Ernest de Leon

In my daily interactions with clients, I am often asked what the first step should be toward Cloud Computing. Invariably, my answer is 'Standardization.' Standardization has far more importance than just being the first step to cloud, but it also makes the transition much faster and more secure. I want to spend a little time talking about why standardization is so important, then delve into how it will ease your cloud migration. Southwest Airlines was one of few airlines (if not the only one) to retain profitability during the recent financial downturn and major events that negatively impacted the industry as a whole. In my opinion, the largest reason for Southwest Airlines success is that they standardized on only one type of aircraft - the Boeing 737. Other airlines, who fly several different aircraft, have to stock parts, train mechanics and pilots for each type o... (more)

Looking at Cloud Computing Market Possibilities

I spend most of the time on this blog talking about how cloud computing works and how you can incorporate cloud computing into your enterprise. This time around, I'm going to focus on the provider side of the house. What if you are building private clouds or selling public cloud services? Where do the opportunities lie in the market? How fast is the move to cloud going? Where should you focus your energy to gain clients? My own client base illustrates that although Fortune 500 corporations are moving toward cloud computing, they are doing so gingerly, while the small and medium ... (more)

Cloud Computing: It’s all about the Software

While I have probably beat the definition of cloud computing to death, I want to spend some more time on where the magic really lies in Cloud Computing. Without going into a Ballmerellian rant, the key to unlocking the full potential of the cloud is developers, developers, developers. More specifically, software is what will define not only what cloud is, but also what cloud is capable of. The faster that CIOs and CTOs come to this realization, the better it will be for their organizations. Figuring out ways to distribute applications across infrastructure is a difficult task th... (more)

The Five Layers within Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing on Ulitzer As a preface to the series of articles I will be writing on the Value Proposition and Business Cases for Cloud Computing, I wanted to discuss the layers below and within the cloud. It is important to understand what each of the layers is composed of, what the intended function of that layer is, and how these layers interact with each other. By simplifying the cloud computing concept into layers, it is easier to define the roles within the overall structure and explain where your business fits into the model. Let me start by introducing a graphic I whippe... (more)

Sorting Through the Fluff: How Do We Define Cloud?

I have covered the topic of defining cloud computing a few times on this site, but I think that it is a good time to revisit that definition again. Cloud computing has evolved somewhat since I wrote those articles, and although everything still holds true, I feel that Information Technology professionals are now spending more time trying to understand cloud computing than ever before. Now is a great time to revisit the definition of cloud computing as the researching of the technology is trending upward. One of the most basic definitions given for cloud computing is computing that... (more)