I came across an article discussing NoSQL and partition tolerance - The NoSQL Partition Tolerance Myth. I may not entirely agree with the author. But what most NoSQL systems offer is a peculiar behavior that is not partition tolerant, but partition oblivious instead. No argument here. While NoSQL implementations are aware that nodes have left, they are not aware that said nodes have formed a separate partition. In this case, we would want failure detection and carry out those transfers where the accounts are both on the same side of the partition, while denying or deferring transfers that cross the chasm. The author is assuming that the account is only on one side of the partition. If that is that is case, is doesn’t matter whether the NoSQL implementation is eventually consistent or not. If the account is on both sides of the partition, the solution the author provides still results in an inconsistent state.
Securing your IT environment is not free, but there are new (cloud) options designed to mitigate costs while still providing a strong, manageable and proactive defense. While many companies still would rather spend capital on commodity assets, many CIOs recognize that information security is an important business driver...but the ultimate question is where is the balance between how much exposure can a company afford against the dollars needed protect it. The answer is different for every company, but there are best practices and alternate deployment technologies that can readjust the scales of risk versus reward.
With the evolution of the Internet, organizations found new avenues to reach consumers in the virtual world. With the ubiquitous reach of cloud technologies, not only has rich media reached consumers in every corner of the globe, the very focus of marketing is shifting from product-centric to consumer-centric. In his session at the 12th International Cloud Expo, Ajit Sagar, Associate VP, Digital Transformation Practice at Infosys Limited, will focus on the application of cloud and Big Data to the business of digital marketing. He will cover the shifting trends in digital marketing supported by the cloud, the products that enable marketing applications on the cloud, omni-channel marketing through the cloud, and what it takes to deliver end-to-end marketing solutions on cloud-based infrastructures, exemplified through real-world case studies.
Everyone is talking about Big Data but what does that really mean for companies trying to understand how to make data meaningful for decision making. To leverage Big Data, you have to be able to take the key results and use those patterns or anomalies in context with historical data to make decisions. In their upcoming session at the 12th International Cloud Expo, Judith S. Hurwitz, President and CEO of Hurwitz & Associates, Inc., and Alan Nugent, Co-Founder of the Boston CTO Group, will provide a pragmatic guide to leveraging Big Data in the right way to impact business decision making.
Red Hat has transitioned into a leadership role for the OpenJDK 6 project, effectively extending support for the technology and its users. The move reinforces Red Hat’s commitment to the broader Java community and its future as a leading platform for mission-critical enterprise applications. In addition to taking on leadership of the OpenJDK 6 community, Red Hat maintains its role in setting the future direction for the OpenJDK project as an active board member, represented by Red Hat’s long-time Java technical lead, Andrew Haley, enabling the company to continue to help drive the future of Java and of OpenJDK. Red Hat’s vision includes better overall performance and manageability while enabling greater functionality around dynamic scalability and cloud computing. “To say that Java plays an important role in today’s enterprise IT would be an understatement,” said Craig Muzilla, vice president and general manager, Middleware, Red Hat. “It has had a profound impact on the creation and integration of technologies that have ushered us into the 21st century, shaping everything from banking and retail to transportation and research, and Red Hat is leading the charge. We want to see that continue, not only for the thousands of organizations running OpenJDK 6 and Java SE 6, but for users of future versions as well.”
The new open source cloud orchestration platform called OpenStack is the promise of flexible network virtualization, and network overlays are looking closer than ever. The vision of this platform is to enable the on-demand creation of many distinct networks on top of one underlying physical infrastructure in the cloud environment. The platform will support automated provisioning and management of large groups of virtual machines or compute resources, including extensive monitoring in the cloud. There is still a lot of work to be done, as there are many concerns around the efficiency and simplicity of the management solution for the compute and storage resources. A mature solution will need to incorporate different approaches to interact within the intra-server provisioning, QoS and vNIC management. For example, by leaning on local network adapters that are capable of managing the requests by utilizing OpenFlow protocol, or by using a more standard approach which is managed by the switch. Using only one method might create performance and efficiency penalties.
Saas, IaaS, PaaS. Cloud computing is growing at a breathtaking speed and is the fastest-growing means by which technology companies offer their products today. Regardless of the industry, cloud computing is revolutionizing the way companies manage their applications and data processing, while simultaneously being one of the least understood. However, before companies go flying in the clouds, they need to be aware of the significant legal risks and implications associated with cloud computing. In his session at the 12th International Cloud Expo, Dan Pepper, managing member of Pepper Law Group, examines how cloud computing can be adopted and the dangers avoided on a practical level.
Two years ago, my team decided to extend our community portal to become “a real”APM Community where members (both commercial and free products) can go to find help and educational content on all topics regarding Application Performance Management (APM). The most critical pieces to that community were: free access to all relevant content (documentation, best practices, knowledge base, downloads) as well as a very active discussion forum where members can get answers to their questions. Two years later I have to say we achieved this goal with more than 60,000 registered members. In this blog I want to first share the Lessons Learned and then discuss the ideas we have for the future. Lesson #1: Give Access to Content We know that APM is a very broad topic. We have many best practices on how to analyze, optimize and manage application performance from small to enterprise applications. But no one out there is an expert on all aspects of APM. So we decided to make all content available so that our members become successful when dealing with their own APM challenges.
I love movies. There is just something about them that can teach us a lot about life. One of my favorites is “Groundhog Day.” The construct of this movie is that the main character Phil, played by Bill Murray, is trapped having to live the same day over and over again. This is what it can be like for IT when it comes to managing application performance. When a problem is detected in production, a “groundhog day” process is put into action to try and address that issue. Once the problem is addressed everyone resets and waits for the next problem to occur. In the end, the same process takes place over and over and the team never really makes an impact on the performance of an application. In order to escape “Groundhog Day” there are some key practices that you can implement to build a team and transition the management of your applications’ performance from firefighting to truly being proactive.
Over the last few years, increased reliance on IT systems has meant that Change and Release Management has made its way to the forefront of major organizations. However, as far as the end-user base goes, Change and Release can sink into the subconscious as a simple-to-use to-do list, which often conceals the complex processes performed by IT staff. Unfortunately, good Change and Release Management isn’t that simple and most projects that support it can only be implemented with difficulty. If business users knew the reality of what goes on when they report a computer error, their perception may be very different. Their opinion also could help make processes better in the future and seeing how the technology works may alter perceptions of Change and Release Management being a walk in the park.
To say that mobility is affecting the way enterprises do business is akin to suggesting the planets revolve around the sun. These are not unproven theories, they are undisputed facts. However, while the modern model of the solar system was established long ago, the effects of enterprise mobility on business practices have only much more recently become overwhelmingly apparent. From interacting with customers to improving employee productivity, mobility – in particular, the use of smart mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets – has proven its mettle as an effective business tool. In fact, a Symantec survey found that many companies are going all in on mobility, with 59 percent of respondents reporting that they are now making their line of business applications available on mobile devices. An even more impressive 71 percent of businesses are looking at implementing a customized corporate “app store” just for mobile applications.
It is often the case that when you look at things a certain way, they become filtered over time, and you see what you expected to see. This happens to everyone, and while a wonderful adaptation to help handle all of the various inputs in our lives, has caused just about everyone to jump to conclusions because they think they know what they see. Neville Chamberlain did that. He (and his advisors) was certain that Hitler would keep the peace after he was given what the German people wanted. He saw Hitler as the same as other European leaders, and that was definitely not what Hitler was. There is no definitive proof that things would have gone differently had the allied powers put their foot down on Czechoslovakia. But the Munich accords, and the statement quoted above, definitively did put an end to Chamberlain’s career.
It may be terrifying for those caught in the vortex between the old and the new way of work. Most professionals earned the right degrees, responded to the demands of their professions, learned the intricacies of their industries and were rewarded under the old system. It feels like a massive betrayal that an entire system is falling away. The truth is that the cube was moved in part by a new breed of professional. They are skilled and passionate global workers who want the freedom to choose the type of work, rather than choosing a job based on its proximity to their homes. Rather than being hindered by location, they are able to compete based on talent and passion. While most of us were sleeping, they unknowingly leveraged cloud and mobile technology and created the New World of Work. And it was their passion for work, rather than some indiscreet evil force, that caused work to seep across boundaries and find its way to this new breed of talent. Let this chapter be a call to action for those most affected by the New World of Work. Professionals need to reinvent themselves in order to compete in the New World of Work. Conversely, companies need to wake up to the reality that competing for the best talent locally will soon be a thing of the past. The best person for a job no longer lives within a fifty-mile radius of your corporation.
Simultaneous and complex trends, such as big data, cloud computing, security, and overall IT transformation, can be helped by the combined strengths of The Open Group Architecture Framework and the ArchiMate modeling language. There is less of a focus on the traditional things we come to think of EA such as standards, governance and policies, but rather into emerging areas such as the soft skills, business architecture, and strategy. To this end I see a lot in the realm of working directly with the executive chain to understand the key value drivers for the company and rationalize where they want to go with their business. So we're moving into a business-transformation role in this practice. At the same time, we've got to be mindful of the disruptive external technology forces coming in as well. EA can’t just divorce from the other aspects of architecture as well. So the role that enterprise architects play becomes more and more important and elevated in the organization. Two examples of this disruptive technology that are being focused on at the conference are big data and cloud computing. Both are providing impacts to our businesses not because of some new business idea but because technology is available to enhance or provide new capabilities to our business. The EA’s still do have to understand these new technology innovations and determine how they will apply to the business.
Many organizations that are looking at implementing a new network infrastructure for cloud computing; a new building being built; or any other network capability, better look closer at their network designs. Why? All the cabling needed to build the network should fit the lifespan of the building, not the lifespan of the technology that is hanging off of it. A lot of network architects, network designers and “certified” network engineers seem to be forgetting this fundamental design concept. They also seem to be forgetting the total costs involved in building a network, maintaining it, modifying it, and upgrading it.
The worldwide public cloud market is projected to grow 18.5% this year to $131 billion, up from $111 billion last year, according to Gartner. That number includes a 47.3% jump in Infrastructure-as-a-Service to $9 billion. IaaS was up 42.4% to $6.1 billion last year. Gartner expects $677 billion to be spent on cloud services between 2013 and 2016 and estimates that $310 billion of that will go for cloud-based advertising. Cloud advertising was 48% of the total market last year. Gartner found that business process services was the second-largest segment last year, accounting for 28% of the cloud market, followed by Software-as-a-Service at 14.7%, cloud system infrastructure at 5.5%, cloud management and security services at 2.8% and Platform-as-a-Service at 1%.
Intel has gone into the open source Apache Hadoop business with its own distribution, which it calls the Intel Distribution for Apache Hadoop or simply the Intel Distribution. Its reason for joining the Hadoop push is to sell more high-end Xeon server chips into scalable Hadoop clusters by goosing Hadoop’s development. It also wants to move solid-state memory and its own networking. Obviously it thinks the stuff is pretty fundamental. As part of its effort Intel has added features to the Hadoop widgetry that nobody else has like silicon-based security. That makes Intel’s the only Hadoop distribution to include complete encryption. Since the widgetry supports the AES instructions in the Xeon chip, it’s supposed to maximize Big Data performance and, together with the other improvements Intel has added, promises a 40% performance boost.
Over the past 6 months, CA Technologies has been running IT innovation-related polls on http://www.ca.com/. On average, these 9 polls garnered 660 responses each, and present a stark picture of the challenges and frustrations that come with being an IT leader today.
While some of the results are presented in this recent infographic, it doesn't fully answer the question that, gauging from our...
Have you ever been invited to present a product solution and within a few minutes the audience is thumbing on their mobile devices? Have you ever presented to a remote audience and asked the end "any questions?" and there are none? Here are some tips for giving a great demo. (Credit to this material goes to Peter Cohan of The Second Derivative who presented this material at a workshop I attended and have me permission to write a summary.) "Let me show this awesome product and all its cool features."
If you’ll ask me what would be a job that you always wanted but never got, I’d answered a Technical Evangelist for a large corporation. I know how to do it, I like travel, I like meeting new people, and I can convince that the software I believe in is good for you. But. I [...]
A component is a reusable software entity that is developed and deployed independently. Component based software development has many architectural advantages. In the previous article Componentizing a Monolithic Application in Java, we learnt the need for componentizing applications for getting the benefits of reusability and modularity. In this article let us look at how multi layered application can be componentized. We take the example of a multi-layered POS (Point-Of-Sale) application and understand how the application can be componentized at various layers like presentation, business and persistence layers. Consider a Point-of-Sale (POS) application meant for tracking orders and payments in a restaurant. The POS is used to track the tables being occupied by the guests, orders being made from various tables, and to print bills. Apart from these operational features, the POS application can also be used for restaurant administration. Total number of tables in the restaurant, list of foods sold in the restaurant, their prices, and the associated tax rates can be managed.
Although I started with ColdFusion for application development, I did plenty brochureware sites with HTML. I believe the version was HTML 2.0 for IE 2.0. I lived in the browser world for years doing Cold Fusion, ASP, and HTML sites. When winforms and Smart Client with web services emerged I changed my religion. Since then I have been avoiding the browser whenever possible since. For the past couple of years my extent of using simple HTML has been limited to writing blogs and book reviews. Simple HTML means no ASP.NET or ASP.NET MVC. I have used HTML/JavaScript/CSS a lot as a byproduct of building ASP.NET and ASP.NET MVC applications for public consumption. Internal enterprise applications I will still push for using WPF and web services over ASP.NET or ASP.NET MVC, but I lose that battle a lot, especially when the developers have never learned WPF (XAML) and have no interest in learning anything new.
The cloud is changing not only how businesses access applications and provide services to their customers, it’s changing the way they view their own employees, according to a recent report. With the impact of cloud computing on data access and the availability of cloud storage, job descriptions are also undergoing change as businesses move to the cloud. This change is transforming IT departments as well as the company as a whole. IT workers are now expected to search for cost-effective cloud computing applications, according to an article on CloudTimes.org. With cloud computing, CIOs can now focus on creating business strategies rather than devote their time to fixing IT problems. There is now a growing demand for cloud strategy consultants, cloud architects and cloud service planners. According to a report released by the Center for Economics and Business Research and EMC, the growing demand for cloud computing services will generate at least 446,000 jobs yearly until 2015.
I have had the opportunity to lead dozens of software development projects which I love doing. I have also had the opportunity to watch dozens of software development project from the sidelines, while working on my own project, or in place as a consultant to accomplish something other than run the development process. From the sidelines I have seen some succeed, some crash and burn, and the rest get close enough to success that the team can sell it as a success. Sometimes the later takes a heck of a sales job. I would say in my book 80% of those sold as successes failed. They either came in well over budget, well beyond their projected delivery date, or delivered such buggy software that the maintenance effort was as big as the development effort. Success to the team simply meant they considered the project over. You will find of those project teams run as fast as they can instead of doing a retrospective study.
Few, if any, information technology subjects have garnered more attention over the past two years than Big Data. It’s a savior. It’s evil. It’s the killer app of killer apps. And now, according to Gartner analyst Svetlana Sicular, “Big Data Is Falling into the Trough of Disillusionment.” This disillusionment is giving me a little bit of Big Data fatigue — at least in the sense that so much buzz is focused on what Big Data can do for marketing and business intelligence departments. Lost amid all the hype and hoopla is the story of how predictive analytics can help IT teams better understand and support the business applications that are the very lifeblood of their enterprise. After all, predicting the right service to offer your online customer won’t help if the customer experiences sluggish application performance.