Cloud Terminology Simplified

Almost every corporation in the world is trying to understand how they can optimize their usage of cloud computing resources. Each has their own requirements that make their decision unique. Some decisions are driven by cost reductions while others are focused on redundancy or performance.Don't feel like you are behind if this article was the result of Google search that is getting you started. The terminology used by the various vendors is inconsistent but I am hoping the following will give you a solid base as you go forward with you research.





Sample Mobile Data Center

1. On Premise - this is the traditional approach to a data center. Your data center resides on your premise (in your building or mobile data center). You manage everything from power and cooling to the hardware and software. Your information technology team is responsible for everything.
• Private Cloud - many companies have employed virtualization and private cloud software (eg. Openstack, Microsoft System Center,VMware vCloud) to stand up their own cloud within their on premise data center. Virtualization allows for the dynamic configuration of your servers while keeping control of the environment.
2. In The Cloud - this is utilizing a third party to host your data center on their hardware in their facility. The third party (eg. Microsoft Azure, Rackspace, Amazon EC2) is responsible for many of the operational factors that companies using on premise have to deal with. This includes things like disaster recovery, continuity planning, power management, and hardware capacity planning to name a few. In most instances the hardware and software is shared in a way where the actual physical hardware you are on is unknown. The cloud provider manages the resources which are usually "thinly provisioned" to allow for the physical resources to be over allocated as all virtual machines are not simultaneously using all their resources. Provisioning more\less resources (servers, ram, disk space, processor) is as simple as adjusting it via a web based interface or simply using it and getting charged. There are two primary methods of moving to the cloud.
1. Cloud Computing – your company gets provisioned servers (virtual machines) to use on a private subnet to stand up your virtual datacenter.  In this instance of cloud your company is still responsible for things like application patching, load balancing, and server right sizing to name a few. Although, without (This may also be referred to as a private cloud)
2. Hosted Services - your company utilizes a fully hosted service. In this method, just the applications are exposed (eg. Microsoft Office 365 for Exchange, SharePoint, and more). Your company is only responsible for limited application based administration and there is no exposure to the physical hardware being used in the environment. By giving up control of things like software version and application level settings you will have less responsibility.
3. Hybrid – this is using a combination of the options based on your needs. Hybrid could mean 100% in the cloud with some applications hosted or on premise integrated with cloud services. This is the most likely situation because there is no one stop shop for everything needed for your corporation including standard IT services, payroll, learning management, etc.

When choosing the right options for you keep in mind that there is complexity when using the cloud. Some things to consider are identity management and the need to federate your cloud solutions for a seamless user experience. You will also want to consider how your local computers are going to authenticate to AD (especially if there is a network outage) and how to host local services like print servers. Your network engineers will need to understand your bandwidth utilization on  your ISP.

Every enterprise will have its own solution based on its requirements. Understand all the options and the cost implications to choose the option that is right for you. 

Top Reasons to Upgrade to SharePoint 2013

If your enterprise is using a cloud SharePoint service, such as Microsoft 365, then you are already using SharePoint 2013. Other companies are in the cloud but manage their own SharePoint environment or have on-premise SharePoint farms. At my company, we have special requirements that force us to use on-premise farms also so you are not alone.  Hopefully you are running SharePoint 2010 by now and are considering the upgrade to SharePoint 2013. 

Here are the top 3 reasons you should upgrade:

1. Cross Browser Compatibility
• SharePoint 2013 comes with cross browser compatibility out of the box.  You can now use Firefox and Chrome to interact with aspects of SharePoint that were never allowed before such as explorer view and data sheet view. In addition, pages are mobile device friendly to make SharePoint accessible from any device on your network.
2. Intelligent Search (Incorporation of Fast Search)
• Search in SharePoint 2013 gets smarter as Microsoft rewrote FAST search into the environment at no additional cost. One of the most notable improvement is that your results actually gets better as people use the tool. The order of the search results utilizes click troughs similar to how search engines like Google work today.
3. My Sites Upgrade with Social Integration
• I think the biggest "buzz" about SharePoint 2013 is focused on the enhancements to My Sites and increased usage of social features like Microblogging. Microsoft upgraded their SharePoint Workspace software and branded it as SkyDrive Pro.  Similar to how SkyDrive is cloud storage on the internet, SkyDrive Pro is your cloud storage on your intranet and saves files to your farm's My Site documents. The feeds section of your My Site now aggregates the information from people and groups you are following into one location.

In addition to the notable benefits above, Microsoft has made many architectural changes in SharePoint 2013. The new development of apps using the app model requires your apps to live on a separate web server as not to effect the farm. The use of sandbox web parts is also being depreciated. This is all being done to enhance the cloud instances of SharePoint, simplify upgrades, and decouple SharePoint customization.

Microsoft's latest release of SharePoint 2013 takes SharePoint to the next level. Since its first release it has evolved from a document repository to a full enterprise content management platform with social integration and the ability to perform business process management. If any of the three items above are in your corporate strategy then I would suggest moving forward with your upgrade planning.

Examples of Innovation using Walt Disney World Parks and Resorts

I just spent a week "experiencing" Walt Disney World Parks and Resorts. Most of you think of Disney and think of the children's movies and animatronics that are used on the rides. Disney has made many innovations over the years to keep its guests engaged well "outside the box". Here are a few examples:

1. Projection onto new Medium: You can go anywhere to see a movie in 3D and most amusement parks have incorporated "4D" but Disney has taken it outside of the theater. They use waterfalls as backdrops on rides (Pirates of the Caribbean) and during night time shows (Fantasmic). They transform window fronts and signs into video screens for a scavenger hunt game around the park (The sorcerers of Magic Kingdom). They even turn Cinderella's Castle into a screen for 10 minute animated movie experience. Having full control of the lighting and every aspect of the environment for miles allows Disney's Imagineers to enhance a user's experience.
2. Magic Bands: Imagine going to a park and having one device act as your credit card, your room key, your restaurant reservations, your ride passes, and more. This is what Disney has done with a waterproof wrist band called Magic Bands. This not only provides a better user experience but provides a unique identifier for each visitor to the park to allow for tracking and analysis of a users visit.
3. FastPass+ with Magic Bands: Using MyDisneyExperience.com you can pick three rides you want to go on each day of your visit and the website gives a one hour range for when you should show up.  From the user perspective you have your top attractions guaranteed.  From the Disney perspective they know which parks people are going to on which days and can control crowds.  In my experience I had more free time so I ended up doing more shopping.
4. Refillable Resort Cups: Disney had a problem with their refillable mugs they gave out at resorts. Families would share one cup for the visit and bring the same cup back trip after trip.  The new cups get programmed where they are only active for a distinct period of time which is driven by the price you pay and you can only refill it once every 5 minutes. So for $20 you can have a cup active for a week. There is a digital screen on each drink dispenser showing when your cup expires and how long you have until the next fill.
5. Interactive Hats: We were part of the second night of the new light up mickey mouse hats being used for Glow with the Show. The ears of the mouseketeer hats light up and blink like many other trinkets sold at parks.  What makes these hats special are that they all light up in sync during Disney night shows. Buying one of these hats make you part of the show.
6. The Sorcerer's of Magic Kingdom Game: There is a large portion of America that play games. Traditionally they are on a computer, game system, or mobile device. Disney has taken the video game concept incorporated with elements of scavenger hunts and card games it calls The Sorcerer's of Magic Kingdom. This not only keeps users off rides but acts as crowd control because the game sends the users to the different parts of the park for short 10-15 minute missions. It incorporates gamification techniques such as scaffolding and leveling while including a collector aspect with playing cards (5 free per visit) plus ones that can only be purchased at $15 per card.
7. Innovative Queuing: No one likes standing in a line. Disney has taken the traditional line and incorporated interactive and creative queues. The Winnie the Pooh ride has a section for kids to play and "get out energy" plus touch screens to wipe away honey to reveal pictures. The Dumbo ride has a full size playground inside the big top. Guests are given pagers to enter the playground and are pages to get on the ride when it is their turn.

Disney is the model of customer service. Their old rides are kept pristine, they are constantly expanding their parks with the latest trends, and their use of technology is second to no one. Take lessons from them, incorporate it into your company, and you can increase your customer intimacy.

Using Technology to Improve User Experience

With the advance of technology comes the enormous potential to improve user experience. This goes beyond the standard level 1 phone support with instant messaging or adding a magnetic script to a park ticket. I would like to use examples from the two best companies at "raising the bar" to help inspire you.

Disney

I have gone to Disney World at least once a year for the past 10 years starting with my honeymoon.  What keeps me going back year after year is the exceptional customer service and the experience. This year my family gets to participate in a pilot program call the MagicBand. The bracelets are more then just a fashion statement delivered to you in your favorite color. They are your room key, your credit card, your restaurant reservations, and your FastPasses all worn on your wrist. Before your vacation you go to the MyDisneyPlus website and get to pick 3 FastPass+ tickets for each day. Park patrons without MagicBands can only get one Fastpass every 2 hours at kiosks throughout the park and are subject to availability. We also got the ability to order our food in advance for lunch at Beast's Castle. There is no other way to make lunch time reservations for this restaurant. All we have to do is show up, get our location transmitter\buzzer and sit at our table.  The food is delivered while we get our drinks from the fountain. Eventually these bracelets will be standard issue to all patrons who stay on Disney property.  Just another perk to get people to stay on property.

Amazon

Amazon is known as the website with the best customer reviews, surprisingly accurate recommendations, a great viewing history record,  and reliable\fast\free shipping if you spend over $25. It is also the creator of one of the cheapest fully functional tablets on the market. Amazon just raised the bar again with the introduction of their new Kindle Fire HDX with Kindle Mayday. Lets say it is Christmas morning and you just got your new Kindle from Santa Claus. Because you are a member of the target audience you have no idea how to download new apps and need help.  All you have to do is click the Mayday button and a live person appears on your screen (guaranteed within 15 seconds on Christmas morning) and will walk you through your question like you are watching Monday Night Football. The representative can hear you but not see you. They can either take control of your device or draw on the screen to guide you through the process.

These examples show how corporations have taken technology and applied in new ways to improve the user experience. How can your company raise the bar? Is your company even at the same level of user experience that your customers expect? Learn from the best, keep moving forward, and have people use you as an example for the best user experience in their blogs.

The Future of Computing Devices

There has been constant evolution of computing devices over the past half a century.  The first computers were the size of rooms and when a personal PC came out people were amazed at the computing power that could fit on desk. With the ratification of 802.11 to standardize wireless came a mobile technology revolution. It started with laptops and moved to phones and tablets as science advanced.

There has been two major schools of thought on the next focus.

Wearables

First is the concept of wearable devices. This includes things like Google Glass which you wear as RoboCop. The other wearable gadget that has been in the news recently is the LG GD910 watch phone. This device reminds people of the Dick Tracey wrist watch.
glasses to get instant feedback visually about the world around you. It is right from any science fiction movie you have ever scene.For those of us who grew up in the 80s it reminds me of the head's up display for

Wearables try to integrate technology with your body in some way. There are many advantages to wearables such as constant fitness monitoring and not having to carry an additional device. This technology is slowly getting adoption but is still a few years away from mainstream in my opinion.

Integration

The second push is driven by consumers and is the ability to integrate your devices with your home. Internet content is more abundant and the availability\cost of high speed internet is making people rethink their high cable bills. Consumers want to stream their entertainment from the cloud and share it in their living room. Netflix started a revolution that has quickly become mainstream along with iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, youTube and many more companies offering a monthly or pay by the show approach to entertainment. Consumers also want to share their screen with others and a phone screen just does not cut it. People across America are glued to their individual wireless devices while sitting in their dorm or home after a long day. They want to press a button or click a link and easily have it shared with others around them.

There are many devices available that allow consumers to stream various content to their TV. Some of them are integrated into your TV (Samsung) or your Blueray\DVD player but I personally do not want to be tied into changing my TV as technology changes. Another approach is to integrate your devices with you game systems and then they display on your TV. The Xbox has been the leader in this industry ever since the development of xbmc and the ability to hack your game system. This solution does not scale to individuals who do not have game systems (larger group than some of you may think). Almost every device has a option to run a HDMI cable to their TV but in my house it is a hazard for my dog and my daughter. Wireless devices like the Apple TV, Roku, and PLAiR have been the most popular but even at a $99 price point they are just out of the price range for people to try them. I feel the market is looking for a small, inexpensive, wireless devices that is easy to use anywhere. Google seems to be the closest with their ChromeCast for $35 released this past summer. This device is lacking features from my time using it such as the ability to stream Amazon Instant Video without turning off Silverlight (poor quality) and integration with some major streaming content vendors. Although, it is on the right track with speculation of a similar Amazon device to follow.


No one knows what the future will bring but corporations need to stay in touch with the technology its employees are using at home and understand how to harness that to make them more productive at work. The public ecosystem is changing rapidly with universities and homes following suite. There is huge opportunity for companies if they understand the base concept and can apply it to overcome their challenges.  Those who doe not evolve with be weeded out through natural selection.

Cross Generational Collaboration

I have been working in the corporate collaboration field for over 13 years. The part that never fails to amaze me is how different generations take to new tools. Here are the categories I consider when engineering new software solutions.

Early Adopters - these users will take advantage of anything new and provide valuable feedback on the products and help guide its evolution. They span all generations from fresh out of college to my over 80 year old uncle Ted.

Right Generations for the Tool - these users are my favorite class of user and are the ones who inspire the solution. It is the way the user is used to working on the internet and it enhances their corporate experience.

Wrong Generation for the Tool - every generation has its own way of communicating. The way to engage the user who does not see value is through quality education (and social pressure). You need to make sure the user knows how to interact with the system and has easily accessible help - user guides and access to other users.

Geographic Influencers - I have learned that you never underestimate the person in the cube next door, the "smart" person in the room, or just the person who everyone feels comfortable asking questions. These users are not usually tool specific but are respected by a group of people ad asked for help with any IT issues - their opinion matters.

As with any tool, once the user sees value then they will embrace the solution. I always give my early adopters access to information about new features and special one on one sessions to discuss and get feedback. They will help guide the solution to meet the culture of your corporation. The right generation just needs to know the solution exists and they will embrace the solution as long as it meets a need and is part of their daily job. You will definitely need to work harder for the third group above but focusing your energy on those geographic influencers will enable more grass roots acceptance and ultimately make for a better user experience. Continue to work on the culture and the social pressure will make your solution a successful tool for the corporate environment.