AVOA

Why AI is failing in the enterprise and two ways to correct it

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 01:00:54 +0000

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Enterprises face challenges proving positive ROI from AI, with only 5-25% success reported. To overcome these hurdles, two pathways emerge: embedding AI seamlessly into existing processes and providing user training. Effective adoption requires understanding user workflows and ensuring AI's integration enhances, rather than disrupts, established practices.

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Three Moves in 30 days: How ServiceNow is Rewriting Its Value Proposition for CIOs

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 04:12:12 +0000

ServiceNow is making significant changes that CIOs should take note of. ServiceNow’s CEO Bill McDermott is no stranger to building empires as exemplified during his tenure at SAP. In just the past 30 days, several indicators provide guidance on where ServiceNow is…

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CIO In The Know – Continuing the Velocity – Insights That Move CIOs Forward

Sat, 03 Jan 2026 00:16:52 +0000

Happy New Year! 2026 kicks off with a bang…and a long list of subjects to cover. The CIO Playbook for 2026 is out and covers a wide gamut of topics CIOs are facing in 2026. TL;DR: It’s more than AI and technology.…

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CIO Playbook for 2026

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 23:38:29 +0000

This year’s CIO playbook is a little different from past years…and for good reason. The items in the CIO Playbook for 2025 still hold true. What has changed is something that has been evolving for some time. The way we conduct business and the…

Businesses are about to see significant leadership changes which will greatly impact tech strategy…and tech leadership

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 01:31:23 +0000

A recent LHH Executive Search study revealed that 60% of global c-suite executives plan to leave their roles within three years, citing various reasons. This leadership turnover may influence technology strategies, necessitating a shift from traditional to transformational CIOs to enhance business outcomes amid increasing pressure to leverage AI effectively.

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NiCE Ups the Ante in CX AI – Cognigy Deal Puts Rivals on Notice

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 23:43:50 +0000

The Cognigy acquisition isn’t just about bots – it’s about owning the CX orchestration layer of the autonomous agentic AI enterprise. NiCE announced its intent to acquire Cognigy for ~$955 million in a strategic move that should send ripples through the CCaaS and CX…

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CIO In The Know – AI or not to AI. That is the question…and how.

Sat, 26 Jul 2025 01:00:20 +0000

It seems every conversation touches on AI. AI is everywhere. At the same time, CIOs and CEOs are growing in their fatigue with AI conversations. Part of the problem is that vendors are adding ‘AI’ to everything and making it hard to…

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Cisco Just Redefined AI Security – And It’s Coming for Your Threat Stack

Fri, 11 Jul 2025 23:48:44 +0000

Cisco launched an AI-fueled security offensive that changes how enterprises will think about XDR, SecOps, and the future of cyber defense. Cisco, well-known and respected for their network equipment including switches, routers and firewalls is facing the next era of…

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HPE closes deal with Juniper Networks and what it means for CIOs

Thu, 03 Jul 2025 18:21:15 +0000

Yesterday, HPE announced that after 18 months in the making and with a lot of legal negotiations, they finally received DOJ approval to close the acquisition of Juniper Networks. I jumped on a briefing with the CEO’s of both HPE and Juniper…

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HPE Embraces Agentic AI and Signals a Power Shift in Enterprise Ops

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 23:50:13 +0000

I was on the ground this week at HPE’s annual Discover conference in Las Vegas. At the conference HPE made a slew of announcements that demonstrated a significant shift in both their direction and ultimate value to enterprise customers. In…

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Google Gemini CLI takes enterprises further toward autonomous AI operations

Wed, 25 Jun 2025 19:26:22 +0000

Google just announced Gemini CLI which brings the power of Gemini’s AI capabilities to the command line of code development. This is more than just a copilot or code generation. It is the ability to programmatically bring AI into core application development.…

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Four Key Takeaways from SAP Sapphire

Wed, 21 May 2025 02:29:43 +0000

This week, SAP held their annual Sapphire conference in Orlando. Sapphire brought together 14,000 people to see the latest SAP has to offer…and the evolution of their thinking. I’ve attended Sapphire for many years, and this year has been one…

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Watch Your Flank: New Entrants Sidestep Competition

Mon, 19 May 2025 11:37:01 +0000

Companies often compete in specific swim lanes or markets. Depending on the market, there are broad implications and more finer details or sub-markets. The default competitors define their space and new entrants work within the bounds set by the stalwarts.…

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The Velocity Chain: Creating the flywheel for business acceleration

Thu, 08 May 2025 20:48:44 +0000

Enterprise executives aim to accelerate and differentiate their businesses by utilizing data more effectively, with AI serving as a catalyst. To enhance decision-making speed and direction, organizations must address the complexities of data governance and focus on aligning insights with core business objectives. Starting small while accelerating processes fosters greater organizational agility and performance.

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CIO In The Know – CIOs, Buckle Up: The First 120 Days of 2025 Just Redefined Your Roadmap

Sat, 03 May 2025 20:26:19 +0000

The first four months of 2025 have significantly altered the CIO landscape, emphasizing the need for transformational leadership amid disruptions in AI, governance, and cybersecurity. CIOs are now focusing on data strategy and emerging AI agent discussions while grappling with complex regulatory environments. A mid-year Playbook update may be necessary to navigate these changes.

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Under Pressure: The Hidden Infrastructure Crisis No One Is Talking About

Sat, 03 May 2025 00:02:56 +0000

The demand for AI and data challenges old paradigms of unlimited resources, prompting efficiency and smarter resource utilization in IT. Companies face pressures from underutilization, over-provisioning, and physical constraints like cooling and power needs. A cultural shift toward intelligent resource management is essential for innovation amidst these challenges.

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Ephemeral Agents: The next horizon coming for agentic AI

Mon, 28 Apr 2025 18:02:35 +0000

As technology innovation accelerates at a breakneck pace, enterprises struggle to consume the technology already in front of them. First it was generative AI, then agentic. Now, there is a new horizon to the agentic era…ephemeral agents. Ephemeral agents will drive…

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Five things I am looking for this week at RSAC

Sun, 27 Apr 2025 00:55:28 +0000

This week is the annual RSAC Conference (RSAC) at Moscone Center in San Francisco. RSAC is a massive cybersecurity-focused conference with everything you could imagine in the world of cybersecurity in one place. I’ve attended RSAC for many years and while solutions…

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ServiceNow’s Latest AI Power Move: What CIOs Need to Know About the Logik.ai Acquisition

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 06:04:13 +0000

How this smart CPQ integration signals a deeper push into CRM—and what it means for your tech stack ServiceNow is making significant waves with their recent AI acquisitions. Just a few weeks ago, they announced their massive $2.85 billion acquisition…

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AI Agent Sprawl: Managing Opportunity and Risk in the Enterprise

Thu, 13 Mar 2025 21:11:06 +0000

AI agents are all the rage among enterprise leaders. The capabilities and potential that agents bring…especially in the era of agentic AI are significant. Companies such as Salesforce, SAP, and many others are working hard to build intelligence into their agents. Historically,…

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The CIO Playbook for 2025

Thu, 23 Jan 2025 23:54:58 +0000

It’s that time of year again for our annual CIO Playbook! As we delve into 2025, the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) continues to evolve at a rapid pace. The digital landscape is more complex and dynamic than…

CIO In The Know – The multiple ways AI is maturing and CIOs are shifting gears into other subjects

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 23:47:35 +0000

Starting the last two months of 2024 takes us into a maturing of the AI conversation with both vendors and enterprise alike. Investment in AI continues for both as well. Enterprises are largely moving from an experimentation phase to finding…

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Lenovo drives business outcomes with new infrastructure and edge devices

Thu, 17 Oct 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Lenovo just held their Tech World event in Bellevue, Washington where they showed how customers are solving real world problems with innovative infrastructure. The show was very well attended, and customers were highly engaged on the show floor. I had…

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Infrastructure is back in vogue for enterprises driven by AI and new outcomes

Wed, 16 Oct 2024 16:00:00 +0000

Since the start of the cloud era, on-premises infrastructure took a back seat to cloud-based alternatives. Many enterprise workloads moved from corporate data centers to cloud-based alternatives including cloud hyperscalers Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure. Not…

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Welcome to the Agentic Era and the rise of humanistic interactions

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 14:00:00 +0000

A new term has entered the lexicon in 2024: Agentic. Let’s discuss what it refers to and why you should pay close attention. For the past few years, companies have transformed their business using AI and related technologies. At the…

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Lumen Black Lotus Labs outlines Raptor Train bot network impacting SOHO and IoT devices

Wed, 18 Sep 2024 19:00:26 +0000

Prior to the pandemic, remote and home networks were a relatively small concern from a risk perspective. During the pandemic, this risk skyrocketed as employees were required to rely on their home network as an extension of their corporate network.…

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Lower inflation opens the door for larger 2025 IT budgets

Wed, 14 Aug 2024 18:37:30 +0000

CIOs are heading into the 2025 budget season, and all eyes are on how budgets will change and where spending will go. Let’s unpack the details and indicators that are driving the decisions. Here are a few observations. Inflation continues…

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Lessons learned from the CrowdStrike and Microsoft outage

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 00:02:08 +0000

By now, most in IT have heard of the global impact from the CrowdStrike software bug. Essentially, a ‘content update’, not a change in software code caused Microsoft Windows based systems to crash. The impact was incredibly swift and widespread causing…

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CIO In The Know – Mapping the CIOs second half of 2024

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 22:41:15 +0000

As we start the second half of 2024, a number of items are on the minds of CIOs including AI PCs, VMware, AI and data. As if that wasn’t enough, there are incoming regulatory requirements alongside political and economic instability.…

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HPE GreenLake Updates Capitalize on Enterprise Private Cloud and AI Demand

Thu, 27 Jun 2024 21:33:45 +0000

HPE GreenLake adds new private cloud virtualization capabilities in addition to new AI offerings based on deep collaboration with Nvidia. Executive Summary Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) held their annual HPE Discover conference in Las Vegas where they announced several new…

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Revolutionary AI PCs Transform Enterprise Consumption Patterns

Fri, 24 May 2024 14:21:43 +0000

At Microsoft’s Build 2024 event this week, Microsoft and Qualcomm announced new Surface PCs with Microsoft’s AI Copilot technology running inside a PC based on Qualcomm’s Arm-based processor. The combination of this announcement creates a significant shift in how the PC market…

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Are we approaching peak LLM and do we need to rethink how we use LLMs?

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 17:25:10 +0000

It seems that every week brings a new LLM to the market. At this point, most major vendors have one or more LLMs for enterprises to choose from. With the sheer number of LLMs available today, it can be overwhelming…

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Quick take on Hashicorp Infrastructure Cloud and potential sale (UPDATED)

Wed, 24 Apr 2024 03:00:55 +0000

The last 36 hours have been very exciting for Hashicorp. Yesterday, I joined Hashicorp CEO Dave McJannett, the leadership team, employees and customers for the ringing of the Nasdaq opening bell at the Nasdaq Marketsite in Times Square, New York.…

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2024 Google Cloud Next Trip Report

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 15:18:15 +0000

Google emphasizes enterprise business outcomes alongside innovation Executive Summary Google’s annual Google Cloud Next event marked an important shift in Google’s focus by their emphasis of business outcomes. Historically, Google has been a highly technical company which has been met…

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Let us spill the tea on what is an AI PC

Fri, 12 Apr 2024 22:08:52 +0000

There is a lot of hullabaloo about the advent of the AI PC. Is there such a thing or has the marketing gone too far? There are a few questions to be answered. What is an AI PC? Do you…

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How do you plan and execute a successful executive event?

Sat, 09 Mar 2024 08:02:38 +0000

I attend executive events all the time. I have led, participated in and helped organize executive events. Most of these are geared toward the CIO (Chief Information Officer) and they happen all the time. There is a long-standing saying that…

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CIO In The Know – Starting 2024 with a new focus on technology

Thu, 08 Feb 2024 03:44:02 +0000

January proved to be quite the month for changes in the tech space. Between industry events, acquisitions, tech shifts and cybersecurity breaches, there was no loss of things to keep track of. From a personal perspective, I ended up taking…

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CIO In The Know – Starting 2024 with a new focus on technology

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Happy New Year! Kicking off the first of this year’s CIO In The Know newsletters talking about The CIO Playbook for 2024. Bottom line: The CIO’s remit is huge! And complicated. Simplification is the key word here. Any conversation in 2023…

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The CIO Playbook for 2024

Sat, 06 Jan 2024 03:07:28 +0000

2023 was expected to be a bumpy ride as I mentioned in the CIO Playbook for 2023. It turned out much bumpier than expecting. Unfortunately, there is still a good bit of uncertainty going into 2024. The good news is that…

IBM’s Strategic Acquisition of StreamSets and webMethods: A CIO Perspective

Wed, 20 Dec 2023 19:21:02 +0000

IBM’s recent announcement to acquire StreamSets and webMethods from Software AG for €2.13 billion marks a significant milestone in the enterprise data software landscape. This move is not just a financial transaction; it’s a strategic enhancement to IBM’s capabilities in application modernization…

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Amazon re:Invent Recap – Cloud, AI, Data and more

Tue, 12 Dec 2023 23:09:26 +0000

Amazon just held their annual Amazon Web Services (AWS) re:Invent conference in Las Vegas with more than 50,000 attendees in-person with many more attending online. The conference is so large that it spans the entire Las Vegas strip from the Wynn to Mandalay Bay…

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ChatGPT being used for confidential and regulated information

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 21:01:48 +0000

Education and knowledge is incredibly important. This is especially true when experimenting with new and innovative technology. The downside is that one could be playing with fire and not even know it until it is too late. Over the past…

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CIO In The Know – AI Fatigue is coming and what’s next

Tue, 03 Oct 2023 08:17:37 +0000

Whew! Typically the summer months are slower than the rest of the year, but this summer has been nothing but crazy busy! I attended plenty of great industry events this summer. In June, there was HPE Discover, Snowflake Summit and…

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Assessing Intel and considerations for CIOs

Wed, 20 Sep 2023 20:44:24 +0000

Does Intel have the juice to carry them into the future and keep competition at bay? Intel just held their annual Intel Innovation conference to update customers, partners and analysts on their progress and latest technology. At their confab, Intel provided an update on…

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HPE responds to shifts in market dynamics with changes in operating model and leadership

Tue, 19 Sep 2023 22:18:17 +0000

Enterprises are continuing to shift how they use technology to enable their business. Technologies such as cloud computing and artificial intelligence are just two of the most recent catalysts. In addition, CIOs must consider how they consume these new technologies.…

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Is Zoom in trouble again and what does this mean for generative AI?

Mon, 07 Aug 2023 23:56:13 +0000

Zoom is catching quite a bit of heat in the past 24 hours over two recent changes including terms of service and return to office. If you are a Zoom customer, you will want to read this post and understand…

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How accurate is generative AI and is it enterprise ready?

Thu, 20 Jul 2023 21:44:48 +0000

It seems you can’t escape having a conversation today without the mention of generative AI. But how accurate is the information coming out of generative AI algorithms? While the origins of generative AI date back to the 1960’s, the interest…

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CIO In The Know – Is 2023 finally the start of a renaissance in cybersecurity?

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 21:24:59 +0000

Over the past several weeks, I’ve attended a few conferences where cybersecurity is making waves in new ways for enterprises. It is really refreshing to see, as cybersecurity is one place that enterprise vendors have needed to spend more time,…

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CIO In The Know – Strategizing for Q3/Q4 2023 and beyond

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 15:51:38 +0000

As we approach the half-way mark of the year, CIOs are getting ready to execute their calendar Q3 and Q4 plans. What is…and not included in those plans? Let’s talk about it. While we had hoped that the economic conditions…

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HPE’s new Alletra storage service provides holistic management and protection

Mon, 24 Apr 2023 21:04:40 +0000

Earlier this month, HPE announced their new HPE Alletra Storage MP offerings. During the announcement, CEO Antonio Neri reiterated HPE’s commitment to customers from four years ago to make everything in HPE’s portfolio available ‘as a service’ under the HPE Greenlake branding and services. The move…

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Generative AI’s top issues facing CIOs

Mon, 17 Apr 2023 21:41:18 +0000

I asked OpenAIs ChatGPT “What are the top issues facing CIOs? The results were, frankly, very interesting. They are good but in practice CIOs will find the results pedestrian and not actionable. ChatGPT Response Here is the unedited response: As I mentioned earlier,…

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CIO In The Know – Stormy clouds ahead and the year of rightsizing

Mon, 10 Apr 2023 16:25:48 +0000

2023 has had quite the stormy start literally and figuratively. It will likely go down representing many things, but probably none as significant as rightsizing IT. Rightsizing is not a new IT term, nor a new function. 2023 is quickly…

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CIO In The Know – generative AI and beyond

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 18:18:03 +0000

The top discussion topic both publicly and privately for the past two weeks has been generative AI. That should come as no surprise and more on that in a minute. CIOs continue to struggle through the macroeconomic climate in a…

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Is generative AI disruptive or enabling?

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 23:23:21 +0000

One of the hottest topics right now is generative AI. Many may have already experimented with ChatGPT, which is based on generative AI. McKinsey has a good article on what generative AI is and how ChatGPT fits in. In just the past…

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CIO In The Know – Solving big problems

Thu, 26 Jan 2023 23:30:50 +0000

Wow! It’s amazing how fast the year is starting off as we are almost out of January. Many companies are holding their SKOs this month and trying to plan the best they can for an uncertain 2023. A lot has…

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CIO perspective and takeaways from WEF 2023 Davos

Thu, 26 Jan 2023 20:35:33 +0000

The World Economic Forum (WEF) met last week in Davos, Switzerland for its annual conference. Here’s my take on the outcomes from WEF and impact for the CIO. For those not familiar with the WEF, it is an annual gathering…

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CIO In the Know – Setting the tone and pace for 2023

Tue, 10 Jan 2023 16:00:00 +0000

2023 has already kicked off with a bang! First off, if you haven’t subscribed to the CIO In The Know newsletter, be sure to do so here. You can view past issues as well. Last week, I introduced the CIO In…

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The CIO Playbook for 2023

Sat, 07 Jan 2023 01:30:06 +0000

Each year, I revise the CIO playbook to reflect the changing agenda for the CIO. Over the past several years, the role of IT has seen dramatic change within the enterprise. 2023 is no exception as a few focus areas…

CIO In the Know – Looking forward to 2023

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 16:00:00 +0000

Happy New Year! Welcome to the first edition of the CIO In The Know newsletter for 2023. Each week, I share insights and ideas from the perspective of the CIO. These insights come from the provocative and stimulating conversations I…

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Six considerations for executives making difficult decisions

Sat, 31 Dec 2022 04:19:33 +0000

Over the course of time, CIOs, executive teams, and boards must make difficult decisions that have a wide-ranging impact on the company and its stakeholders. These are often exceptionally critical to a company’s business. When traversing these incredibly difficult decisions,…

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What can CIOs learn from the Southwest Airlines debacle?

Wed, 28 Dec 2022 21:50:13 +0000

For many US travelers, Southwest Airlines is a beloved travel partner. For stakeholders, Southwest has been one of the best-run airlines in the US for many years. In the past week, however, the airline has hit a patch of significant…

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The importance of ESG for the enterprise

Mon, 28 Nov 2022 16:00:00 +0000

The interest in environmental, social and governance (ESG) continues to increase among enterprises. Specifically, the ‘E’ or environmental aspects is one area picking up the ball where sustainability left off. For CIOs and IT leaders, sustainability is not a new…

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Splitting up big enterprise companies could be a good thing

Tue, 18 Oct 2022 15:00:00 +0000

This may be a bit controversial and/or counterintuitive…but hear me out. For years, people have talked about splitting up large enterprise companies for antitrust reasons. On the surface, breaking up large companies for antitrust reasons may seem like a good…

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Are we talking ourselves into recession?

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 18:09:16 +0000

Since earlier this year, there has been a lot of talk about an impending recession. But is this really true? Or are we just talking ourselves into a recession? A recession is generally defined as two quarters of broad declining…

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What does the CIO Playbook for Recession Look Like?

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 15:00:00 +0000

What can the CIO do now to prepare for a recession? The short answer is: A lot. The past 30 months have been trying on many levels. I wrote about the Three Hurdles for 2020 and Beyond shortly after the start…

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ESG and Sustainability is a Team Sport

Wed, 28 Sep 2022 15:00:00 +0000

Companies across the globe are going through a dramatic business transformation. Customers, and the experiences they have, are driving companies to change at a rate not seen before. These transformations, however, only tell part of the story. Prior to the…

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VMware’s future post VMware Explore 2022

Mon, 26 Sep 2022 15:00:00 +0000

VMware held their annual conference a few weeks back. This conference was rebranded from VMworld to VMware Explore and held in San Francisco. While there were a number of announcements at the conference, a few things stuck out. VMware is well known…

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What makes a good technology platform?

Thu, 15 Sep 2022 15:11:17 +0000

Companies are driving to transform their businesses. In order to keep up with changing demands, companies must be in tune with their business and their customers like never before. At the heart of these insights sits a combination of data,…

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What is driving hybrid work and the future of work?

Tue, 19 Jul 2022 15:00:00 +0000

Enterprises small and large are attempting to navigate the future of work and how hybrid work will fit into their operations moving forward. Last week, I posted a very interesting perspective on who is returning to the office and who…

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The relationship between technology and China is getting complicated

Mon, 11 Jul 2022 17:08:03 +0000

The relationship between technology and China has had its ups and downs for decades. Between geopolitical issues, Covid lockdowns and now allegations of espionage, the relationship is probably at its lowest point. Unfortunately, this is forcing companies to make significant…

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Social Media Carries Awesome Responsibility

Wed, 06 Jul 2022 17:22:34 +0000

Social media is more than just a soapbox and megaphone Over the past decade, we have seen the proliferation of social media along with the good and the bad that comes from it. A recent article about how social media…

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CIO Weekly Update January 28 2022

Fri, 28 Jan 2022 22:45:13 +0000

This week had several newsworthy items of interest to the CIO. Here is a brief summary of five that stood out along with a brief commentary. In addition, I address a rising topic among CIOs. In the News Intel invests…

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The CIO Playbook for 2022

Wed, 12 Jan 2022 22:59:00 +0000

Last year, I shared the CIO Playbook for 2021. The general focus was an effort to move from reactive to proactive. Much of the 2021’s effort was finding stability in the next normal. In 2022, many are still trying to find their footing…

Preparing IT for the Great Reconciliation

Mon, 08 Nov 2021 17:33:46 +0000

The pandemic threw a monkey wrench into many things including how we spend money. As IT leaders move through 2021 and consider the post-pandemic next normal, there is a great reconciliation coming that IT needs to prepare for. As I mentioned in…

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Cybersecurity is just one aspect to enterprise technology risk

Fri, 05 Nov 2021 18:50:46 +0000

Companies across the globe are focused on cybersecurity threats yet another major threat is looming in the shadows. While companies and boards of directors focus on cybersecurity threats from hackers, breaches, ransomware and internal compromise, there is another significant risk…

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Is cloud computing more expensive than alternatives?

Thu, 04 Nov 2021 22:57:30 +0000

This question seems to come up every year. Yesterday, there was a thread on Twitter that again raised the question of whether public cloud is cheaper than the alternatives. I wrote about this a few years ago in the post ‘Is public…

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HPE brings their A game for enterprise CIOs

Fri, 01 Oct 2021 14:41:41 +0000

This week, HPE made several announcements related to new strategies and service offerings. A few of these are particularly relevant for enterprises and CIOs addressing their ever-changing business and customer dynamics. There are four specific areas that stand out for CIOs. HPE…

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Revisionist History or Future: A lesson for business executives

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 14:40:00 +0000

Revisionist History Future: Writing history before it happens Some may read the title and question how this applies to business executives? It does. This post is not meant to be political and take sides, but to raise the awareness of a path…

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Building a technology strategy to support business transformation

Tue, 18 May 2021 20:42:00 +0000

Companies right and left are looking for ways to transform their business. Changes to customer demand and operational functions are key business transformation drivers. Companies need to make decisions faster and with more accuracy. In order to effectively manage business…

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IT’s Critical Role in the Business Transformation Journey

Tue, 27 Apr 2021 14:00:00 +0000

Companies across the globe are focused on leveraging technology to drive transformation in their business. The combination of shifting customer requirements and changes in operations is driving the need to accelerate how companies conduct business and engage with their customers.…

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Optimizing for success at 25 percent capacity

Tue, 02 Feb 2021 21:36:27 +0000

The pandemic has pointed out a potential flaw in our strategic business thinking. It has to do with how we view profitability. It also ties to how we organize and optimize our business for success. Most companies optimize to hit…

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Re-Imagining the Car of the Future

Tue, 02 Feb 2021 00:33:54 +0000

The automotive space is changing at a rapid clip. Much of this change is driven by a combination of changing customer requirements and new technology not previously available. With this sophistication comes complexity for the entire automotive ecosystem. In a…

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Who is leading who in technology?

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 19:35:06 +0000

This post is a long time coming. In the past few weeks, it has come to a point. Since the start of the year, I have taken part in a number of conversations with fellow CIOs, vendors and those in…

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Proposal for the formation of a US Technology Advisory Council (TAC)

Wed, 20 Jan 2021 20:00:00 +0000

This post has moved to http://avoa.com/tac

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The CIO Playbook for 2021

Tue, 05 Jan 2021 20:54:33 +0000

The CIO Playbook for 2021. A guide for CIOs to navigate uncertainty in 2021 and beyond.

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The case for HPC in the enterprise

Mon, 14 Dec 2020 18:42:05 +0000

Right off the bat some may balk at the thought that High Performance Computing (HPC) has a place in the enterprise. While that may have been the case in the past where it was relegated to academic and research organizations,…

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As CIO, preparing for the new normal

Thu, 29 Oct 2020 20:02:41 +0000

2020 threw a curve ball to every business and IT organization on the planet the likes nobody has ever seen. In the first quarter, there was uncertainty as to how serious the pandemic would get and the impact to our…

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Unpacking the challenges for SAP and the broader enterprise market

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 00:19:56 +0000

Unpacking the challenges for SAP and the broader enterprise market

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Dell Technologies aligns with enterprise directions

Fri, 23 Oct 2020 19:11:52 +0000

Takeaways and areas to watch from Dell Technologies World 2020

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Stop serving me butter pasta. I ordered mac and cheese.

Wed, 22 Jul 2020 02:59:57 +0000

Does this sound familiar? Those of you with little ones may relate. But it also represents to a scenario playing out right now between B2B vendors and customers…again and again. This problem is not new. However, since the virus and…

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How Next-Generation ERP Meets Emerging Business Challenges

Mon, 15 Jun 2020 15:00:00 +0000

The COVID-19 pandemic crisis and following economic crisis have caused companies to rethink their traditional business operations. As companies navigate new realities following the pandemic and economic crisis, they need to rethink their business strategies on multiple fronts: internal business…

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Pro tips on how to make your online events more engaging

Wed, 01 Apr 2020 18:20:18 +0000

Just in the past few months alone, I have led, participated and attended a large number of online events. A few of them were good. But most were terrible. As more events are moving online, there are a number of…

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The three hurdles of 2020 and beyond

Wed, 01 Apr 2020 15:00:51 +0000

2020 has been quite a year. Already. And we are only three months into the year. As we enter the second quarter, we continue to face a world of increasing uncertainty. It is such a strange world we currently live…

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12 things to consider when working remotely for an extended period

Wed, 11 Mar 2020 20:50:17 +0000

As more companies ask employees to work remotely, there are a number of things to consider. I have assembled a quick list of 12 things that have worked for me and could work for you: Discipline: Working remotely requires a…

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Analyzing the Dell Technologies strategy from a CIO perspective

Mon, 09 Mar 2020 16:14:00 +0000

Dell Technologies has embarked on an ambitious strategy that encompasses many things of interest for the transformational CIO. It starts with their ‘moonshot’ goals and continues into value, risk, reputation, trust and specific technological solutions for the enterprise. AIMING FOR…

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Here are three things to prepare your organization for a pandemic outbreak

Wed, 04 Mar 2020 18:30:00 +0000

In light of the recent Coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, now is a good time to review your plans. Two of those key plans here are your disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity (BC) plans. Each plan plays an instrumental…

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Looking into the next decade for the CIO

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 17:57:46 +0000

As we enter the next decade, I thought I would take a slightly unconventional approach to the top eight issues facing CIOs. CIOs are in a unique position to lead their company into new opportunities, and technology is at the…

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Assessing the impact of the IBM leadership changes

Fri, 07 Feb 2020 04:33:26 +0000

Last week, IBM announced a few significant leadership changes that put a lot of things in play. First, is IBM’s sheer leadership challenge as it pertains to culture. Second, is the impact to customers including existing IBM customers, Red Hat…

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Eight reasons why enterprises move workloads from public cloud back on-premises

Thu, 06 Feb 2020 03:22:26 +0000

There is a lot of confusion and misinformation as to why enterprises would move an application or workload from public cloud back to their corporate data center. Enterprises are moving applications to…and from public cloud. Unlike the perception, repatriation is…

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Amazon Web Services significantly escalates their enterprise game

Fri, 13 Dec 2019 21:04:33 +0000

Last week marked the sixth Amazon Web Services (AWS) re:Invent conference I have attended. While AWS has attracted the webscale and startup businesses in full force, the enterprise has been a bit of an enigma for AWS. This year at…

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Mapping the AWS platform taxonomy that includes hybrid cloud

Fri, 13 Dec 2019 00:11:48 +0000

One of the biggest challenges for AWS has been to adequately attract the massive, yet largely untapped, enterprise business. There are a number of reasons for this, one of which is AWS’ focus on only offering a public cloud solution.…

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What is HybridMultiCloud and why should you care?

Thu, 12 Dec 2019 00:28:05 +0000

This past year, a new term has emerged that appears to be a combination of two terms; hybrid cloud and multi-cloud. Is this a new solution or modification of an existing solution? Or possibly is ‘HybridMultiCloud’ a juxtaposition of marketing…

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Unpacking the IBM Red Hat Conundrum

Wed, 16 Oct 2019 20:28:26 +0000

IBM just closed the massive $34 billion acquisition of Red Hat and is about to announce their first quarter of earnings post-close. Beyond the fact that IBM overpaid for Red Hat, now it must produce to make up the gap.…

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HPE paints a fresh vision that addresses the enterprise demand

Wed, 16 Oct 2019 18:08:37 +0000

HPE invited me to join them for the HPE Open House at their new headquarters in San Jose. During the two-day event, the HPE leadership team shared their perspective on enterprise challenges and their vision to address the changing demand.…

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Five things critical to the future of SAP and their co-CEOs

Mon, 14 Oct 2019 23:11:09 +0000

Just a few days ago, SAP announced earnings and a significant change to their CEO leadership. After a good run leading SAP, Bill McDermott is stepping down to make way for Jennifer Morgan and Christian Klein to take co-CEO roles.…

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Charting the path forward for VMware

Mon, 09 Sep 2019 15:08:48 +0000

VMware has long served as a key partner for enterprises. For roughly two decades, their VM-based technology and management tools served as a solid base to support enterprise applications. Over the past decade, the enterprise applications have shifted in new…

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Microsoft and Oracle announce new cloud partnership

Wed, 05 Jun 2019 17:06:35 +0000

This morning, Microsoft and Oracle announced a new partnership between their respective cloud platforms. The partnership between these two enterprise providers should garner great interest by enterprises large and small. Most, if not all, Fortune 500 companies are already customers of…

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Is it time to move beyond the concept of digital transformation?

Wed, 29 May 2019 18:28:44 +0000

One of the hottest terms in both technology and business is digital transformation. Executive teams across the world are clamoring at the term as a success model for business success. The downside is that most are failing to see the…

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Understanding the value and types of technology influencers

Mon, 13 May 2019 18:19:08 +0000

With the advent of social media came influencer marketing. The space started with consumer-focused influencers or those who would pitch a company’s products to their following. These relationships were often B2C relationships and influencers were often celebrities or personalities with…

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Are the cloud wars over or just getting started?

Sat, 02 Mar 2019 00:48:28 +0000

One of the biggest opportunities for enterprises large and small are cloud-based solutions. These solutions vary from Infrastructure to Software in a myriad of different forms and products. Many consider the cloud wars between the public cloud, Infrastructure as a…

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Charting IBM’s path after Think 2019

Thu, 28 Feb 2019 01:31:02 +0000

After IBM’s Think conference this year in San Francisco, many are asking where IBM goes from here. The conference itself was a culmination of several other conferences rolled into one. And while the Science keynotes were absolutely stellar, IBM Think…

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Top 10 CIO Trends for 2019

Mon, 17 Dec 2018 19:01:29 +0000

As we get ready to close out 2018 and look toward 2019, there are a number of items that will take top focus for the CIO. In 2019, the list moves away from just a technology focus. CIOs are looking…

The CIO Ternion Concept Drives Digital Transformation

Thu, 25 Oct 2018 13:30:29 +0000

Organizations are looking at Digital Transformation to bring significant change to their business. The intended outcome is to modernize and refocus the efforts of the IT organization and portfolio to drive greater business success. Unfortunately, organizations are finding very mixed…

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Throwing more people at the problem no longer works

Tue, 04 Sep 2018 22:45:51 +0000

Technology is hard. Change is hard. And business requirements are changing faster than ever. Yet, as IT professionals, we sit in the nexus of these three things. Our lives are sophisticated, complicated and mixed with a strange inertia that drives…

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Understanding the difference between Blockchain and Cryptocurrency

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 15:41:31 +0000

It is common for there to be confusion when new technology comes out. Blockchain and cryptocurrency are two of the latest examples. Blockchain and cryptocurrency are very much inter-related. However, they are not the same nor interchangeable. BLOCKCHAIN FOUNDATION The…

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From Edge to Cloud: Understanding the Infrastructure Delivery Spectrum

Mon, 27 Aug 2018 15:30:32 +0000

In the not too distant past, the infrastructure world was a fairly simple place. There were servers, storage systems and networking equipment. The combination of these three raw materials provided the foundation for many applications and companies. Over time, the…

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Working without a computer: Update 3

Mon, 20 Aug 2018 17:12:21 +0000

This is likely my final update in the series of working without a computer since the laptop has been repaired and returned. So, the $64,000 question is: Can an iPad replace your regular desktop? The answer is not that straightforward…

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Working without a computer: Update 2

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 17:04:09 +0000

There are a number of folks interested in and following my experience working with the iPad Pro plus keyboard as a replacement to a laptop. Here is my latest update from traveling over the past few days. During the earlier…

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Three ways GDPR will continue to present a major risk to enterprises and humanity

Mon, 13 Aug 2018 16:00:20 +0000

Plenty of articles have already been written about the challenges facing enterprises with regards to the recent General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Even so, there are three key aspects that enterprises have not considered, let alone addressed. Before digging into…

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Working without a computer Weekend Edition

Mon, 13 Aug 2018 14:55:08 +0000

Last week, I started a series of posts documenting the experience of working without a computer. The first post with all the details of why and how can be found here: Working without a computer: Day 1 Since this post…

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Working without a computer: Day 1

Fri, 10 Aug 2018 21:41:33 +0000

So, I thought I would write a little bit about my experience of running a company, writing a book, writing research reports, editing documents, working only with mobile technology, and traveling without the use of a computer. First, let me…

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Shifting the thinking of enterprise applications

Thu, 24 May 2018 16:00:34 +0000

Enterprise applications are not new and have been around for decades. Since their start, enterprise applications have increased in their level of sophistication and business automation. However, this sophistication comes with a significant degree of complexity too. Historically, enterprises were…

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Understanding the value of data integration

Tue, 22 May 2018 17:18:07 +0000

To understand the value of data integration, one has to first understand the changing data landscape. In the past few years, more data has been created than existed in all of time prior to that. In 2014, I penned a…

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How cloud is changing the business and IT landscape

Wed, 16 May 2018 15:30:55 +0000

Enterprises around the globe are facing disruption from a number of different directions. To combat this disruption, they increasingly turn to cloud computing. Cloud computing is the single biggest opportunity for organizations to dramatically change how their business operates through…

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Riverbed extends into the cloud

Thu, 26 Apr 2018 16:44:22 +0000

One of the most critical, but often overlooked components in a system is that of the network. Enterprises continue to spend considerable amounts of money on network optimization as part of their core infrastructure. Traditionally, enterprises have controlled much of…

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Rubrik continues their quest to protect the enterprise

Mon, 23 Apr 2018 17:14:01 +0000

Data protection is all the rage right now. With data moving beyond the corporate data center to multiple locations including cloud, the complexity has increased significantly. What is Data Protection? It generally covers a combination of backup, restore, disaster recovery…

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Droplet Computing makes a big splash at Cloud Field Day 3

Thu, 19 Apr 2018 18:08:32 +0000

Every so often there is a company that catches your eye. Not because of their flashy marketing, but because they are solving a really interesting problem with a clever approach. That happened at Tech Field Day’s Cloud Field Day 3,…

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Oracle works toward capturing enterprise Cloud IaaS demand

Wed, 18 Apr 2018 19:09:55 +0000

The enterprise cloud market is still shows a widely untapped potential. A significant portion of this potential comes from the demand generated by the legacy applications that are sitting in the myriad of corporate data centers. The footprint from these…

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Delphix smartly reduces the friction to access data

Tue, 17 Apr 2018 17:52:04 +0000

Today’s CIO is looking for ways to untap the potential in their company’s data. We have heard the phrase that data is the new oil. Except that data, like oil, is just a raw material. Ultimately, we need to refine…

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Morpheus Data brings the glue to multi-cloud management

Mon, 16 Apr 2018 18:31:04 +0000

Enterprises across the globe are starting to leverage cloud-based resources in a multitude of ways. However, there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to cloud that makes sense for the enterprise portfolio. This leads to a rise in multi-cloud deployments for…

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Three key changes to look for in 2018

Tue, 02 Jan 2018 18:10:27 +0000

2017 has officially come to a close and 2018 has already started with a bang. As I look forward to what 2018 brings, the list is incredibly long and detailed. The genres of topics are equally long and cover people,…

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Upgrading to a mesh wifi network

Tue, 12 Dec 2017 22:39:13 +0000

After several folks asked about a recent tweet I posted about upgrading my home wifi network to a mesh network, I thought I would spend a few words to describe the before and after. UNDERSTANDING THE BASELINE Before discussing the…

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Four expectations for AWS re:Invent

Mon, 27 Nov 2017 22:31:50 +0000

This week brings Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) annual re:Invent conference where thousands will descend upon Las Vegas to learn about cloud and the latest in AWS innovations. Having attended the conference for several years now, there are a number of…

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Microsoft empowers the developer at Connect

Fri, 17 Nov 2017 03:24:35 +0000

This week at Microsoft Connect in New York City, Microsoft announced a number of products geared toward bringing intelligence and the computing edge closer together. The tools continue Microsoft’s support of a varied and growing ecosystem of evolving solutions. At…

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Salesforce bridges the customer engagement gap for growth at Dreamforce

Wed, 15 Nov 2017 15:00:55 +0000

Last week was Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference in San Francisco with a whopping 170,000+ attendees. Even so, what were the key takeaways? Today, many enterprises are either Salesforce customers and follow the space closely as it pertains to a key element…

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3 ways enterprises can reduce their cybersecurity risk profile

Tue, 14 Nov 2017 13:00:45 +0000

If you are an executive (CIO, CISO, CEO) or board member, cybersecurity is top of mind. One of the top comments I often hear is: “I don’t want our company (to be) on the front page of the Wall Street…

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The difference between Hybrid and Multi-Cloud for the Enterprise

Tue, 17 Oct 2017 17:43:42 +0000

Cloud computing still presents the single biggest opportunity for enterprise companies today. Even though cloud-based solutions have been around for more than 10 years now, the concepts related to cloud continue to confuse many. Of late, it seems that Hybrid…

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One theory on Amazon interest in a second headquarters

Fri, 08 Sep 2017 20:58:49 +0000

Amazon announced that they are in search of a location for their second headquarters. The new headquarters facility is expected to create 50,000 jobs and bidders are welcome to submit their proposals to woo the Amazon opportunity. While that, in…

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Kicking off Cloud Field Day 2

Wed, 26 Jul 2017 00:21:46 +0000

Tomorrow kicks off Cloud Field Day 2 (#CFD2) here in the San Francisco Bay Area and thankful for the invitation to take part. CFD2 brings together an interesting mix of vendors and cloud solutions over the next three days. Here…

IT has a serious credibility problem and does not realize it

Thu, 20 Jul 2017 23:10:55 +0000

One challenge for many IT organizations is that of credibility. In a recent post, I discussed the importance of credibility and the network effect in IT. What is credibility? According to Merriam-Webster, credibility is ‘the quality or power of…

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Why are enterprises moving away from public cloud?

Tue, 18 Jul 2017 22:57:52 +0000

We often hear of enterprises that move applications from their corporate data center to public cloud. This may come in the form of lift and shift. But then something happens that causes the enterprise to move it out of public…

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Understanding the Network Effect in IT

Mon, 17 Jul 2017 15:30:58 +0000

When discussing the combination of Information Technology (IT) & network, one quickly runs to thinking about cabling, connectors, switches, hubs and routers. However, there is another type of network that has nothing to do with technology yet directly impacts the…

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IBM Interconnect expectations, a CIOs perspective

Sun, 19 Mar 2017 17:00:18 +0000

This week is IBM’s annual cloud conference in Las Vegas. Quite a bit has changed in the past year for IBM and at this year’s IBM Interconnect there are a few things I’m looking for. Each of them centers in…

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Google Next Expectations, A CIO’s Perspective

Mon, 06 Mar 2017 22:21:00 +0000

This week is Google’s Next conference in San Francisco and all eyes are on Google to gain insights to their direction, activities and plans around cloud. That being said, there are a few specific things I am looking for here…

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SAP Cloud Platform is not your typical ERP software

Tue, 28 Feb 2017 18:50:16 +0000

I had the opportunity to join SAP (NYSE: SAP) executives recently for SAP’s Capital Markets Day at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Before talking about my perspective on SAP and the SAP Cloud Platform, I would be remiss mentioning…

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The CIO: Thinking like a CEO

Wed, 11 Jan 2017 06:28:34 +0000

The role of the CIO is evolving from a Traditional to a Transformational leader, becoming crucial in driving business success through technology. This transition requires CIOs to adopt a c-suite mindset, engage in business conversations, and align closely with CEOs. Building strong relationships and understanding the business is vital for digital transformation success.

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The lost generation in technology

Mon, 09 Jan 2017 17:43:42 +0000

The technology industry is in crisis and yet many do not see the warning signs. How can an industry with as much innovation as the technology industry be in peril? The root of the issue rests with several complications…and…

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Amazon drives cloud innovation toward the enterprise

Fri, 06 Jan 2017 23:38:00 +0000

Amazon continues to drive forward with innovation at a blistering pace. At their annual re:Invent confab, Amazon announced dozens of products to an audience of over 30,000 attendees. There are plenty of newsworthy posts outlining the specific announcements including…

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Is public cloud more or less expensive than corporate data center options?

Thu, 05 Jan 2017 18:44:16 +0000

First a shout out to both Steve Kaplan and Jeff Sussna for encouraging this post. This post is a continuation from the post Eight ways enterprise struggle with public cloud and delves into the reasons why public cloud can…

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The difference between the Traditional CIO and the Transformational CIO

Thu, 05 Jan 2017 00:18:30 +0000

Over the past several years, the role of the Chief Information Office (CIO) has changed. If you are a CIO, do you know which type you most closely align with…or aspire to be? If you are working with a CIO,…

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Eight ways enterprises struggle with public cloud

Tue, 03 Jan 2017 17:19:23 +0000

The move to public cloud is not new yet many enterprises still struggle to successfully leverage public cloud services. Public cloud services have existed for more than a decade. So, why is it that companies still struggle to effectively…and successfully…

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My top most used business tools and applications when traveling

Mon, 02 Jan 2017 17:00:00 +0000

What better way to kick off 2017 than to talk about the tools I find to be most useful? I wrote a post back in 2012 that outlined many of the tools I used back then. As many of you…

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The five most popular posts of 2016

Thu, 29 Dec 2016 20:04:32 +0000

While 2016 is quickly coming to a close, it offers plenty to reflect on. For the CIO, IT organizations and leaders who work with technology, 2016 offered a glimpse into the future and the cadence in which it takes. We…

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Three things to look for at Amazon’s upcoming AWS re:Invent conference

Wed, 23 Nov 2016 16:15:00 +0000

As folks in the US prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday, those of us in technology are looking to Amazon’s annual cloud confab AWS re:Invent the week after Thanksgiving in Las Vegas. In preparation for the sold-out conference, there are a…

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Understanding the Communications Conundrum: What is the goal?

Mon, 07 Nov 2016 22:15:37 +0000

For years now, different communications solutions have come and gone. Just about every major enterprise player has had a solution at one time or another. Looking back, we started with relatively primitive solutions to communicate between coworkers. Then came email.…

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VMware and Amazon AWS Partnership: An Enterprise Perspective

Fri, 04 Nov 2016 16:55:11 +0000

Much has already been written about the VMware and Amazon AWS Partnership that was announced October 13th, 2016 and the potential opportunities for enterprises. Unfortunately, many of the core issues for enterprises are either being glossed over or simply…

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A Proposal to Save Social Media and Twitter

Tue, 01 Nov 2016 21:27:10 +0000

Back in May of 2014, 30 months ago, I penned the piece What Happens if Twitter Goes Away? It was a provocative look at the decline of one of Social Media’s darlings and suggesting potential value between free and paid…

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7 Ways Not to Engage Influencers and Independent Analysts

Tue, 25 Oct 2016 20:16:25 +0000

Are you looking to engage folks beyond the major analyst firms? Over the past few years, companies are engaging influencers and independence analysts more and more. However, there are some bad practices that have developed and ways you can overcome…

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Is HPE headed toward extinction?

Mon, 10 Oct 2016 20:15:11 +0000

The first question might be, why does a CIO care if any one vendor comes or goes? It matters if you are invested in that company’s products or services. The vast majority of enterprises have invested in a number of…

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Is the concept of enterprise lock in a red herring?

Tue, 27 Sep 2016 14:53:12 +0000

There is quite a bit of discussion about the concept of lock-in by pundits, providers and consumers. While I take the perspective of looking at lock-in within the enterprise IT space, the same issues apply broadly to a number of…

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Shifting the mindset from projects to products

Mon, 18 Jul 2016 21:41:14 +0000

A recent post on changing the language of IT is getting quite a bit of attention among CIOs. Continuing the theme around changing the language and culture of IT, we shift gears to the mindset of projects and products. For…

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Understanding the five tiers of IoT core architecture

Tue, 05 Jul 2016 18:39:16 +0000

Internet of Things (IoT) is all the rage today. Just tagging something as belonging to the IoT family brings quite a bit of attention. However, this tagging has also created quite a bit of noise in the industry for organizations…

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The intimacy of Internet of Things along with security and privacy

Fri, 01 Jul 2016 23:13:51 +0000

Internet of Things (IoT) is hot. Really hot! Every single industry from buildings to healthcare to financial services is looking at IoT. As more and more organizations look to capitalize on the blistering IoT market, they…and consumers risk the equivalent…

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HPE clarifies their new role in the enterprise

Wed, 15 Jun 2016 17:28:50 +0000

Last week, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) held their annual US-based Discover conference in Las Vegas. HPE has seen quite a bit of change in the past year with the split of HP into HPE & HP Inc. They shut down…

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These four things will close the gap between the CMO & CIO

Tue, 10 May 2016 18:49:19 +0000

The landscape for marketers is shifting dramatically. In order for marketers to be successful, they must rely on technology and data. The bottom line is that the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) needs the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and vice versa.…

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Digital Transformation requires intimate knowledge of the business

Thu, 05 May 2016 18:20:44 +0000

Moving to a digital enterprise is not a trivial task. It is neither a journey nor a destination. The shift for an enterprise to embrace digital requires a cohesive effort on multiple levels. Technology plays a role, but only…

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IT transformation is difficult, if not impossible, without cloud

Mon, 02 May 2016 23:16:02 +0000

Information Technology (IT) transformation is all the rage these days. It started as a lofty objective among Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and shifted to a stark requirement for businesses to remain competitive. Even those beyond the IT organization are pushing…

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Changing the language of IT: 3 things that start with the CIO

Mon, 02 May 2016 19:26:27 +0000

The Information Technology (IT) organization is going through a significant transformation. The transformation itself is not only disruptive, but confusing for many of the stakeholders including IT leadership, IT staff and those outside of the IT organization. Three years ago,…

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The role of Open Source and Foundations in Enterprises

Tue, 23 Feb 2016 22:13:38 +0000

I had the pleasure of joining a panel discussion that included several instrumental folks including Duncan Johnston-Watt, Sam Ramji & Monty Taylor on the role of the foundation. Without getting too far into the nitty gritty, there were some very…

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The opportunities for enterprise and SMB cloud open up

Mon, 22 Feb 2016 19:40:49 +0000

Companies are getting out of the data center business in droves. While much of this demand is headed toward colocation facilities, there is a growing movement to cloud-based providers. A company’s move to cloud is a journey that spans a…

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Can cloud finally help enterprises with DR/BC?

Thu, 28 Jan 2016 21:33:54 +0000

Disaster Recovery (DR) and Business Continuity (BC) are collectively, using IT lingo, called DR/BC. Both terms go back to the earliest days of computing. Even though neither term is new, neither are done really well. DR/BC is one of the…

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Microsoft Azure Stack fills a major gap for enterprise hybrid cloud

Tue, 26 Jan 2016 17:01:02 +0000

Azure Stack is billed as a version of Azure that runs in your corporate data center. Originally announced on May 4, 2015, Microsoft Azure Stack presented a significant change to the enterprise cloud spectrum of options. Prior to Azure Stack,…

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Three keys to building a successful community

Wed, 06 Jan 2016 18:55:34 +0000

As someone whom is part of several communities, and now being asked by companies to help build their communities, this is a topic I see firsthand. Having been invited to join so many communities, I have had to ask what…

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2016 is the year of data and relevance

Fri, 01 Jan 2016 20:15:13 +0000

Over the past few years, I have outlined my thoughts for the upcoming year. You can read those from past years here: Cloud Predictions for 2013 (12/14/12) CIO Predictions for 2014 (12/20/13) 5 things a CIO wishes for this holiday…

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Intel playing a key role with Cloud, Mobile, IoT & Analytics

Tue, 03 Nov 2015 18:09:43 +0000

In the past couple of weeks, I spent time with the Intel team in Oregon to see their work in leading areas including Cloud, Mobile, Internet of Things (IoT) and Analytics. Before I get too far down the path, one…

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HP’s composable story addresses the evolving enterprise

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 17:44:28 +0000

Last week, HP Enterprise (HPE) pulled together a number of influencers from around North America for a unique event. Unlike most events that talk about specific products or announcements, this event was quite different. This event dug into HPE’s direction…

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IoT is squarely about two things

Tue, 27 Oct 2015 23:39:01 +0000

Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the hottest topics today. Everyone is talking about it and how their products and services fit in with IoT. With so much discussion around the subject, a healthy amount of confusion will follow.…

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#CIOitk: Is IT still relevant? The conversation is heating up!

Mon, 10 Aug 2015 15:30:36 +0000

The subject of IT relevance is a hotly contested subject. According to Forrester, 41% of business decision-makers believe that IT is an impediment to accelerating business success. In a recent Twitter chat, the participants addressed their thoughts on the relevance…

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#CIOitk: Are IT organizations headed toward irrelevance?

Mon, 03 Aug 2015 05:00:10 +0000

Several IT executives and CIOs (former and current) turned a Twitter conversation about the ‘platform economy’ into a candid conversation about the core issues facing IT. Is IT facing such a dire downward spiral? And if so, is it too…

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Outages happen. How prepared are you for the next one?

Wed, 08 Jul 2015 18:43:59 +0000

Significant outages hit several major firms today including United Airlines, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Wall Street Journal. And that was just this morning alone. While many suggest a correlation between the three, I will leave that to…

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Are the big 5 enterprise IT providers making a comeback?

Fri, 26 Jun 2015 15:30:19 +0000

Not long ago, many would have written off the likes of the big five large enterprise IT firms as slow, lethargic, expensive and out of touch. Who are the big five? IBM (NYSE: IBM), HP (NYSE: HPQ), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT),…

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Containers in the Enterprise

Thu, 25 Jun 2015 21:20:34 +0000

Containers are all the rage right now, but are they ready for enterprise consumption? It depends on whom you ask, but here’s my take. Enterprises should absolutely be considering container architectures as part of their strategy…but there are some considerations…

HP Software takes on the Idea Economy

Wed, 03 Jun 2015 19:52:44 +0000

The Idea Economy is being touted pretty heavily here at HP Discover in CEO Meg Whitman’s keynote. Paul Muller (@xthestreams), VP of Strategic Marketing in HP Software took us on a journey of how HP Software is thinking about solving…

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HP Discover Executive Storage Discussion

Tue, 02 Jun 2015 18:07:40 +0000

HP kicked off their coffee talk series with executives from the HP Storage group. Manish Goel is the new SVP & GM of HP Storage replacing David Scott. While Manish has only been with HP two months, he has a…

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What to watch for at HP Discover this week

Mon, 01 Jun 2015 21:00:34 +0000

This week marks HP’s annual Discover conference in Las Vegas. HP has come a long way in the past couple of years and this year should prove interesting in a number of ways. Here is a list of items to…

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IBM and Weather Company deal is the tip of the iceberg for cloud, data and IoT

Tue, 31 Mar 2015 17:54:32 +0000

Technology and how we consume it is changing faster than we know it. Need proof? Just look at the announcement last night between IBM & Weather Company. It was just a short 4.5 months ago that I was sitting in…

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Acquisitions are key for enterprise providers, but strategies are killing innovation

Thu, 12 Mar 2015 19:09:51 +0000

Over the course of a career, employees may take part in one or two acquisitions. Over the course of my career, I was part of the core team for more than a dozen acquisitions and mergers. Gaining access to such…

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Uncertainty is the only certainty in technology today

Thu, 05 Mar 2015 16:00:05 +0000

Last week was spent at the IBM InterConnect and Green Data Center conferences in Las Vegas and San Diego respectively. At each of the conferences, there were a ton of great conversations around the CIO, cloud computing, social media, big…

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The 3 modes of enterprise cloud applications

Fri, 27 Feb 2015 16:00:11 +0000

One of the key attributes to a successful cloud deployment is thinking about the strategy holistically. In my post ‘CIOs are getting out of the data center business’, I introduced the idea of a Data Center/ Cloud Spectrum. The spectrum…

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IBM InterConnect Day 1 Impressions

Tue, 24 Feb 2015 17:55:06 +0000

InterConnect 2015 Las Vegas is the combination of a few IBM conferences. Past conferences carried quite a bit of overlap in content. As the conversations blurred, it made sense to combine the conferences. The challenge is the conference is spread…

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The enterprise view of cloud, specifically Private Cloud, is confusing

Thu, 19 Feb 2015 16:00:57 +0000

Enterprise organizations are actively looking for ways to leverage cloud computing. Cloud presents the single-largest opportunity for CIOs and the organizations they lead. The move to cloud is often part of a larger strategy for the CIO moving to a…

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The CMO is not replacing the CIO and here’s why

Thu, 12 Feb 2015 16:00:23 +0000

Three years ago, Gartner predicted that by 2017, the CMO (chief marketing officer) would spend more on IT than the CIO. This one prediction spurned a number of follow-up predictions pointing toward the end of the CIO. The bottom line…

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3 reasons traditional enterprise vendors will fail

Tue, 10 Feb 2015 05:49:46 +0000

Many often ask for my thoughts on traditional enterprise vendors compared with their startup and mid-size contemporaries. Without going into naming names, let me outline a few real situations that happened in just the past week alone. Each of these…

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The enterprise CIO is moving to a consumption-first paradigm

Fri, 06 Feb 2015 16:00:56 +0000

Take yourself back a couple of decades and the IT industry looked very different than it does today. Back then the number of solution choices was relatively limited and only available to those with the finances to afford it. Many…

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Does the enterprise marketplace really need a new email solution?

Fri, 30 Jan 2015 21:48:03 +0000

This week, Amazon announced their WorkMail solution as a business-class email and calendaring solution in the cloud. Over the past several years, Amazon has produced some amazing solutions. But is WorkMail something that the enterprise CIO should really take note…

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Time’s up! Changing core IT principles

Fri, 30 Jan 2015 16:00:56 +0000

There is a theme gaining ground within IT organizations. In truth, there are a number of examples that support a common theme coming up for IT organizations. And this very theme will change the way solutions are built, configured, sold…

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Changing the CIO conversation from technology to business

Fri, 23 Jan 2015 16:00:40 +0000

For many years, traditional IT thinking has served the IT function well. Companies have prospered from both the technological advances and consequent business improvements. Historically, the conversation typically centered on some form of technology. It could have been about infrastructure…

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Are you ready to take on tomorrow’s IT? Think again.

Fri, 16 Jan 2015 16:00:02 +0000

Let’s get one thing out of the way right up front. The business of IT is very complex and getting increasingly more complex every day. It does not matter whether you are the buyer or the seller; the industry is…

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No, you really do need a CIO…and now!

Fri, 09 Jan 2015 16:00:17 +0000

For those that follow my writing, this post may have a familiar ring to it. Unfortunately, there is a reason I’m writing about this yet again as the point still eludes many. The curious case of Acme Inc Take a…

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5 things a CIO wishes for this holiday season

Fri, 26 Dec 2014 16:00:06 +0000

It is that time of year when we start thinking about our predictions for the next year. Before we get to 2015 predictions next week, let us take an introspective look at 2014 and what we could hope for from…

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5 Tectonic Shifts facing today’s CIO

Fri, 19 Dec 2014 16:00:54 +0000

The past several years have presented an interesting time for CIOs, their staff and the companies they work within. In many ways, the changes are significant shifts how companies have operated. IT has a history of tectonic shifts Tectonic shifts…

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HP charts a course for the enterprise CIO from the inside out

Fri, 12 Dec 2014 16:00:39 +0000

Last week, HP (NYSE: HPQ) held their Discover Conference in Barcelona, Spain and the first since announcing their split into two major technology companies. Post split, HP Enterprise, the half focused on enterprise-class solutions, will need to demonstrate a strong…

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Think you are ready to build a cloud? Think again.

Fri, 05 Dec 2014 16:00:24 +0000

There is plenty of banter about what it truly takes to play in cloud. Do you think you are ready to jump into the deep end? Is your team ready? What about your processes? And finally, is the technology ready…

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Will the real change agent please stand up?

Wed, 26 Nov 2014 16:00:34 +0000

For twenty years, IT pitched itself as the ‘change agent’ in the company. More specifically, IT was positioning itself as the provocateur to bring increased value to the company, lines of business through the use of technology. But is IT…

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5 things that prepare the CIO for innovation

Fri, 21 Nov 2014 16:00:40 +0000

Last week, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) held their annual re:Invent conference in Las Vegas. Gigaom’s Barb Darrow summarized her Top-5 lessons learned from the conference here. Specifically for CIO’s, there were a number of things coming from the conference that every…

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CIOs are getting out of the Data Center business

Fri, 14 Nov 2014 16:00:08 +0000

More than three years ago, a proclamation was made (by myself, Mark Thiele and Jan Wiersma) that the data center was dead. Ironically, all three of us come from an IT background of running data centers within IT organizations. At…

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The importance of the long tail and a market of one

Fri, 07 Nov 2014 16:00:40 +0000

One could ask what does marketing have to do with the CIO and the IT organization as a whole? At the IBM Insight conference last week, this very issue came up on my interview on SiliconANGLE’s theCUBE. The short answer…

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IBM connects the dots between data, cloud and engagement

Fri, 31 Oct 2014 16:00:09 +0000

At this week’s IBM Insight conference in Las Vegas, IBM brought out the big guns to demonstrate their chops in the data analytics space. Insight is IBM’s conference dedicated to their solutions around data management and analytics. While there are…

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There comes a point when it is not just about storage space

Wed, 29 Oct 2014 16:00:22 +0000

Is the difference between cloud storage provides about free space? In a word, no. I wrote about the cloud storage wars and potential bubble here: The cloud storage wars heat up http://avoa.com/2014/04/29/the-cloud-storage-wars-heat-up/ 4 reasons cloud storage is not a bubble…

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The enterprise CIO needs a comprehensive strategic plan and quick

Fri, 24 Oct 2014 16:00:42 +0000

There are many who profess to know what goes on within the mind of the CIO and across the IT organization as a whole. The challenge is: If you have not been responsible for the role, it is increasingly…

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What do cloud consolidation and disruption have in common?

Fri, 17 Oct 2014 16:00:05 +0000

One thing is for sure, we can expect to see much more of cloud consolidation and disruption happening in the IT space over the coming months and years. Recently, Cisco, EMC, HP and IBM have all acquired startups from the…

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8 Reasons Not to Move to Cloud

Fri, 10 Oct 2014 16:00:23 +0000

Cloud-based solutions present the largest opportunity today for the enterprise, business, IT and the Chief Information Officer (CIO). Recent conversations have posed the question about cloud adoption in the enterprise. On the whole, just about every enterprise today is…

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Could Rackspace start the cloud vertical movement?

Thu, 09 Oct 2014 17:00:27 +0000

There are plenty of other posts detailing whether Rackspace (NYSE: RAX) should sell or split. I detailed my own thoughts here back in May 2014. With the speculation continuing to twist in different directions, one thought got me thinking.…

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Is the cloud unstable and what can we do about it?

Fri, 03 Oct 2014 16:00:14 +0000

The recent major reboots of cloud-based infrastructure by Amazon and Rackspace has resurfaced the question about cloud instability. Days before the reboot, both Amazon and Rackspace noted that the reboots were due to a vulnerability with Zen. Barb Darrow of…

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5 things to prepare the CIO for disruption

Tue, 30 Sep 2014 00:12:09 +0000

For years, IT organizations operated in a certain way. They provided a relatively standard service in a particular way. Of course, both of these evolved incrementally year over year. Over the past 5-10 years, that direction has changed pretty…

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IBM BLU Acceleration speaks to core business challenges with Cancun Release

Thu, 18 Sep 2014 16:00:34 +0000

IBM’s BLU Acceleration is starting to make inroads in addressing common issues faced by enterprise IT organizations. BLU Acceleration is IBM’s in-memory database processing is based on DB2. In-memory processing provides significant performance advantages over traditional methods by eliminating…

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CIOs ill equipped to manage the growing security threats

Fri, 12 Sep 2014 16:00:53 +0000

Security, or Information Security (InfoSec) as the more formal term, is going through a period of massive change. In recent months, the public has become keenly aware of the risks from Information Security. Public security issues at Target, UPS,…

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Three harmonious factors that change the CIO octave

Fri, 05 Sep 2014 16:00:44 +0000

Wikipedia: The term harmony derives from the Greek ‘harmonia’, meaning “joint, agreement, concord”, from the verb ‘harmozo’, “to fit together, to join. The future of the CIO role comes down to this very issue. Many speak of the demise…

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Seven Things the CIO should consider when adopting a holistic cloud strategy

Fri, 29 Aug 2014 16:00:14 +0000

As conversations about cloud computing continues to focus on IT’s inability at holistic adoption, organizations outside of IT continue their cloud adoption trek outside the prevue of IT. While many of these efforts are considered Shadow IT efforts and…

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Cloud is now a boardroom discussion and more are requesting CIO adoption

Fri, 22 Aug 2014 08:00:55 +0000

Cloud computing and the board of directors may seem like an odd match. However, it is not the first time that executives and technology have met up. It may come as a surprise, but those magazines in the airplane…

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The number of 9’s don’t matter but business metrics do

Sun, 17 Aug 2014 16:42:41 +0000

Information Technology (IT) organizations across the globe use a number of metrics to measure their success, failure and standing. One of the more popular metrics is the ‘number of 9’s’ as a measure of system uptime. Why use 9’s?…

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Death of the Data Center

Wed, 11 Jun 2014 18:12:22 +0000

Back in 2011, Mark Thiele (@mthiele10), Jan Wiersma (@jmwiersma) and I shared the stage at a conference in London, England for a panel discussion on the future of data centers. The three of us are founding board members with Data Center…

Where Does Rackspace Go From Here?

Fri, 16 May 2014 16:29:22 +0000

In the past week, the conversation around cloud computing has pulled the spotlight toward Rackspace (NYSE: RAX). Today alone, the stock is trading up 20%. So, why all attention in an otherwise mixed field of great innovators and steady stalwarts?…

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HP Launches Helion to Address Enterprise Cloud Adoption

Wed, 07 May 2014 16:12:51 +0000

Today, HP takes a huge step forward to address the broad and evolving enterprise cloud demand through their HP Helion announcement. HP Helion presents HP’s strategy to provide a comprehensive cloud portfolio. As HP’s CEO Meg Whitman mentioned, “HP is…

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What Happens if Twitter Went Away?

Wed, 07 May 2014 00:43:32 +0000

Ok, that sounds like doom and gloom…but is Twitter too big to fail? Today marks six months since Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) went public. Twitter priced their IPO at $26 per share. On the first day of trading, their stock reached…

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First Impressions of EMC World

Mon, 05 May 2014 19:52:54 +0000

EMC World, EMC’s core annual conference is this week in Las Vegas and there are a number of very core things to watch out for. EMC’s presence in the enterprise space is legendary. However the enterprise space is gaining momentum…

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Initial Impressions from IBM Impact

Tue, 29 Apr 2014 16:14:31 +0000

This week is IBM’s Impact Conference in Las Vegas. In past years, IBM conveyed components of different strategies around Mobile and Cloud. However, they have since moved to an integrated approach. This integrated approach is great, but offers a few…

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The Cloud Storage Wars Heat Up

Tue, 29 Apr 2014 15:57:28 +0000

While the cloud storage wars have simmered between Box and Dropbox for sometime, someone just poured gas on the fire. And that someone is Microsoft. With today’s announcement, Microsoft has just put Box and Dropbox in their crosshairs. The competition…

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Can Microsoft Maintain Enterprise Interest Through Cloud and Mobile?

Mon, 07 Apr 2014 20:11:19 +0000

The past 60 days or so have shown a wave of changes at Microsoft. But are they enough to maintain interest by enterprise customers that Microsoft has long since courted…and counted on for the bulk of their revenue? Revenue Breakdown…

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4 Reasons Cloud Storage is Not a Bubble About to Pop

Tue, 25 Mar 2014 01:24:00 +0000

With the recent S-1 filing by Box for their Initial Public Offering (IPO) the question of a Cloud Storage Bubble is raised once again. But is it really a bubble? And should enterprise customers take note and run for the…

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The Shark of HP Converged Systems

Mon, 24 Mar 2014 22:10:25 +0000

The story of Converged Infrastructure (CI) continues to gain steam within the Information Technology (IT) industry…and for good reason. Converged solutions present a relatively easy way to manage complex infrastructure solutions. While some providers focus on CI as an opportunity…

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IBM Dev@Pulse Conference Impressions

Tue, 25 Feb 2014 22:17:30 +0000

The Dev@Pulse conference is IBM’s developer conference tagging onto the core IBM Pulse conference. This is IBM’s first year trying to hold a developer-centric conference (Dev@Pulse) alongside their flagship cloud conference (IBM Pulse). Dev@Pulse is about as far away physically…

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IBM Pulse Conference Impressions

Tue, 25 Feb 2014 22:14:10 +0000

IBM’s conference on cloud is taking place this week in Las Vegas at the MGM Convention Center. There are two core parts to the conference; The main Pulse general conference and the Dev@Pulse conference which is specifically targeting developers. The…

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Who are the biggest cloud providers?

Fri, 24 Jan 2014 19:15:23 +0000

Cloud computing has taken off like wildfire. In that vein there is a bit of discrepancy between who the largest cloud company is and isn’t. Is perception reality? One could argue that perception is reality. And the perception today is…

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Are Enterprises Prepared for the Data Tsunami?

Mon, 20 Jan 2014 17:32:10 +0000

Companies are in for a major change to how they operate, manage and leverage data in the coming years. Data is quickly becoming the new currency and leading businesses are looking for ways to capitalize on this change. The Data…

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Rise of the CDO…do you need one?

Mon, 06 Jan 2014 22:30:56 +0000

The CIO (Chief Information Officer) and CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) roles are in a state of flux and starting to evolve pretty significantly. In the past year, the role of CDO or Chief Data Officer started picking up steam. 2014…

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CIO Predictions for 2014

Fri, 20 Dec 2013 18:45:38 +0000

This year, I thought I would shift the focus from cloud-specific to the broader agenda for CIOs. But before I jump into my predictions for 2014, let’s take a trip down memory lane and review how I did on Cloud…

Simple and Standard…or Custom and Complex

Wed, 11 Dec 2013 15:08:11 +0000

Over the years, IT has had the ability to customize the heck out of applications. Even the industry enabled this addiction to feature creep. Vendors asked what new button, bell, and whistle customers wanted and then delivered what they could.…

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HP Discover Barcelona: What to Watch For

Tue, 10 Dec 2013 07:46:15 +0000

Today kicks off HP’s Discover conference in Barcelona, Spain with a bevy of information on tap. Looking over the event guide, it is clear that HP is targeting the Enterprise customer with an emphasis on Cloud Computing, Data (including Big…

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Time to get on the Colocation Train Before it is Too Late

Mon, 28 Oct 2013 09:34:27 +0000

The data center industry is heading toward an inflection point that has significant impact on enterprises. It seems many aren’t looking far enough ahead, but the timeline appears to be 12-18 months, which is not that far out! The issue…

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What is Your Cloud Exit Strategy?

Thu, 17 Oct 2013 16:00:04 +0000

Cloud computing is still one of the hottest subjects in IT and business today. As the cloud market starts to mature, the interest to leverage cloud only grows further. And the sources of demand are not limited to only IT.…

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The IT Role in Value Creation is Not a Technology

Wed, 16 Oct 2013 19:19:25 +0000

For CIOs and the IT organizations they lead, what is their role in value creation? Can IT create value or are they simply an enabler to value creation? And can the implementation of technology really create value? Those seem to…

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LifeSize Tech Day 2013

Mon, 07 Oct 2013 22:45:59 +0000

Video conferencing trumps audio conferencing! Why you ask? More than 80% of communication is non-verbal. So, why don’t more people use video conferencing over audio? There are a number reasons…read on. HISTORY While some may feel video conferencing is passé,…

The Plumbing of Cloud Computing

Thu, 03 Oct 2013 16:32:56 +0000

Over the past several years, the conversation about cloud computing inevitably comes back to the technology and connections between systems. It includes the systems, storage, network and interconnection components that make up the cloud environment. In essence, the ‘plumbing’ of…

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Applying Cloud Computing in the Enterprise

Wed, 02 Oct 2013 18:30:08 +0000

There has been a bit of confusion around the applicability of cloud computing in the enterprise space. Recently, the question has come up as to where/ when/ how/ what cloud applies to enterprises and the challenges that enterprises face when…

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The Importance of rIrTrPrM

Fri, 21 Jun 2013 19:29:37 +0000

Many in the technology world focus on the technology itself without significant consideration of the data or more importantly, the information. When you dig a bit deeper, the real reason, the business reason we exist is about the data. Just…

HP Aims for the Stars with CloudSystem and Moonshot

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 14:41:30 +0000

Over the past few months, I’ve had a chance to spend time with the HP product teams. In doing so, it’s really opened my eyes to a new HP with a number of solid offerings. Two solutions (CloudSystem and Moonshot)…

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HP Anywhere and Poken

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:49:54 +0000

Last week at the HP Discover conference in Las Vegas, I visited the HP Anywhere booth to learn about the HP Anywhere mobile development platform. While at the booth, I was particularly intrigued by the Poken devices that a few…

IT Reaches the Tipping Point

Mon, 13 May 2013 20:38:27 +0000

IT is dead. Long live IT! 2013 is turning into a watershed year for CIOs as the traditional CIO is not the CIO of today. Business expectations, IT leadership styles and technology solutions are all driving an evolutionary change for…

HP Converged Cloud Tech Day

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 00:05:41 +0000

Last week, I attended HP’s Converged Cloud Tech Day in Puerto Rico. Fellow colleagues attended from North, Latin and South America. The purpose of the event was to 1) take a deep dive into HP’s cloud offerings and 2) visit…

Transforming IT Requires a Three-Legged Race

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 15:30:56 +0000

For over 30 years, we have successfully run IT organizations. And things (generally) have worked well for IT organizations and the businesses they serve. Best practices were identified, shared and enhanced. Technology evolved and became increasingly more sophisticated. We built…

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Cloud Predictions for 2013

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 22:39:44 +0000

In 2013, the cloud industry endures a maturing of sorts. Cloud, as a concept, moves from the lab to the default for many. In order to transit the maturing process, a number of changes will start to take place in…

How to Leverage the Cloud for Disasters like Hurricane Sandy

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 00:13:50 +0000

Between natural disasters like Hurricanes Sandy and Irene or man-made disasters like the recent data center outages, disasters happen. The question isn’t whether they will happen. The question is: What can be done to avoid the next one? Cloud computing…

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How Important are Ecosystems? Ecosystems are Everything

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 20:07:50 +0000

The IT industry is in a state of significant flux. Paradigms are changing and so are the underlying technologies. Along with these changes come the way we think about solutions. Over time, IT organizations have amassed a phenomenal number of…

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The Real Problem with Data Center Efficiency

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 19:35:47 +0000

In the past week, The New York Times (and Greenpeace previously) called attention to the inefficiency in data centers. These stories bring light to a serious issue, but are a bit misguided and do not include the whole story. Generally…

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Cloud Application Matrix

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 16:00:08 +0000

Several years in and there is still quite a bit of confusion around the value of cloud computing. What is it? How can I use it? What value will it provide? There are several perspectives on how to approach cloud…

Dreamforce 2012 Trip Report

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 21:13:15 +0000

Overview Last week’s Salesforce Dreamforce event had to be the largest conference I have seen at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. It covered Moscone North, South and West plus several hotels. And if that was not enough, Howard Street was turned…

Cloud Forces a Paradigm Shift for CIOs

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:00:47 +0000

Cloud computing has turned the technology world on it’s head. Some argue this is a bad thing. However, I believe it is a great thing and something we need. For some time, businesses have requested more and more from IT…

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Apple Acquisition of AuthenTec Provides Significant Opportunity

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 21:15:09 +0000

Apple’s acquisition of AuthenTec for $8 per share or about $356 million brings a value purchase of fingerprint and security technology. On the surface, the acquisition provides Apple with biometric fingerprint technology to imbed in their mobile devices. While that…

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Onramps Increase Adoption of Innovation

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 13:05:42 +0000

Over the past several years, I have evaluated a number of solutions and services in the cloud computing market. As time goes in, one would hope to see a change to the maturity of a marketplace. While market maturity has…

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IT Outsourcing for SMEs

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 22:13:19 +0000

IT outsourcing is nothing new. Or is it? There are several gotchas. But it is important to understand where we’ve come from to learn from past mistakes and take advantage of new opportunities. Read on… Outsourcing vs. Offshoring First, let’s…

Will SaaS Provide the Final VDI Knockout?

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 20:39:07 +0000

Over the past couple of years, a battle has been brewing. The battle is not about technology or devices. It is about data and usability. The contenders are Software as a Service (SaaS) and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). There are…

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IT Transformation Requires One Step After The Other

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 17:42:24 +0000

Looking For Direction The technology (specifically IT) world is becoming more complex and challenging every day. I speak with a number of Business Leaders, CIOs, IT leaders and IT staff about this very issue. The subject of IT Transformation is…

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Learning From The BlackBerry Monkey Wrench

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 22:16:30 +0000

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and Consumerization of IT (CoIT) have brought pause and complications to the traditional IT support model. Some have argued that BYOD is more expensive and not a good option for corporations. I disagree under the…

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The Future Data Center Is… Part II

Wed, 23 May 2012 22:10:58 +0000

Last month, I wrote The Future Data Center Is… and alluded to a shift in demand for data centers. Just to be clear, I don’t believe data center demand is decreasing. Quite the contrary, I believe demand is exploding! But…

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BYOD and CoIT Enable Apple in the Corporate Enterprise

Wed, 09 May 2012 16:14:40 +0000

I just penned a guest post for Parallel’s Enterprise blog. It talks to the impact BYOD and CoIT has enabled Apple in the enterprise market. You can view the post here: http://blogs.parallels.com/enterprise-blog/2012/5/8/byod-and-coit-enable-apple-in-the-corporate-enterprise-guest.html

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Tracelytics Heats Up Cloud-based APM

Mon, 07 May 2012 20:10:25 +0000

Gaining visibility to application performance is key. Application Performance Management (APM) solutions are not new and provide insight to tiers within an application stack. With the entry of cloud based computing in the past couple of years, the APM world…

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Shadow IT is a Good Thing for IT Organizations

Fri, 04 May 2012 21:10:18 +0000

Shadow IT is a good thing for IT organizations…and here’s why… It is important to first understand what Shadow IT is and why it happens. Shadow IT is commonly referred to when non-IT organizations delve into the delivery of technology…

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Analyzing Cloud Utilization and Optimization with Cloudyn

Thu, 03 May 2012 18:51:17 +0000

Moving workloads into Cloud Computing environments is on everyone’s task list. As one evaluates the choices between public and private cloud, the sizing of an environment quickly comes into view. How large or small should an environment be? Once you…

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DataSift Takes Big Data Analytics of Social Networks to the Next Level

Thu, 03 May 2012 17:13:59 +0000

We all know data is growing at an astronomical pace. By many accounts, the sheer amount of data coming at us is overwhelming. According to one survey, enterprises today create only 8% of the entire data set they consume. That…

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Sneak Peek of the Under The Radar Conference

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 04:31:31 +0000

The Under The Radar (UTR) Conference (http://www.undertheradarblog.com/) is tomorrow, April 26, 2012. UTR is the intersection of hot up-and-coming startups, investors and judging. If the reception tonight was any indication, the conference and presentations should be very interesting. Here’s a…

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Gaining Entry to the Enterprise via the Consumer Trojan Horse

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 21:50:19 +0000

Ok, so you’re selling technology products, solutions or services. You’re looking for the largest buyers and typically look to the enterprise market. You develop the strategy and start going to work. You setup a sales team, check. You setup a…

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The Future Data Center Is…

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:14:22 +0000

Many folks want to look in a crystal ball and magically profess what the future looks like. In the land of technology, it’s not that easy. Or is it? Sure, we do have the ability to control our destiny. We…

So Which Is It? Airplane Mode or Turn Devices Completely Off?

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 22:10:45 +0000

I’ve written about the Consumerization of IT (CoIT) in past missives. It seems that today, everyone flying on an airplane has some form of technology gadget. And the range varies from a cell phone to an iPod, to a tablet…

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Cloud Computing Turns InfoSec Upside Down

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 22:00:37 +0000

I had the opportunity to write a post for SecureWorld Post’s site. You can view it at: http://secureworldpost.secureworldexpo.com/crawford-cloud-computing-turns-infosec-upside-down/

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A Workload is Not a Workload, is Not a Workload

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 20:55:24 +0000

Over the past year, I’ve observed a concerning trend about workloads. It seems that with the advent of cloud computing, the idea of a workload has been confused a bit. The fundamental concern is a misguided view that all workloads…

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My Top 5 Most Used Business Apps for iPad

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 18:09:24 +0000

As a frequent flyer that booked over 150,000 actual flown miles last year, I like to travel light. In that vein, I prefer to travel with only an iPad and no laptop. Sure, I do have a MacBook Air that…

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The New Data Center Park Trend

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 20:09:26 +0000

Building data centers in specific areas is nothing new. Data centers are large consumers of power. That’s not news either. Typically, data centers are located near sources of low-cost (and hopefully renewable) energy. Energy is a large portion of the…

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The Difference Between CoIT and BYOD: And the Impact for IT

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:54:16 +0000

There is quite a bit of confusion between CoIT (Consumerization of IT) and BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). While these two subjects are related, they are not the same. To make things more confusing, the two terms are often interchanged.…

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Could Data Centers Become Black Sheep?

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:59:42 +0000

Could they? Could it be out of Vogue to operate your own data center? Current developments in Corporate Social Responsibility and a maturing data center marketplace are starting to drive these changes. For many, this could be a discussion about…

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Cloud Computing for SMB: 2012 Update

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:39:24 +0000

Cloud Computing is still a hot topic in 2012. For the Small and Medium Business (SMB) community, it is a game changer. Unlike the days of past, cloud computing offers leverage previously only available to enterprise class companies. In essence,…

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What Can In-Flight Phone Service Teach Us About In-Flight Wi-Fi?

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:01:33 +0000

If you are like me, you spend quite a bit of time sitting on an airplane. Over the years, the amount of flight-time has increased too. At the same time our professional and personal lives are becoming “always on”. Meaning,…

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Motivation And Work Ethics: Passion Fuels the Engine

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:33:00 +0000

I have worked in many environments from very large global companies to small startups. During that time, I have seen my share of different work ethics. And motivation plays a closely related part. Think of it as the finely tuned…

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Cloud Computing Trends: 2012 Update

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 01:05:38 +0000

In my various conversations and presentations last year, I was starting to hear a concerning theme. I’ll get to why it is concerning in a bit. The theme was around what I called “cloud fatigue”. That is, people were starting…

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Do Executive Changes Signal a Change in the Economic Winds?

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:29:53 +0000

As the economy starts to improve, the movement of executives from one organization to another starts. This movement is not relegated to the upper ranks either. The lieutenants of a CIO and their rank-and-file are just as, if not more,…

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What the CIO Needs to Know About BYOD

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:22:50 +0000

BYOD is a relatively new acronym. No, it does not mean Bring Your Own Drink. It stands for Bring Your Own Device. By device, it means smartphone, tablet or laptop. Conceptually, it means that the user is using their own…

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The Five Stages of Public Speaking

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:40:12 +0000

People often ask me how to become a public speaker. The first step is to hone your skills and comfort getting in front of a live audience. Second is to know your subject well. Speaking is about educating. The best…

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Looking Toward 2012 And Beyond

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 20:58:30 +0000

Many have looked into their respective crystal balls at what the coming year brings. Personally, my horizon looks not just at the coming year, but the years to come too. As I gaze into my crystal ball for 2012 and…

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Personal Tribute to Steve Jobs

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 15:53:48 +0000

Today starts with a somber note as yesterday the tech industry lost a great leader. Steve Jobs meant many things to many people. Through his work with Apple, Pixar and Next, he touched the lives of many people. To me…

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The New CIO: Leadership, Innovation and Transformation.

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 16:53:22 +0000

The role of the CIO has often been a coveted one. Those rising in the ranks of IT actively seek the title. But what does the CIO actually do? Many have speculated on what the term CIO really means…or should…

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Confessions of a Cloud Road Warrior: Update 2

Sun, 01 May 2011 00:00:22 +0000

Last year, I took a slight departure to discuss the opportunities and challenges that cloud computing presents to the road warrior. Almost a year later, it is time to update the results. Since my last posting, I have traveled throughout…

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Clouds, Failure and Other Things That Go Bump in the Night

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 06:16:18 +0000

A couple of days ago, I posted some thoughts about the recent Amazon AWS outage. In the passing days, many others have written their own missives collecting their thoughts on what may have happened and the ensuing consequences. The opinions…

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Amazon Outage Concerns Are Overblown

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 03:04:12 +0000

Today, Amazon suffered a major outage of their EC2 cloud services based out of their Virginia data center. There are plenty of other blogs with more technical details on what specifically took place. Many cloud pundits are pointing to the…

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Cloud Computing Search Trends Show Growth and Plateau

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 23:55:00 +0000

There has been quite a bit discussion about the topic of Cloud Computing and specifically if interest was starting to wane. In discussions over the past year, I’ve used the term ‘cloud fatigue’ to describe how cloud came on strongly,…

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Failure is a Good Thing

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:28:41 +0000

Failure…the F-word to some. It is often suggested that we learn from our failures. However, it is often our successes that are celebrated. The question is: Are we truly learning from failure? And do we fear failure too much? In…

Servers Purchased Today Will Not Be Replaced

Sat, 20 Nov 2010 13:00:22 +0000

In the spirit of paradigm shifts, here’s one to think about. Servers that are purchased today will not be replaced. Servers have a useful lifespan. Typically that ranges in the 3-5 years depending on their use. There are a number…

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Connectivity is the Cloud’s Achilles Heal…Sort Of.

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 17:08:11 +0000

Having written about the challenges for Road Warriors and cloud computing, I thought it a good opportunity to write about the challenges that connectivity brings to a cloud-based methodology. Some challenges are very real while others are perception. It is…

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Recommendations for Measuring and Reporting Data Center Efficiency

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 23:57:35 +0000

I’ve been part of a consortium lead by the US DOE and US EPA to develop recommendations in an effort to drive up the number of data centers that measure and report their efficiency. Today, the group published the first…

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TelecomTV Resolutions: Cloud Computing

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 18:36:42 +0000

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to join a live panel discussion in New York on Cloud Computing. The panel was part of a live global conversation that took part in Asia (Singapore), Europe (Nice) and Americas (New York)…

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Personal Cloud Computing for Road Warriors

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 20:10:17 +0000

I thought I would take a brief departure from my other missives to share some recent experiences. This entry is more geared for those of you that are road warriors. And it applies to the more personal use cases of…

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Leveling the Playing Field for the Startup and SMB

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 16:52:59 +0000

Cloud Computing is the number one strategic issue for enterprise organizations today (Gartner). However, it presents a new advantage for the Startup and Small and Medium Business (SMB) to level the playing field. Today, startups find it challenging to raise…

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Privacy in the Cloud: Facebook & Google

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 05:17:45 +0000

Facebook and Google have taken quite a bit of heat lately regarding their privacy policies. In essence, they’ve taken an opt-out approach to privacy. Put another way, they make the decision for the user to share information then allow the…

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AT&T Data Pricing Changes: Good or Bad?

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 01:18:28 +0000

Yesterday (June 2, 2010), AT&T announced changes to it’s data service pricing. The full press release can be found at: http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4800&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=30854 The big news is that AT&T is doing away with their “unlimited” data plans. Many folks will question whether…

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Energy Used by Google Search

Thu, 20 May 2010 00:38:02 +0000

Ever wonder how much energy is used for a Google Search? Here’s an interesting comparison: http://nextround.net/upcoming/thumbs/2010/05/12/How-Much-Energy-Is-Used-In-a-Google-Search-full.jpg Armed with this information, how much energy do you personally consume? What about other online services? Will this cause you to think differently about…

A Tweet is Forever

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 04:52:38 +0000

Today, the US Library of Congress announced that it acquired the entire Twitter public archive going back to March 2006. At over 50,000 tweets per day, that accounts for billions of tweets. http://www.loc.gov/tweet/how-tweet-it-is.html The announcement creates a number of considerations.…

U.S SEC Views on Disclosure Bring Focus to Carbon Impact

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:11:37 +0000

Recently, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) offered both a view and a reminder on release of data related to climate change impact. The interpretation is located at: http://www.sec.gov/rules/interp/2010/33-9106.pdf For businesses, this means a greater focus on carbon impact…

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Important Cloud Computing Aspects for CIOs

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 19:47:33 +0000

In late 2009, I had the pleasure of joining Jim Swartz, CIO of Sybase in a “Meet the Press” type of interview format. VMware hosted the interview for broadcast on CIO.com. The webcast is available on CIO.com’s website at: http://www.cio.com/webcast/512880/Important_Cloud_Computing_Aspects_for_CIOs

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2010 Cloud Computing and Data Center Events

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 02:41:20 +0000

I’ve posted a list of 2010 cloud computing and data center events. http://avoa.com/events/ I will update these from time to time. If you see an error or know of another event, please contact me with the details.

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Stepping on the Threshold of a New Decade

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 03:45:42 +0000

As we prepare to celebrate the start of a new year I can’t help but look back on the past 10 years and contemplate what the next year (and decade) has to offer. Many will not miss 2009, but the…

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Reducing Carbon Footprint in Data Centers

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:25:31 +0000

The reduction in carbon footprint is starting to take hold with some companies. Carbon footprint is the measurement of greenhouse gasses (GHG) emitted. As we consider the impact on greenhouse gasses the environment, carbon footprint becomes a clear target. A…

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Cloud Computing Bootcamp Nov 2009 Slides

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:02:19 +0000

These are copies of the slides from Cloud Bootcamp held at Cloud Computing Expo in Santa Clara, CA November 2009. Tim Crawford: Introduction Glenn Brunette (Sun): Cloud Security Kevin Noonan (Push2Cloud): Google App Engine Jason Christensen (jasonc411): Cloud Computing Mobile

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IT’s Hard Pill to Swallow

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:32:52 +0000

In recent weeks, folks have suggested that cloud computing will cause the demise of the IT department. From an apocalyptical viewpoint, one could see this future. Others take a perspective of denial. The truth lies somewhere between…and unfortunately trending negative.…

Canada as Major Cloud Provider for North America

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:00:06 +0000

Recently, Canada’s CTO Jirka Danek gave a speech where he highlighted the opportunities in cloud and green IT for Canada. Bill St. Arnaud’s blog carried the details. The arguments for Canada include: Well positioned to become a world leader in…

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Microsoft Sidekick Data Loss Not a Blow to Cloud

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:00:01 +0000

Stemming from the Microsoft Sidekick Data Loss event, some are highlighting the dangers of cloud computing. Of course there is also the contrarian view too. But the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Is cloud computing dangerous? As with many things,…

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Data Center World: Cloud and Data Center Comments

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:18:38 +0000

AFCOM’s Data Center World conference was held Oct 4-7, 2009 in Orlando, FL. Dr. Zen Kishimoto from AltaTerra Research Network posted a nice set of updates to his blog: Zen and the Art of Data Center Greening. There is quite…

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Rackspace Data Center Outage: Cause for Concern or Time for a Change in Strategy?

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:31:41 +0000

Rackspace, a popular hosting provider in the cloud, suffered a significant outage on June 29, 2009. Apparently, a power interruption caused their Dallas (DFW-Grapevine) data center to go offline. Rackspace has posted a copy of the incident report here: Click…

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Cap and Trade Impact on Data Centers

Tue, 19 May 2009 13:00:26 +0000

Cap and trade is a relatively new threat to data centers. However, the concept is not new; having been around for decades. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emissions_trading The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a website dedicated to their programs. http://www.epa.gov/captrade/ The cap and…

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Strategic Impact of Acquisitions: Oracle Acquisition of Virtual Iron Example

Mon, 18 May 2009 19:00:33 +0000

This week’s announcement of Oracle’s (NYSE: ORCL) acquisition of Virtual Iron caused a bit of a stir. Oracle’s press release is a bit vague and financial terms were not disclosed: http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/press/018535 The acquisition acknowledges an architectural shift toward a collapsed…

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Importance of Private Clouds

Mon, 18 May 2009 05:18:32 +0000

First a quick primer on private vs. public clouds… Private clouds are, in many aspects, similar to their public big brothers. However, a private cloud is essentially a pooling of resources within an organization. The limit to the economies of…

Should Google Outage Cause Change in Cloud Computing Strategy?

Sat, 16 May 2009 20:58:21 +0000

Google suffered an outage this week that left 14% of their users headed to sites in China rather than the US. As such, a traffic jam between the US & Asia ensued. Google’s SVP of Operations posted an update to…

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Cloud Computing Goes Mainstream

Thu, 14 May 2009 15:31:47 +0000

For years, the magazines on aircraft have played a significant role in the direction of technology. Many an executive have returned from a flight brim with interest in an article they read in the airline’s complementary magazine. For years, the…

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Google Data Center Efficiency Summit

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 05:07:26 +0000

I had the opportunity to attend Google’s Data Center Efficiency Summit. During the summit, Google took some of the mystery of their data center operations. In addition to a number of presenters, Google displayed one of their custom server models. It…

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Infrastructure Strategies

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:23:32 +0000

Cloud computing significantly changes the strategic playing field. Core to this change is both a philosophical and physical change to how infrastructure is managed. One doesn’t have to look far to see similarities in other industries where this transformation has…

Data Center Fabric

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:12:17 +0000

What is a data center fabric? Can this be related to how electric generation started? What about the electric grid? Can we expect to see a compute grid develop? Where do classical operating systems come in? If there is a…

Cloud Computing – A Definition

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:05:19 +0000

Everyone is ‘in the cloud’ today. But what does this mean and how will it help? First, a common way to talk about cloud computing is needed. We need a way to further define how to look at cloud services.…

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Storage Failure in the Cloud

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:55:32 +0000

Is storage in the cloud a failure? I’ll answer that further down…read on. It started with a story in the Boston Globe on March 21, 2009: http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2009/03/21/data_backup_firm_sues_2_hardware_suppliers/ That spawned a series of threads on the failure of Cloud Storage. Carbonite’s…

Stay Tuned

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 08:17:23 +0000

I’m in the process of setting up this blog. Expect more information along with presentations, links and thoughts on IT strategic issues including: Cloud Computing Death of the Data Center

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AVOA

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