Is Cloud computing the best option for businesses today?

Cloud computing has been a “buzzword” for a few years now. What is it and is it right for your business? Read on to find out.

What is cloud computing?

Cloud computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices on demand. This may include applications such as email, office software and various other programs. Cloud computing is a new model for delivering IT services in contrast to the client-server infrastructure that has been prevalent since 1980s.

Benefits of cloud computing

• No need to own the physical infrastructure
• Avoid capital expenditure
• Consume resources as a service and pay only for resources that you use
• Low barriers to entry
• Shared infrastructure and costs
• Low management overhead
• Immediate access to a broad range of applications
• Increased storage
• Flexibility
• Allows IT to shift focus

Drawbacks and limitations of cloud computing

• Benefits are limited by the  service level agreements
• Operating expenses may be high in the form of user fees
• Limited control over security and privacy of information
• Not all  “legacy” technology can be “converted” to cloud computing
• Limited control over availability and performance

Providers of Cloud Computing

Google and Microsoft are major players who are involved in cloud computing. The two companies are currently competing against each other in this market. An article published yesterday by the Los Angeles times discusses how Microsoft won the battle by getting a number of high profile contracts in California and New York and will be providing office software to a number of government entities via the cloud computing technology.

The article also points out that data security is a major issue with cloud computing. Because sensitive data resides outside of the boundaries of an organization, it sometimes takes a while for all the details to be resolved and for the implementation of cloud computing projects to be executed to the end.

Conclusion

In deciding whether cloud computing is right for your organization, consider the benefits and limitations discussed above as well as the capital budget that is available to your organization for technology related investments. In addition, it is important to consider what role technology plays in your company. Is it mostly operational or does your product offering rely heavily on technology and development? You may find out that managing your hardware infrastructure and applications internally is the best answer. For additional information about cloud computing, refer to http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/what-cloud-computing-really-means-031.

Louis Vuitton’s focus on Digital and Interactive Marketing

Madonna for Louis Vuitton

I have been a fan of Louis Vuitton for years. Even though the brand is super expensive, the products are so stylish, timeless and durable that women and even men of all ages have been obsessed with the label for generations. In today’s economy, the luxury sales are not booming and fashion houses have to find new ways to promote their products. With social media gaining popularity with super leaps, Louis Vuitton has undertaken multiple initiatives to keep up with the times and to continue to retain and attract a great following of Fashionistas.

I discovered Nowness.com. As I looked more into it, I felt like the site is a combination of my interests presented in a very interesting and interactive way. The site is run by Kamel Ouadi, a Global Digital Media Director for Louis Vuitton. The site was launched in February of 2010 and its aim is for users to experience "moments of inspiration" and "experience the luxury lifestyle online”.  The underlying goal that the luxury fashion house is trying to achieve is to connect to and to stay connected with consumers and to develop loyalty for the brand. The site has features similar to Facebook and other social media sites. These include being able to create a profile, “Love” the story as well as comment on stories and “blog” by posting your own individual commentary. In addition, the interface of the site is highly interactive and customizable.

Mikhail Gorbachev for Louis Vuitton

Kamel Quadi believes that “Louis Vuitton's Digital Focus Will Keep It in Fashion”. Nowness.com is only one of the examples of how the brand has utilized social media for marketing purposes. On October 6th, 2010 Louis Vuitton ran its third live fashion show on Facebook in the last year. The brand is using 360-degree technology that allows users to adjust their camera angle as they watch the footage. It is not clear from the articles I read if the sales have actually increased due to these marketing efforts but one thing is clear, a lot of people have shown interest in the brand. In the past year and a half, Louis Vuitton has attracted 1.3 million Facebook "likers" and 145,000 Twitter followers. I am one of the “likers” on Facebook. Love LV :) !

Social Media for Project Managers

As a member of the Project Management Institute, I receive the monthly PM Network magazine. While reading it last week, I found one interesting article called “Social Media for Project Managers”. In my current role and organization, we utilize Microsoft SharePoint extensively. Historically, we have called these SharePoint team sites - “wikis”, even though we don’t categorize the use of this technology as “Social Media”. One of the primary reasons for utilizing wikis is ease of communication and ability to upload and store various documents, keep track of communication threads and etc…  As this article correctly states, one of the primary roles of the project manager is communication flow and management. The author suggests that usage of microblogs, podcasts, vodcasts and other similar technologies should not only be limited to the goal of reaching external customers but has a potential to improve project processes and communications within the organization.

The use of social media tools in project management has the following potential benefits and uses:

·         Effective and efficient communication.

·         Improved morale when team members feel connected, well informed and realize they are a part of a team.

·         Teambuilding.

·         Networking.

·         Community blogging.

·         Open forums for discussion and feedback.

·         Shared best practices and lessons learned.

Even though utilization of Social media has a lot of benefits, I agree with the author that the Project Manager has to decide whether her team is ready for Social media on a specific project and if it would benefit the team. In my opinion it depends on team dynamics, company culture, and communication skills of the team members and other related considerations. Moreover, social media just like any technology is not a “silver bullet” to success. You still need to have a good team, project manager, project sponsor and processes. Social media will not be able to solve morale problems or resolve conflicts, however it is a good aid for keeping the team engaged, connected and informed.

The author of the article, Elizabeth Harrin published a book called “Social Media for Project Managers” (http://www.amazon.com/Social-Project-Managers-Elizabeth-Harrin/dp/1935589113). In addition to discussing what the project managers should do to initialize the use of these new tools on their projects, the book covers legal and security factors that often influence and guide company’s decision to utilize social media tools.

I have always been a fan of online communication and sharing, so usage of Social Media tools in my career and job sound very exciting. Moreover, I can see how social media type of tools are extremely beneficial on projects where a lot of team members telecommute and take advantage of flex time. With these tools, you are able to communicate 24/7 anywhere around the world as long as you are connected to the Internet. Effective project managers will definitely take advantage of these and make their projects even better.

References:

Social Media for Project Managers Elizabeth Harrin. PM Network. September 2010. pg. 69

Why are women not pursuing technology jobs?

Introduction

As a woman in technology field and someone with a lot of ambition, this topic is of great interest to me. I came across an article published on theglasshammer.com entitled “Women Fleeing Tech Field: Causes and Solutions” which makes the case that over the past twenty years a lot of women had left the technology field. The percentage of computer-related jobs held by women has declined steadily from 36% in 1991, to approximately 25% in 2008. What is even more troubling is that in addition to the decline of women entering the field, a large number is exiting technology jobs. Forty-one percent of women leave technology companies after 10 years of experience, compared to only 17 percent of men.  What is the reason for this?

Possible reasons

• The perception that there are not a lot of jobs in IT.
• The perception that a lot of technology jobs have been outsourced overseas.
• Not understanding what the field really is and how a person can apply her talents.
• Higher visibility of other fields such as health care for example.
• Image that technology jobs are nerdy or geeky.
• Isolation and lack of mentors or female role models is a major cause for female attrition from these types of jobs.
• Lack of sponsors or someone who would help make their accomplishments visible throughout the organization.
• Work/Life balance - while mid-level men are almost four times more likely than women to have a partner who assumes the primary responsibility for the household/children, mid-level women are more than twice as likely as men to have a partner who works full time. Women in the computer science and information technology industry are more likely than men to feel pressure from work/life balance issues.
• Stereotyping and bias.

Solution

• Training supervisors
• Good supervisors
• Raising awareness
• Improving communication
• Making sure flex-time or telecommuting programs are openly available and encouraged

Analysis and Conclusion

I definitely agree with the article based on my own experience in terms of not having mentors and being stereotyped. I get upset hearing comments such as “well you have little kids so why are you in a hurry to have more responsibility and get promoted”. Why is that not true for men who have young children? I strongly believe that there is a bias against women and we have to work that much harder to be noticed for our accomplishments and the value we bring to organizations. With all that said, I see a number of very successful women in IT. While reading Marie Claire magazine, I saw an article that highlighted the most influential young women in business today. One of them is Ruchi Sanghvi - a lead product manager at one of the most successful social media companies, Facebook. Ruchi is responsible for some of the key features on Facebook and is considered a Silicon Valley star today. These kinds of stories are very inspiring and promising.   I think a lot of women have been very successful in breaking the glass ceiling and I am committed to doing the same.

References:

http://www.theglasshammer.com/news/2010/01/28/women-fleeing-tech-field-causes-and-solutions/

http://www.marieclaire.com/career-money/advice/tips/ruchi-sanghvi

Are you using Google health, well maybe you should take another look at it?

What is it?

I came across an interesting article a few days ago concerning Google health. Even though one of my primary career interests is Informatics, I have not jumped on the Google health website though I heard of it. Google Health has been out for two and a half years but has not gained the popularity that the creators were hoping for. This is how google.com describes what Google health is: “Google believes you should have easy access to your own health information - anytime, anywhere. With a Google Health account, you can store, manage and share all of your health and wellness information in one central place. It’s available from Google at no charge. All you need is a username and password to get started.”

Interested Segment of Population

Based on the information provided in the article “Google Health relaunches, targets wellness audience”, what Google analysts noticed with the original version of software is that the primary audience of this tool were individuals who were very sick or relatives and caregivers who took care of very ill people. The Google software offered these individuals ability to track their “Personal Health Record” in one spot by having ability to import, enter and export relevant medical data.

Google’s vision to attract “healthy” users

            Google has revamped the Google health interface to attract an audience who is not going to the doctor on regular basis to treat serious conditions, but an audience who is health conscious. The new tool is designed for users who want to set and track their health goals in one spot using an easy to navigate interface. The tool offers functionality such as tracking your workouts, weight loss, cholesterol level and etc… In addition, it integrates with devices such as FitBit and SmartPhone. Moreover, the interface provides a wealth of information and links concerning various health topics and is also highly customizable.

Health Reform and Electronic medical records

With the Health Reform calling for consumers to be more involved in the choices they make about health insurance, providers and etc…, it is very beneficial for Americans to have information about their health at their finger tips and in one location. The question is, do they want it? Moreover, Obama legislation is calling for all the medical providers to convert to Electronic medical records as soon as possible so an idea of a Personal Health Record that Google came up with is a very appropriate and timely concept.

In conclusion

I think Google Health is a wonderful idea, but until consumers see a tangible benefit for analyzing their health data, this tool may not gain as much popularity as Google marketers are hoping for. I think more education, advertising, support from the government and medical providers is required for this tool to get the momentum it deserves. What do you think?

To read the full article, please go to: http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/google-health-relaunches-targets-wellness-audience

End of Yahoo?

Background:

Do you have a Yahoo email account or use the portal for its other functionality? If so, the article entitled “Does anyone care about Yahoo anymore?” published in CNNMoney.com on September 9^th will be of interest to you.

I personally have a yahoo account and also use Yahoo maps. The author of the article uses Yahoo Finance and the Yahoo's fantasy sports sites. I will admit though that for searching the Internet, Google is my portal of choice.

Yahoo has been a popular search portal for years since 1996. But as the author of the CNN article points out this isn't 1998 anymore. Being a portal doesn't make you a leader*.

The author continues by making a good point that while rivals like Google (GOOG, Fortune 500), Facebook and Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) continue to innovate in the worlds of search, social media and mobile, many wonder just what Yahoo is other than a slightly bigger version of AOL. Even AOL has done a decent job of differentiating itself from the competition lately thanks to a keen focus on local content*. Yahoo’s reputation decline is evident as its stock continues to slump. The stock is down 18% this year and is only 7% above its 52-week low*.

Road to recovery or disaster?:

So what can Yahoo do “to reclaim its former glory” asks the author? Based on expert opinion, the biggest problem is that there doesn't seem to be a focus on any specific type of product or area of technology. The portal is not keeping up with the respect to mobile and social media.

Yahoo, to its credit, has done a lot since a new CEO Carol Bartz joined in January 2009 to become leaner and meaner in order to get profits back on track. The company's net income increased by 40% last year even though revenues slipped.*

The author points out that cost-cutting may have come at a price. Yahoo now lacks strategic vision. He thinks Bartz was the right person to whip Yahoo into shape in the short-term but that a new CEO might do a better job of actually engineering a sustainable turnaround.

Yahoo's total sales are expected to be flat this year and analysts are only forecasting a 4% rise in 2011. That's anemic for an "old media" company, let alone a "new media" firm like Yahoo.*

Partnerships – the right decision?:

The best you can say about Yahoo these days is that it has done a decent job of partnering with, and occasionally even outsourcing functions to, other relevant companies. Hence, links to Facebook and Twitter on Yahoo's home page. And the decision to let Microsoft's Bing power search results on Yahoo and give up control of its job listing service HotJobs to Monster Worldwide (MWW). But Yahoo can only go so far by relying on the help of rivals. *

The main point:

The author ends the article with saying that for Yahoo to survive it has to focus on strategies for offering new products. Hence it may be time for Yahoo to evaluate the 4 P’s of Marketing: Product, Price, Place and Promotion.

*  Source: http://money.cnn.com/2010/09/09/technology/thebuzz/index.htm

Shana Tova to everyone who celebrated Jewish New Year last week!