Doug Theis - Leave your comfort zone.

ZDNet – 5 ways cloud computing is transforming software vendors

It’s never easy being a software vendor. Demanding users, incredibly smart competitors, and rapidly evolving technology mean constantly being on top of one’s game. Now, cloud and Software as a Service have added a whole new dimension to what it means to be a software vendor.

For starters, it means more, much more, than simply shifting the delivery model from on-premises installation to online download. A new report from PwC — its Global 100 Software Leaders report — states “cloud computing changes how software vendors run their companies. Sure, there are technical issues such as reliability and security. But there are also business and cultural issues affecting all phases of a company, from product development to marketing and sales, extending to customer service and support.”

This shift has accelerated since PwC issued a similar report two years ago. At that time, the report’s authors state, “it was clear that cloud computing was already starting to change the software industry. It wasn’t clear how much it was going to change the industry.”

This year, cloud is sweeping into every corner of the industry. “SaaS/ PaaS revenues of the Top 50 software vendors now approaches 10% of their total,” PwC reports. The cloud model, of course, means lower revenues, and perhaps cannibalizing existing business. But market realities are pushing this transition. “Software vendors who’ve made the transition are well on their way to restructuring their operations to the new realities of lower average sales prices and margins,” according to Mark McCaffrey, PwC global software leader. “The companies that haven’t done so may not be on the 100 list anymore — and we haven’t seen the effects shake out yet.”

More of the ZDNet article from Joe McKendrick

CIO Strategy / Cloud Computing / Cloud infrastructure / Digital Transformation / IaaS / IT Governance / IT Security / IT Strategy — Comments Off
15
Sep 16

ComputerWeekly – The pros and cons of cloud bursting

It’s fun to think about the possibilities of bursting and brokering, but countless barriers stand in the way of enterprise customers. Dynamic porting of workloads is an interesting concept, but not yet an agenda item.

Brokering refers to dynamic relocation of cloud workloads based on the lowest-cost platform at that time, whereas cloud bursting looks to optimise the cost and performance of an application at any time. For average use, an enterprise can pay for persistent usage in its own virtual machine (VM) environment, and it can use public cloud resources for additional capacity.

In 2011, the idea of dynamically sourcing and brokering cloud services based on real-time changes in cost and performance was the future vision of cloud’s pay-as-you-go pricing – and it remains a vision.

The first tools are only just emerging and the use cases are limited, especially since costs for public clouds don’t vary enough to drive significant brokerage demand.

More of the ComputerWeekly article from Lauren Nelson

CIO Strategy / IT Governance / IT Strategy / Uncategorized — Comments Off
14
Sep 16

CIO Insight – Why IT Has Fallen Behind the Pace of Business

Business users of the digital generation expect immediate access to information and apps, and IT is having trouble keeping up with these demands.

Very few IT and business leaders feel that their organization is extremely nimble in responding to future business needs, according to a recent survey from Unisys Corporation. The resulting report, titled “Meeting the Demands of the Digital Generation: Get Good at Cloud Now!” indicates that it’s critical for tech teams to re-examine IT processes and resources to better support a digital business model. Today’s users, findings show, highly value the cloud as an essential business driver. And while it’s encouraging that most companies have migrated apps to public or private clouds (or both), it remains troubling that cyber-threats to data and systems outages remain a way of life for modern business users. “Collectively dubbed ‘the digital generation,’ this group has very specific requirements and perspective—and more so than previous generations,” according to the report.

More of the CIO Insight slideshow from Dennis McCafferty

CIO Strategy / Cloud Computing / Cloud infrastructure / IaaS / IT Governance / IT Security / IT Strategy — Comments Off
12
Sep 16

IT Business Edge – The Cloud: Not Just Better IT, All-New IT

It’s fair to say that the cloud is fast-approaching the tipping point as the dominant means of deploying enterprise infrastructure. But while the broad outlines are coming into view, the exact architecture and the host’s location are still very much “up in the air.”

The latest estimate on cloud deployments came from 451 Research this week, which pegged the current cloud workload at about 41 percent of the enterprise total with a likely rise to 60 percent by the middle of 2018. In breaking down the numbers, the firm noted that the majority of deployments are taking place on private clouds and public SaaS infrastructure, and that going forward the private side will see largely flat growth while SaaS will jump by 23 percent. As well, IaaS deployments, currently only 6 percent of the total, will double to 12 percent in the next two years.

More of the IT Business Edge post from Arthur Cole

CIO Strategy / Cloud Computing / Cloud infrastructure / IT Strategy — Comments Off
05
Sep 16

Baseline – IT Pros Can’t Keep Up With the Onslaught of Alerts

While the vast majority of IT professionals agree that it’s important to monitor the performance of their networks and systems, few of them are “very satisfied” with their approach to this critical issue, according to a recent survey from BigPanda. The accompanying “State of Monitoring 2016” report reveals that technology organizations struggle to quickly remediate service disruptions, and they are overwhelmed by an excess of alert “noise” from monitoring tools. Of those receiving 100 or more alerts a day, only a small minority can investigate and resolve those alerts within a day. What would help is the adoption of defined, strategic monitoring, which often boosts agility and the potential to rapidly identify the root cause of problems. “IT teams are receiving an onslaught of alerts, [but] few are able covert those alerts into insight, and the inability to quickly remediate service disruptions is a pain felt across the board,” according to the report.

More of the Baseline slideshow from Dennis McCafferty

CIO Strategy / Cloud Computing / Cloud infrastructure / Digital Transformation / IaaS / IT Governance / IT Security / IT Strategy — Comments Off
02
Sep 16

PM Times – Implementing IT Governance – A Perspective

Today businesses rely on information technology (IT) as an integral part of their overall enterprise strategy. For the same very reason, a new field of thought called IT governance has been under development for several years. Just as business management is governed by generally accepted good practices, IT should be governed by practices that help ensure
-An enterprise’s IT resources are used responsibly
-Risks are managed appropriately
-Information and related technology support business objectives
In other word IT governance is the process by which decisions are made around IT investments.

Although the level of maturity and acceptance of IT Governance varies considerably across different organizations and sectors but a number of different views emerge in its favor. These view, though present conflicting arguments but favor the implementation of IT Governance.

IT alignment to the business is the highest rated driver and outcome of IT Governance practices. A large majority of organizations recognize the importance of IT alignment in order to deliver sustainable business results, and feel IT Governance is the best means to achieve this. A general understanding among all the organizations and their CIOs is

“The successful application of IT Governance principles can provide a mechanism to increase the effectiveness of IT and, in turn, meet the increasingly high demands from business for IT.”

More of the PM Times article from Atul Gupta and Alankar Karpe

Bi-Modal IT / CIO Strategy / Cloud Computing / Cloud infrastructure / Data Center / Digital Transformation / IT Governance / IT Security / IT Strategy — Comments Off
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.

ZDNet – Why moving piece by piece to the cloud will see businesses succeed more

The conversation around whether it’s a good idea for a business to migrate their on-premises legacy infrastructure into the cloud is no longer the focus, according to Bulletproof CEO Anthony Woodward. Rather, many C-level executives are now looking at what are the best ways to use the so-called cornerstone tool to transform their business.

Woodward believes there are two key drivers behind the increasing adoption of Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS). The first is that businesses believe cloud will give them the competitive advantage to move faster, and the second motivator is that businesses are being required to transform for fear they may be outmanoeuvred by new entrants to the market.

Gartner has predicted the global IaaS market will reach $22.4 billion in 2016, a 38.4 percent increase on last year’s market value of $16.2 billion. In fact, the IaaS market is expected to be the fastest-growing public cloud services segment worldwide.

More of the ZDNet article from Aimee Chanthadavong

CIO Strategy / Cloud Computing / Cloud infrastructure / Disaster Recovery / IT Strategy — Comments Off
30
Aug 16

Baseline – How IT and the C-Suite Clash on Disaster Recovery

While the vast majority of organizations have a disaster recovery plan, top business executives and IT and disaster recovery managers differ greatly about the prioritization of these plans, according to a recent survey from Bluelock. The accompanying report, “Perspectives on IT Disaster Recovery,” reveals that a great many companies have had a tech-related disruption over the last two years, and these disruptions often impact the ability to deliver products and services. But C-level execs and vice presidents are more likely than tech department managers to conclude that they have “other, more pressing priorities” to pursue than disaster recovery initiatives. They’re also less likely to support an outsourcing or partnership model for these efforts. “Sometimes, organizations don’t realize the importance of IT disaster recovery planning until it’s too late,” according to the report. “With data being the most important financial asset and service being the most important reputational asset, why wouldn’t you protect your business against technology disruptions?

More of the Baseline article from Dennis McCafferty

Doug Theis Leave your comfort zone.