Proposed Cloud/Desktop Model

Proposed Cloud/Desktop Model

Following is a quick sketch of a new desktop computer model. It combines the cloud (application and data) with desktop PCs (MAC, PC and Linux) both corporate and personally owned. I’m working on a full white-paper with details on the business rationale and the tech specs. I’m hopping this sketch will encourage some discussion out in the community and I look forward to hearing from you with whatever you have to say about this.

 

The problem(s) we are trying to solve…

1. access to applications…

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  • the need for standardized enterprise apps;
  • implementation of current patches and service packs installed;
  • cost efficient applications;
  • current applications available when needed;
  • current application versions available when needed.

2. access to data…

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  • reduce and eliminate redundancy;
  • data in multiple locations, some of which may be inaccessible when needed;
  • standardized data formats and file types.

3. secure data…

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  • central repository of data which is secure from theft, intrusion and loss;
  • consistent backup of all corporate data available when needed for disaster recovery and legislative compliance;
  • confidential and private data on mobile storage (HDD, CD/DVD or RAM sticks) with no encryption.

4. consistent desktop software environments…

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  • regardless of which computer an employee uses it will have the same look and feel;
  • a standardized environment which contains any and all enterprise software and utilities based on employee’s role.

5. use of personally owned desktop computers for corporate business…

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  • allow employees to work from home;
  • allow employees to make use of personal choices in desktop computing;
  • create a secure environment for corporate data on potentially non-secure desktop computers.

The solutions…

By combining many new and emerging technologies we are able to provide solutions to the above problems. The problems are diverse but converge at a single point – people who need access to corporate resources. Typically this is via a desktop computer. Since non-desktop computer devices are more in line with modern web access models and in some cases even have constraints in access modes, we will leave them out of this model.

Links to Desktop Virtualization

 

Nortel Office-on-a-Stick

Desktop Virtualization Portal

VMware

Microsoft Desktop Virtualization

Wikipedia

ZDNet – Compliance Issues

ZDNet – White-paper on Virualization

Virtual Machines for the Web Worker

Let me know what you think . . .

Dean

Decentralized IT

Here’s a great article from Ramon Padilla of TechRepublic on central vs. decentralized IT models with a theme on security breaches. Who runs (controls, manages, governs etc) IT in your organization?

There is a lot of real world experience in this article but what I really liked was this:

The laissez-faire model can work to deliver IT services. Sometimes well, sometimes not so well…Often staffed by people that are wearing an IT hat in addition to their “real” job and view IT as a hobby, a right, or a requirement … IT is not their profession… they have neither the time nor the resources to run IT like a business or a profession.

IT run by “amateurs” and I am not saying that in a derogatory way, have and continue to deliver necessary services but they cannot keep up with the level of sophistication that the “bad guys” have evolved to nor the responsibilities and liabilities that come with IT in this day and age. Once upon a time an organization could do mediocre IT and only be a danger to itself – now it is a danger to others.

Think about it – would you trust your personal information in the hands of that guy over in shipping who  built a data base over the weekend on the same computer his kids use to download music from a peer-to-peer bit torrent based network?

Dean

IT/Business Integration

Jason Hiner executive editor of Tech Republic has a good article in his post in Tech Sanity Check – Sanity check: If you’re working on IT-business alignment, you’ve already lost.  There are two key phrases in the article that caught my eye:

• “As you can see, this is not about IT/business alignment. It’s about IT/business integration.”

Are the IT departments in these large corporations that far removed from business that they need to be sliced’n'diced and assimilated by business units?

• “…better explaining IT spending, getting other leaders to think of technology as a business enabler…”

How many business leaders (particularly the older generation) think of IT as a cost centre and utility rather than the ‘enabler’ that it can be?

This was part one of a two parter from Jason Hine . . . can hardly wait for the next installment.

BTW: In the last year I’ve been talking to a lot of small businesses that have less than 50 computers in the organization. What I like about these companies is the close relationship IT and the rest of the organization enjoy. There is also a higher level of commitment to IT as a business enabler from management than I would have thought. The IT staff are still spread a little thin but due to the hot Alberta economy there is funding available to address the IT resource requirements. After all that’s why I was there talking to them. What can the large enterprise learn from these smaller companies in regards to IT/business integration? I don’t have the details but I do know there is something there . . . for the most part the people in these small organizations were very happy with their IT  – technology and people. There was one IT department that was struggling to turn themselves around. The CIO described it as a 180 degree shift. The challenge put forward to me was the RTC – resistance to change, of the IT staff to this new way of doing business. Unfortunately I didn’t get this contract. Which was too bad, I was really looking forward to the challenge. I wonder how they are making out?

Dean

Supporting employee owned IT

Been there, done that, lost sleep over it . . . how far should corporate IT go to support user/employee devices?

Here’s a good article from TechRepublic on Gartner’s advice . . .on the latest support issue – employee owned SmartPhones.

In looking over Gartner’s suggested best practices I saw things we attempted to apply years ago when PDAs came out. We applied limited support definitions through the use of signed Service Level Agreements (SLAs). As usual, most folks did okay on their own but (remember the 80/20 rule?) we did spend lots of time on some of the employees wanting to use these devices. When new IT management came in they declared these SLAs a bad thing and they were destroyed and support as required by the employee was offered and delivered as required. Good PR move – bad resource allocation move.

In small companies the IT department (usually 1 or 2 techs) don’t have time or the skills to support non-corporate technology. On the other hand, in a small organization – say 10 to 20 employees, the IT department can be closer to the user community and may be able to offer advice on non-corporate IT issues easier and with less impact on daily workloads.

The key is for senior management to make the decision on whether IT should support non-corporate technology and (this is really important) back it up. If the answer is NO – don’t make exceptions (including the president) and if the answer is YES – cut the IT folks some slack if they are out fixing someones smartphone when the email system goes down.

Dean

IT Governance

While reading through my various feeds this morning, I eventually reached the following article from BuilderAU on a particular IT consultant’s incompetence and how it was uncovered through an assessment by another business consultant. A quote from the article “…how we identified imprudent management activities, poor control mechanisms, and incompetent business activities that threatened the viability of the organisation…”. A very interesting article on why a company – SME or enterprise – needs to have a clear, industry standard based IT governance set of practices, including the evaluation of internal and as in this case, external services.

Does your company have a set of measurement tools and processes to ensure your IT is delivering value to your company? This is the value of such international frameworks such as ITIL/ITSM and COBIT. Regardless of whether you have four computers or four thousand, your enterprise can benefit from IT governance.

Dean Owen

More on MSPs and the new IT department

There seems to be more and more discussion in the IT world about Managed Services Providers and the duality of the IT department – strategy vs. tactical.

This item from Jason Hiner at TechRepublic speculates on the future of the IT department.
“Sanity check: Is IT moving toward an inevitable split between in-house strategy and outsourced operations?”

Some very serious – not just vendors – names are mentioned in the article as clearly identifying the two distinct roles and activities of an IT department.

I’m curious to know – does your organization think this way?

Dean Owen

The O word

To outsource or not to outsource – that is the question!(?)

IDC Canada press release “IDC Canada finds a wide gap between outsourcing clients’ expectations and the services provided” Any one surprised? BTW: this is what IDC Canada is about.

Another take on the survey results is this IT World Canada article by Briony Smith – “Canadian outsourcing satisfaction rates plummet“

I can’t afford to purchase the original survey results from IDC, but if you’re thinking about outsourcing or you are not being satisfied by your current outsourced services provider – maybe it would be a good investment for you.

Briony Smith mentions such nuggets as:

• “Business satisfied with their outsourcers dropped from 50 per cent (2004 survey) to 33 per cent.”
• “Relationship management satisfaction went from 71 per cent (2004 survey) to 54 per cent”

 I don’t want to pirate the article but I couldn’t help but nod my head in agreement as I read through it. There was mention of Outsourcers not being flexible, the changing role of IT in business, clients are far more demanding, service delivery issues and measurement, practices and processes implementation…Hey wait a minute! Isn’t this what they also say about in-house IT departments? Aren’t these issues the very things the vendor sales person told the president, over a round of golf or cocktails, that their company could address and fix?

Don’t get me wrong – outsourcing is not a bad thing, we outsorce many things in our life – everything from making shoes to building a house. If we feel we are not getting value for money, or the product is shoddy we don’t think twice about taking it back to the vendor and complaining. Why dosen’t this happen more often with outsourced IT? Don’t forget, I make my living by being an outsourced consultant. My goal is to deliver value for money and to ensure my clients get a strong ROI on their investment in IT and in me.

In other blog posts, I’ve taken issue with the traditional outsource model and even offered a new take (not just mine but others as well) on the best way for a client to get value for money spent on IT.

It finally looks like enterprises are getting wise and putting presure on IT vendors to deliver. Good for them!

Dean Owen

Net Impact 2006 Survey

While reading the SOHO magazine I picked up at Staples this morning, I was excited to see an article by Doug Cooper  from Intel, listing top technology trends. What excited me was that this was from a business perspective and not just another new technology talkup (iPhone anyone?).

One of the trends was for Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to turn to outsourced technology and service providers in an attempt to deal with the lack of available IT staff. Mr. Cooper made reference to the Net Impact Survey for 2006, as published by Cisco, which addresses  Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the world of SMEs.

My take on this survey is that the majority of SMEs are taking ICT seriously and are eager to leverage the power and productivity of technology just as the larger national and multi-national enterprises do. And why not? Technology can aid a SME in gaining a competitive advantage, increase revenues and reduce costs. There was a mention from a third of the SMEs that meeting the demands of the customer was the primary driver of investment in ICT. Imagine that!

The good news for SMEs? The technology, services, expertise and knowledge are out there and are available to you, so as this sector grows, so do the competetive advantages from ICT.

 Dean Owen

Who does Web Services report to?

In your organization, Who does Web Services report to? Visit my discussion post on TechRepublic.

In your organization – small, medium, large, corporate, non-profit, etc – what is the reporting structure of web services?
Do they report to IT, marketing, HR, sales, directly to a VP of some sort?
Do you know why?
Is it working?
If not, where do you think they should report to?

Dean

Episode 1 – Is the IT department dead?

A very hot topic…why did I make my first podcast from deanowen.wordpress.com this one? It was on my mind and I wanted to get it into words. BTW…I am very optimistic about the future of the IT department in the enterprise…it is just that things are changing and we need to keep up and better yet, lead some of these changes.

Play the Episode #1 – Is the IT Department Dead? audio here

 

 

download original audio file

I’m looking forward to your comments . . .

 Dean Owen