The Endpoint Imperative: A Form Factor Renaissance

Workplace expectations are changing, and along with them, the devices we use to do our jobs. In this episode of "The End Point Imperative", Intel’s Sarah Wieskus tells us about how Intel is driving better user interface and performance while continuing to driving enhanced security and manageability.

Kevin L. Jackson: Hi everyone and welcome to this episode of The Endpoint Imperative, a podcast series from Intel. My name is Kevin L. Jackson and I'm your host for the series. The topic for this episode is "A Form Factor Renaissance". With me, is Sarah Wieskus the Enterprise Sales Director with Intel. Sarah, welcome.

Sarah Wieskus: Thank you, Kevin.

Kevin: Let's talk today about the changing expectations around technology in the workplace. How is Intel driving the user experience and performance while continuing to drive and enhance security manageability? In the US, in fact, mobile workers are projected to account for more than 70% of their workforce. They're really a digital native, younger and more demanding workforce. Can you tell us about the consumerization of IT?

Sarah: Sure, Kevin. An example of that was several years ago when many consumers received amazing, thin and light, instantly connected, instantly available devices at home. They wanted to bring those into work and use them because their work devices were thicker, not as fast, not as easily connected, et cetera. IT then had to figure out how they take a consumer device and manage it in the enterprise, secure it, connect it, make sure peripherals would work with it and also, make sure the enterprise applications would even run on these consumer-type devices. Now fast forward to today we see what's almost called a consumerization of IT 2.0 where it's not about the device because there's many, many thin, light and instantly on and instantly available devices that are enterprise grade in the workplace. It’s really about the experiences that are happening at home that we want to leverage in the enterprise.

I have three examples. Example number one. Many of us use our thumb to log in to our phones at home or use our face to log in to our computers at home but then we go to work and we have to put in many passwords into many different systems and applications and websites. These passwords can get lost and stolen and forgotten. It’s much much more efficient to use your finger or your face as an example to connect to those devices at work. 

Another example is when we talk about having web meetings at home. Instantly with a push of a button on my phone, on my devices at home, I can connect to my friends and family very easily, see them, talk to them, with pretty good quality, but when I go to work to have a web meeting it's very complex, it's not easy to connect and you sacrifice on quality. Why is that? 

Then finally, many of us, at home are using assistive technology. That’s what we call it. Where it's technology in the room, your kitchen, your living room that you talk to, and you ask the device to help you with turning the lights on and off, advancing the music on your phone and advancing the music on your stereo. This assistive technology, I'll call her a she, will help you at work as well. Why is it when you come to work you don't have that type of experience in the space you're working in? Wouldn't it be great to walk into a conference room for example, and tell her, "Turn the lights on", "Connect to a projector", "Take notes for me"? From a high level, it's all about how do we enable some of those amazing technologies that make us more efficient, more collaborative at home and bring that into work?

Kevin: Yes, I really see myself in each of those examples. Tell me, how has Intel really amp'ed up their innovation to develop these end user devices for work?

Sarah: Well, Kevin, it takes a village. It's not something we can do by ourselves. Intel spends a lot of time working with ecosystem partners to make something like that happen at work. We have to work with the numerous software providers, numerous other technologies to make those kinds of things happen and to make them easy, that is a major key as well.

People don't care about how it works in the back-end, they just want to push a button and it works. They want to work all the time reliably and that's not an easy thing to accomplish when you are talking about a complex environment with different types of software technologies, different types of hardware technologies, different types of infrastructure that you have at work.

Kevin: You've referenced the back-end but for IT team that's their job so what does it really mean for the IT team? They used to be able to dictate the hardware and software that was used.

Sarah: Yes that is true. What we've really focused on is how can we enable those technologies and make it easy for IT. Intel has a platform brand called the vPro For Business. This brand means that all the necessary performance technologies, manageability technologies, security technologies, stability technologies are there. We're working really hard to enable these consumer-like experiences at work on top of that vPro platform brand. That way IT knows that, "Hey, vPro is here so I know this is the most secure, manageable, efficient platform for these experiences to essentially write on top of." We want to make it that easy for them, that they can look at a brand and just know that they can bank on that for business.

Kevin: We can really look to Intel to help them. Unfortunately, we're at the end of our time for this episode but thanks to Sarah with Intel for her insights and expertise.

Sarah: Thank you.

( This content is being syndicated through multiple channels. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of GovCloud Network, GovCloud Network Partners or any other corporation or organization.)

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Cloud Storage 2.0 Set To Dominate Market

The enterprise data storage marketplace is poised to become a battlefield. No longer the quiet backwater of cloud computing services, the focus of this global transition is now going from compute to storage. An overview of recent storage market history is needed to understand why this transition is important.

Before 2007 and the birth of the cloud computing market we are witnessing today, the on-premise model hosted in large local data centers dominated enterprise storage.  Key marketplace players were EMC (before the Dell acquisition), NetApp, IBM, HP (before they became HPE) and Hitachi. Company employees managed information technology resources (compute, storage, network) and companies tightly controlled their data in facilities they managed. Data security, legal and regulatory concerns, for the most part, were very localized. The data itself was highly structured (i.e., Relational Databases and SQL) in support of serially executed mostly static business processes. This structured approach worked because consumer segments in most industries were homogeneous, segregated and relatively static.  Companies also felt relatively safe in their industry vertical due to the high financial and operational barriers prospective new competitive entrants would face.

On March 13, 2006, Amazon Web Services launched Simple Storage Service (S3). Although not widely appreciated at the time, that announcement was the launch of Cloud Storage 1.0 and heralded a gradual but steady global adoption of cloud-based storage services. Surveys show that by 2016 approximately 30% of all businesses had transitioned to cloud-based storage.  Although cloud compute service and application management were the primary reason for migrating to the cloud, the rapid growth of unstructured data (Social media, Hadoop, Big Data Analytics) significantly heightened the importance of cloud-based storage. Rapidly changing business processes that increased the need to target smaller consumer segments (localization, online retail) also contributed to rapid data growth and breadth.  Over time Google, Microsoft, Rackspace, and other cloud storage vendors entered the market. Coincident with the transition to cloud storage, international data security, legal and regulatory concerns also grew. Even though the daily news greeted everyone with multiple high profile data breaches and data loss incidents, fines were minimal and very few mandatory notification laws existed. Cloud storage technology was characterized by:

• Implemented through a 2005-2008 technology base;
• Primarily being hosted on Linux or Windows operating systems;
• The use of proprietary, incompatible and competing APIs;
• The vendor selection also threatened vendor lock-in;
• Additional charges for data manipulation activity (puts, gets, deletes);
• A continuing requirement to manage multiple storage options and pricing tiers.

As if this was not challenging enough, vertical industry barriers were shattered by digital transformation and the elimination of significant startup capital investment requirements.

As we all prepare the champagne and noisemakers for the birth of 2018, Cloud Storage 2.0 is already with us. Massive transition to cloud computing has commoditized storage.  Industry observers’ expectations storage to become an IT utility.  Increased data volumes and the sourcing of unstructured data (Crowdsourcing, Social Media Analytics) have elevated the importance of previously benign enterprise storage technology decisions. Many business processes are now expected to be dynamically executed in a parallel fashion (Agile business, Social Media Customer Service). Blended consumer segments and need to target and satisfy individual consumers is common. There are also significant changes on the data security front. These changes include:

• Significant fines for data loss or breach;
• Mandatory data breach reporting laws; and
•  Heightened international data security, privacy, legal and regulatory concerns (i.e., National data sovereignty Laws, BREXIT and EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR))

Corporate risk introduced by these dramatic changes means that cloud storage vendors need to drastically up their game as well. Customers no longer want to deal with continually balancing between the cost to store data and the risk associated with intentional deletion. In fact, expanding legal and regulatory requirements are now the driving force behind operational needs to execute real-time retrieval of complex data assets (i.e., biometrics, social media analytics, dynamic data streams). These needs mean that Cloud storage 2.0 minimum requirements now include:

• Using new and improved purpose-built operating systems;
• Native control of storage disk for higher density and faster access speed;
• Solutions optimized for the storage and analysis of unstructured data;
• Significant reduction of multiple storage tiers and options;
• Elimination of separate charges for data manipulation activity (puts, gets deletes);
• Storage immutability (data or objects cannot be unintentionally modified after creation);
• Significantly reduced pricing; and
• Use of standards-based interface APIs.

 

These are the many reasons why enterprises must think before accepting storage services from the current cloud industry leaders. Don’t settle for a Cloud Storage 1.0 band-aid when you should buy a Cloud Storage 2.0 solution. When your team is evaluating options:

• Compare access speeds and select the vendor that can offer the fastest possible access;
• Use storage with a pricing structure that allows you to retain all of your data for as long as needed;
• Make sure your company is ready to meet the new data security regulations;
• Choose cloud storage that is inter-operable across the most extensive ecosystem (partners, storage applications, formats); and
• Always evaluate the solution’s scalability, durability, immutability, and legal compliance capabilities.

Change is happening now so don’t get fooled!

( This content is being syndicated through multiple channels. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of GovCloud Network, GovCloud Network Partners or any other corporation or organization.)

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Top "Cloud Musings" Posts For 2017

( This content is being syndicated through multiple channels. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of GovCloud Network, GovCloud Network Partners or any other corporation or organization.)

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The Endpoint Imperative: ID’ing and Overcoming the Stumbling Blocks to Digital Transformation

Digital Transformation is the No 1 priority for organizations large and small. It’s imperative that IT remove any obstacles to digital transformation success – including outdated PCs and mobile devices. Intel’s Kaitlin Murphy has some pointers to assure that your PC fleet and mobile devices are not your Digital Transformation Stumbling Blocks.

Kevin: Hello everyone and welcome to this episode of "The Endpoint Imperative" podcast series from Intel. My name is Kevin L. Jackson and I'm your host for this series. This episode's topic is identifying and overcoming digital transformation stumbling blocks. With me is Kaitlin Murphy, director of marketing for business clients at Intel. Kaitlin it's great to have you back.

Kaitlin: Thanks, I'm glad to be back.

Kevin: In my last episode I was talking with Yasser Rasheed, and he told us about how the IT security model is changing. Earlier you had talked about even more than that is changing, and that the PC is at the center of what's being called digital transformation. Can you tell us more about that?

Kaitlin: Sure. One of the core tenets of digital transformation is building in digital environment, where employees can work wherever they want, whenever they want, and however they want. To some degree that means using the technology they want, which includes the PC. The PC is a very personal device and it's heavily relied upon on a daily basis. In fact, there was a recent global survey that said 95% of respondents chose the PC if they could only have one device to use during the workday. So, for lots of employees the PC is the thing that they need to be productive. It's literally the gateway to access everything. The tools, the apps, and data and then to be able to do things with it, not to mention communicate with others.

It isn't just a consumption device, it's a creation device too. And with each generation of new platform, new features, new enhancements are introduced, and they help employees to be able to perform the way they want. Delivering performance improvements and security improvements too. It also benefits IT and they've realized the importance of prioritizing the new devices in the transformation, so that they can take advantage of those capabilities.


Kevin: Can we zoom in on this migration to Windows 10. What does that mean to the organizations in their digital transformation?

Caitlin: The moving to Windows 10 a new hardware is one of the quickest and easiest ways to take advantage of the best of both worlds. New hardware in conjunction with the new software delivers the best performance, the best security, and ultimately the best experience, both for end users and for IT organizations. And Intel powered devices are a great way to unlock that premium performance, for things like mobility, touch and workloads. Think about battery life, you can literally have a battery that lasts you all day. You're not tethered to your desk or to a power cord. Then there's multitasking. We all multitask, and the performance today allows people to be running multiple things at the same time and not be slowed down.

Not to mention there's huge enhancements with the introduction of Windows 10. Just think of the optimization in 365 and all the touch capabilities. Especially with the tight development relationship between Intel, Microsoft and OEMs you just can't find a bunch of well integrated devices to meet their needs and how they want to work. Like the two in one options, they have dials and touch and they can use a bunch of different modality based upon what the person is trying to do and how they feel most comfortable doing it.

Kevin: It sounds like a lot of new capabilities for the end users, but what is the biggest challenge you see facing organizations as they ramp up for this transformation?

Kaitlin: For any large-scale transformation is difficult, right? It's complex and it takes time. Not just time to execute but time for the people to adjust as well, and the culture. One big issue we hear about is the proliferation of more devices. How do you secure and manage all of them? So, think about it. Digital transformation is anchored in PC's but it's actually a lot larger than that. It's about building that digital environment. In doing so also involve deploying ambient compute, things like sensors from lighting temperature control, or intelligence in the conference room so that meetings it can start faster and deliver improved collaboration capabilities. Each of these pieces of compute has to be maintained right, both security managed, and that presents a challenge.

Kevin: Wow, sounds like the digital transformation can be really hard for the organization. But now we're out of time for this episode. I'd like to really thank Kaitlin Murphy with Intel, for providing us her insights and expertise. Thanks.

Kaitlin: Thank you.

( This content is being syndicated through multiple channels. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of GovCloud Network, GovCloud Network Partners or any other corporation or organization.)

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Industry Verticals Tackle Unstructured Data

Organizations around the world are struggling to cope with the current data explosion. A vital characteristic of this data is that it is unstructured and represents things like email, images, and videos.  Storage of this form of data is typically in an object format which differs significantly from the database norm. Databases housed data grows very slowly because most of it is structured. Object storage formats are now being used to optimize access to large amounts of non-transactional files across a growing number of vertical markets. These markets include:

• Media and Entertainment – video Pre- through Post-Production which requires secure distribution and hassle-free scalability on a mix of standard hardware

• Retail Consumers - HTTP accessible Photo and Video Sharing that offloads SQL databases to custom metadata which significantly reduces web applications complexity and latency

• Research (images, raw datasets) – Which requires robust multi-tenancy for shared access to large datasets and integrated metadata customization.

• Digital asset management (unstructured files) -  A global scale-out storage repository with integrations to Alfresco and other S3-based asset management solutions.

Companies in every one of these markets face many storage challenges where traditional file-based storage systems tend to fall short.

One more critical example lies in the healthcare industry where PACS [picture archiving and communication system] systems store images derived from MRIs. In most cases, law or by policy requires retention of this data for up to 30 years. Although the customer may be charged for the image when taken, the healthcare provider is responsible for the ongoing cost of storage.

Another crucial industry vertical that is feeling the data storage squeeze is law enforcement. Many agencies are now using cloud computing services for delivering mission-critical information to officers in the field. Standard applications include digital video evidence storage, management, and cataloging; crime mapping and analytics; records management; and backup for disaster recovery. Mike Donlan, Microsoft Vice president of State and Local Government Engineering Sales estimates that the average United States city or county now owns between four or five petabytes of data, with that requirement expected to double every two years. 

Object storage is perfect for tackling these unstructured storage business requirements because: 

• Scalability - Object storage does not face the same file count and capacity limits of file-based NAS systems.
• Interoperability - Object storage has better interoperability with various protocols with the flexibility needed to move data across a global namespace.
• Data Backup - Continuous data backup protection that reduces the risk of data loss and can reduce data restoration time after a system failure.
• Pay-as-you-grow pricing – Avoidance of substantial capital expenditures for storage acquisition through a pay-as-you-go economic model.
• Searchability – More effective and efficient use of metadata

According to PC World, one of the more exciting object storage providers is Wasabi Technologies. To meet these growing industry vertical challenges, they are offering an object storage solution that offers six times the performance of Amazon's S3 service at one-fifth the price. This startup’s service is available globally and claim that their single pool of capacity can deliver primary, secondary or archive data at a sustained-read speed of 1.3GB per second, versus 191MB per second at Amazon. To support law enforcement needs, Wasabi has deployed in fully secure and CJIS-compliant redundant data centers. Wasabi storage services were awarded the official CJIS ACE Compliance Seal by Diverse Computing, a trusted third-party law enforcement agency solution provider with deep CJIS audit and compliance expertise.  Enterprise Strategy Group analyst SteveDuplessie sees this as an ideal option for enterprises looking to use cloud storage as a much cheaper alternative than traditional storage options.

( This content is being syndicated through multiple channels. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of GovCloud Network, GovCloud Network Partners or any other corporation or organization.)

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