CloudBus

It was a wonderful and fulfilling evening for the business and technology leaders of India at the IBM's Think forum 2018 on 13th February in Mumbai. CEO Speak - Ms. Ginni Rometty - Chairman, President and CEO of IBM's keynote set the tone for the energy packed evening, she stated that business can get smarter by the use of cognitive computing - Leveraging a data platform that learns ; Infusing that learning into systems and processes & Empowering their people to learn faster with AI and the need to usher new technologies with purpose and responsibility;society will judge the right ones which deliver value. She enunciated the three drivers for businesses to get smarter - leveraging a data platform that learns, infusing that learning into systems and procedures and empowering their people to learn fast with AI. She said AI should be called Augmented Intelligence. Ms. Ginni Rometty stated that we are at an inflection point for all businesses is use of data, leverage proc...

The new buzzword is eCommerce, the holy grail for creating millionaires and leapfrogging oneself into fame and wealth. What do you need for your eCommerce Success is the eCommerce Mantra. “For eCommerce I need a good value proposition, good partners, scalable technology, innovation, Quick launch, exponential customer acquisition that ensures a steady cash flow to achieve funding and create wealth.” So let us demystify our eCommerce Mantra 1. Good Value Proposition  You business idea must be sound and create value in saving time, money, efficiency and these should be measurable and make an impact in the domain where you want to launch your eCommerce service. Your value proposition must be a disruptor to the old way of doing business. 2. Good Partners Good partners is the elixir for the success of your eCommerce venture, you need great partners for every aspect of your business be it accounting, administration, logistics, technology, banking, funding, advisory, legal, domain...

Recently I had to send a document to my friend and realized I did not have his email easily available, I realized that most conversations with my friend was on Facebook. My dependence on email had diminished, I am connected with more people be they family, classmates, work mates, acquaintances and others by social media. Social Media be it Facebook, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google Hangouts, Twitter has become central to our lives.  Over the years I have  lost my ability to write personal letters and had switched to a different style suited for emails; today my style of messaging on social media is again different. Messaging by Pictures at Nazca - Peru ! Social Media messaging is driven by Pictures and then text, a family get together shows it all in the pictures or video posted on social media.  The pictures speak for themselves and the tags are  footnotes to identify people or the location. The world has shrunk with social media, we no longer need email...

As the year of SMAC the outlier which changed  the fortunes of business across the world in 2013. Looking into the crystal glass, we see that next year 2014 will the year of Community Clouds which will change the fortunes of companies which specialize in data center solutions. We will see community clouds being build by the Fortune 500 companies in a collaborative manner, business across Europe will drive the adoption of Community Clouds in Europe to adhere to the ENISA guidelines. Cloud Computing now moves beyond cost it is about reliability, economics of scale, security and mutli device support and global standards. Community clouds will be adopted by the banks of Europe, the pharmaceutical companies of Europe, the European Union and more. Developing regions in the globe too will adopt cloud computing, Africa will lead the charge with large nations like Brazil, Latin American countries and across the APAC region. A Bus in Mumbai, A community initiative ! Everyone is wor...

Recent advertisements have shown IBM  comparing itself against AWS in the cloud. Here is the ZDNet article  http://www.zdnet.com/ibm-takes-aim-at-amazon-web-services-via-marketing-campaign-7000022805/ . It seems to be a let down for Big Blue who has forgotten its blue blood and is stooping to compare itself to a company which is about a decade old. If you missed my blog on the Big 5 it is worth a read again, since most of the analogies seems to have panned out, here is the link http://cloudbus.blogspot.in/2011/04/big-5-in-cloud-computing.html?q=the+big+five Photo Credit : Sudesh IBM seems to have forgotten that the Elephant can Dance and only  needs to learn new steps in the world of SMAC and Internet of Things.IBM should not discount its loyal customer base who are there to cheer and support IBM through thick and thin; some customers could also teach IBM to dance to their tunes. IBM has all the arsenal required, but is reluctant to open its chest and take off...

"SMAC" is the a acronym for Social, mobile, analytics & cloud the four pillars of the fifth wave of technology as defined by  Cognizant Technology the  Teaneck, New Jersey headquartered ITES company (NASDAQ Symbol : CTSH). SMAC will change the customer dialogue by leveraging on the collective strength of the Social Media Network, Mobile devices, Analytics driven by Big Data solutions and Cloud Computing as the underlying backbone of affordable and reliable engine for computation.  Let us look at each of these components and their impact on our lives today: 1. Social Media - The Social Media has seen breakneck growth and significant valuation with the winners, we have the four undisputed leaders in this segment Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest  & LinkedIn with competition from Yahoo, Google and Microsoft and another hundred more social media sites of different hues and aspirations.   2. Mobility - The way we handle and process information an...

Cloud computing will provide the comfort and stability in the world of VUCA ( volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) . Wiki source for VUCA :  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatility,_uncertainty,_complexity_and_ambiguity Cloud computing is the right solution to help business in its technology investments and answers its concerns on the following issues confronted in the world of VUCA : Anticipate the Issues that Shape Conditions Understand the Consequences of Issues and Actions Appreciate the Interdependence of Variables Prepare for Alternative Realities and Challenges Interpret and Address Relevant Opportunities Cloud computing also helps the organization to be prepared with technology enabled tools in the VUCA world :  Knowledge Management on Sense-Making  Planning and Readiness Considerations  Process Management and Resource Systems  Functional Responsiveness and Impact Models  Recovery Systems and Forward Practices C...

This is the reproduction of an article published in Information Week today . http://www.informationweek.in/cloud_computing/13-07-02/why_the_cloud_can_come_down_to_earth_in_india.aspx The author illustrates how the network and infrastructure can be the differentiator between success and failure in deployment of real time technology solutions like exchanges and cloud computing applications In 1991, I was a key member of the team to build the first automated stock exchange in India known as the OTC Exchange of India on dial up telephone lines and subsequently an overlay network network on an Government built X.25 backbone with an X.28 dial up connectivity. The internet was unheard of those days, though a few Software Technology Parks (STPI) did have this connectivity and I remember the slow browser which connected me to the Harvard facility from the STPI in Hyderabad. We had limitations because we could operate only in 26 cities in India with dialup connections, because the rest ...

Today's program on cloud computing for Business at Bangalore was well received and was attended by Senior Business Leaders. Some of the keen observations was the lack of adoption of cloud computing by business in India because of poor internet connectivity in smaller cities and rural areas. There were live examples of challenges in getting reliable internet access and bandwidth and more needs to be done to fix this problem to make cloud computing adoption a reality. The second takeaway was the large  technology  cost to support transactions in Banking sector, almost about Rs. 50 a transaction was the estimated cost. Cloud could substantially lower this technology cost by banks adopting cloud computing. Some banks are there in a nascent stage and some Banks offer their application as a SAAS based core banking solutions in a virtualized environment which is marketed as a cloud. More needs to be done in this area and one solution was to build a dedicated and secure cloud ...

There are strikes in Brazil, the Indian Rupee is shedding value faster than my weight gain, the world globally is grappling on how to keep recession at bay. The business climate is tough and Cloud Computing could be Superman for Business. When business want to cut costs they need tools to identify what they are doing, they need tighter monitoring and controls, they can find solutions for this in the various SAAS solutions available in the cloud. They just pay for what they use and get their business ship shape. Energy prices and managing data centers is expensive, cloud could offer a better and more cost effective solution. Reach for the Clouds when the Going it Tough Marketing budgets are tight, but without marketing how do you reach your customer, use the cloud computing social media tools to reach your customers. Sales people costs are high and customer support  is essential for survival use cloud hosted  sales and customer management tools. Logistics, distribut...

There are many great stories of Information Technology Business on the cloud who have made millions of dollars with a great idea, these are companies who have built solutions on the cloud and benefited by a low cost  launch of their business and almost no entry barrier to succeed in their vision for changing the world with cloud computing. This article is for another type of Business, those  who can use computing as a business enabler and benefit with automation from conceptualization to execution to sustenance of their start-up business whatever it may be. Let us consider start-up business in the non technology traditional economy, simple businesses like engineering fabrication, distribution, cash collection, retailing, food and beverages, and any other start-up whose leadership has an idea and the entrepreneurial zeal. What cloud computing solutions can Business use for their business efficiency? today many Business start their computing journey on the internet with a...

The CIO on his own cannot introduce cloud computing in the Enterprise, even if the CIO is a believer in cloud computing his business leadership may not accept cloud computing adoption;  they have bigger risks to handle with higher rewards which takes priority over technology and as a business priority they still believe in the old saying " If it ain't broke don't fix it " when it come to corporate computing. The CIO needs the Cloud Evangelist to Navigate the Cloud ! Business Leadership look at CIO's as people with high IQ who are a necessary evil in the business ecosystem and are best left to do what they need in their own Ivory Tower. A smart CIO can use some help from a Cloud Computing Evangelist to convince the business leaders in  on the benefits of Cloud Adoption. The Cloud Computing Evangelist can work with the CIO to pitch the cloud as a strategic business enabler and as an utility to steer the the Business leadership's understanding a...

I had a wonderful buffet a few week ago and was amazed at the aggressive pricing of the food on offer, a little more thought and it was back to Cloud Computing.  I figured the pricing was based on the philosophy that the customer will pick and choose what they need but overall the price will average out and so will the margins, since no two people have the same appetite or intensity to eat. More experienced buffet eaters know what to choose and eat and I call them value pickers, if they pay Rs. 300 they will make sure they eat that value of food irrespective of its consequences to their health. The second are the health conscious eaters who will pick healthy food which is valuable in nutrition and good for their health. The last is the one who will eat what they need and leave the rest on the buffet table.  To adopt any one of these strategies one needs to have experience with buffets, I still remember one of my classmates who used to visit a Chinese Buffet on Sundays, on ...

EDP was the origin of computing in business, it was the acronym for "Electronic Data Processing", The  EDP department was a busy factory during salary computation, closing of the financial books and also month end sales and inventory management and finally MIS (Management Information System) . There were no Microsoft workstation in those days, no lotus 123 just reams of printout in high speed printers which were transferred neatly into transparencies with marker pens ! The EDP was always under the control of the CFO - the chief financial office and EDP manager was a powerful person who had to be reliable and accomplished in technology. EDP began with punched cards, then tapes and so on ; today they are relics, but the EDP department was the temple of information, it was the knowledge bank of the business and access to it was restricted. The CFO was the lord and master of the EDP department because the first baby steps of data processing was accounting,...

The dilemma faced by today’s business leader is “Do we need Cloud Computing?”  Business needs reliability, accessibility, confidentiality, integrity, availability, security & Benefit. The cloud scores well on all these requirements, though the complexity of cloud deployment and governance increases from a Public cloud to a Private Cloud and to a Hybrid cloud and the skills required increase from SAAS to PAAS and to IAAS. Cloud is costly, cloud is not secure, cloud is marketing, virtualization is cloud  is echoed by many technology professionals , though none of these may be totally valid. Cloud Computing decisions will move to the corner office and the Board Room and will be a Strategic Business Enabler rather then a CIO/IT Leadership's  prerogative .  The Road Less Travelled is Fraught with Danger! Photo Credit – Amitav Thamba Cloud - A Business Perspective The business today needs Reliability, the cloud is as reliable as an  in-ho...

Cloud forecast for 2012  Cloud Computing will spread like this Banyan Tree Nourishing Computing Globally.  1. Amazon and Microsoft will lead, and Cisco, HP, IBM and others will have a tough fight for the third place in the Cloud Computing Business.  2. Thousands of SAAS Mobile Applications will be launched using the cloud in 2012, you could even have applications for monitoring your dogs health and diet, including posting photos and similar applications. 3. There will be a number of outages among smaller cloud service providers and this will lead to tighter regulation of cloud computing and also trigger a wave of Mergers with stronger cloud service providers. 4. Cyber Attacks will increase many fold using the cloud as the base for launching these attacks, Security professionals will need to gear for many sleepless nights in 2012 to stay ahead of the cyber criminals. 5. Business Leaders will aggressively bring cloud adoption mainstream and it will be a gr...

The Business will lead cloud computing adoption in 2012 and beyond. Just like ERP adoption was led by business and not the EDP manager , cloud computing adoption will be led by the Business and not the CIO/CTO. If you do not learn how to ride the cloud computing horse, then you are doomed to be trampled under their hooves, learn to adapt to business. Unless Technology leaders learn to change their stripes quickly and improve their trust and knowledge on cloud computing they stand to be drowned in the cloud computing deluge which is waiting to be unleashed in the coming years. CIO/CTO/ Die Hard Technology non believers, convert and repent and adopt cloud computing else you will be swept away into insignificance like the old EDP Manager . Welcome 2012 with the belief and conviction that Cloud Computing and Business will tango together just like the two horses in the picture. Add Cloud Computing Adoption as the No 1 item in your TO DO list for 2012!

Blackberry has become the standard for business mobility today be it a SOHO, SMB or Enterprise.There are many outstanding features that make Blackberry Business's favorite mobile device a few key features are: a. Innovation b. Reliability c. Security d. Business Applications e. Ease of Use. BB eats breathes and lives Business in its phones and also provides awesome compliance which has resulted in Bond based on TRUST between RIM & Business. This weeks BB outage would not have affected Business that had reliable Business Continuity Plans; rather  the BB disruption has been a good test of their business continuity planning and technology resilience in adversity. BB has gone beyond messaging, the BB devices today support some of the most intuitive business applications for quick deployment and acclimatization. Business leaders will return to their Blackberry Phones with a vengeance this weekend and those that deserted Bla...

The US Market Meltdown and the imminent austerity measure will mean a more prudent USA and a weaker US Dollar making imports and outsourcing dearer. A New Era for Technology Business after the Market Meltdown Some changes in The  Technology Business will be:   Technology Manufacturing will move back to USA – In a phased manner technology manufacturing will move to back to USA  as  global manufacturing will not   provide significant cost savings. Software/BPO/KPO Outsourcing will move back to companies in the USA, this will affect the fortunes of companies in the rest of the world.   Renewed Infrastructure creation will call for newer and innovative technology solutions in traditional areas like construction and road building for efficiency and control. C loud Computing  will exponentially grow in the next two quarters and will be the catalyst for technology cost reduction and business agility.   VC and Angels will tighten their belts, there wi...

Global Markets are crashing like Nine Pins, the future looks bleak, the US is predicted to be heading to a double dip recession and the world towards economic doom. The global markets are covered with Dark Clouds of the impending financial tsunami. Business will recover in this tough situation only cost reduction and migrating to the Cloud offers an opportunity to save on Technology Costs. When you have no money to spend the resistance to adoption of the Cloud will diminish and the Business will innovate and use the Cloud. The Cloud is an opportunity which Business needs to clasp with both hands like an answer to a drowning persons prayer. The cloud is not a dying man's straw to clutch, it is resilient, mature and is working for a number of enterprises and entrepreneurs across the world. The Cloud today is strong like a 100 year old Oak Tree. The cloud will be the Silver Lining for Business to come out valiant from these hard times and provides an opportunit...