Is cloud computing the future?

Is cloud computing the future?

The “clouderati” would have us believe yes. In the future, Cloud Computing will be the only choice. The cloud is not new and for many it is mature: the airline industry has been doing it for decades and Hotmail was started as a service in 1996. Although the concept dates back even further to the pioneers like Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider and ARPANET project in the 1960s. The term “cloud computing” is attributed to Information Systems professor Rammnath Chellappa speaking at the INFORMS meeting in Dallas in 1997. According to Gartner’s hype-cycle analysis the technology is sliding into the trough of disillusionment.

So after all that we are still left with the question of what actually constitutes the cloud: well I see it as all of the highly integrated, massively scaled inter-connected: hardware, software and Information systems that are utilized to provide three broad categories of service: Infrastructure (IaaS), Platform (PaaS) and Software (SaaS).

This coming decade will see significant consolidation and the integration of work and enterprise clouds together with home-based clouds. However, Manley of HP sees the cloud development as a multiplicity of clouds suited to specific purposes. (Clark, 2012). Which take advantage of but do not reap the rewards of: massive scales that are offered by the Internet.

Over the next decade we will see the introduction of low-power consuming high-speed processors, housed in colossal automated datacentres which implement extraordinarily federated, scalable software architectures. (Clark, 2012)

The Forrester group estimates an economic industry value of cloud computing and services to be in the range $150 - $270 billion by 2020, currently size industry value are just 23% of that figure. In data terms this is said to be somewhere in the order of 35 Million petabytes of data, (Cohen, An unStructured Future For Cloud Computing, 2012), that is 35 x 2⁵⁰ bytes.

A North Bridge Venture Partners poll showed that scalability, enterprise agility and cost are the biggest drivers in the development of the cloud, with security by far and away the single most likely cause or reason of non-adoption. (Nusca, 2012)

Futurologist Doctor James Bellini holds that and is quoted as saying: “If you go forward to the 2020s a successful enterprise will probably have no chief executive, no headquarters and no IT infrastructure” (Martindale, 2011)

Clark holds that by 2020 the cloud is going to be a major and specifically permanent part of the enterprise computing infrastructure (Clark, 2012).

John Marley feels that: "Cloud computing is the final means by which computing becomes invisible” and goes on to comment that: “software is written in such a way that it goes through several filters before it interacts with hardware. This means that front-end applications, or applications built on top of a platform-as-a-service, will be hardware agnostic.” (Clark, 2012). This has been the holy grail for the software developer since the first differentiations in hardware that necessitated the subsequently expansion in platform specific software, and today presents many of the amalgamation issues faced with cloud development today. “Cloud applications will require a new programming mind-set, especially as they interact with multiple clouds.” (Clark, 2012).

On security Phil Robinson is quoted as saying “The only difference is that if a cloud service gets breached it hits the headlines whereas a rogue employee probably doesn’t,” (Martindale, 2011). Security is the principle barrier to adoption of the cloud; regulatory compliance and vendor lock-in finish off the top three (Nusca, 2012). Our free society is built for the provision for minorities, which means allowing other people to do things you do not necessarily agree with. The Personal Computer was a revolutionary force in this freedom. There is a ground swell of opinion that the cloud can easily be abused and as such cannot be trusted. (Bulldog Data Services, 2011)

As a new generation of CEO/CIO move into enterprises, they already have vast experience of a cloudy world. They have high value, positive experience of the “as-a-service” culture with the expectation that things are always available. “Cloud has made media and entertainment a fundamentally engrained, pervasive part of our daily experience and it’s shaping new generations of users who expect rich content on demand from the cloud to whatever device they’re using” (Skok, 2012). The cloud is both hardware and software; the cloud makes IT less complex, by removing these complexities we are unchained from understand the delivery mechanisms of the [cloud] and the interfaces we use to conduct our interactions with it [the cloud] to concentrate our efforts and energies into more profitable endeavours than worrying and deliberating the best IT solutions to our enterprise dilemmas.

Among the many things I have learnt about the cloud is that: SaaS rules! PaaS pops! And IaaS lags? I have also learnt that the cloud is disrupting most software categories. (Skok, 2012).

Efficiency appears to be a primary goal, but the savings portrayal is woolly. It is all about the: reduction of the cost for providing dollar per process functions, together with the datacentre.

Eco-friendly and environmental concerns raise their profile when considering the datacentre. The implementation of specific RISC based chipsets will dramatically impact on electricity bills and general energy costs thus contributing positively to the reduction of the carbon footprint of enterprises. The datacentre becomes an eco-system if you will: a form of biological entity.

Utilising this natural order of development metaphor we will see as in nature, there will be a stratification of cloud structures and cloud types and stacks, we already today stratify and differentiate the cloud as: infrastructure-as-a-service, platform-as-a-service or software-as-a-service. By the end of the next decade we will see the emergence of many types of cloud formats. There is, already market segmentation growing up around the cloud: Social commerce, Mobile commerce and Situational commerce are just three major categories. “The cloud is a key enabler as everything can be connected, validated and certified via the cloud.” (Skok, 2012)

The “smart phone” is a technology that will pull the: could towards fruition, by providing the major right of entry, as they are always on, typically kept on our person or a least in very close proximity and allows people to connect seamlessly and instantly with as a service providers.

First came the cloud, then came fragmentation and differentiation, then came the cloud. Often, it is the first vision and solution that provides the correct answer to a problem, the realm of the true visionary. The cloud has the ability to deliver size-specific IT as a utility service. We have a propensity for failure in computing projects and the successful development and integration will require us to fully understand technology and legacy data. As with all projects that fail it is not fully appreciating the requirements up front that contribute most to these failures.

Bibliography

Bulldog Data Services. (2011, 09 19). Four Reasons Why the Pure Cloud Revolution will Eventually Fail. Retrieved 10 27, 2012, from Bulldog Data Services: http://bulldogdata.com/2011/09/four-reasons-why-the-cloud-revolution-will-eventually-fail/

Cantu, A. (2011, 12 20). The History and Future of Cloud Computing. Retrieved 10 27, 2012, from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/dell/2011/12/20/the-history-and-future-of-cloud-computing/

Clark, J. (2012, 07 31). Cloud computing: 10 ways it will change by 2020. Retrieved 10 27, 2012, from ZDNet: http://www.zdnet.com/cloud-computing-10-ways-it-will-change-by-2020-7000001808/

Cohen, R. (2012, 06 22). An unStructured Future For Cloud Computing. Retrieved 10 27, 2012, from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/reuvencohen/2012/06/22/a-unstructured-future-for-cloud-computing/

Cohen, R. (2012, 07 02). Cloud Computing Forecast: Cloudy With A Chance of Fail. Retrieved 10 27, 2012, from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/reuvencohen/2012/07/02/cloud-computing-forecast-cloudy-with-a-chance-of-fail/2/

Expert Group Report. (2012, 05 02). Advances in Clouds Research in Future Cloud Computing. Advances in Clouds Research in Future Cloud Computing(Version 1.0). (L. Schubert, & K. Jeffery, Eds.) Belgium: European Union. Retrieved 10 27, 2012, from http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/ssai/docs/future-cc-2may-finalreport-experts.pdf

IoD. (2011, 05 03). Cloud computing – The future or another fad? . Retrieved 10 27, 2012, from IoD: 10

LaManna, L. (2012, 08 27). The Future of Cloud Computing – What’s Next. Retrieved 10 27, 2012, from Business 2 Community: http://www.business2community.com/tech-gadgets/the-future-of-cloud-computing-whats-next-0263431

LLorente, I. M. (2012, 05 09). Advances in Clouds - Research in Future Cloud Computing. Retrieved 10 27, 2012, from Cloud Computing Journal: http://cloudcomputing.sys-con.com/node/2272143

Martindale, N. (2011, 08 02). In the future, Cloud Computing will be the only choice. (Telegraph Media Group Limited) Retrieved 10 27, 2012, from The Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/technology/microsoft-cloud-computing/8667512/In-the-future-Cloud-Computing-will-be-the-only-choice.html

Microsoft. (2012, 10 27). Microsoft Server and Cloud Platform. Retrieved 10 27, 2012, from Microsoft Server and Cloud Platform: http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/server-cloud/default.aspx

Nusca, A. (2012, 06 21). The future of cloud computing: 9 trends for 2012. Retrieved 10 27, 2012, from ZDNet: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/the-future-of-cloud-computing-9-trends-for-2012/80511

Skok, M. J. (2012, 10 27). 2012 Future of Cloud Computing - 2nd Annual Survey results. Retrieved 10 27, 2012, from Michael J. Skok: http://mjskok.com/resource/2012-future-cloud-computing-2nd-annual-survey-results

Velagapudi, M. (2012, 08 11). 5 Top Reasons Why Cloud Computing Projects Fail. Retrieved 10 27, 2012, from BootStrap Today: http://blog.bootstraptoday.com/2012/04/11/5-top-reasons-why-cloud-computing-projects-fail/

What I learnt about time management or didn’t learn!

ooo, writing on the web :-) that'll be fun! :-)

so had to write a reflected report for uni today, all about time management. so thought that would be my first post, so here goes:

What I learnt about time management or didn’t learn!

We all have all the time that is available.

“Time is the wisest counselor of all.” Pericles

“Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.” Theophrastus

“Better three hours too soon, than one minute too late.” William Shakespeare

“The surest way to be late is to have plenty of time.” Leo Kennedy

It is not the first time I have encountered time management studies. So it was with open mind and genuine excitement that I sat down this evenings lecture. Among the many things I had forgotten about effective time management is in that is doesn’t half make life simple. The list of benefits listed in the presentation, makes realise how ineffectively I use my time on many occasions. From this list and the accompanying talk I realise that I have to learn to read effectively and efficiently to aid in my management of time; this means picking up the pace of my reading as well as my ability to retain the knowledge and wisdom of these written words.

The talk and presentation moved on to discuss a time management tool known as PQRST:

Figure 1 PQRST method of time management

This is a technique that I am unfamiliar with but will put to good use in preparations for talk, essays exams and dissertations; in a nutshell, one: previews ones knowledge and learning on a given topic; formulate questions that you would like to be able to answer; read on the subject; summarise your reading and knowledge then test your learning.

Our talk moved into more familiar territory with the reintroduction of the time management grid: a simple matter of placing tasks or management requirements into one of four categories, it is this style of time management that I am keen to extend my knowledge about and practice of. Something I regularly use was also discussed in the form of a timetable or schedule of activities.

One key thing I learnt this evening is credit! A man has actually managed to become the founder of an eons old concept. Pareto's Principle is the 80/20 rule, in that 80% of what you want to achieve is a result of the 20% of effort. Although he applied this to: organisations, profit and productivity. It is the natural law of things and a fantastic time management tool. You have to accept that 80% of the time you are going to be unproductive and procrastinate about your tasks or challenges at hand; it’s the 20% of creativity and application that makes all the difference; and this difference that needs to be encouraged, nurtured and trained.

So in the words of Sean Connery it’s all about “B.A.L.A.N.C.E” (Widen, 1986), this is the stage where the platitudes are just bursting to get out; it’s a Ying/Yang concept or a natural way of things, for what is time? It is: but an arbitrary measurement unit for the passage of one moment to the next. It started, like most things, back in the day when men were still throwing sticks at critters in the undergrowth; first came: the changes: then the patterns were discerned: then the delineation and demarcation of these patterns into calendars, which after a good long while: today, gives us time as we know it. This time, which, has its’ own units of measurement typically starting with the immediate: minuets or seconds, then moves into short term: hours and days then medium terms of: months and quarters, then into long terms: year, decades and centuries, but the key thing to note is that time only flows in one direction, forwards! We can do nothing to slow this passage of time, only affect it. It is how we choose to affect time that gives us the discipline of time management.

So things I did not learn today: how to plan time or use time constructively and effectively, nor did I learn how to prioritise. One point I do disagree strongly with, from the presentation by Maggie Boyle, is the mantra “easy things first…” it should always be hard things first easy things second, remember the 80/20 rule? The hard things will take 80% of the allotted time for task regardless of when it is started, so get it done first! I have to admit that I am a great believer in the 80/20 rule, together with first things first. It allows me to avoid distraction and does not allow for procrastination, as the adage goes “time and tide wait for no man”.

So my top tips for time management would be:

1. 1.       Make a giant list with everything you have to or want to do.
2. 2.       On a separate post-it note, generate a: to do list, which is: a list composed of the first five most urgent and important things that need doing on the giant list.
3. 3.       Divide your week in two parts: professional and social. Of this time, divide each into 80/20 and decide which portion is doing and which portion is doing nothing, (productive/non-productive).
4. 4.       Set out the time to achieve your five things to do list.
5. 5.       Do them and repeat steps 2 through 4 until the giant list is depleted of tasks, then repeat step 1.

As Aleksandr Orlov the meerkat in the TV adverts says: “simples”.

 “         Calvin: I'm being educated against my will! My rights are being trampled!

Hobbes: Is it a right to remain ignorant?

Calvin: I don't know, but I refuse to find out!          ”

Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat p41 (Watterstone, 1994)

Bibliography

Cook Counseling Center, VirginiaTech. (2000). Time Management Strategies for Improving Academic Performance. Retrieved 10 10, 2012, from VirginiaTech student Affairs: http://www.ucc.vt.edu/lynch/timemanagement.htm

Leeds University. (2012, 10 10). Time Management: Doing More with Less Effort. Retrieved 10 10, 2012, from Skills Management: http://www.lts.leeds.ac.uk/skills/time_management/presentation.html

Mind Tools. (2012, 10 10). Time Management. Retrieved 10 10, 2012, from Mind Tools: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/main/newMN_HTE.htm

Saeed, M. (2012, 10 9). Managing Time and Coping with Pressure. (M. Saeed, Performer) Binks 104, University of Chester, Chester, Cheshire, UK.

Study Guides and Strategies. (2012, 10 10). Time Management. Retrieved 10 10, 2012, from Study Guides and Strategies: http://www.studygs.net/timman.htm

Trunk, P. (2006, 12 10). 10 tips for time management in a multitasking world. Retrieved 10 10, 2012, from Penelope Trunk: http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/12/10/10-tips-for-time-management-in-a-multitasking-world/

Watterstone, W. B. (1994). Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat (First ed.). Riverside, New Jersey, USA: Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC.

Widen, G. (Writer), & Mulcahy, R. (Director). (1986). Highlander [Motion Picture]. UK: Thorn EMI.

 that was easier than expected, just need to sort out the diagram :-)