In the New v1-20

What’s new?

SDx: Software Defined (fill in the blank – I generally use ‘infrastructure’, but ‘networking’, ‘storage’ and ‘data centre’ are all popular, and ‘perimeter’ is becoming another prominent value for ‘x’) is very likely to be a key phrase in 2020. The infrastructure management benefits, and the impact on acquisition planning and CAPEX, are compelling – but applications and skills, to say nothing of management understanding, act as constraints on SDx progress. Expect a stream of content designed to demystify SDx and articulate go-forward paths and economic rationalizations in 2020.

That last sentence has a more cynical tone than I had intended. SDx is important, and the fact that supplier and buyer needs are aligned will result in the development of more and better insight. Stakeholders across the IT value chain, though – buy-side business executives, technical managers, consultants and channel members, and hardware and software suppliers – will need to be able to parse through a volume of material that exceeds current input needs. As always, keep an eye out for insights and assets that speak directly to business and technical requirements and which have both clear current benefits and a well-defined path to future integrations that align with key systems.

InsightaaS is hosting a “Where Automation Meets SDDC” DC Foresight meetup (downtown Toronto, February 12th) to launch and discuss a new research report entitled "Of Bands and Fish: Assessing the benefits of in-band vs. out-of-band data centre monitoring/management systems." If you’d like to start digging into SDx, this is an excellent opportunity to engage with peers and experts – to share your views and to hear from others.

There is no charge for attendees, but we expect you to turn up if you register! If you’d like to be in the room, please let us know by registering here.

File under ‘reminder’

Most industry watchers consider ‘cloud’ to be a settled issue – a phrase referring to an approach that has been discussed for so long that it must already have been fully deployed.

The reality is very different. Registrations for the recently-concluded semester of my 2856-Cloud Systems in Practice class were more than twice as high as for any semester in the past four years – and the learners were more senior in terms of positions and tenure than was the case in the past.

In actual corporate environments, cloud is very much a living issue: organizations are moving from exploration to integrated production, and broad-brush issues like CAPEX vs. OPEX are giving way to the more granular concerns that attend mainstream platforms: security (for an increasingly-hybrid current reality, not for ‘cloud’ as an amorphous future option), governance, integration, data management, etc.

To put it in terms that are relevant to both industry watchers and IT management, cloud is scaling the “slope of enlightenment” in some environments, and the “plateau of productivity” in others.

[Imagine a picture of the Gartner Hype Cycle – like this one – here. LinkedIn, if you're listening, including the ability to embed images (and indent, etc.) makes your publishing platform easier to use, and its content easier to read!] 

Another useful perspective on this disconnect between potential and impact is found in Amara’s Law: “We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.”

What else might end up reinforcing Amara’s wisdom and the reality of time in Gartner’s Hype Cycle in 2020 (and potentially, 2021 and 2022 as well)? I’m going to nominate analytics. Industry commentators have looked past analytics to an AI future in which an increasing proportion of decisions and actions will be taken by technology rather than people. This is a highly probably outcome…but not in the next year or three. During this period, though, organizations will be looking to build on initial analytics understanding by developing and deploying systems that provide new levels of insight into current conditions and future options.

Last month in review

A look back on GCDCS19 – and a look ahead to GCDCS20 (Michael O’Neil) – includes a highlight video from GCDCS19, and some information on next June’s data centre event

Celtic phoenix rising on data centre wings (Mary Allen) – analysis of Ireland’s data centre industry, including content from a Data Centre Forum in Dublin and brief profiles on six innovative Irish data centre suppliers.

The benefits of group think: building collaborative process in higher education (David Porter) – eCampus Ontario’s CEO delivers unique insight into micro-certification, experiential learning, and other key trends in contemporary higher ed.

“Trending now”: Nine news items, including

1. Radiant Earth Foundation releases world’s first open repository for geospatial training data
2. HPE delivers the cloud experience everywhere with next-generation as-a-service platform
3. IBM Canada and the University of Ottawa launch cybersecurity hub
4. More than half of tech leaders in Canada plan to expand teams in 2020
5. University of Waterloo launches program to deploy industry-driven quantum technologies
6. Sault Ste. Marie sets a ‘smart’ example
7. Birds’ seasonal migrations shift earlier as climate changes, new research shows
8. Keyfactor researchers identify RSA certificate vulnerability
9. UWaterloo partnership part of company’s $20 million investment in Canadian 5G R&D

Upcoming events

I mentioned the Where Automation Meets SDDC meetup (and concurrent "Of Bands and Fish: Assessing the benefits of in-band vs. out-of-band data centre monitoring/management systems" research report release) on February 12th. Also planned for February: a gathering of Montreal-area data centre executives. Happy to answer questions if you have ‘em!

Feedback/etc.

If you’d like to ask questions about anything in this edition of “In the New,” request a briefing, pass on a tip or perspective, or ask about InsightaaS services, please contact me at michael (dot) oneil (at) insightaas (dot) com.