Trying Google Glass @ TechAmerica's 2013 Awards Dinner

AFFRIM 2013 Federal CFO-CIO Summit

 Let's talk Cloud! 

Join me & the SRA team @ the AFFRIM 2013 Federal CFO-CIO Summit at the Washington Convention Center. http://www.affirm.org/partner-events/2013-federal-cfo-cio-summit

Determining High Value IT Initiatives @ the Open Group Conference in Philly

I will be speaking at the "Open Group Philadelphia Conference" on July 15th. My session will be entitled "Determining High Value IT Initiatives". Here's a brief summary of this session:

As IT budgets shrink, enterprise architects must increasingly focus on identifying and achieving infrastructure cost savings based on quantified ROI and risk. Typically, the complexity and heterogeneity of infrastructure environments makes optimization difficult but budget pressures necessitate performance improvements. Utilizing portfolio management and enterprise architecture techniques, this presentation describes an approach to identify solutions with "high return" cost savings.


Key takeaways:

• Understanding of the key efficiency levers that can result in reduced costs
• Approach for prioritizing and selecting highest value initiatives

Session material has been co-authored by Sandra Ambrose (Director, Infrastructure Services Practice @ SRA International)

Conference Event Timetable

Conference Home Page

You attendance is welcomed, encouraged and appreciated!

Building the Case for a Cloud-Based Government @ Cloud Expo 2013

I will be speaking at  Cloud Expo 2013  on June 12th. My session will be entitled "Building the Case for a Cloud-Based Government".

Here's a brief summary of this session:

The US Government, as well as governments around the world, is looking to invest heavily in Cloud Computing. The cloud promises a lot of efficiencies and cost savings but it also presents a new revolutionary way to approach citizen services. This session offers insight into how Cloud Computing coupled with other technical advancements in mobility and security are changing government IT organizations. It also provides general guidance and best practices for developing practical and pragmatic cloud strategies. 

More information about the session

Conference Home Page

You attendance is welcomed, encouraged and appreciated! 

Speaking at a UVA Jeffersonian Dinner

I will be speaking at a University of Virginia Jeffersonian Dinner. The dinner will take place on March 27th at Paolo's in Reston Town Center.

The topic of my presentation was voted on by the UVA MSMIT community and will be entitled: "Cloud Computing a Strategy, a Concept, or a Solution"

Please use the following link to register or to learn more about the event: http://hoosonline.virginia.edu/jeffersoniandinner

You can also check out the following TED Talk to learn more about the concept of Jeffersonian Dinners http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuAT0YHQz94

Go Hoos!!!

Mythbusting and Misconceptions Panel @ George Town University

I will be participating in a panel discussion entitled: “Mythbusting and Misconceptions: Understanding Current Perceptions and Debating the Realities Surrounding Cloud Security and its Implications to Cloud Economics, Efficiencies, and Adoption”

This event is part of the Federal Government & Cloud Computing Symposium which aims at Addressing the Challenges and Resolving the Tensions Between Security and Efficiency in the Evolving Enterprise.The event is sponsored by the Homeland Security & Defense Business Council and Georgetown University’s Center for Secure Communications, in Conjunction with the Bipartisan Policy Center and The Civitas Group

This half-day symposium will be held on February 19th at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. The program will include two integrated panel sessions with a mix of leading cloud experts from government and industry. In order to encourage robust, interactive discussion, these panel sessions will be closed to the press and not for attribution. The program will also conclude with a capstone “National Conversation” (open to the press) between leading experts from the public and private sectors that builds off the panel discussions and discusses the outstanding issues and the way forward. For more information about the event, please visit this URL:http://homelandcouncil.org/the-federal-government-a-cloud-computing-symposium.html


Here is more information about the panel discussion:

Examining the myths surrounding the cloud is an essential component of the government’s ability to decide whether, when, and how to utilize cloud solutions, as well as an important aspect of improving government and industry collaboration.  In this panel, public and private sector experts will focus on cloud security and its impact on cloud economics, efficiencies, and adoption.  They will examine the current perceptions, address misconceptions, and help to identify what is fact and what is fiction.  

It will look closely at the strong perceptions held by both government and industry regarding cloud security, including:

• “Establishing and maintaining a high level of security in the cloud is/is not cost effective”
• “The cloud is less secure/more secure than traditional IT models”
• “Government information is more/less vulnerable in a cloud environment”
• “The government is afraid to virtualize for fear of a data spill”
• “Security mechanisms inhibit agility in the cloud”
• “Email does not need a high level of security in the cloud”
• “My agency cannot go to the cloud because ____________”

Sick & Tired of Cloud Predictions!!!

I am getting sick and tired of all these 2013 cloud predictions!!! Enough alright...

Well if you cannot beat them maybe you can join them.  I will keep it simple, Just three predictions, I promise...

1. The cloud is here to stay. Yes, it will go down every once in a while but it will stay. Why? Because it will get cheaper and cheaper as time passes. And it will continue to be more reliable and robust than many makeshift traditional solutions.
2. Hype is over, reality sets in. The cloud is not a magic pill. If you want to make use of its potentials, than you have to do your homework. Create a good strategy, clean up your infrastructure, prepare your people... 
3. Predictions go out of fashion. Who am I kidding... No they won't

Here you go I am now as guilty as the next predictor.  

Happy New Year :)

Presenting at the CDC CIMS Industry Day

I will be presenting, along side the SRA Capability Center team, at the upcoming Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Information Management Services (CIMS) Industry Day. The event will take place in Atlanta, GA on Nov 13th.

Presentation Topics:

• What is FedRAMP and what does it mean to me/CDC?/ How to take your Systems to the Cloud and Why?
• Why Agile Development Makes Projects Successful

Click here for more information about the event.

Managing the Perceived Green Effect of Clouds @ GDCON 2013

I will be speaking at the "The Green Data Center Conference" on January 31st. My session will be entitled "Using ITSM to Manage the Perceived Green Effect of Cloud Computing".

Here's a brief summary of this session:

Cloud Computing is promising a lot of efficiencies and cost savings but it’s also presenting a huge paradigm shift to many IT organizations. Cloud Computing does not only affect the way organizations consume resources but also produces a perceived green side-effect. This session focuses on utilizing best practices and IT Service Management guidelines to create a simple but proven framework to judge the environmental impacts of Cloud Computing. The session also discusses the opportunities and challenges of achieving and maintaining these perceived effects. 

More information about the session

Conference Home Page

You attendance is welcomed, encouraged and appreciated! 

Cloud and Virtualization Conference (DC)

Is the Cloud fit for Government! 

Join me and the SRA team at the Cloud and Virtualization Conference Exp. The conference will take place at the Grand Hyatt Washington, DC. Oct 22nd to the 23rd.
http://govcloudconference.com/events/2012/home.aspx

Air Traffic Control Association Conference (ATCA)

 
 Let's talk Cloud! 

Join me & the SRA team @ the Air Traffic Control Association Conference at the Gaylord Convention Center (Booth 633). http://www.atca.org/57annual

Cloud Organizational Impact Presentation is Now Available for Download

My Cloud Organizational Impact presentation is now available.
Log on to the Open Group DC Conference site using the following URL to download: http://www.opengroup.org//public/member/proceedings/q312/APC.htm#objective

Quoted in the Washington Post: Companies show interest in being assessors for federal IT buying program

  Use this link to read the Washington Post article: http://lnkd.in/jXrvsG

Cloud Impact @ the Open Group Conference in DC

I will be speaking at the "Open Group Washington DC Conference" on July 18th. My session will be entitled "Cloud Computing’s Impact on Modern IT Organizational Structures". Here's a brief summary of this session:

Cloud Computing is promising a lot of efficiencies and cost savings but it's also presenting a huge paradigm shift to many IT organizations. Cloud Computing does not only affect the way organizations consume resources but  also calls for many changes in their supporting structures. The most common answer to this problem is the implementation of Enterprise Architecture and  Service Management frameworks such as TOGAF and ITIL. But these frameworks add to the complexity of the situation because they call for the alignment of organizational roles with their derived principles. This lecture discusses the opportunities and challenges of Cloud Computing then focuses on providing some suggested guidelines for using industry proven frameworks to  streamlining its impact on IT organizational structures.

Conference Event Timetable

Conference Home Page

You attendance is welcomed, encouraged and appreciated! 

Do I Dare Redefine the Cloud… Part 2 – The Simplified Private Cloud Formula

So what’s the best way to construct a clear, precise and consistent cloud definition? In my mind, nothing would work better than mathematical formulas. Bear with me for a second here… Mathematics has always been considered the most refined of sciences. It’s been said that in order for anyone to produce sophisticated but simplified depictions of scientific concepts, it would have to be represented using math. On the other hand, using formulas to define IT concepts brings about a major problem. Formulas paint the application of a definition in either black or white. There are no greys here. This means that if you are trying to apply my definition to your cloud strategy, it will either be a perfect fit or it will highlight some application gaps. Is this good a thing? Maybe!

The one thing I can voice here is that formulas are beautiful when they are kept simple (think E=MC²). By keeping the cloud formulas simple, I aim to keep the definition simple, and hopefully make it easier to align this definition with the reality of IT environments…  With that in mind, let’s give it a try.

In this blog entry, I will attempt to simplify the Private Cloud definition. So let’s lead with the formula:

Private Cloud = Virtualization + Orchestration + Service Catalog

Yes, it is that simple. And that is what transitioning to a private cloud environment should mean for the majority of organizations. Most of today’s establishments do not need more than a solid foundation of virtualization infrastructure to provide the resource pooling and rapid elasticity the NIST definition calls for. Add a layer of basic business process automation and a coating of service management, and you’ve got yourself a private cloud.

In a nutshell, organizations should focus their energy on deliberating, identifying, and codifying the IT services that could be included as part of their overall IT Service Catalog. This provides an immediate value to both the end users and the IT organization itself. It explicates and clarifies the mission of IT and prompts IT services to be more consumable. Likewise, the automation of service provisioning and maintenance activities would also increase the value of IT services and reduce their associated costs. This, of course, is no news… organization have been trying to achieve for years. However, it’s now easier to achieve with the flexibility of virtual infrastructures and virtualization management systems.

But, how about the remaining NIST cloud characteristics? Don’t we need “on-demand self-service”, “broad network access” and “measured service” to make it a real private cloud?

My answer is not really… The value of private clouds could definitely be extended if self-service and charge/show back capabilities are added to the mix. But these capabilities might not always be required to achieve the value and ROI anticipated from Private clouds. Realistically, many organizations will opt-out of self-service on the short run as it might clash with their current users’ culture. Users will continue to favor the traditional model of assisted service for the majority of their IT demands. Their level of IT knowledge as well as interest in being exposed to technology details might become the biggest hurdle to overcome. Subsequently, the internal IT team might become the only user of the self-service capability. Likewise, charge back and/or show back capabilities are another “great to have”. They do add a lot of value and can increase the outcome of private cloud implementations but are not required to complete our definition.

Let me be clear here. I am not saying that you should not consider self-service or charging as part of your private cloud strategy. But by all means, do not give it more weight than it deserves and do not make it stop you from capitalizing on the chief goals of private clouds. Instead, consider the key business drivers, the implementation costs, as well as the readiness of your organizational culture then determine applicability and plan smartly for adapting your organization to the implied changes.

Another thought, multi-tenancy is an optional consideration for private clouds. You are more likely to consider its implications if you are planning for a public or community cloud (I will work on formulas for those in a future blog, I promise) but not when you are supporting a single organization.

So how about the intersection of private clouds with the cloud service models. In other words, can the concept of private clouds gel nicely with all cloud service models (IaaS, PaaS, & SaaS) and their derivatives?

My answer is unlikely… For IaaS there is certainly a good match and a good business case to backup the marriage of the two. But the correlation starts to fracture with PaaS and SaaS. More about that in a future blog.