Service Catalog Community and Blog

Reading: Data Center Automation: Why It's Time To Move - Hardware - Data centers - Informationweek

2011-12-19T13:05:25-08:00

This quote is an accurate representation of the benefits people implementing cloud self-service and automation get. Faster response time to service requests is the top process automation impact, cited by 25% of tech pros surveyed who have fully deployed process automation tools. Others cited reduced errors and shifting staff to new activities--which means freeing IT to focus on higher-value projects....

Time to be BRUTAL & RIGOROUS: How to Ruin a Cloud Implementation. Step 1 -- Leave Self-Service for Last

2011-11-17T13:55:50-08:00

Self-service should not be an after-thought in cloud projects, it's the beginning of the journey. Self-service drives the standardization of offerings and reduces the labor costs that arise from designing, specifying, ordering, procuring, and configuring computing, storage and network resources on custom basis. This standardization and automation also applies to application components, security and network services such as LDAP, DNS,...

Reading: "How to best fight the rise of rogue IT services? Compete"

2011-11-09T11:49:43-08:00

YUP. That's all. There seems no way to stop it. And it’s no secret, yet it’s one of the more pressing issues IT departments face today. Workers are sidestepping their IT department altogether to find and procure the services they need, whether that be quick access to online storage, collaboration tools, a SaaS application, or a number of servers spun...

The Value of Automation: What Did Captain Kirk Know That Scotty Didn't? & The Roach Motel Infrastructure Issue

2011-11-07T13:53:38-08:00

Recently, a customer asked me what was the value of using automation to operate a private cloud? It was a good question. Working in the middle of the reality distorition field of the cloud industry I take it for granted that everyone knows automation's benefits. Fundamentally, automation tools help to reduce labor costs, rationalize consumption and increase utilization. Costs are...

Need to Explain Benefit and Cost Reduction of Cloud to Your Boss? 2 Slides You Can't Live Without

2011-10-19T09:14:00-07:00

Sorry for the Cosmo-like title. Found an issue of Cosmopolitan on my plane back chair and my brain still processing the ridiculous titles. But the story is real. Our team was at Oracle World, and they presented this deck. If you are looking for a simple, compelling explanation of the value of a private cloud, Slide 11 is the one...

The Cloud Psychiatrist is In. Be a Cheese Mover, not a Cheese Chaser

2011-10-17T15:02:17-07:00

I spend a fair amount of time presenting our cloud vision and technology to our customers. In thes conversations, we often end up talking about transformation and the people and process angle of this transformation. Sometimes I feel my role is that of a Cloud Pyschiatrist, and not a technologist. Often he conversations turns towards managing the fear of change,...

Great Article on Innovation Starvation by Neil Stephenson

2011-10-11T20:11:00-07:00

One of my favorite authors writing on Innovation Starvation... I love this quote, because I've seen it happen. Most people who work in corporations or academia have witnessed something like the following: A number of engineers are sitting together in a room, bouncing ideas off each other. Out of the discussion emerges a new concept that seems promising. Then some...

The New Bronze Age. Make an SLA Too High and It Prevents Innovation, Too Low and It Prevents Operation

2011-10-10T09:44:00-07:00

Where I grew up, you could buy individual cigarettes. While I played ball at the park, I'd see the young men approach the paper kiosk to get a cigarette. Not a pack, just one lonely stick. The customers overpaid on per-cigarette basis but it helped them manage their budget. I'd watch them and think nothing of it. It was normal....