Monthly Archives: July 2008

Cloud vs. SaaS

Posted on July 24, 2008 | Leave a comment

I’m not one to re-purpose content, but Jeff Kaplan’s post on the difference between cloud computing and software-as-a-service deserves highlighting.

In my case, I view cloud computing as a broad array of web-based services aimed at allowing users to obtain a wide range of functional capabilities on a ‘pay-as-you-go’basis that previously required tremendous hardware/software investments and professional skills to acquire. Cloud computing is the realization of the earlier ideals of utility computing without the technical complexities or complicated deployment worries. With this precept in mind, I see SaaS as a subset or segment of the cloud computing market.

I like this analogy a lot.

Both journalists and ISVs alike have muddled the two terms – and understandably so. There’s been a surge of interest in the market and this ‘gold rush’mentality has caused some confusion over their definitions.

Per Jeff’s reccomentadtion, vendors should be careful about the language they use, so as not to mislead their customers.

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Posted in cloud computing

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Mommy Blogging at its Best

Posted on July 21, 2008 | 4 Comments

The BlogHer Conference made its estrogen-packed stop in San Francisco earlier this week. I attended the event with a few goals in mind. I wanted to:

1. Learn about defining one’s voice, and make the distinction between professional and personal writing

2. Learn about intellectual property rights and the terms of use associated with blogging

3. Network with other bloggers

4. Experience a onference with mostly female attendees

I accomplished all of these goals, but the 4th one left me a little taken aback. And not necessarily in a good way. Never have I been to an event where I experienced significant dilution in the quality of the educational portion of the conference due to the attendees. I know that seems a bit harsh, but I can explain.
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Posted in Conferences, That Damn Word Again - Community

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The Future of Software

Posted on July 18, 2008 | Leave a comment

Man, that is one audacious blog title. But I’m going to roll with it. What is the future of software in business?

I won’t pretend to try and definite it here, but one thing is for sure. Classic software vendors are having to redefine their business model due to cloud computing.

Any company that relies on advertising as their bread and better are able to provide solutions (that can be) free to both consumers and businesses. Service-oriented architecture or ‘as-a-service’solutions are now easy to come by, and even easier to use. With an intuitive user-interface, cloud applications can provide not only a user friendly option, but also a cost effective one. It is the unequivocal future of software.

Web 2.0 pure play companies have come to grips with the value of cloud computing and offer the enterprise light weight, web-based solutions. But what will really be interesting to watch is how classic software vendors adopt these tools into their existing platform, as well as the strategy implemented as they go to market. A dual business model might stretch an ISV thin, but it’s crucial for software vendors to adopt and maintain a strategy. The market’s diversity means a technology purchaser can choose to run their business solely in the cloud if they so choose.

You can’t change horses in the middle of the race, but the change is inevitable.

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Posted in cloud computing

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The Holistic Sales Person

Posted on July 16, 2008 | Leave a comment

Job functions are very important. Without them, departments would blur and work flow wouldn’t run its course as smoothly. I’ve blogged about this before, however I strongly believe there’s value in looking at your career holisticly. By holistic, I don’t mean exercising reflexology or Chinese medicine. I’m referring to the need to think about your professional contribution in a well-rounded way. By examining the individual parts that make up the whole, and then leveraging the interdependence of those elements.

Educating oneself might not immediately result in the task one is assigned (like revenue for example). But greater knowledge leads to greater understanding, greater breadth of service and the ability to think laterally about problem solving.

Improving yourself, regardless of the direction or method you choose, will reflect positively on your career.

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Posted in Corporate Culture

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Shameless Self Plug

Posted on July 10, 2008 | 1 Comment

Sorry. But it was bound to happen. It’s my blog and I make the rules.

I am really excited to begin contributing to the Enterprise 2.0 Conference blog. The blog’s goal is to drill down into how social tools and technologies make companies more creative, agile and productive. It’s chock full of case studies, opinions and hot conversation topics in the space. I’ll be joining the likes of Irwin Lazar, Melanie Turek and the E2 Conference GM, Steve Wylie.

The 2008 event just wrapped up last month, and Enterprise 2.0 2009 show is set to take place June 22 – 25 in Boston, MA. You can learn more about the conference here and subscribe to the mailing list for updates here.

I just posted an informative interview with Venkat Rao from Xerox. Be sure to check back to the E2 blog for more musings into how 2.0 technologies are shaping the enterprise, and what we’ll be exploring at the event.

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Animoto.com

Posted on July 7, 2008 | 3 Comments

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