Retention of Talent

Truth about retaining top talent….!

• Most people are content being paid at or around the market rate for good quality work. SOME folks are extremely money conscious sometimes, but eventually they learn that the paycheck comes every month all on its own, and other motivators come into play very quickly. There are very few folks who can be bought for money alone.
• Most people want two opposing things out of their jobs! They want to feel they are part of a group that's able to accomplish greater things than they could on their own AND they want to know that they stand out as individuals. The job as a manager is to give them BOTH experiences: to bring about a 'team spirit' and to let team know what a great job each one is doing.
• Finally, most employees have a few ongoing needs that motivate them to do their best work and to stay. They include a clear direction of their job or project; specific assignments that help them grow; access to necessary organizational resources, and feedback on their performance on a regular basis. Otherwise, they pretty much want to be left alone to get their job or assignment done.
• Provide employees with a clear sense of where we're going and why.
• Make sure they have the necessary resources to get their job done.
• Be attuned to their professional needs and try to provide them with assignments that meet these needs (not always easy but still attainable).
• Regularly meet with them both formally and informally to give and get feedback on what's going on.
• Get out of their way and, at the same time, be available when needed.

Why resources get frustrated and leave….!

• When company demands that one person do the jobs of two or more people, resulting in longer days and weekend work. This turns into a morale killer not only for the person but for the team.
• Management doesn't allow the rank and file to make decisions about their work. Therefore, employees see their job as only a job rather than developing enthusiasm and pride of ownership.
• Company, Management & Department  constantly reorganizes, shuffles people around and changes direction constantly. Therefore, employees don't know what's going on, what the priorities are and what they should be doing.
• Management doesn't take the time to clarify their decisions. For example, it rejects work after it was completed, damaging the morale and esteem of those who prepared it.
• Management promotes departments to compete against each other while at the same time preaching teamwork and cooperation. Therefore, employees become cynical and only put effort in what they see management wants not what they say.
• Management throws a temper tantrum, points fingers and assigns blame when things go wrong. Therefore, employees don't want to be at the other end of the barrage of negativity.

Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marcia_Zidle

Comments?

Outsourcing NG

Now: Most outsourcing deals are built around a transactional model. This transaction-based model is tied to a cost-plus or fixed-price-per-transaction pricing model to ensure the company buying the services is getting the lowest cost per transaction. The service provider is paid for every transaction - whether it is needed or not. Thus, more inefficient the entire process, the more money the service provider can make!

Also, Today's outsource providers often have a small army of program managers who micromanage the outsource provider.

Next-Gen: Here, company buys services in a performance-based approach. Instead of paying an outsourcing provider for unit transactions for various service activities, company and its service provider agree on desired outcomes. Some possible quantifiable outcome targets are - Availability, Reliability, Cost, Revenue generation, employee or customer satisfaction, Asset Investment targets.

Here, company outsources to service providers that are real experts and is managed such that it creates a culture of insight, not oversight.

Comments? Do you see this trend?

-Cheers

Viewpoint on various cloud offerings and relevance to enterprises

I know I have flooded blog with all this news on Cloud, Private Cloud, Cloud in a box and related hype in the market –

Key questions for synthesis are  – Let’s discuss and get point of view from everyone…

1.   Who or what size of companies will buy or build more than at least two or three such implementations? (e.g. IaaS with Cisco VMDC and PaaS with Microsoft & one more Purpose built based on Enterprise need).

My view: If Revenue size of a company is $1b, Approximate IT spend would be somewhere between 3% to 4% of revenue. Out of this total IT Spend only 30% goes towards Capex (remain is Operational Expenses)  and out of this Capex spend at max 50% would go towards Datacenter needs like Servers, Networks etc.

This would mean close to $4 million would be available yearly to be spent towards DC Cloud building. How wisely to spend this money is question!

2.   If we just build one, will it  ever be able to cater to all enterprise need especially if we are Small or Mid Size Enterprise?

My View:  I think SME should only Set-up IaaS within the enterprise and invest in moving to SaaS solutions. There is no point for SME to get PaaS in the enterprise. SME can always explore PaaS to be built on IaaS created internally or selectively utilize Public cloud or PaaS platforms readily available. Only very Large enterprises must look at PaaS and Purpose built Cloud in a box to be created or bought/built within the enterprise. Consolidating long term IT Infrastructure needs to create Private Cloud based on IaaS is good option for SME.  As an SME($250M-$300M Revenue)  if we have a budgeted  Capex in DC spend of at-least $1M+, Creating a capacity in IaaS would be a good long term solution.  

3.   Isn’t this taking us from multi vendor implementations to back to old days – buy all IT from either IBM, DG or similar OEM. We have to be Microsoft Shop or Oracle Shop or VCE Shop.

My View: This is the most dangerous trend. To get tied to a single vendor or few partnering vendors to get the best efficiency in short term looks good but invariably would have create long term issues in terms of Ability & desire to Innovate, Support Options, Ability to negotiate on costs, Upgrades & End-of-life etc.

4.   What will happen to all this internally  built capacity in each cloud implementations? How does it variablizes IT costs?   Will it not slow down moving to Public Cloud and SaaS?

My View: As these capacity gets built in many such organizations, most IT departments within those enterprise will become entrepreneurs and will try to help businesses by taking it out in the market – e.g. asking enterprises to bundle the services or create managed services whereby they can use this capacity to serve customer, Partners or sell it as service.

Cheers

One more Cloud-in-a-box ! Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud

While We saw Microsoft's cloud-in-a-box is a PaaS (Azure), Oracle's cloud-in-a-box is belived to purpose built to run Internet Applications, Java Applications and Middleware. 

Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud is the world's first and only integrated cloud machine—hardware and software engineered together to provide a "cloud in a box". Exalogic is designed to revolutionize data center consolidation, enabling enterprises to bring together tens, hundreds, or even thousands of disparate, mission-critical, performance-sensitive workloads with maximum reliability, availability, and security. Oracle Exalogic's unique high-bandwidth, low-latency interconnect fabric means that complex, distributed applications can run with a responsiveness simply not achievable with typical servers used in data centers today.

World's Best Foundation for Cloud Computing
Oracle Exalogic's extreme performance, massive scale, and hardware-based application isolation make it the ideal platform for consolidating many existing applications on a single platform. Applications can be migrated unchanged and then run with higher performance and reliability at a cost that can be as much as 60 percent lower than for traditional environments.

Platform for Cloud
Exalogic's management automation coupled with the dynamic scalability of Oracle WebLogic Server and Oracle Coherence, make it the ideal foundation for elastic cloud infrastructure.

In Oracle's own tests, one rack of Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud demonstrated a twelve fold improvement for Internet applications, to handle over one million HTTP requests per second, and a four and a half times improvement for Java messaging applications, to over 1.8 million messages per second.

Watch Live webcast for the launch of this cloud in a box...
Launch Webcast: Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud: Revolutionizing the Datacenter
Tuesday, October 12, 2010 10:00AM PT/1:00PM ET.

I've read that it costs at least $1,000,000.00

Comments?

-Cheers

ARCHER - GRC Solution - RSA Multitenant Security

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBnBybyr-Jw

Multi-tenant security is referring to the mechanisms required to ensure privacy between different customers within a shared computing environment. This is nicely visualized through this video from the CTO of RSA and which Cisco addresses through their VMDC solution. In the this video RSA CTO describes how using Cloud involves extending the security perimeter of the enterprise using GRC Framework.

GRC - Governance- Risk and Compliance.

Right now this is just a pointer for all of us. I will post detail analysis and use cases as I finish studing this in detail.

Do post your views and experience or any further information you have.

-Cheers.

Under promise and overdeliver !

Do you see this happening or more and more packaged offerings are being delivered with managed services, SLA and outcome based pricing now…?

Both from buyer and supplier side comments are welcomed.

The pressure on outsourcing service providers to win a large outsourcing opportunity is always intense. Most pursuit and proposal teams are stretched too far. Time to respond to a request for proposal (RFP) is shrinking every year (almost every day!). In almost all cases, it is a mad dash to respond to an RFP, writing until there is no time left or asking for extension. In this environment, it is easy to fall into the trap of overpromising and underestimating. The results can be fatal.

The first overpromise is internal and occurs shortly after the RFP is received by the service provider. In these situations, sales teams or even senior management ignore their own bid/no bid criteria and overpromise by positioning the RFP internally as a must-win strategic opportunity. Once a deal is labeled as strategic, common sense and best practices are generally thrown out the window!

Other overpromise is that outsourcing industry tends to embrace new technology and service trends in a herd-like basis. Embracing new technology is not the same as fully integrating this technology into the solution. Today, for instance, it seems that every service provider claims to offer a SaaS solution when in reality some firms are just offering cloud solutions and sometimes not even that!

I think the old mantra was underpromise and overdeliver. Do you think that is the trend still or its changing now?

Comments?

-Cheers

ITaaS Solution Guide - VMWare/Netapps

While I covered VCE Private Cloud(IaaS) and Microsoft PaaS (Cloud-in-a-Box) in earlier blogs, We can also look at what they call as ITaaS(IT as a Service):
A VMware-Netapps solution - Look st the Architecture Guide through link attached.

http://media.netapp.com/documents/tr-3866.pdf

VMware vCloud Director and NetApp unified storage provide the capability to build highly scalable, elastic, and secure multi-tenancy solution. VMware vCloud Director provides a rich set of built-in role-based access control (RBAC), enabling the cloud administrators to have a holistic view of the cloud environment and also allowing individual tenants to view and control their resources, clearly separate from those of other tenants in a multi-tenant model.

VMware vSphere compute, storage, and network resources can be pooled to serve multiple tenants, with vSphere resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to changing customer demands.

VMware handles this through the use of the ESX/ESXi host hypervisor, ESX host clusters, vSphere resource pools, vNetwork distributed switches, and VMware vCloud Director network pool.

The compute cluster can easily scale up and out by adjusting the resource pool allocation and adding additional ESX servers to compute clusters, respectively.

NetApp unified storage with MultiStore capability offers a very dynamic and scalable virtual storage infrastructure. MultiStore extends the value of VMware vCloud Director by providing the capability to divide a physical storage array into multiple, isolated virtual storage partitions called vFiler units. IP spaces and VLAN segmentation ensure secure isolation between multiple vFiler units.

NetApp Data Motion allows seamless migration of an entire vFiler unit from one physical storage array to another without disrupting ongoing tenant activity. NetApp Data Motion is complementary to VMware vMotion, making it simple to migrate data on a large scale. 

Through VMware vCloud Director and NetApp Virtual Storage Console (VSC), compute and storage resources can be rapidly provisioned and elastically grown or shrunk to provide dynamic scale-out and scale-in.

Comments?

-Cheers

Microsoft Cloud-in-a-box & VMMSSP for Private Cloud

Windows Azure platform appliance is a turnkey cloud platform that customers can deploy in their own datacenter, across hundreds to thousands of servers. The Windows Azure platform appliance consists of Windows Azure, SQL Azure and a Microsoft-specified configuration of network, storage and server hardware. This hardware will be delivered by a variety of partners. This will be preconfigured "cloud-in-a-box" appliances designed to run Microsoft's Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering from own premises.

The appliance is designed for service providers, large enterprises and governments and provides a proven cloud platform that delivers breakthrough datacenter efficiency through innovative power, cooling and automation technologies.

"For enterprise and government infrastructure and operations professionals, this announcement brings greater degrees of freedom in using Windows Azure, but it won't bring Azure in-house for more than the few very largest companies...at least not yet," said Forrester’s James Staten.

Dell, HP and Fujitsu will offer Azure services out of their own data centers to enterprise customers under undisclosed terms. The appliance is highly managed by Microsoft; buyers reportedly will pay Microsoft for services, as well as the hardware and software stack to run Azure in-house. Microsoft has been secretive about the underlying technology in Azure and clearly plans to remain firmly in control as Azure deploys outside its walls.

Microsoft is covering other bases in private cloud, as well. It also announced the release of its System Center Virtual Machine Manager Self Service Portal (VMMSSP), formerly the Dynamic Data Center Toolkit, which is an infrastructure and automation toolkit designed to run in a Windows Server 2008 data center and allow self-service for virtualized servers, monitoring and other features associated with cloud computing.

VMMSSP includes a pre-built web-based user interface that has sections for both the datacenter managers and the business unit IT consumers, with role-based access control. VMMSSP also includes a dynamic provisioning engine. VMMSSP reduces the time needed to provision infrastructures and their components by offering business unit “on-boarding,” infrastructure request and change management. The VMMSSP package also includes detailed guidance on how to implement VMMSSP inside your environment.

Any one has more information or hasve used this? Post comments.

-Cheers

Cisco VBlocks and PoD based Private Cloud Designs

Deploying Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) becomes easy with the Cisco VMDC solution.

This Cisco VMDC solution is multi-tenant data center architecture that uses Vblocks defined by VCE coalition. The architecture specifies two PoD ("point of delivery") sizes, large PoDs and compact PoDs, which differ in compute and storage scalability as well as access- and aggregation-layer design to meet the scalability requirements for different sizes of data centers.

The compact PoD includes 64 servers, and the large PoD includes 512 servers. The design for both the compact and the large PoDs provides the capability to incrementally scale resources by adding multiple such PoDs to the system.

The Cisco Virtualized Multi-Tenant Data Center VMDC 2.0 solution eliminates the cost of home grown development of orchestration systems and complexity of designing, integrating and verifying that all systems and tools work together. It integrates crucial components of the cloud, including the virtualized infrastructure building blocks (compute, storage, and network), service orchestration for automation and configuration management, and end-to-end security.

Now question is How do we design Compact PoD using VBlocks as sub components? Which Vblock (0,1 ,2) to be used within which PoD?

Comments?

Visit URL :
http://www.intel.com/en_US/Assets/PDF/general/icb_ra_cloud_computing_Cisco_on_Intel.pdf

-Cheers

PS:
Next Blog on PaaS and Microsoft Cloud in a Box!

Let's debate & discuss - I have my viewpoints as well..!

Scenario 1:

A start-up wants to develop and demo a product (software) to multiple customers. All employees (less than 25) are technology savvy. Average age less than 25. What should go to cloud?

-          Everything

-          Test & Development

-          Production and demo

-          Mail, collaboration & IT applications  

Scenario 2:

A consulting company well established for last 10 years.  All employees are using current applications and are happy.  Average age more than 30 years. What should be cloud strategy?

-          Everything

-          Mail, collaboration & IT applications  

-          Nothing

-          Look for Saas based IT applications to move first

Scenario 3:

Global IT Services company with more than 20 years in business.  50% of  employees are below 25 years. Everyone not happy with what they get to use or not as per company policy. What options should CIO pursue?

-          Create Privet cloud for company

-          Move DR, Test & Development to AWS

-          Move to Google Mail from exchange for majority or all employees  

-          All of the above

Scenario 4:

A High performance computing facility is required by a  company to complete and deliver a project in a mature and not so fast growing market.

-          Lease  Servers  

-          Go for On demand Servers

-          Use to AWS (Amazon Cloud) for delivering the project

-          Create Privet cloud

Scenario 5:

A CIO who always wants to be using cutting edge technology for a fortune 500 company.

-          Plan strategy to move to Public cloud in next 4 quarters

-          Create Privet cloud within next two quarter

-          Look at IaaS, PaaS and SaaS and target all SaaS implementations first

-          Do nothing - it is too risky to take any side now!

Let's select only one option in all 5 scenarios 

Comments?

-Cheers

Watch List # 4: Liquidware Labs

Watch List # 4: Liquidware Labs

Liquidware Labs is the leader in User Experience Management for next generation desktops including VMware View, Citrix XenDesktop, and Microsoft Windows® 7.

Liquidware Labs Stratsuphere and Liquidware Labs ProfileUnity solutions have been described by analysts as the industry’s first “On-Ramp to VDI” by providing complete methodology and software that enable organizations to cost-effectively plan, migrate, and manage their next generation desktop infrastructure using the industry’s best practices.

Its comprehensive solutions provide Assessment, Personalization Management, User Configuration, and Service Level Assurance. 

Stratusphere invokes patented Connector ID technology to track usage and performance of physical and virtual desktop infrastructure and deployments. The solution delivers a fitness rating of desktop infrastructure, giving organizations the information they need to plan, design, and roll-out next-generation desktop technology. After roll-out, Stratusphere uses proprietary metrics to assign individual User Experience ratings that empowers IT staff with the information needed to identify problems before they occur.

ProfileUnity migrates and transforms user personalization, resulting in user profiles that are completely portable across heterogeneous Windows environments. ProfileUnity Pro adds User Configuration features that enable administrators to centrally configure and deploy user settings, ushering in a new dimension of centralized user personalization control, enforcement, and portability to the enterprise.

Comments?

-Cheers

Low Cost IT & Price Hike!

News from Business Line - India, Sept. 29

After being content without a price hike for more than a year, software companies are now seeking a price increase with clients even as discretionary spend is going up.

A senior official at Cognizant Technology Solutions confirmed that it is getting price increase, while an official at Tata Consultancy Services said rate increase could happen before the year-end.

“Pricing has clearly stabilized. We are now talking to clients about price increases and we are getting price increases. They are not big increases but clearly it is heading in a positive direction,” CFO, Cognizant. He said the company was talking with many of its clients about costs going up and making a pitch for price increases. One of the reasons why clients are open to discussions today is because they are giving wage increases to their own employees. This makes the discussion much easier. Having such a discussion was tough for years, when CIOs were not giving their own staff wage increases.

The industry overall has been quite disciplined on pricing even during the economic downturn. “Yes, there was some volume rebates but compared to what it could have been it is pretty mild. The reason for this is that pricing in this sector is fairly transparent,”.

CFO-TCS, said at this point the company did not get any price increase. “We may start seeing price increases only at the end of this calendar year, Prices are not declining. We do not disclose the onsite and offshore rates. If the pricing power comes back, this will go up,” .

Mr Partha Iyengar, VP-Gartner India, the price hike will be two-three per cent to begin with and possibly settling around five per cent by next year. “This is a completely anecdotal assessment. I believe we will start seeing rates go up, starting with some of the high demand areas such as SAP, Oracle and Business Intelligence by next quarter, and rates across-the-board will start going up mid-way through the calendar 2011.”

The rates have steadied over the past two quarters. Service providers are starting to ‘make noises' about the need for an increase in rates and clients are bracing themselves for it.

- What I am amzed at, on one hand we know that Low cost IT will be the way forward. How do we get pricing ledership along with quality ledership is the drive. On the otehr hand I see this news and hence pressure on all service providers to ask for price hike. Does it make sense?
I think Tier 1 Indian software compnies (service providers) should look at reducing prices by at least 5% year on year for next three years.

Comments?