Connecting some dots from Cloud Connect: everyone was "all in"

Several folks have asked me what I thought about the Cloud Connect conference (#ccevent on Twitter) in Santa Clara. Even though I was geographically challenged for the first part of the conference because of an East Coast business trip, I made it back in time for some really good content. And judging from the buzz, the part I saw was not the exception. Kudos to Alistair Croll and team.

Here are some impressions I had about the event:

· There weren’t a lot of end users. This wasn’t surprising; there haven’t been many end users at any of the cloud events I’ve been to recently. I don’t take that as damning feedback. It’s where the industry is at this point. Customers are in the early stages. And, as Brenda Michelson has pointed out on Twitter, it’s probably a good thing that customers are too busy to come to something like this right now. It might mean they're busy doing real cloud implementations. But the customer attendance issue is certainly an angle to watch; it has to change this year (and I expect it will).

· The presenters were cloud experts, serious, and focused. The people presenting were experts who knew their topic areas cold. The panels were stacked with the right experts. And, from the company names represented onstage and in the audience, the cloud computing market and the people backing it are very serious. Anyone having any doubts about whether things in the cloud space are going to take off should take note of what vendors were present and their focus. It was the big guys. It was the small guys. To borrow a phrase, it seems everyone is “all in” when it comes to cloud computing.

· The more basic sessions were solid and didn’t waste time on too much definitional hand-wringing. Presentations like John Treadway and Killian Murphy’s session on private clouds were very well thought through and articulated. This was Cloud 101, with all of the back-up of a graduate level course right behind it.

· What’s old is new again. The cloud adoption panel included ING US and Boeing, who commented on just how important some of the older IT disciplines actually are, even though a lot of the force driving adoption of cloudy ways is coming from a younger generation of IT professionals. Just because cloud computing is in the mix, you don't have the right to forget about some of the basic, smart processes and concerns (oh, like, say management) that IT has always had to have in place.

· Other interesting topics that had good content: the reasons behind application mobility and implications to think about (thanks, Rich Miller), thoughts on drivers of enterprise cloud adoption, the legal ramifications of cloud computing and how things could play out ("get your general counsel involved"), and some end-of-the-day brain bending on the implications for human beings if this whole cloud thing means computing becomes ubiquitous.

· Of course, nothing really got solved. But whatever does at a conference? The sticky problems are still the sticky problems. There was a great deal of unhappiness about standards (which resulted in a bit of animosity in the room during the panel on that topic), for example. On the other hand, tracks like Joe Weinman’s on Cloudonomics had some good, meaty content in them and no actual hand-to-hand combat broke out. (CA Distinguished Engineer Steve Oberlin’s posted his comments from the ROI panel here, pointing out that IT often forgets to look past cost savings to the “priceless” importance of cloud computing’s agility benefits.) The cloud networking panel James Urquhart moderated dealt with the realities, the issues, and the promise of that topic – which seemed to provide a good balance.

· The cloud market is a little bit “clubby” still. The people presenting seemed to know about 50% of the people in each of the sessions. That’s good, in that the people who are moving this industry forward are also the ones attending. That’s bad because people often spoke in 140-character code or inside jokes, occasionally had side conversations during their presentations with particular individuals in the audience, and sometimes left some of the customer benefits of cloud computing unsaid. It’s good to be well-connected, but don’t forget to explain the basics at the right times. Especially if we want actual users to attend – and get something out of it.

· Live events like this are all about networking – and Tweeting. This is certainly related to my previous point. In fact, I noticed two healthy Twitter backchannels. The first was commenting on and reacting to the content being discussed onstage. The second was all about putting real faces to the Twitter avatars of folks that many of the industry insiders regularly communicate with on-line. This was a great chance to make real, live cloud connections.

Having said all that, I noticed that Clay Rider posted a bit of an opposing view on the conference. He was looking for insights into a monolithic and (to hear him tell it) elusive “cloud market,” to understand why the vendor focus and VC investment is at such a fever pitch. I’m not one of those strict definition kinds of people, but would rather make sure that we’re simply focusing on what customers want and answering their needs with real solutions. Despite his more negative assessment, I like his conclusion:

“Ultimately, the right answer may be to stop looking for the Cloud market altogether. Perhaps Cloud is really just an intelligent delivery model that addresses the state of art in IT. Maybe Cloud is a process, not a product. As such, things would make a whole lot more sense than the confusing overlap of jargon and techno-obfuscation that so many undertake in the name of the Cloud. This would be a welcome improvement not only in nomenclature, but perhaps in market clarity, which would then help drive market adoption. Money tends to follow well defined paths to ROI. Why should Clouds be any different?”

My biggest regret about Cloud Connect, aside from missing several of the key panels, though, was not being around for the San Francisco Cloud Club’s extended after-hours get-together, focused this time on PaaS. The two previous Cloud Club events I’ve been to were really interesting opportunities to dig into cloud computing issues with a bunch of people who think about this day in and day out.

So, if the Cloud Connect folks could just work around my schedule for next year’s event, that’d be greatly appreciated. Except for the standards panel; I can miss that next time around. Unless, of course, someone follows through on Lori MacVittie’s idea and stages it as a boxing match. That’d be worth changing my flights for.

Watching cloud computing trends for 2010: the vision, customer reality, & downstream impact

We’ve crossed into a new decade (or not, if you’re a numbers purist), and it seems to be an appropriate time for a little reflection, and maybe a chance to get some feel for where things are headed in the 2010 for IT operations, especially as they look at what cloud computing is going to mean for them.

Last year, I rattled off a Top 10 list of Top 10 lists. This year, I, for one, am suffering from a bit of Year-End Top 10 Prediction Fatigue, so I’ll hold off on that for the moment. Instead, I thought I’d check the stats from this Data Center Dialog blog as a way to get a bead on things that people have been interested in here. That way I’m not just pulling commentary out of thin air. Plus, it’s more scientific that way, right?

So, to mark Data Center Dialog’s a-bit-more-than-one-year anniversary, here's a look back at the most popular posts over the past 6 months. My guess is it gives some indication of what people will be considering for the initial months of 2010 as well.

Beyond definitions: looking for vision…and then practical cloud considerations

It’s probably no surprise that the most popular new post here was also the one that explained a bit about the biggest news story to involve us (now former) Cassatt folks: the acquisition of the Cassatt assets and expertise by CA in June. I provided a bit of commentary on the acquisition just before taking an extended few weeks off in Berlin prior to starting my current gig at CA. It’s not too far-fetched to predict that in the months ahead there will be lots more details to talk about regarding what we’ve all been doing at CA since then. (That’s an easy prediction, for sure.)

Fumble! What not to do at a cloud computing conference – The endlessly repeated ploy of starting panel sessions at cloud computing events with the question, “So what is cloud computing?” finally took its toll on me in November. The result was a bit of a (popular) rant about why the people working on cloud computing need to move on to much more useful questions. At least that’s the only way I’m going to be able to sit through another cloud computing conference.

Judging by the numbers, I think you’re with me.

Not that talking about definitions was bad. 2009 was a year in which the definitions of cloud computing (public/private, internal/external, hybrid, and the like) came into focus as the discussion evolved throughout the year. To prove the point, the most popular entry of the last 6 months was the same entry that was the most popular of the first 6 months of the year: Are internal clouds bogus? That post was followed closely by one that described the shifts in the discussion toward hybrid clouds – and the speed with which the combination of public and private cloud computing was likely to become a reality (answer: it’ll take a bit; there are some missing pieces still). In fact, my highlight blog entry that tracked the evolution of the private cloud from the front row seat I’d had was also a favorite.

So, yes, there was a place for the definitional conversation. But real-world information about what customers are doing now was in great demand (and still is, say the stats). This pragmatism is heartening and it propelled reader interest in the entry I did on the 451 Group’s cloud computing customer panel at their ICE conference, alongside a post from earlier in the year listing actual customer questions that our field team had been getting about private clouds. There’s nothing quite like getting things from the horse’s mouth.

Here’s something that was perhaps part of that same trend about getting in better sync with reality: measurement of what is actually going on in data centers (even when it’s showing a trend toward upholding long-established patterns of inefficiency) was also of interest. I saw that as good news, especially since we also had lots of interest in our post from earlier in 2009 discussing the fact that many data center managers don’t actually know what their servers are doing. The first step to a solution is understanding what the problem is, right?

Notable Data Center Dialog interviews: Steve Hamm of BusinessWeek, Bill Coleman, and Mark Bramfitt

Some of the Data Center Dialog interviews (a feature I started at the beginning of 2009 with Al Gillen of IDC) were a few of the most popular posts in the second half of the year. The most read interview? It was one in which I turned the tables on a member of the so-called mainstream media and interviewed him: BusinessWeek’s Steve Hamm had some interesting insights on Silicon Valley in general. It didn’t hurt that he linked to the interview from his blog, too, of course. Interestingly, he has now done what many journalists are doing out of necessity -- changed careers. Steve noted via Twitter a few weeks back that he’s now at IBM.

Also interesting to our readers were the conversations I published about two folks well-known in the world of IT management talking about their Next Big Things. Bill Coleman, my former CEO, gave his take on where cloud computing is now (just Version 1.0, he said) and what he’s working on after Cassatt. Mark Bramfitt talked about his move from a leading role in PG&E’s data center energy efficiency programs to private industry in a two-part interview just published at the end of December. Both Bill and Mark included some candid thoughts on what’s gone well and not so well in their previous roles.

The longer-term implications of cloud computing

We also saw interest in some of the posts pondering what cloud computing might mean to the industry as a whole. Will it mean less will be spent on IT, or, in fact, help accelerate growth? And what about the oft-noted bogeyman of automation? Will the cloud finally mean that automation takes center stage without being cast as the human-hating Skynet from the Terminator flicks? That topic generated some interest for sure.

And, of course, Twitter…

And, as you might expect, our readers were in alignment with the rest of the industry (world?) in its interest in Twitter in the past few months. I used VMworld as a case study of 7 ways that IT conferences can be improved by using Twitter – and 2 ways it makes them worse. That one seemed especially popular with folks who found us via – you guessed it – Twitter.

So what does this all mean for 2010? I have no idea. But I’d bet a couple of these trends will continue to be important. The discussion around how private, public, and hybrid cloud computing will work will certainly continue. I’m expecting, however, that it becomes more focused around the day-to-day practicalities that end user IT departments need to know.

I’ll do my best to make sure I continue to interview folks of interest in the industry with useful perspectives that will benefit IT operations and those doing big thinking about the many ins and outs of cloud computing.

And, Data Center Dialog will continue to be a place to get a pulse on topics at the forefront of the way data centers – and IT in general -- are being run and managed. As customers continue their focus on cloud computing, this blog will too. Thanks for being part of the dialog.

7 ways Twitter improves an IT conference. And 2 ways it makes things worse.

This week, VMware announced that the presentations from VMworld 2009 were available for download. And they, of course, used Twitter to do so -- a much used source of "data center dialog," if I do say so myself.

It's been a few weeks since VMworld, but I'm amazed by the engagement still going on with that show via Twitter (check it out for yourself at #vmworld). As Andi Mann from EMA pointed out prior to the event, the VMware folks seem to have this conference tweet-o-rama thing down pretty well.

Which got me thinking: since we're all learning about what to do and not do with Twitter in real time, it might be worth assessing what worked at VMworld -- and IT shows in general -- tweetwise. And, of course, it's always fun to list the things that didn’t work at all (free advice: let’s all try not to do those things next time).

Before I launch into this, I'll note that some of these tweet-enabled scenarios were planned methodically by the show organizers. It's a big part of what's called marketing these days. Other Twitter uses, however, were definitely not in VMware's plans and probably annoyed the organizers to no end. But such is world of Twitter. If you could control it, it wouldn't be nearly as interesting of a phenomenon. Nor as powerful.

So, here are the 7 things I thought worked out really well if you happened to be on Twitter during this show (and, perhaps, will be helpful at many other IT shows like it):

1. Pre-show Build-Up Using Anything and Everything: VMware themselves, I think, did a masterful job of building excitement for the event on Twitter. And the things they used didn't have to be inherently exciting. They showed off the hands-on lab set-up. They showed off the conference bag. They teased the band headlining their party (and many on Twitter teased right back when they learned it was Foreigner). Each of these items was mostly inconsequential, but was an excuse to connect with potential attendees to convince them to come. Or remind people to sign up or even just to plan their on-line calendars.

The best part: an interesting behind-the-scenes look at the event set-up.

The worst part: random folks each saying "Just made my plane reservations to VMworld! W00t!" Either way, it was hard not to be engaged and, yes, looking forward to the event in some way.

2. Crowd-Sourced, Spontaneous Event Idea Generation and Organization: Aside from the now-very-common tweet-ups that have become pretty easy to plan, I watched a 5K fun-run over the Golden Gate Bridge get suggested, accepted, planned, and organized on Twitter in the weeks prior to the show. Requests for volunteers to help organize went out the same way, and runners goaded non-runners into joining with just a few sarcastic tweets. The only downside? A few of the runners returned to the exhibit hall post-run in their commemorative t-shirts prior to taking a commemorative shower. But that's not Twitter's fault.

3. A Way to Deal with Unexpected Logistical Snags: Many of the most popular sessions at VMworld (which, as you might guess, had "cloud computing" in the title) were fully booked pretty far in advance of the show in the pre-show reservation and agenda tool. Very frustrating. But they announced the magical "clearing of waitlists" as they were able via Twitter. And, on-site, the organizers were able to communicate about the hands-on labs when they crashed and were subsequently restored on the first day.

4. An Ad Hoc Meeting Planner for Attendees: We attendees used Twitter to find people we knew were going to be around somewhere/sometime during the week, and alert the world to our presence in general -- or even our specific location. I found CNET blogger and Cisco cloud guru James Urquhart blogging in a random hallway, exactly where he tweeted he'd be. People ID'd me from my Twitter avatar picture and made business connections. I found people I'd interacted with only in 140-character bursts, but never met (for example, it was going to be hard to recognize @beaker without his squirrel disguise, until someone sent a twitpic of him from the exhibition floor). And a few people were even sharing reviews of different parts of the big gala party as it was happening, presumably sending the twitpics and tweets with the hand not holding onto their cocktail.

5. A Way to Start Conversations to be Continued on the Show Floor: A couple vendors had booth staffers with a significant Twitter following. They used the event as a way to encourage folks to come by their booth and continue their on-line discussions. Notice I didn't give kudos for "using it to promote your booth & giveaways.” Sure, vendors used it for that, but keep reading. You get black marks for using Twitter that way.

On the positive side, Microsoft had fluorescent t-shirts identifying their tweeters, a great way to open a conversation with them. Twitter is a way to have a ready-made intro for talking to someone you're following (or vice versa). Suddenly the event is full of almost-friends and conversations can pick up where they may have left off on-line -- or take off from scratch pretty rapidly.

6. How to Get Around the Rules of the Show (AKA "The Rebuttal"): Sure, Twitter is a way to enable those not at the show to "listen in," participate, comment, etc. That's been well documented since Twitter showed up on the scene. But VMworld also featured "The Rebuttal" from none other than the Microsoft contingent. Sure, they weren't allowed to show their competitive products on the show floor, but they weren't shy about tweeting their thoughts throughout the keynotes and providing some reality checks of the hosts' spin machine. I'm not sure I agreed with all of their snarky on-show-floor commentary countering the VMware hype, but I definitely read it. It also brought up this odd situation: Microsoft as underdog. That's a bit amusing, when you think about it. Twitter's often seen as a great equalizer or content meritocracy, meaning people you've never heard of can get their two cents in. Microsoft proved the big guys can, too.

7. The Continuation of the At-the-Show, “In the Club” Feeling Long after the Event Is Over: I'm still checking (and contributing to) the #VMworld hashtag two weeks after they finished sweeping the final blinking give-away pens out of Moscone. Sure, the message flurry is nothing like it was during the event, but it has kept going. The post-event content was slower, but filled with commentary (like this one...and my previous post) and (guess what) free publicity for the organizers. Sure, VMware used the after-show tweets to publicize what the virtual twitterati were saying about them and the event (especially the good stuff), but they also used it to shape the commentary, and remind attendees that they had a great time. All that sure beats the traditional post-show survey.

OK, so those were the things that Twitter seemed to improve. What didn’t work?

1. The Twitter Analyst NDA: VMware caused another phenomenon and debate: analysts attending their Monday pre-show pre-briefings were told that the event was under non-disclosure. And, yes, that meant no tweeting. There were a few meta-tweets about not tweeting, but most analyst attendees didn't use Twitter much at all on Monday. So when Tuesday's main-stage show began, the backlog of messages and content that the analysts had been stewing over for 24 hours flew by with wild abandon.

The meta-tweets sparked another discussion that I saw several people join in over the following few days: how much information was OK to disclose? Tweeting that you were at an event getting a pre-briefing under NDA meant you were acknowledging that the "secret briefing" event was happening, and that you were merely not talking about the specific content. Some other industry events and briefings are requiring that no tweets even mention that a briefing was taking place. This war has a lot of skirmishes to work out still. NDAs and Twitter require a lot of work on the side of both the briefer and the briefee to get it right.

To be clear, the NDA actually worked as VMware wanted it to, but I'm not sure if that qualifies as a good thing. Watch this space.

2. "Come by Our Booth" Tweets: Perhaps the most useless and annoying tweets of the week were those described by one person as tweets that went something a little like this: "Hey there! Be sure to come by Booth # ___ to talk to ____ [vendor name] about ________ [product being sold] and have a chance to win a ______ [expensive techie gadget]." These messages are antithetical to how Twitter can best be used. To me, they said, "Move along, skip that booth; no conversation to be had there."

Ending up with more to do at a conference

All told, I feel like I got much more out of this event than I had previously, but also walked away with a feeling that there was even less time to get everything I wanted done during the week. The connections I made were stronger and more robust, though, and I have to admit it's because of Twitter. I'm interested to hear what others who attended thought -- and what people who've attended other tweet-enabled shows have seen that works great. Or badly.

But of course, the real question is: when do I start watching the #VMworld2010 hashtag?