Posts tagged Cloud Computing
Poll: 2009 – The Year of Cloud Computing
Dec 22nd
Today, our Information Thought of the Day (ITTOD) is a poll subject.
I am ready to call 2009 the Year of Cloud Computing. As I have written about many times this year (here and here, for example), Cloud Computing was all the rage for Information Technology (IT) Professionals this year. It exploded onto the scene, went mainstream, had its ups and downs, and looks poised to be a trend that will dominate our industry for at least a decade to come. Hence today’s poll topic:
Loading ...I will be sure to share the results. Feel free to add a comment below to add other products that should have shown up on the list.
Do you like polls as a daily topic? Do you have a recommended one for another week? Please let me know.
That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for December 22, 2009 ©Scott Coughlin.
Image credit: Bringing IT To Small Business
Why Information Technology Professionals Should Get MBAs
Jul 27th
I frequently get asked why I went ahead and got myself a Masters in Business Administration (MBA). It never occurred to me until this started to happen quite often that it would strike Information Technology (IT) Professionals as an unusual or questionable choice. Honestly, I think that it was one of the smartest choices that I ever made concerning my career and for that reason, it is something that I highly recommend to others in our profession.
Here are my reasons why I think that it was a brilliant idea:
First, it immersed me in the vocabulary of the business side of information technology. I am never at a loss in any type of business meeting or conversation.
Second, it exposed me to methods of strategic analysis and thought that are very uncommon in the enterprise IT world. So much so that I think this is one of the key hurdles for most CIOs to overcome.
Third, it gave me a true appreciation for the purely financial part of business operations. When people say things like, “It’s not personal… it’s business…” I now completely “get it”. Plus as a bonus, I am virtually immune from the pseudo-money talk that so many IT consultants like to use to explain why their new product or serve will “save my organization money”!
Fourth, as information technology services continue to get commoditized and managing them vice enabling them becomes the role of the IT pro, I really think that the highest paying IT jobs will become much more “MBA-like” in character and a lot less technical.
Finally, it truly opened my eyes to how differently the CFO/COO/CEO/CMO see the world from the way that most CIOs do. Their bare bones, numbers-based approach to business decision making is really quite a bit different from the entitlement-based, good vs. evil methods that I so frequently encounter in the information technology world.
So those were my reasons for pursuing an MBA vice advanced IT certifications or degrees. Each must make their own choices and only time will tell if mine was the best path to follow.
What do you think about this? What certifications or degrees have been most helpful for your career? What do you think that your next career milestone will be like?
That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for July 27, 2009 ©Scott Coughlin
Image Credit: Tatar Consulting
News Commentary: Cloud Computing Fear Uncertainty and Doubt
Jul 26th
Posted by Scott Coughlin in Information Age
2 comments
On Sundays I offer comments on some of the most interesting information technology stories that I have found on the web that week. Please feel free to join in the discussion or suggest stories during the week.
I have found that the best indicator in the Information Technology field that a technological revolution is real vice imagined is when people start trying to tear it down using fear, uncertainty, and doubt vice scientific arguments. I have previously written about how Cloud Computing and Software as a Service (SaaS) are the next “big things” and today’s news story fully supports that conclusion.
This week’s news story comes from CIO.com – The Tech Jobs That the Cloud Will Eliminate:
This well written story is unfortunately your standard fare for situation. It focuses on how enterprise’s move to cloud computing will eliminate tons of local IT service jobs, database engineering positions, help desk support spots, and hands-on tech workers. While it does note that it may open up the requirement for more mid-grade management and IT service jobs, it will reduce the technical demands on those jobs. It also notes that all of those IT jobs that get moved to supporting the cloud computing centers will most likely be in new, more remote locations, or even overseas, to take advantage of the economic incentives of those geographic choices. Overall, the article suggests that the sky is dark, the end is near, and there is nothing that anyone can do about it.
That is exactly the formula that these sort of opinionated stories always take and why I am always so skeptical of them.
I, on the other hands, believe that the Information Age is very young. I think that the IT profession is even more immature. While, I acknowledge that cloud computing adoption will change many facets of our profession, I see it as just another step in our evolution. I expect that cloud computing will empower an entire generation of new IT growth and innovation. I don’t think that we can even imagine today what pent up new technologies will be unleashed by the creativity released when IT pros across the world can reduce their attention to the “nuts and bolts” of servers and start to concentrate on the core competencies of their actual businesses. Just like, today, we don’t all create our own power, water, or sunlight, yet we consume them for IT services, tomorrow, we will just move storage, computing cycles, and load balancing into the “utility” category. IT is here to stay. Tomorrow’s workers will need more technology leverage, not less. Tomorrow’s economy will require more total IT knowledge workers – not less.
Don’t buy the fear, uncertainty, and doubt. In fact, if you want proof that cloud computing is a real transformative technology trend, the arrival of this type of “news story” is exactly that validation.
Do you agree with me? Are there other cloud computing FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) stories, like this one, out there? Please share with us.
That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for July 26, 2009 ©Scott Coughlin
Image Credit: networksasia.net