Cloud Matters

Of Clouds and Culture

Simplify.

One big promise of cloud IT is in making the complex simple.  Or, at least, hiding complexity.  

We tend mostly to look at it through the lens of technology. Think of IaaS, PaaS, SaaS.  Think of user choice, flexibility, cost control and self-service.  Think of Big Data meeting Cloud in a way that helps to manage the impact and opportunities of both. 

So, how's that playing out in practice?  

I'd say it's a lot like the picture EMC paints of the cloud journey.  We move through phases of physical-to-virtual-to-critical applications-to-IT as a Service.  But we need to add geographic, cultural  and institutional considerations.  Gaps that need to be recognized and addressed.  

I've written previously about the massive IT and cloud challenges facing the US government. They are certainly at one extreme end of the spectrum.  But they recognize that and have put a very big emphasis on the journey.   By one recent estimate, the US government will save about $18.8 billion a year when they finish consolidating several hundred data centers.   And they are making a lurching but impressive progress.

Of course, with over 2000 data centers around the world, a bit of lurching is to be expected.  

So their impetus is saving dollars.  Then there is federal culture.  Fed culture ranges from smart & responsible use of taxpayer's money to silliness, waste and fraud - which has little or nothing to do with technology.   It's the way of thinking that needs to change if the cloud technology is going to effectively deliver.

So, as they save all that taxpayer money, they need to address the thinking that will help to take advantage of the new infrastructure and deliver better services too.  Make the cultural shift.

If you look at institutions with a profit motive they are driven by a much different culture.  Of course they want to save money.  In addition, they'll want to innovate, maximize returns, gain a competitive edge. They may see cloud & virtualization approaches helping to do that but they still need to change individual thinking and institutional culture to take full advantage.  

What we do in the US is very likely going to be different than the UK or Germany. As you move to smaller countries and economies it will be different yet again.  

I saw this recently through the eyes of a partner.  

During a training session in Vienna, we discussed the current thinking in Poland about customer interest in virtualization and cloud.   And what this partner has seen so far is a gradual virtualization adoption but considerable reluctance to embrace cloud - at least outside of the institutional firewall. 

The savings are enticing but trust is a big factor - a strong cultural bias toward maintaining direct physical control of data and infrastructure.  Not trusting anyone else to safeguard it.  

Sound familiar?

Now, you might be correct in thinking that it's only a matter of time before they "catch up".  Or it just may be that the culture will keep them where they are .

For awhile at least.  

Until they can establish trust. 

Grappling with Cloud Identities

I've  been absent.   AWOL.  

I did have a rhythm posting a new blog post several times a month and sometimes several a week.  On energy efficiency. On cloud. 

Crunched for time and stopped.  

Like golf -  a time thing.  You enjoy it. You need time to do it.  

As one EMC exec says: "You can do anything you want, just not everything you want."

So I've been grappling with that for some time.  

Well, I don't have any new time bonus but I'm coming back to the blog fold  - at least part-time.   That's because I'm seeing some interesting developments as cloud is forcing a rethink for channel and value-added reseller business models.    

It's a cloud topic that hasn't gotten enough attention. 

Just as we have some early adopter customers, we have early adopter resellers. These are advanced EMC partners making a fairly rapid shift toward expertise and offerings that  support their customers  in transition to cloud-based IT models.

So, what's that mean?

This week I am in Europe to spend time with a few EMC partners in a series of visits and
and a couple of advanced training days. The point is that our partners - not just in EMEA - are very aware that the coming of cloud computing means change for their customers but also a fundamental change in their own business models.  While it's easy to say and may even be obvious, it isn't easy to do.  There are new roles that need new skills. New ways of consulting, selling, offering services that require new thinking.

So, EMC is looking to help in a variety of ways - advanced training being one. That's why we created the new "Cloud Architect" training.  But more importantly we are increasing investment in the advanced technical, sales and business capabilities of partners because the shift to cloud is more than a technology advance.  It's a whole new way of doing business.  New way of doing government too.

The "Information Policy" blog recently noted that cloud computing is critical to European Union competitiveness: 

"European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes sees cloud as ... one of the key enabling information technologies that can help European businesses –especially SMEs – to drastically reduce IT costs, help governments supply services at a lower cost to citizens and make computing much more energy efficient. The promotion of cloud computing in Europe is therefore an important objective of the Digital Agenda for Europe."

So, if the EU sees it and EMC partners see it and EMC is taking a position to lead it, then EMC should be doing all that it can to address the transformation.  That, of course, is frequently demonstrated in EMC technology advances.  

But there is more to be done in "how to.  The development of the business models, the means to transition from what we did to what we need to do next and the need to understand just what the benefits and opportunities of the new model have in store.  

Pitfalls too.

As the idea of cloud has become more widely understood and accepted, the how-do-we get-there questions are more critical.  For example, it's clear that there must be an organizational evolution as well as a technical one.  

The traditional technical skills are still absolutely needed but in many ways it's even more important for the people and business process to advance. Start with a new understanding of business service implications and look at developing skills in cloud architecture and the management of new services such as virtual desktops, infrastructure services, application services etc. 

Then think about how to accelerate all of that through consulting, education and certifications.  

Many of our partners are well on their way - and their customers are too.