Last year, NYSE Euronext (NYSE) launched their Capital Markets Community Platform (Community Platform, as abbreviated by NYSE) for financial institutions doing business with and on the exchange. This week, VMware announced on its blog that the platform was rolled out in a data centre located near London to service customers in Europe. VMware has dubbed this a public cloud, but it seems that the characteristics of this deployment more closely resemble those of a community cloud.
Let's ignore, for the moment, that the service's name also includes the word "platform" and focus on VMware's assertion that the Capital Markets Community Platform is a public cloud.
A review of the features of the offering on NYSE's website indicates that its characteristics are more closely aligned to a community cloud as they address specific requirements of a subset of cloud computing customers, let's call them a "community", and are not suitable for consumption by the general public.
Recall that, according to the NIST, a public cloud is "...provisioned for open use by the general public. It may be owned, managed, and operated by a business, academic, or government organization, or some combination of them. It exists on the premises of the cloud provider," whereas a community cloud is "provisioned for exclusive use by a specific community of consumers from organizations that have shared concerns... It may be owned, managed, and operated by one or more of the organizations in the community, a third party, or some combination of them, and it may exist on or off premises."
Clearly, both definitions apply. However, because a public cloud is for use by the public at large and a community cloud is specifically designed for use by users with similar needs, such as security or some other concern, the Capital Markets Community Platform is definitely a community cloud, and not a public cloud. The product information page also goes so far as to specify target customers (Agency Broker, Investment bank, Low-latency Hedge Fund, All sizes of Financial Services Firms), their specific needs, and how the Community Platform addresses them.
NYSE Euronext is right to bet on a community cloud because its importance will only grow in the coming years. Government and the healthcare verticals represent other important sectors that can benefit from a community cloud as they have multiple users with specific legal and regulatory requirements that must be met.
More generally, community clouds are not only for verticals with rigid requirements. Rather, the private sector can benefit from integrating vertical operations into a community cloud environment as this would open up many opportunities for investment and innovation. For example, the retail sector's value chain is interesting. It includes manufacturers, logistics companies, distributors, and retail outlets, all of which could cooperate to improve just-in-time stocking or manage returns more efficiently, just to pick a couple of possible opportunities.
The Case for Cloud is an ongoing discussion about cloud computing and how it impacts business and the economy.
Oct 18, 2012
Oct 15, 2012
Live Blog -- Cloud Launch: Val Bercovici
Netapp's Val Bercovici, AKA Big Data Czar, says that, in the cloud hierarchy, data is foundational and most valuable and that we can reach it and share more easily than ever before. It is because of this that we are able to use it in ever more creative ways such as Big Data (yes, big B, big D) to create value for our organisations.
He also said that the amount of data stored tends to exceed the capability of the network to carry it and why analytics and Big Data are done locally to the data rather than remotely. Cisco and telecom companies will be happy to note that uploading and downloading data is not simple and subject to the contraints of the network forcing any organisation or person who wants to move these quantities of data to buy more bandwidth.
Ultimately, the infrastructure planning and architecture should depend on where data will be stored, your governance, minimizing data movement, and maximizing data use.
He also said that the amount of data stored tends to exceed the capability of the network to carry it and why analytics and Big Data are done locally to the data rather than remotely. Cisco and telecom companies will be happy to note that uploading and downloading data is not simple and subject to the contraints of the network forcing any organisation or person who wants to move these quantities of data to buy more bandwidth.
Ultimately, the infrastructure planning and architecture should depend on where data will be stored, your governance, minimizing data movement, and maximizing data use.
Labels:
big data,
Canadian Cloud Council,
Cloud Launch,
TCO
Live Blog -- Cloud Launch: Jeff Seifert
Cisco's John Seifert discussed their cloud strategy and the rationale behind building a pool of compute and storage resources that is embodied in the UCS and how workloads and storage can be moved dynamically from data centre to data centre using the fabric.
Seifert pointed out that Cisco has been developing flexible IT for some time now and has reduced the time to deliver from 6-8 weeks to 2-3 weeks to around 15 minutes.
The cloud is not just one thing, according to Seifert, because of regulatory environments, the needs for security, connectivity, cost structure etc. And all of this over a public-->private continuum. So true.
Seifert pointed out that Cisco has been developing flexible IT for some time now and has reduced the time to deliver from 6-8 weeks to 2-3 weeks to around 15 minutes.
The cloud is not just one thing, according to Seifert, because of regulatory environments, the needs for security, connectivity, cost structure etc. And all of this over a public-->private continuum. So true.
Labels:
Canadian Cloud Council,
Cloud Launch,
TCO
Live Blog -- Cloud Launch: Peter Coffee
Peter Coffee kicking off this afternoon by NOT talking about cloud directly... And talking about social media and email. More importantly, Coffee said that Canadian brands can be global brands today because of social media. As a measure of this theory, Facebook traffic has exploded whereas coporate website traffic has declined markedly. Google "Yourfavoritedomainname + sucks" and you'll find out exactly how much customers don't like an organisation.
A few thoughts from Coffee on social customers:
Coffee also peered into the future by using a healthcare model that used event driven demand to shape the dlivery of services. He gave another example of using educational modeling by using instantaneous quizzing of students to determine whether the content is effective. This could be interesting because the nature of our demand for services has changed: service providers are being asked to provide services when desired. This is important for healthcare because on-demand healthcare is causing the congestion we see in emergency rooms and walk-in clinics.
IT departments, according to Coffee, do not adhere to the concept of social customers and are basically the opposite of social. Of course, this is the ultimate reason why cloud computing still faces adoption challenges in Canada and continues to do so, albeit to a lesser extent, in the US. How does IT adapt to this in order to become a purveyor of value instead of a consumer of capital?
Even though we haven't heard much about community clouds recently, Coffee brought up the concept of securing environments to the highest common level as a way of showing value to a given market segment and quoted Forrester as stating that multi-tennant architectures can be more secure than individual VMs. Luckily, he qualified this by saying transparency is the key to earning trust from customers. Trust is an important concept because cloud + security are not commonly understood yet even though AAA and the CIA triad are basic concepts that can be applied to cloud computing. Shock! Horror!
A few thoughts from Coffee on social customers:
- Prospective service providers seek public feedback
- Buyers collaborate on competitor research
- Customers tell the world when they're not happy
Coffee also peered into the future by using a healthcare model that used event driven demand to shape the dlivery of services. He gave another example of using educational modeling by using instantaneous quizzing of students to determine whether the content is effective. This could be interesting because the nature of our demand for services has changed: service providers are being asked to provide services when desired. This is important for healthcare because on-demand healthcare is causing the congestion we see in emergency rooms and walk-in clinics.
IT departments, according to Coffee, do not adhere to the concept of social customers and are basically the opposite of social. Of course, this is the ultimate reason why cloud computing still faces adoption challenges in Canada and continues to do so, albeit to a lesser extent, in the US. How does IT adapt to this in order to become a purveyor of value instead of a consumer of capital?
Even though we haven't heard much about community clouds recently, Coffee brought up the concept of securing environments to the highest common level as a way of showing value to a given market segment and quoted Forrester as stating that multi-tennant architectures can be more secure than individual VMs. Luckily, he qualified this by saying transparency is the key to earning trust from customers. Trust is an important concept because cloud + security are not commonly understood yet even though AAA and the CIA triad are basic concepts that can be applied to cloud computing. Shock! Horror!
Labels:
Canadian Cloud Council,
Cloud Launch,
governance,
security
Live Blog -- CLoud Launch: Morning Panel
Reuven Cohen made an empassioned point about how there is no such thing as a "Canadian cloud" and put Canadian telecom providers on the spot for their lack of flexibility in offerings and mobile plans. Apparently, Reuven maxed out his mobile data plan pretty quickly...
Also according to Cohen, the NIST definition was created as a way for the US FedGov to procure the typical cloud based services as a direct result of a mandate from Vivek Kundra, first Federal CIO. According to one audience member, this has only helped bigger companies sell into the government and has excluded SMBs.
Misha Nossik added that risk aversion has prevented Canadian governments from adopting cloud computing even though they are trying desperately to hang onto their empires. Competition and efficiency is a major driver for cloud adoption in the US whereas Canada might not be facing this same pressure (yet?).
It seems that, with respect to government, maybe we should be discussing the need to consolidate services and share them on the whole rather than just outsource everything in an effort to use cloud computing. Here, there is a distinct lack of a cloud computing roadmap and maturity model to judge progress. Is it possible that, if we were to show the way to move forward and show the current state at various stages, adoption would be greater and simpler to promote?
Audience member invoked the Patriot Act in his point about how our legislation and regulations can help Canada's ability to become "data Switzerland". Cohen pointed out that this has been done before and that it was a failure because no one wanted it. With respect to Canada, he said, the cost structure is simply not competitive while Andrew Fisher added that the scale is simply not there (yet?).
It boils down to how Canadian companies can add value to cloud computing and an audience member agreed by adding that when [we] created the Canadarm, [we] decided we would not be NASA but would add value in a different way. Shahab showed how the Province of New Brunswick has become the call centre capital of Canada in this same way. Rough consensus, either by active advocacy or by passive non-opposition, seems to be that SaaS is where Canada can excel and add the value we're so desperately looking for.
Let's get some clarity and focus on our capabilities, first, I say. Then we can talk about where to add value. We can't get anywhere without first knowing where we start from and then knowing where we're going.
Thanks to Nossik for stopping the self/Canadian bashing.
Also according to Cohen, the NIST definition was created as a way for the US FedGov to procure the typical cloud based services as a direct result of a mandate from Vivek Kundra, first Federal CIO. According to one audience member, this has only helped bigger companies sell into the government and has excluded SMBs.
Misha Nossik added that risk aversion has prevented Canadian governments from adopting cloud computing even though they are trying desperately to hang onto their empires. Competition and efficiency is a major driver for cloud adoption in the US whereas Canada might not be facing this same pressure (yet?).
It seems that, with respect to government, maybe we should be discussing the need to consolidate services and share them on the whole rather than just outsource everything in an effort to use cloud computing. Here, there is a distinct lack of a cloud computing roadmap and maturity model to judge progress. Is it possible that, if we were to show the way to move forward and show the current state at various stages, adoption would be greater and simpler to promote?
Audience member invoked the Patriot Act in his point about how our legislation and regulations can help Canada's ability to become "data Switzerland". Cohen pointed out that this has been done before and that it was a failure because no one wanted it. With respect to Canada, he said, the cost structure is simply not competitive while Andrew Fisher added that the scale is simply not there (yet?).
It boils down to how Canadian companies can add value to cloud computing and an audience member agreed by adding that when [we] created the Canadarm, [we] decided we would not be NASA but would add value in a different way. Shahab showed how the Province of New Brunswick has become the call centre capital of Canada in this same way. Rough consensus, either by active advocacy or by passive non-opposition, seems to be that SaaS is where Canada can excel and add the value we're so desperately looking for.
Let's get some clarity and focus on our capabilities, first, I say. Then we can talk about where to add value. We can't get anywhere without first knowing where we start from and then knowing where we're going.
Thanks to Nossik for stopping the self/Canadian bashing.
Live Blog -- Cloud Launch: Ian Rae
Ian Rae put up a slide with a less than glowing endorsement on Canadian capabilities and self-worth (along with those of Australians, no judgement)... Can the cloud help fix that?
Rae's working to build Canada's cloud ecosystem by contributing to it directly with CloudOps and "...building long term supportable solutions for just in time, right-sized IT solutions."
CloudOps' goal is to provide Canadian organisations with a home grown alternative to cloud services based in other countries. It's up to Canadians to provide decent cloud based services otherwise the $$$ will just go elsewhere.
Rae's working to build Canada's cloud ecosystem by contributing to it directly with CloudOps and "...building long term supportable solutions for just in time, right-sized IT solutions."
CloudOps' goal is to provide Canadian organisations with a home grown alternative to cloud services based in other countries. It's up to Canadians to provide decent cloud based services otherwise the $$$ will just go elsewhere.
Live Blog -- Cloud Launch: Shahab Khan
Shahab Khan is working to help promote cloud computing in Canada with Startup Canada.
Despite everything discussed this morning, Khan says that many startups are not aware of which cloud based services are available to them, or even that they exist. As he suggests, this is because of the lack of consistent nomenclature and cloudwashing. Hopefully, this is not the case for tech based startups...
Cash is king. Truer words have never been spoken. Most small businesses are cash based operations that don't employ many service providers beyond their accountant and lawyer (if that).
Despite everything discussed this morning, Khan says that many startups are not aware of which cloud based services are available to them, or even that they exist. As he suggests, this is because of the lack of consistent nomenclature and cloudwashing. Hopefully, this is not the case for tech based startups...
Cash is king. Truer words have never been spoken. Most small businesses are cash based operations that don't employ many service providers beyond their accountant and lawyer (if that).
Labels:
Canadian Cloud Council,
Cloud Launch,
innovation,
startup
Live Blog -- CLoud Launch: Martin Kratz
One of the perennial questions around cloud computing is how tio protect intellectual property in a world where everything is offered as a service and scalable.
Martin Kratz, of Bennet Jones LLP, is pointing out that contracts for cloud based services are not the same as traditional outsourcing or service contracts because the cloud vendor you deal with is probably relying on other cloud vendors as well to keep their own costs down by treating every customer the same.
Kratz contradicts Fisher by saying that risk should not necessarily be embraced without appropriate mitigation and that customization is not necessarily de rigueur: "terms of service are often non-negotiable and tend to favour the service provider".
Kratz outlines some legal issues to consider when contracting with cloud service providers:
One of the most common issues related to those Kratz mentioned has to do with information lifecycle management.
Martin Kratz, of Bennet Jones LLP, is pointing out that contracts for cloud based services are not the same as traditional outsourcing or service contracts because the cloud vendor you deal with is probably relying on other cloud vendors as well to keep their own costs down by treating every customer the same.
Kratz contradicts Fisher by saying that risk should not necessarily be embraced without appropriate mitigation and that customization is not necessarily de rigueur: "terms of service are often non-negotiable and tend to favour the service provider".
Kratz outlines some legal issues to consider when contracting with cloud service providers:
- Service security
- Trade secret protection information confidentiality
- Data integrity
- Compliance with privacy laws and regs
- Assurance of data segregation
One of the most common issues related to those Kratz mentioned has to do with information lifecycle management.
- Does the organisation have an ILM policy?
- How is it managed?
- Is it enforced?
- How is data stored in the cloud impacted by this policy?
- Is the cloud service provider adhereing to their customers' ILM requirements?
- Who has ultimate control over the data?
Live Blog -- Cloud Launch: Andrew Fisher
Andrew Fisher of Wesley Clover pointed out that "Personalisation is a major driver of cloud...I can pick and choose exactly what I want...[and pay for on a] per user or feature basis." [This] "...drives a lot of the cloud services available today."
Fisher echoes Matthews' statement that barriers to entry are dropping but, in Canada, our investment tends to be more angel driven than VC driven. Clearly, the time is right to invest in startups that make use of cloud computing as well as those who are innovating in cloud in Canada. Smaller teams, as Fisher says, are easier to deal with and are more focused and dedicated, but the risk is that they aren't able to scale as rapidly as they are needed to.
Point taken. Investment can take the form of procurement from a startup as well as outright acquisition. This is probably more likely to promote growth in the industry in Canada.
Fisher echoes Matthews' statement that barriers to entry are dropping but, in Canada, our investment tends to be more angel driven than VC driven. Clearly, the time is right to invest in startups that make use of cloud computing as well as those who are innovating in cloud in Canada. Smaller teams, as Fisher says, are easier to deal with and are more focused and dedicated, but the risk is that they aren't able to scale as rapidly as they are needed to.
Point taken. Investment can take the form of procurement from a startup as well as outright acquisition. This is probably more likely to promote growth in the industry in Canada.
Labels:
Canadian Cloud Council,
Cloud Launch,
investment
Live Blog -- Cloud Launch: Reuven Cohen, International Man of Mystery
Reuven Cohen pointed out that China is the "...largest base of net users in the world."
Facts:
Cohen pointed out that Canada does not have a 30% ownership stake requirement for foreign investment nor does it staff its resident companies with military personnel.
So why then, is investment in tech so low in Canada? The US notwithstanding, we've heard that we have more highly educated and dedicated people here in Canada, and a more favorable environment for investment and startups that should promote a healthy and innovative startup environment.
Facts:
- 513M internet user; milestone in 2011 (factually correct but does not include mobile users which would add up to 900M total)
- 718M by 2013 (not including mobile users)
- 52.7% of total population
Cohen pointed out that Canada does not have a 30% ownership stake requirement for foreign investment nor does it staff its resident companies with military personnel.
So why then, is investment in tech so low in Canada? The US notwithstanding, we've heard that we have more highly educated and dedicated people here in Canada, and a more favorable environment for investment and startups that should promote a healthy and innovative startup environment.
Labels:
Canadian Cloud Council,
China,
Cloud Launch,
environment
Live Blog -- Cloud Launch: Shane Shick of ITWorldCanada
Shane Schick from ITWorldCanada gave an interesting overview of the state of cloud computing in Canada. This is a refreshing take on the Canadian perspective and doesn't show the stereotypical 'security is our biggest concern'; rather, legacy IT is becoming more and more inportant.
Interestingly, Shick said CIOs don't see cloud computing as a way to cut costs but rather see it as being a way to increase their organisation's flexibility. The real challenge is how to redeploy human resources to help increase the value of the organisation.
It seems that our slow pace of adopting cloud computing is related to the perception that Canadians are cautious. This sentiment is pervasive and was even the target of a recent article in Canadian Business. Basically, Canadians don't accept unfettered capitalism and have a lower tolerance to risk; but this translates into more stable and long lasting enterprises.
Interestingly, Shick said CIOs don't see cloud computing as a way to cut costs but rather see it as being a way to increase their organisation's flexibility. The real challenge is how to redeploy human resources to help increase the value of the organisation.
It seems that our slow pace of adopting cloud computing is related to the perception that Canadians are cautious. This sentiment is pervasive and was even the target of a recent article in Canadian Business. Basically, Canadians don't accept unfettered capitalism and have a lower tolerance to risk; but this translates into more stable and long lasting enterprises.
Labels:
business,
Canadian Cloud Council,
Cloud Launch
Live blog: Cloud Launch -- Driving the Cloud
One last thought from Terry Matthews about cloud computing: "Opportunities around the world with cloud and mobile are just unbelievable. More than I can talk about today because it's everywhere..." He discussed how mobile has evolved and become so important in day-to-day life.
Mobile is clearly a major driver of innovation for cloud computing. The requirements for platforms, instant scalability, and innovation are high while barriers are dropping. The challenge is for us to promote adoption and facilitate the innovation.
Mobile is clearly a major driver of innovation for cloud computing. The requirements for platforms, instant scalability, and innovation are high while barriers are dropping. The challenge is for us to promote adoption and facilitate the innovation.
Labels:
Canadian Cloud Council,
Cloud Launch,
innovation,
investment
Live Blog: Cloud Launch -- Canada's National Cloud Conference
The Canadian Cloud Council's 2nd national conference justy kicked off with Sir Terry Matthews sharing his experiences creating businesses (91 including the hotel in which we are meeting today) and innovation. The quality and calibre of speakers at this event promises to make it very interesting.
In Matthews opener, he suggested that cloud computing can impact every level of the value chain: from electricity generation (everything uses power) all the way through to the hardware [and end user]. He went on to say that "The opportunities...for new companies out there are good," and, "New companies create new jobs." Despite the ongoing economic concerns, this stands as a compelling endorsement for job creation, innovation, and investment in Canada.
Strong start to Cloud Launch. The conversation these next two days is going to be extraordinary.
In Matthews opener, he suggested that cloud computing can impact every level of the value chain: from electricity generation (everything uses power) all the way through to the hardware [and end user]. He went on to say that "The opportunities...for new companies out there are good," and, "New companies create new jobs." Despite the ongoing economic concerns, this stands as a compelling endorsement for job creation, innovation, and investment in Canada.
Strong start to Cloud Launch. The conversation these next two days is going to be extraordinary.
Labels:
Canadian Cloud Council,
cloud,
Cloud Launch
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)