Hadoop plus Cloud

1. Lowering the cost of innovation
2. Procuring large scale resources quickly
3. Handling Batch Workloads Efficiently
4. Handling Variable Resource Requirements
5. Running Closer to the Data
6. Simplifying Hadoop Operations

via 6 Reasons Why Hadoop on the Cloud Makes Sense | ThoughtWorks.

PierG

Of cloud, aerospace and defense

It’s ironic that two industries who are highly reliant on collaboration often have the most siloed legacy systems, processes and IT infrastructures. As one aerospace executive told me recently, the industry sees cloud computing as solution to what many call “silos of excellence” that slow down progress. Aerospace executives also speak of security concerns, especially in the area of globally-based defense support and logistics platforms.

full article here
…. mmmmmm: my spider senses are tingling ….
PierG

On the usage of smartphones, tablets, PCs …

Extremely interesting study by Google on the usage of smartphones, tablets, PCs … or better on the usage of ‘screens’: The New Multi-screen World.

Thanks to @HagakureLive to link the presentation in his tweet.

PierG

Return on Agility, return on Cloud

Do you agree?

+ operational advantages such as setting up infrastructure in minutes rather than months, completing massive computational projects with a large number of resources quickly, and scaling architecture up and down to provide the needed IT resources only when you need them, deliver targeted IT solutions fast for individual business units – these deliver a “return on agility.” The return on agility delivers business value by allowing you adapt rapidly, while remaining focused on your core competencies rather than distracted by operating IT infrastructure.

But more importantly it allows the business to change and dramatically reduce time-to-market for products. It drives down the cost of experimentation and allows companies to explore many more product directions with minimal risk. In the current economic climate where capital is scarce, being able to develop new products rapidly without the need for major capital investments is crucial to the success of businesses.

from Total Cost of Ownership and the Return on Agility – All Things Distributed.

PierG

Second Guessing

Last week I had the chance to meet Prof.Vacca at the Open Design Event @ Singularity.

Prof.Vacca told something that I live-twitted from the new Twitter account I use during conferences to limit spam on @PierG that is @PierGLive:

Second guessing: qualcuno cerca di farmi piacere pensando di sapere meglio di me quello che voglio #opend11

— PierG Live Twitting (@PierGLive) October 27, 2011

in english it means: “second guessing: someone tries to help me assuming he understand better than me what I want”.

Second guessing is what many sites do (are you saying Google? 🙂 ) recording your habits, elaborating them and trying to propose you ideas, solutions, products (advertising 🙂 ) that you should like and maybe that you were not aware of liking.

Nice

Scary

PierG

Why your IT department sucks

Courtes of racatumba - Some Rights Reserved

When people talk about their IT departments, they always talk about the things they’re not allowed to do, the applications they can’t run, and the long time it takes to get anything done.

Here is the beginning of an intriguing post called:  The end of the IT department – (37signals).

Let me state immediately that  I consider it oversimplistic and a  just sales pitch (guess what’s the proposed alternative to the status quo?) but … there is A LOT OF TRUTH in the post! And we, the evil IT departments, should always keep in mind these things I’ll quote from The end of the IT department – (37signals): the list of why your It department  sucks

1. When people talk about their IT departments, they always talk about the things they’re not allowed to do, the applications they can’t run, and the long time it takes to get anything done
2. If businesses had as many gripes with an external vendor, that vendor would’ve been dropped long ago.
3. There’s no feedback loop for improvement.
4. IT job security is often dependent on making things hard, slow, and complex.
5. It’s the same forces and mechanics that slowly turned unions from a force of progress (proper working conditions for all!) to a force of stagnation

I agree on all these diseases and I seriously doubt the solution is the new silver bullet: “today you can get just about all the services that previously required local expertise from a web site somewhere“.

Is  this “you can find everything from a web site somewhere” changing  a lot the way we  do IT? Yes … and it’s not the silver bullet as it was not the  outsourcing or SOA or … It’s a tremendous arrrow, among other arrows.

The step ahead in IT departments will not be done thanks to a ‘technology’: as I use to say “if you think technology can solve all of your problems you don’t know technology or you don’t know your problems“.

But I’m more interested in learning from you: why does your IT department suck precisely?

PierG