GNESS

The Tipping Point for Network Automation

Jeff:

Its amazing what IBM has accomplished. I remember the WSJ article from the 80s that said that they were on a one way track to an unglamorous end... and look how far they've come given the sea change in computing. Amazing.

Thanks for the comments
Greg

The Tipping Point for Network Automation

Phil:

Excellent comment! Yet many of the networking vendors have been slow to embrace network automation. DNS, for example is offered as freeware that needs manual spreadhseet updates. The CIO needs for hte network what hte CFO has for the business: real time status of everything connected, etc.

Thanks,
Greg

The Tipping Point for Network Automation

User 240577:

If you go back far enough plenty of the ideas/concepts in virtualization and cloud can be traced back to mainframes. I think who you see as havoing better offerings will depend on your needs, apps, etc. If you're at home or in an SMB chances are you're thrilled about cloud services; and if you're in the enterprise for the most part much less thrilled.

As soon as Amazon and Google start showing material revenue, sharing availability and security information and deliver robust apps suitable for the enterprise I'll take them more seriously from an enterprise standpoint.

They are, indeed, creating a huge amount of interest. At the end of the day they are impacting everyone's expectations. Just how those expectations are fulfilled (as a business) will shape how fast cloud is adopted.

Thanks for the comment.

Greg

The Tipping Point for Network Automation

Lightway:

I'm extremely sympathetic to the situation thet network administrators are in, hence the emphasis on automation. Yet there are admins who prefer to keep their spreadsheets because it has been what they did for years. Every market has late adopters.

The issue is about DNS/DHCP, IPAM, NTP, RADIUS and other services as well as manual configuration of various types uf network gear. I think cloud is more than a repackaging of the mainframe etc but rather a new approach to IT service delivery... scale, efficiency, flexibility, cost etc are all elements.

Thaks for an excellent cooment.

Greg

Preparing for the Shift to Club Cloud Computing

Alain:

I've been following it a bit, but thats a fair point. When I get a chance to dig in and ask around I may include it in future columns.

Thanks for the astute comment.

Greg

The Tipping Point for Network Automation

User:

Our household portfolio has stock in Cisco as disclosed. We may have some VMW. That's about it as I recall. I do tend to invest and write about stocks I like but I'm not offering any investment advice, mere thoughts about bigger picture tech trends and who could win or lose.

G

Preparing for the Shift to Club Cloud Computing

Brewer:

That would be very interesting. And I think the question would be just how far behind will enterprises alllow their IT services to be as consumers and SMBs see an increasing pace of breakthrough innovations. I htink Cisco gets this, hence the Unified Computing initiative.

Thanks for the comment
Greg

Preparing for the Shift to Club Cloud Computing

Jack:

With enterprise cloud we are certainly talking about something 3-5 years out that will most likely be adopted privately moreso than publicly. This is important today because it represents a massive shift in how IT services are delivered and it will influence all of IT, both those who use it and those who must compete with it- in the same way the proliferation of the browser drove the webification of once LAN-bound enterprise apps. It wasn't necessaily a clean migration by everyone at once, but when it began its influence was unquestionable.

Thanks for hte comment.

Greg

Preparing for the Shift to Club Cloud Computing

Dust:

You've made some excellent points. However, I might add that AAPL had been a company of incredible vision and breakthrough thinking. What they have done with iTunes and the iPhone reminds me that anything is possible; and if they're still interested in the business customer their strength in interface, form factors and user experience might come in handy. Maybe they just need a partner or another killer innovation...

Thanks,
Greg

Preparing for the Shift to Club Cloud Computing

Zen:
No where have I claimed to be sane. I do suggest that cloud can be very compelling for the enterprise, although they may never adopt public cloud over private cloud (where they own the service but it is delivered decoupled from specific facilities/hardware). Some large corporations have outsourced their sales lead management systems and their revenue forecasting etc to SaaS...

Thanks for the comment and the sanity check.

G

Bringing Cloud Computing Down to Planet Earth

Mani:

Agreed. I think automation has thus far been focused on systems versus networks and that will make all the difference as virtualization and cloud spread.

Thanks for the comment.

Greg

Cloud Computing: Its Evolution Depends on Economics

Thanks Mario:

Cisco's Doug Gourlay recently shared data with me about the state of legacy data center infrastructure and the massive opportunity for leaps in economy, efficiency, energy savings etc. In addition to the obvious motive to invest in new infrastructure to address the demands of endpoint growth and network complexity and the emergence of VMotion he made a great case for bringing our installed IT infrastructure up-todate. That of course means automation and additional capacity.

CIOs will need to take a step back and a fresh look at how their IT is deployed and the extent of recurring costs (from electricity to labor and process delay) in addition to addressing the network effects of VMotion and cloud. Thanks for the comment.

Greg

Cloud Computing: Its Evolution Depends on Economics

Stephen:

Good point. Clearly there was huge growth in endpoints before the netbook. I just think that:1) the netbook will put disproportionately more strain on the network; 2) its yet another mobile device; and 3) it could eventually outsell PCs with hard drives.

Thanks,
Greg

Cloud Computing: Its Evolution Depends on Economics

Stephen:

Thanks for your comments and the points you raised about infrastructure and scale. Its interesting that more PC demands seem to be related to browsers versus hard drive-installed software these days. With netbook sales taking off one has to wonder if we'll see another even larger explosion in endpoints. Cisco has predicted about 10 billion I recall by 2010... and I wonder if they took netbooks into account.

Thanks,
Greg

Cloud Computing: Its Evolution Depends on Economics

Teutonic:

Thanks for asking. Infoblox solutions automate the core network services that TCP/IP networks utilize, thus making networks more resilient and more able to keep up with growth and an increased velocity of change. Virtualization increases the ease of change and cloud implies changes/movment over larger areas. I think it will be challenging, risky and costly for enterprises to deploy new automation initiatives (virtualization, RFID/supply chain, cloud) without automating core network services. Ultimately I see collaborations between Infoblox and others leading to other breakthroughs (including IF-MAP).

I joined Infoblox as Blue Lane was in the acquisition process. I was attracted by their sales success and the strategic role I perceived them playing in dynamic infrastructure. In a way, I saw once boring technology becoming strategic to most of the significant enterprise IT initiatives in an up or down economy.

Thx
Greg