{"id":2925,"date":"2011-07-28T12:00:22","date_gmt":"2011-07-28T11:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.markwilson.co.uk\/blog\/?p=2925"},"modified":"2011-07-28T15:27:42","modified_gmt":"2011-07-28T14:27:42","slug":"cloud-adoption-notes-from-the-field-people-politics-and-price","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markwilson.co.uk\/blog\/2011\/07\/cloud-adoption-notes-from-the-field-people-politics-and-price.htm","title":{"rendered":"Cloud adoption “notes from the field”: people, politics and price"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve written about a few of the talks from the recent Unvirtual unconference, including Tim Moreton’s look at big data in the cloud<\/a>; and Justin McCormack’s ideas for re-architecting cloud applications<\/a>. I’ve also written previously about a previous Joe Baguley talk on why the consumerisation of IT is nothing to do with iPads<\/a>. \u00c2\u00a0The last lightning talk that I want to plagiarise (actually, I did ask all of the authors before writing about their talks!) is Simon Gallagher<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0(@vinf_net<\/a>)’s “notes from the field” talk on his experiences of implementing cloud infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Understanding cloud isn’t about Amazon or Google<\/h3>\n

There is a lot happening in the private cloud space and hybrid clouds are a useful model too because\u00c2\u00a0not everybody is a web 2.0 start-up with a green-field approach and enterprises still want some of the capabilities offered by cloud technologies.<\/p>\n

Simon suggests that private cloud is really just traditional infrastructure, with added automation\/chargeback… for now. He sees technology from the public cloud filtering\u00c2\u00a0down to the private space (and hybrid is the reality for the short\/medium term for any\u00c2\u00a0sizeable\u00c2\u00a0organisation with a legacy application set).<\/p>\n

The real cloud wins for the enterprise are self-service, automation and chargeback, not burst\/flex models.<\/p>\n

There are three types of people that want cloud… and the one who doesn’t<\/h3>\n

Simon’s three types are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The boss from the Dilbert cartoons who has read a few too many analyst reports (…and is it done yet?)<\/li>\n
  2. Smart techies who see cloud as a springboard to the nest stage of their career (something new and interesting)<\/li>\n
  3. Those who want to make an inherited mess somebody else’s problem<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    There is another type of person who doesn’t welcome cloud computing – people whose jobs become commoditised. \u00c2\u00a0I’ve been there – most of us have – but commodisiation is a fact of life and it’s\u00c2\u00a0important\u00c2\u00a0to act like the smart guys in the\u00c2\u00a0paragraph\u00c2\u00a0above, embracing change, learning and developing new skills, rather than viewing the end of the world as nigh.<\/p>\n

    Then there are the politics<\/h3>\n

    The first way to cast doubt on a cloud project is to tell everyone it’s insecure, right?<\/p>\n

    But:<\/p>\n