Mark's Blog

Episode 77: Virtual Information

Cloud Computing and Virtualization are clearly a couple in the “Next Big Things” in technology these days. What I would like to do is to take up the topic of what it really means to virtualize information.

Just so we start off on the same page, here are some of MY definitions of the key technologies I’ll likely reference today and in the near future:

Virtualization - Isolation/separation/abstraction between in place resources and delivery of services from these resources

Infrastructure Clouds - An aggregation of resources that can be allocated and delivered dynamically (typically compute and storage resources)

SaaS - Delivery of an application over the network as an on-demand service in which the service can be leveraged across multiple separate “tenants” or clients

Information Virtualization – the ability to manage, protect, secure, and present information to multiple applications while also abstracting where the information is physically located

One problem that is hitting us with full force today is basic information management; mostly because the information (both content and data) is everywhere. It is buried in rows and columns in databases, hidden in proprietary formats and embedded within applications, and in file systems and repositories… everywhere.

If you look at the web today and how we manage information, we improved our ability to manage and find information by simply making copies of the data. We don’t move the data; we simply aggregate and index.  This is what we value from the likes of Google and Yahoo today. We call it search but, really, the technology is just all about making copies.

So now it might appear as though we have a simple model to apply to all information, however this approach presents a few pretty big glitches.  First, the format of the web is fairly consistent (using XML) so it is readable. Second, while there is lot of information on the web, it still dwarfs the amount of private information that exists. Even if we wanted to – there is not enough storage in the world to make more copies of everything. Third, unlike the web, this information is mostly private and needs to be secured.

Take, for example, the basic concept of creating a personal health record.  One might think this would not be too hard; just get my health data, put it in a file, and put it somewhere – and voila – we are done.  If it were only that simple… Think about it, our health information is everywhere (blood tests here, MRIs in that system, doctors’ notes somewhere, probably hand-written), and in most cases, it is not going to make sense to ever try to move it.  This is where the concept of “Virtual Information” comes in, for transparent delivery and management of secure content and data, independent of any specific application. This is the real deal because organizations can leverage value of the content and data across multiple applications, and the cost savings through effective policy management can be enormous.

In future blogs segments I’ll share some of Information Virtualization capabilities we’re actively building across EMC. It is really exciting stuff!

Mark…

Episode 76: The Legacy Application is Dead – Long Live the Information

In a year of belt tightening, the likes of which most of us have never seen before, the first (and sometimes only) conversation that I have with a CIO is about how he/she can save money on IT.

At EMC we have many technologies that are focused squarely on efficiency. From tiered storage, to virtualization, to data de-duplication, much of what we do is to help companies do more with less and gain maximum leverage from their information. So we’re well positioned. However, one of the biggest CIO focus areas is managing the overhead costs of the ever-increasing number of applications across an enterprise. As one CIO put it, “new applications never seem to completely replace old ones – so old applications never really die.”

Old applications are the bane of IT. You know the ones. They are running on some hardware platform that was built when most of us were in elementary school,  by people who are nowhere to be found (but are likely at a rest home in Florida), and the one person who vaguely knows how to maintain it is actively planning next year’s retirement. All the while the software and hardware maintenance bills are crushing your budget. Sound familiar?

When I ask what keeps people from simply pulling the plug, the most common answer is “we don’t really use it much but we need access to the data.” In fact, studies show that more than half of the “living dead” applications running today are only used to insure access to information, buried inside a database so turning off the application also means losing the data. 

Well, maybe not anymore.

As I was out visiting customers and spending time with our sales teams, I found a solution that had literally been created in the field, by our customers and partners, revolutionizing how companies can save money. The solution is straightforward – built in a way to preserve the data with access to the information; secure and govern that legacy data according to policy; and repurpose, integrate and mine the data with other content – all while enabling organizations to completely retire the old applications and associated hardware and software.

I think this approach is perfectly-timed for this economic environment. The cost saving derived (retirement of legacy systems, lower maintenance and personnel costs) could deliver a rapid return on the investment. So, I’m happy to report that you can save money on IT, and that old man can still rest comfortably in retirement.

Mark…

 

 

Episode 75: Snowflakes

I went up skiing a couple of weeks back. The snow made for a brutal drive but not for the reasons you might think. I am from Colorado, the snow was the easy part. I just had never been skiing in California before and I learned two things.  First there is only one puny road to South Lake Tahoe and second, about a billion people try to drive up there for the weekend. Needless to say, I had lots of time to think about snow.  You probably know the old story that while snowflakes all look the same from a distance, in reality, no two are exactly alike. To me, selling enterprise software is a lot like selling snowflakes, as it seems that every installation is different.

 

Enterprise Content Management is going through an interesting evolution. As the market originated, the focus was squarely on solving the problem described by the term itself – managing content. ECM technology was valued and a necessary component across many applications and solutions. Like databases, ECM technology was deployed across a myriad of applications.

 

Effectively we have been “selling snowflakes” so far with ECM. Essentially, we have been building customized applications for each individual customer. This is evident in the ECM market overall as, for every dollar in software license revenues, a typical consumer will spend between $5-6 on services for customization and integration. Fortunately for our business and our customers’, we are working to dramatically reduce that ratio.

 

While it is true that custom technology implementations serve unique purposes, over time, many application requirements become much more consistent. CRM and ERP systems are good examples of transactional applications that have become far more standardized over the past decade. This has reduced costs and improved productivity and, in most cases, even delivered greater functionality.

 

Too much customization can constrain both the use of a technology as well as inhibit many productivity improvements that are possible by leveraging the technology. This is why you will see us develop, partner, build and sell more complete content-enabled applications for specific functions (like Accounts Payable) as well as combine our technology components together to form what we call Solution Frameworks. These frameworks become the new application development platform where building applications is mostly simple customization.

 

We will never seek to eliminate the capability to build customize applications as there can be great value when it is done for the right reasons but we do seek to bring a whole new set of Applications to market at completely new price points that we believe will change the market as we know it.

 

Mark...