IT organizations are apt to react as badly to the 21st century’s PC as they did to the twentieth century’s PC. Help them recover from it. When I first examine Western Digital’s “personal cloud” for consumer storage, i did not think much of it. It was only a NAS with some clever apps that provided remote access features. But I’m now predicting that a more pervasive distribution of personally owned compute and storage assets will change the face of IT as we all know it. Here’s why: The Snowden effectThe revelations by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden in regards to the extent of NSA spying on, well, everyone have brought about public distrust of the govt, the main providers of public cloud services, or even the fundamental security protocols of the net. If privacy-minded folks have a very easy alternative to “protocols invented with the assistance of government agencies” or “software created by those we now distrust” — inside the type of private... Read More »

You’ve seen IT silver bullets come and go before? Make no mistake: IBM truly expects data centers to transport to the cloud. Last week, IBM announced that it was selling its low-end server business to Chinese hardware manufacturer Lenovo. The deal have been widely summarized inside the trade press because the logical results of the commoditization of x86-based servers, in much an analogous way PCs were commoditized a decade ago. And since IBM tends to not compete in low-profit product lines, this transaction was inevitable and makes simple, straightforward sense. If only things were that straightforward! While it’s true that IBM have been steadfastly moving out of commoditized hardware sales, the timing of these moves was significant. When it sold off its disk-drive business, disks were still good business, however the company saw a way forward for declining margins and shed its HDD unit. Then came the sale of its PC division to Lenovo in 2005. Eight years ago, PCs weren’t yet the low-profit,... Read More »

If a key to success is learning out of your mistakes, Microsoft must be well positioned for 2014. This was an up and down year for Microsoft. January opened with Microsoft still licking wounds suffered the former fall, when Windows 8 arrived with a thud and the much ballyhooed Surface RT somehow managed to fare even worse. After holiday sales did not lift sagging computer shipments, many critics rang within the new year by blaming Microsoft for the computer industry’s woes. In retrospect, this criticism was somewhat overblown. Windows 8 didn’t do any favors for Microsoft and its partners, but falling PC sales have had more to do with consumer preference for tablets than with desktop users’ disdain for Win 8’s Live Tiles. Nevertheless, Windows 8 and its struggles remained the dominant Microsoft narrative for many of the year. In fact, the OS overshadowed the truth that certain Microsoft ventures were having one hell of a year. Windows Azure not just grew right into a... Read More »

The true value of mobility, big data, and the cloud emerges when agencies combine all three to assist employees work more effectively. 10 Wearables To look at At CES 2014 (Click image for larger view and slideshow.) One of my favorite television programs, the enduring 24, features fictional characters Jack Bauer, an excellent-agent, and Chloe O’Brian, a perfect-systems analyst. They exercise session of la for a fictional government agency called the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU). The show, that is slated for a reboot in about a months, first aired presently after the 9/11 attacks, but its early portrayal of 2 technology forces — big data and mobility — still resonates today. A typical episode may need Jack, in imminent danger and with the civilized world hanging inside the balance, calling from the sphere (using a flip phone) and asking Chloe to drag up the electric grid of l. a. , analyze any anomalies, and superimpose known terrorist activity within the last 24 hours. “If i... Read More »

CIOs trying to expand services globally should take an extended, hard examine WhatsApp’s strategy, growth, and acquisition. Let’s face it: Delivering reliable service to 250 million people an afternoon over the worldwide Internet isn’t an engineering challenge most CIOs should cope with. But when your small business should tap the potential for the worldwide consumer market, you’ll likely serve customers in lots of of a similar high-growth markets where WhatsApp built their audience: countries like India, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey, and Russia. Like WhatsApp, you will be counting on some unfamiliar service providers in each of these countries to give international and last-mile connectivity in your customers. And as you will soon realize, whether you’re blamed for his or her poor and unpredictable Internet performance is dependent upon a number of key infrastructure design choices up front. [Facebook’s $19 billion deal to purchase WhatsApp may raise eyebrows, but it is a good move. Read Facebook Acquires WhatsApp: 3 Key Benefits] Smart CIOs who’re planning for... Read More »