Flexible IT: Bringing Business Change and IT together with Cloud Computing

www.opencredo.com

Russ Miles, CEO, OpenCredo

An Introduction to the Pragmatic Cloud

Monday, 25 January 2010

© 2009 Open Credo Ltd www.opencredo.com

• Author– AspectJ Cookbook– Learning UML 2.0– Head First Software

Development– ..?

• “Thought Leader”– Cloud Computing Editor– QCon Cloud Track Lead– Large-scale Agile Conference

Who is Russ Miles anyway?

• OpenCredo– CEO– Consultancy– Training– SpringSource

Certified Deliver Partner

– Pending...



What people want from OpenCredo

Unbiased...... but Opinionated

High Level...... but Get’s Things Done

Experts...... but Pragmatic



Agenda• What’s the problem?

• What can/should we do about it?• Introducing (holistic) Flexible IT

• What is the Cloud?• Why Now?

• A tale of two commodities• Where do I start?

• A Tale of One Online Retailer• How to take advantage of the Cloud• Things to avoid• How to compete in the new market place

• A glimpse into the future (with BIG caveats!)



Why 'Pragmatic'?

Quick Question



Inspired by Andy Hunt of the Pragmatic Programmers

What works...

… for YOU.







• A Tale of One Online Retailer• How to take advantage of the Cloud• Things to avoid

• A glimpse into the future (with BIG caveats!)• How to compete in the new market place



What’s the Business Challenge?

• Currently the relationship is:– IT Capability (CapEx, Fixed Cost, Inflexible)– Business Need (SLA, New offerings)

• Business is ‘peaky’• IT is NOT• This leads to a waterfall approach to IT

provisioning• Where over-provisioning is the only way to go• Or the business gets caught out...



What we want

Efficient IT supporting the Business



Agility is the enabler?

Agile Development?

Agile IT? Efficient IT supporting the Business




Agile IT(Virtualization)

Agile Development

Efficient IT supporting the Business?





Agile Development


Not the whole story!



Agility is the enabler


Agile Development

Agile Cost




Introducing Flexible IT


Agile Development

Agile Cost

Flexible IT!



Breaking it down

• Agile Software Development– Develop confidently in a changing environment– Enabled by Best Practices and Processes– Business Need (SLA, New offerings)

• Agile IT– Virtualization (Storage, Network, Compute Power)– Self provisioning (!?)

• Agile Cost– Pay for what you use– OpEx vs CapEx (Bye, bye Waterfall!)



Reality Check

• Is this all just a pipe-dream?• What has this got to do with Cloud...?



Reality Check

• Is this all just a pipe-dream?• What has this got to do with Cloud...?

Everything!







• A Tale of One Online Retailer• How to take advantage of the Cloud• Things to avoid

• A glimpse into the future (with BIG caveats!)• How to compete in the new market place



So, what is 'The Cloud'?

(Apart from a buzz word used by Vendors to extract $$)

Open Question



Some myths dispelled...

• Cloud has everything and nothing to do with specific technology (?!)– There are technology enablers, but that's all

they are– You can't just buy 'the cloud', nor its benefits– You can prepare to take advantage of the

cloud...– … which is where most companies are right

now



Cloud a new brand of 'Utility Computing'

• Pay for what you use• Low barrier to entry• Benefits of scale• Better for the environment...• Computing resources (storage, processing

power, applications) as utility services



Haven't we heard this before?

• The dirty ‘secret’ - it's really not a new idea

Why Now?



Remember the goal...


Agile Development

Agile Cost

Flexible IT!



The answer lies in the story of a GPT...

§



Electrical power was...

• Complicated• Unpredictable• Hard to distribute• A competitive advantage• The answer:

– Innovation after Invention– Your business = Your generator– The business model was all about components

• Sound familiar?



Electricity was on the start of the 'Climb to Commodity'



Computing 20 years ago...



Electricity matured into a 'service'



Electricity - Change of Mind/Change of Technology (1)

• Not an easy transition...– But inevitable

• Electricity a GPT• Less focus on component sales• Electricity a commodity

– Still lucrative for electricity producer– Cheaper for electricity consumer

• No tricky machinery to maintain• No onsite staff required!



Electricity - Change of Mind/Change of Technology (2)

• Electricity could be produced:– At the right levels– Reliably

• Alternating Current was key for distribution• What you did with electricity mattered more

– Appliances and Services became the new invention and innovation battleground



Computing - Change of Mind/Change of Technology

• Less focus on software 'component' sales– Operating Systems become a commodity

• Computing a commodity– Still lucrative for computing service provider– Cheaper for computing service consumer

• Computing power a GPT too• Services became new invention and innovation

battleground• This is happening NOW



Distribution is essentially solved



Mindshare and the 'Right Services'

• The technologies are largely all in place– Or very quickly coming

• Computing 'power' is rapidly not a competitive advantage any more– In fact, a disadvantage...

• The Cloud is a reality...• … and how do we know that?



Spot the 'company' (and odd one out)



Spot the 'company' (and odd one out)

MicrosoftComputing Utility Provider

GoogleComputing Utility Provider

AppleComputing Utility Provider

DungenessElectricity Utility Provider



Where do I Start?(A Tale of One Online Retailer)



How big is Amazon's Computing Utility Business?

Open Question



Your Edge

• Take advantage of a Private Cloud– Flexible Internal IT– Overcome ‘Barrier to exit’

• Take Advantage of a Public Cloud– Cloud ‘Burst’– When it makes sense

• NOW you know when and why!• Compute power is not ‘the edge’• Innovation is in your services...



Commodity Computing Power leads to...… the next Invention/Innovation curves



Things to avoid...

• This is a BIG evolution...• ... it doesn’t happen overnight

• Cloud ‘Bursting’ is hard, at the moment– APIs, APIs everywhere...– Where are the standards?

• It will take time just to virtualize...• Public clouds are not for secure data..?• Haven’t we forgotten someone...?



Our Ops guys are NOT happy



The job was hard enough already...

• The ‘static’ environment was difficult enough!

• The Business wants...– ... for as little money as possible!

• Ops now have to be fair more proactive...• ... and tactical!



But Help is Coming...

• This is what O/C do• Tooling is evolving



A glimpse at the ‘near’ future

• S.I.S.• Justifying its contribution to the ‘bottom line’

• “Democtratization of the Data Centre”• Making the Cloud even easier for

Developers• Watch this space

• API consolidation• Hello ‘Cloud Bursting’



Emerging Commodity Markets• Smarter, real-time decisions on IT

provisioning• Taking advantage to the full of the new-found

flexibility• Modelling “what if’s”• Automatic, bounded decision making• Cost must be brought into the mix• Cloud migration must be possible• New tools required... but coming• We’ve seen this before too...



Summary

– “Flexible IT” brings the business and IT into sync– Cloud, and its associated technologies, underpins

the business (financial) drivers for Flexible IT– Cloud is actually an Economic Proposition– Cloud is an opportunity to do MORE with LESS

(really)– There are some battlegrounds still in action, but

adoption can and is starting today– This is NOT a fad



Where to go for more...

• Speak to our man in the Middle-East and Africa, Tareq!

• QCon London, 2010 Cloud Track

[email protected]


mailto:[email protected]



Books and Training

• 'Pragmatic Cloud' course coming very soon– Watch OpenCredo.com for announcements

• Sign up for early access to the content for 'Pragmatic Cloud' book today!– Just email me at [email protected]





Thanks for your time!

Any questions?

Email: [email protected]

Web: http://www.opencredo.com

Blog: http://www.russmiles.com

Twitter: russmiles


Flexible IT: Bringing Business Change and IT together with Cloud Computing

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Transcript of Flexible IT: Bringing Business Change and IT together with Cloud Computing