, best solved with an old, proven solution—and not buzzwords.

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In part two of this series, we will walk you through the remaining steps in our practical framework and lead you down a path toward implementing this proven solution: the technology lifecycle.

Step 3: Think technology lifecycle, not “innovation” vs. “operations.”

To better understand why the good-on-paper “two-speed IT” approach often produces problems when implemented in the real world, look at Gartner’s two speeds (or modes) in which they shoehorn all technology systems and services:

Mode 1: Development projects related to core system maintenance, stability or efficiency. These require highly specialized programmers and traditional, slow-moving development cycles. There is little need for business involvement.

Mode 2: Development projects that help innovate or differentiate the business. These require a high degree of business involvement, fast turnaround and frequent updates. Mode 2 requires a rapid path (or IT fast lane) to transform business ideas into applications.

More of the CIO Insight post from Lee Reese

Bi-Modal IT / CIO Strategy / Cloud Computing / Cloud infrastructure / IT Governance / IT Security / IT Strategy — Comments Off on CIO Insight – Two-Speed IT: Juggling Competing Agendas (Part 1)
03
Aug 17

CIO Insight – Two-Speed IT: Juggling Competing Agendas (Part 1)

How can IT leaders juggle seemingly competing agendas: to meet the business’ demands for increased innovation, while cutting costs and slashing budgets?

With the ever-increasing interest in technology solutions, IT’s stakeholders are giving them two competing demands:
1. Produce new innovative, strategic technology-based capabilities.
2. Do so with reduced resources.

How can IT leaders step up to the plate and juggle these seemingly competing agendas: to meet the business’ demands for increased innovation, including new digital systems and services, all while cutting costs and slashing budgets?

Unleash Your DevOps Strategy by Synchronizing Application and Database Changes Register
One popular solution has emerged within IT thought leadership. Often called “two-speed IT,” this idea proposes that the IT organization does not attempt to resolve the tension between these two ideas. Instead, IT lumps all of its technology into one of two broad buckets: operational technology and innovative technology. Do this, and operations won’t slow down innovation, and expensive innovation investments won’t inflate operations’ budgets.

More of the CIO Insight post from Lee Reese

Bi-Modal IT / CIO Strategy / Cloud Computing / Cloud infrastructure / Data Center / Digital Transformation / IT Governance / IT Security / IT Strategy — Comments Off on IT Business Edge – Preparing for the Evolution of the IT Administrator Role
01
Sep 16

IT Business Edge – Preparing for the Evolution of the IT Administrator Role

Just as writing has come to mean texting, blogging or any form of digital writing, the cloud today means one or all of the three Cs: computing, connectivity and communication. And just as nearly all thought to putting pen to paper has disappeared, all reference to the natural cloud is long forgotten. The three Cs have altered the way we consume services. The adage, “change is the only constant,” holds true in the IT landscape like no other, forcing IT admins to constantly learn new skills and make strategic decisions.

In this slideshow Vidya Vasu, head of the ManageEngine Community, takes a closer look at how the role of the IT administrator is changing and how individuals can prepare.

More of the IT Business Edge article

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