What is a Private ‘Heterogeneous’ Cloud environment?

Well I’m talking about a Private Cloud that spans both x86-64 and RISC based processors using Type 1 hypervisors supporting multiple Operating Systems. In this particular instance I will be talking about VMware for x86-64 virtualisation and the IBM Power Hypervisor for virtualisation of the IBM POWER (RISC) processor. Further supporting infrastructure includes Cisco Catalyst 6500 switches for IP Protocols and MDS9000 Fabric Switches for the FC Protocol, EMC multi-tiered storage (VMAX) Continue Reading

So how do you expose the benefits of Cloud Computing to business leaders, their trusted lieutenants and technical advisors? Which frameworks and methodologies have been adopted into your Cloud Computing platform that can help them derive real benefit and value from their investment?

How do you span the gap between percieved complex technical solutions to simple consumable services that enable the business?

Very few people have actually achieved any real tangible Private Cloud success. Many have managed to deliver virtualisation, Continue Reading

As part of my day job I regularly come across a wide range of multi-disciplined individuals who all have skills and experiences that I can only hope to one day match. They come from all sorts of backgrounds and have a plethora of views and visions of not only the end game but also the approach needed to ensure a successful implementation of the holistic IT department of the future.

Through their enthusiasm and desire to ‘fix’ legacy IT they sometimes fail to recognise that they are all working towards the same end goal, that in fact by working together and learning from each other and taking the best aspects of each others frameworks, definitions, libraries and experiences we can deliver true Cloud Computing solutions. The IT industry is maturing and we have a number of proven techniques to ensure that we meet business requirements, address operational processes and deliver robust solutions.

It is only now as part of Cloud Computing are we seeing many of these come together. Cloud Computing is not only a set technologies, or just some service management, process re-engineering, high level architecture definitions or Infrastructure delivered on-demand to meet your businesses IT processing requirements.

Cloud Computing is all of these any more.

I’m here at Newbury races and in the horse racing community the end of March is a time of both reflection and anticipation.

The jumping community reflects on how their horses performed at the Cheltenham festival in March. Years of work cumulating in one week of championship racing in the Cotswold countryside. Others in the community are anticipating the Aintree festival where the most famous of races, The Grand National, is to be run in a few weeks.

And anticipation is the watchword in the flat racing community. With the first of the five classic races only six weeks away the new season is just under way and trainers and connections wait to see Continue Reading

With Chris Chant announcing his imminent departure, is this where the G-Cloud programme turns into what many have claimed it always was…vapour?

In being so forthright with his views on what is acceptable and, far more clearly, what is unacceptable, Chris has doubtlessly alienated large parts of the traditional Systems Integrator community who have been waiting for the moment to get their revenge.  Some will be thinking that the time is right. 

I will bet that they’re wrong.  Chris has established a strong and vocal community of support for G-Cloud and that support will continue under the watchful eyes of Liam Maxwell, Continue Reading

More and more business leaders are understanding the financial benefits that can be delivered by leveraging Cloud Computing. IT Consultants, Independent Software Vendors (ISV’s), Value Added Resellers (VAR’s) and Systems Integrators (SI’s) are beginning to comprehend the technical, service and operational aspects of Cloud Computing. Cloud based software companies are becoming synonymous with Cloud Computing and when discussing business application strategies share a common ground with legacy vendors.

When a business is setting it’s IT (or Cloud) Strategy it needs to understand the benefits and risks associated with the Private and Public Cloud models. Where should it look to provision business services from in terms of data security, reliability, Continue Reading