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Order Takeout or Spin Up Servers?

I had lunch with a local CIO today. This was an ideal event as there were no pending deals on the table, no crisis to mend, no specific “ask” from either party. It was simply lunch to catch up and discuss the ideas of the day. I love these types of meetings because when there is no pressing agenda to cover, the ideas flow. The only thing that might have lubricated the conversation further would have been a nice glass of 12 year old scotch…but we all eventually had to get back to work, so sobriety was a companion in our discussions….for better or worse:)

During our conversation, our lunch guest made the following comment…”it takes me longer to get Chinese takeout now days than it does to spin up a new server.” He elaborated on what made this possible, but the really interesting discussion revolved around what does this mean for business. It was his view, and I completely agree, that it is easy to get caught up in the tactics of virtualization – capital and operational cost savings, data center reclamation, energy savings, etc. Heck, I have written a couple of blog posts that speak to these tactics. He submitted that when we get wrapped around the axle about tactics, it is easy to miss the bigger opportunity with virtualization which is virtual operations. Virtualization can certainly cost justify itself on tactics, but more importantly, it can revolutionize your business operations and redefine what is possible. What if all of your servers and all of your desktops were no longer devices, but rather files – that can be accessed anywhere, anytime on a thin client, tablet device? What could you do with your business processes, worker productivity, customer satisfaction, business continuity? I don’t know the answer for your business specifically, but I can state with 100% certainty that it would make them better, and not just incrementally better, but lots better. 

Virtualization changes everything, it affects everything, and it can improve everything. Interesting conversations discuss how many servers or desktops you can consolidate in your operation and how many kilowatts and RU’s you can save in your data center. Innovative conversations ponder how virtualized servers, desktops, and storage can change the way you do business and set your operations, services, and value propositions well apart from your competitors. As I have posted before, the job of firms like TBL is not to sell you products, but to deliver ideas that have the potential to impact the nature of your operations and your business.

Ten years ago, when I ordered Chinese takeout, I could get it in about 45 minutes. Ten years ago when I wanted a new server, it might take me a month to get it up and running. Today, it still takes 45 minutes for takeout to arrive, but while waiting for my takeout, I can spin up 4 new servers and have them running before I tip the delivery person. How does this change your business? What are your competitors doing with this new technology? What new services could I deliver in this scenario? Virtualization and optimized operations….it’s what’s for dinner.

iPhones and Cisco TelePresence

As a part of the new look of TBL, all employees received an upgrade to the iPhone 4… and no, we have not experienced any of the issues surrounding the iPhone 4 in the press. We have, however, enjoyed many of the new features of the iPhone 4 and iOS 4 – including FaceTime. FaceTime is a mobile video conferencing app that is embedded in the iPhone 4 and is a seemless integration into the phone calling interface. Any cell-to-cell call between two iPhone 4’s that are connected to WiFi networks will allow the callers to initiate a video call across the data network (thre are promises that this feature will be implented to work across the 3G network in the future). It is a new age for cell phones indeed when video is added to the mix, and while the recreational applications abound, there are definitive buisness uses as well. Once such instance recently inspired me to write this post.

David Cantwell and I were arranging the furniture in our two new Cisco TelePresence 1100 rooms, and wanted to be sure that the same amount of desk was visible across the bottom of the screen for both room – to complete the nearly in person exerience of TelePresence. The challenge is that while each of us could clearly see the amount of table the other room had showing on the 65″ plasma display in front of us, neither of us could see how much of the table we were sitting at was being captured by our own camera and displayed at the far end. While a tape measure could have easily remidied the situation, none was available. How about a FaceTime call? I suggested? Now eachof us could compare the view of ourselves captured on the other’s iPhone 4 and displayed on our own iPhone to the image right infront of us on the plasma screen. David slid his table back a bit more, and all was right. Scientific? Not nearly. Cool use of technology? Definitely.

This Kind of Leverage Does Not Come Around Very Often

The exciting and also the maddening thing about working in the technology business is the frenetic pace of change and the rapidity with which new technology is introduced and then delivered to market. What technology is impactful for my business and what is merely interesting? I think a lot technology “innovation” falls in the latter category and may be nice to have in the organization some day…when I get around to it. However over the course of technology-time, there are a few product introductions that impel a business executive or technology leader to stop and consider whether this new technology represents an inflection in the market and/or a potential point of differentiation for my business. The CIUS introduced by Cisco may be one of those potential points of differentiation. http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps11156/index.html?POSITION=SEM&COUNTRY_SITE=us&CAMPAIGN=HN&CREATIVE=Cius&REFERRING_SITE=Google&KEYWORD=cisco+cius

I don’t think the CIUS by itself is the point of differentiation for business. Rather, I think that it ties together multiple, strategic yet disparate technology initiatives into a rare “ah-ha!” moment for businesses is what makes the CIUS more than worth a look. While we are just getting the specs on CIUS (and we at TBL are scrambling to get one into our lab) on paper and through demonstrations, it looks like the glue that may bind several I/T investments together. The CIUS can be your desktop, your office, your phone, and your telepresence essentially in a device of similar size and demensions of an iPad. Designed for business, the CIUS will connect via any wireless protocol and also via carrier 3G and 4G networks. If I have a mobile workforce, if I have Cisco Unified Communications, if I am thinking about virtual desktops, if I am considering private cloud as means for service delivery for my business, then I just found a device that can serve as the “catcher” for most any technology I care to pitch to my end user community. One other cool thought about this device as a “desktop” of choice for the truly productive worker in 2011 and beyond – through VMware, I can provide secure, encrypted connectivity for the CIUS user without stressing or without having to use current remote access infrastructure. I can certainly leverage my current VPN infrastructure, but what if I want to get out of the remote access business and leverage the VMware tools instead? That might be cool. What if I was looking to have to refresh 500 laptops for salesman who log hundreds if not thousands of calls into my PC help desk for access, virus, and application issues? What if their “laptop” was a virtual image presented to a CIUS instead of a costly, support-heavy traditional device? And what if the CIUS could also give them high definition video capability? What is this device could “dock” and also be their desk phone? What if there were apps and connections I could write that delivered secure connections into my customized salesforce.com protal? This is starting to get pretty interesting. And the really cool part is that all the investments I made in Cisco UC, VMware, and Cloud Computing just got more valuable through a better access device.

I think this is where I am supposed to come up with an analogy to illustrate the fact that the CIUS leverages up most any investment you have made to your communications and applications infrastructure over the past 5 years…but one escapes me right now, so I will post a good one when it pops in my head, probably over the weekend cutting the grass.

Markets, Uncertainty, & Your Business

Unless you are in Las Vegas tossing dice in the craps pit or flipping cards at the blackjack table, most people, especially most business people don’t like risk and they detest uncertainty. In the Vegas example, risk is contained – limited to the size of my current bet and hopefully the depth of my good judgment. (On a personal aside, while I am not a big gambler I always calculate the value of my free drinks in my Vegas cash out reconciliation:))Uncertainty however, is not a concern in Las Vegas, because I know the rules and trust the system. While my returns are uncertain to be sure, the way the games are played are well known and understood. In short, risk and uncertainty in Vegas have a finite and measurable impact on my net worth.

There is a subtle but very important distinction between risk and uncertainty. Risk implies a risk/reward relationship. While there is a downside to something that might be considered risky, there is also a measurable upside – a return that should be commensurate with the downside risk. Boeing took tremendous risk when it embarked upon its project that would, in retrospect, completely outflank its competition with the then revolutionary Boeing 747. While there was clearly great risk (it almost bankrupted the company) there was also a very large upside which delivered strong financial returns to Boeing investors for several years.

Uncertainty on the other hand, is almost all downside. Uncertainty is looking in the abyss and seeing only darkness looking back. It is a driver of inaction and retreat. It is the one thing that business and markets almost universally detest. Uncertainty is manifest not in an inability to predict the future directions of the stock market or interest rates. Uncertainty is a fear in the fundamentals of the market and of the rules of the game.

I think this important to consider because as a nation and an economic community we are facing a potential stretch of uncertainty. We are not certain how all of the changes that have been enacted in the past 24 months are going to impact the rules of our markets and the players in our game. We can guess, but for the first time in a long time the influence of the government is totally unpredictable, the state of economic activity abroad is not reliable, and the impact of legislation both passed and proposed is not well understood and therefore uncertain.  

While all of this sounds a bit scarier than I intended, I think it may be reality for a while. I also think those of us in the technology business can help. The I/T industry is unique among industries competing for business investment because we help businesses and organizations invest in and optimize themselves. Our results and impacts can be pretty well quantified and predictable over time. I/T projects,in a time of great uncertainty, allow you to invest in what you know best…yourself, your business, and your colleagues.  From virtualization of servers and desktops to driving rich collaboration over your existing network, I/T can make what you do better, more efficient, and more adaptive to uncertain market conditions. While I am no market guru and certainly no predictor of economic direction, I feel comfortable in speaking with our clients about their investment strategies in their business, recommending that they look to optimize themselves beyond what was “best of breed” but a few short years ago. There is little uncertainty and little risk in driving costs out and productivity into your business or organization. That is what we do for a living at in the I/T industry and at TBL Networks.

While risk is inherent in any business activity and levels of market uncertainty will ebb and flow, we know that the drum beat of technology has been smaller, faster, cheaper for the past several decades. Instead of worrying over things we cannot control, take a hard look at optimizing the things you can control. Optimize your infrastructure to thrive in any market condition. While maybe not as much fun as an evening at the craps table, it is likely to yield better results that last for a longer time…and you don’t have to calculate the value your free drinks to figure out if you broke even:)

The Fight to Cure Cancer

While sometimes the phrase is used in a joking tone, when the phrase is appropriate, it really is great “when a plan comes together”.

A hallmark of TBL Networks is that we are power users of the solutions we recommend for our clients. Early in 2010, TBL was facing a decision about the compute platform of choice for the TBL enterprise. While there were less expensive options available in Cisco’s Unified Computing platform, deep down we knew that the B-Series chassis from Cisco was going to be a strategic platform for our clients, so we decided to make it the strategic platform for TBL. Running in our “T-Block” TBL has dual B-Series chassis that we use for TBL production and demo systems as well as a sizable sandbox for our clients to test their workloads on the Cisco B-Series. Even with these defined workloads, we found that we always  had unused compute capacity idling in our data center. Enter the World Community Grid. http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/ 

The World Community Grid allows those with idle compute capacity to donate it for use in research projects ranging from cancer research to clean energy. Based on some personal connections at TBL, we have decided to focus our capacity primarily on the fight against cancer, but our capacity is available to all Community Grid projects when the cancer research teams are not sending work to TBL.

So what are the results to date? Leveraging our investments in VMware (remember the “plan coming together?”) TBL has built 40 virtual servers that are crunching numbers and providing results to a variety of cancer research teams. Additionally, TBL has provided processing power to projects fighting muscular dystrophy and AIDS. In a just under 2 weeks, through the convergence of tremendous compute capacity in the B-Series and virtualized server operations, TBL has provided over 200 “compute days” for the Community Grid which yields a multiplier of almost 14 compute days for every calendar day. At this sustained rate, at the end of 2010, TBL will have provided more than 7 years of computing power for the Community Grid and the effort to cure cancer. As we write this release and as you read it, 40 TBL virtual servers are crunching numbers in the fight against cancer. TBL is thrilled to have the opportunity to donate this capacity to researchers who we hope will someday end the scourge of cancer in our lifetime. It really is great when a plan comes together!

VMware Business Continuity Competency

TBL Networks is pleased to announce that it has achieved another competency with our strategic partner VMware. In our efforts to best serve the evolving needs of our clients, TBL has achieved the VMware Business Continuity Competency.  As virtualization becomes more and more pervasive in our clients operations, TBL sees the opportunity for our clients to optimize and energize their business continuity strategies. As one of only a few local firms holding this this certification, it is further evidence that TBL continues to invest in the leading edge skills and resources that help our clients operate in the most effective manner possible.

What do you expect from your I/T Vendors/Partners?

Maybe a better question is what should you expect from your I/T vendors and partners? Unfortunately for all of us who make a living selling and deploying technology-based solutions, expectations over time, thanks to over-zealous sales teams and over-reaching companies have boiled expectations down to “least common denominator” expectations that devalue what we do as professionals and frankly handcuff the value we deliver to our clients. Over the years I have heard comments from prospects and clients about what they want from their vendors and partners. It is easy stuff, almost silly stuff when you think about it. I have heard things like: “be responsive…do what you say you are going to do…be available when we need you…know something about our business before you make recommendations” Ouch! These aren’t very high hurdles to clear. However, for some they apparently represent the zenith of relationships with their technology vendors and deployment partners.

It pains me to see the bar for our industry set so low. On the surface it makes our jobs seem pretty trivial and frankly pretty easy. “Do what you say you are going to do?…know my business?” When these are the expectations from customers, it makes it pretty hard to elevate the conversations to something more impactful than being the low-cost provider of commodity products and services. I hate for all companies to get caught up in the short-sighted, self-serving actions of a few, but it appears to be where are today.

In my humble opinion, the expectations of good partner performance as noted above are not even worthy of discussions. They should be assumed. If we don’t do our homework before we show up on site, we should not be asked back. If we over promise and under deliver, we should be held accountable to meet our obligations…before we are shown the door.

The disappointing realization in shortcomings of these low expectations is that I/T is and should be incredibly relevant to most every business and organization today. There are tremendous efficiency opportunities and differentiating technologies today that can improve operational effectiveness while at the same time improving customer service and delivering new customer offerings. The value I/T can bring to every business and organization is far too impactful to be relegated to the lowly expectations of simply showing up on time.

It is my firm belief that what you should expect from your technology vendors and deployment partners is a flow of ideas. I/T is our job. It is what we do for a living. It is what we know better than anyone in the world. It is our job to dream on your behalf and present our ideas and our supporting evidence of how our ideas will positively impact your business and your operations…not some generic business case pulled off a vendor website. I am not against the generic business case as a baseline for a discussion. However, if we are doing our job right, it is a short leap for us to take our ideas and customize them for your business, delivering original content and new ideas and let you decide if we are on the right track. I tell my sales team, in 25 years in this business, I have never had a client get upset with me for bringing them a new idea for their business – even if they did not implement our suggestions. New ideas that are founded in good business logic, supported by an understanding of our client’s business, and wrapped in our enthusiasm and passion is our business and IMHO is what our clients should expect from their technology partners. That should be the baseline expectation. Then the shootout between competing firms is who has the best ideas and the most impactful strategy. The expectation of clients in our industry ought to be much more about who “gets my business and has most creative strategy” instead of who showed up on time.