Category: cloud providers

The real cost of using the cloud – your help needed for research supported by Rackspace and Intel.

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It’s almost a given that cloud technology has the power to change the way organisations operate. Cost efficiency, increased business agility and time-saving are just some of the key associated benefits[1]. As cloud technology has matured, it’s likely not enough for businesses to simply have cloud platforms in place as part of their operations. The  optimisation and continual upgrading of the technology may be just as important over the long term. With that in mind, a central research question remains: how can global businesses maximise their use of the cloud? What are the key ingredients they need to maintain, manage and maximise their usage of cloud?

For instance, do enterprises have the technical expertise to roll out the major cloud projects that will reap the significant efficiencies and savings for their business? How can large enterprises ensure they have the right cloud expertise in place to capitalise on innovations in cloud technology and remain competitive? Finally, what are the cost implications of nurturing in-house cloud expertise vs harnessing those of a managed cloud service provider?

A colleague (Carsten Sorensen) and I are working with Rackspace® on a project (which is also sponsored by Intel®) to find out. But we would need some help from IT leaders like you?

How you can help

We’re looking to interview IT decision makers/leaders in some of the UK’s largest enterprises (those with more than 1,000 employees and with a minimum annual turnover of £500m) which use cloud technology in some form, to help guide the insights developed as part of this project.

The interviews will be no more than 30 mins long via telephone. Your participation in the project will also give you early access to the resulting report covering the initial key findings. We would also share subsequent academic articles with you. We follow research ethics guidelines and can ensure anonymity to yourself and your company (feel free to email confidentially to discuss this issue).

If this sounds like something you’d like to get involved in then please email me w.venters@lse.ac.uk

Best wishes,

Dr Will Venters,

Dr Carsten Sorensen,

and Dr Florian Allwein.

  1. Venters, W. and E. Whitley, A Critical Review of Cloud Computing: Researching Desires and Realities. Journal of Information Technology, 2012. 27(3): p. 179-197.

(Photo (cc) Damien Pollet with thanks!)

The Epic Story of Dropbox’s Exodus From the Amazon Cloud Empire | WIRED

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Prof. Alan Brown of CoDE shared the following Wired article with me. The article discusses why platforms are a complex value-evaluation activity, and why companies seek to control the ecosystem upon which they rely. “In fleeing the cloud, Dropbox is showing why the cloud is so powerful. It too is building infrastructure so that others don’t have to.”

Half-a-billion people stored files on Dropbox. Well, sort of. Really, the files were in Amazon’s cloud. Until Dropbox built its own. And threw the switch.

Visit: The Epic Story of Dropbox’s Exodus From the Amazon Cloud Empire | WIRED

Double trouble – why cloud is a question of balance |My New Blog on Cloud Pro

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I have been invited to Blog on CloudPro – don’t worry I will keep posting here as well – but if you want to read my first posting see:

Double trouble – why cloud is a question of balance | Cloud Pro.

Cloud sourcing and innovation: slow train coming? FREE JOURNAL ARTICLE

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An article I wrote with Edgar Whitley and Leslie Willcocks for the journal Strategic Outsourcing has been awarded the “Outstanding paper of 2014” award. This means that the article is freely available from the following website (articles are usually $32 so quite a saving!). Please feel free to download a copy today:

Emerald Insight | Cloud sourcing and innovation: slow train coming?: A composite research study.

Abstract:

Purpose – Although cloud computing has been heralded as driving the innovation agenda, there is growing evidence that cloud computing is actually a “slow train coming”. The purpose of this paper is to seek to understand the factors that drive and inhibit the adoption of cloud computing, particularly in relation to its use for innovative practices.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on a composite research base including two detailed surveys and interviews with 56 participants in the cloud supply chain undertaken between 2010 and 2013. The insights from this data are presented in relation to set of antecedents to innovation and a cloud sourcing model of collaborative innovation.

Findings – The paper finds that while some features of cloud computing will hasten the adoption of cloud, and its use for innovative purposes by the enterprise, there are also clear challenges that need to be addressed before cloud can be adopted successfully. Interestingly, the analysis highlights that many of these challenges arise from the technological nature of cloud computing itself.

Research limitations/implications – The research highlights a series of factors that need to be better understood for the maximum benefit from cloud computing to be achieved. Further research is needed to assess the best responses to these challenges.

Practical implications – The research suggests that enterprises need to undertake a number of steps for the full benefits of cloud computing to be achieved. It suggests that collaborative innovation is not necessarily an immediate consequence of adopting cloud computing.

Originality/value – The paper draws on an extensive research base to provide empirically informed analysis of the complexities of adopting cloud computing for innovation.

 

Cloud Computing powered by dirty energy, report warns | Environment | theguardian.com

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This Guardian article touches upon something I have been complaining about for a long time. When you ran an application on your laptop which used lots of power you felt it – the laptop gets hot and burns your trousers. When you use a cloud service that power is hidden in a data-centre somewhere else and you will never know the environmental damage caused. While cloud providers often argue their data-centres are cleaner and greener than old ones, the problem is that because of there services we are using them for new things we did not do a few years ago – like social media!

Social media explosion powered by dirty energy, report warns | Environment | theguardian.com.

I’m presenting at “The Exchange 2013 – Knowledge Peers”

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TheExchange_NOVEMBER

I’m excited to be presenting at “The Exchange 2013 – Knowledge Peers” on the 28th November. Not only is it at the Kia Oval (which I drive past regularly so am looking forward to getting the tour inside), but also because their focus is on networking with smaller and medium sized organisations. I am of the opinion that cloud computing will offer more valuable and exciting opportunities for SMEs than large organisations so I am looking forward to connecting with many more small organisations at the event.

I hope you can join me there!

Will.

Latest article published: Strategic Outsourcing: An International Journal | Cloud Sourcing and Innovation: Slow Train Coming? A Composite Research Study

Dr Will Venters2 Comments

The latest article from our long-running Cloud Computing research stream has just been published…

Leslie Willcocks, Will Venters, Edgar A. Whitley, (2013) “ Cloud Sourcing and Innovation: Slow Train Coming? A Composite Research Study“, Strategic Outsourcing: An International Journal, Vol. 6 Iss: 2

ABSTRACT:

Purpose – Although cloud computing has been heralded as driving the innovation agenda, there is growing evidence that cloud is actually a “slow train coming”. The purpose of this paper is to seek to understand the factors that drive and inhibit the adoption of cloud particularly in relation to its use for innovative practices.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on a composite research base including two detailed surveys and interviews with 56 participants in the cloud supply chain undertaken between 2010 and 2013. The insights from this data are presented in relation to set of antecedents to innovation and a cloud sourcing model of collaborative innovation.

Findings – The paper finds that while some features of cloud computing will hasten the adoption of cloud and its use for innovative purposes by the enterprise, there are also clear challenges that need to be addressed before cloud can be successfully adopted. Interestingly, our analysis highlights that many of these challenges arise from the technological nature of cloud computing itself.

Research limitations/implications – The research highlights a series of factors that need to be better understood for the maximum benefit from cloud computing to be achieved. Further research is needed to assess the best responses to these challenges.

Practical implications – The research suggests that enterprises need to undertake a number of steps for the full benefits of cloud computing to be achieved. It suggests that collaborative innovation is not necessarily an immediate consequence of adopting cloud computing.

Originality/value – The paper draws on an extensive research base to provide empirically informed analysis of the complexities of adopting cloud computing for innovation.

Future of cloud computing: looking at the bigger questions | Cloud Pro

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Max Cooter has written an interesting article in CloudPro on the Dell Think-tank I participated in this week….

Future of cloud computing: looking at the bigger questions | Cloud Pro.

I very much liked the last paragraph:

“I was reminded at this point of the scene in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar just after the assassination when Cassius says “How many ages hence shall this our lofty scene be acted o’er, in states unborn and accents yet unknown.” The cloud scenario is going to be played in thousands of unborn companies using technologies yet unknown – any company who thinks that cloud is a fad or some sort of media hype is going to be left far behind.”

Wired get access to Google Data Centre

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Google Throws Open Doors to Its Top-Secret Data Center | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com.

There is something about seeing physical data-centres that reminds us (and by us I mean those of us who think about cloud) that there is a physicality to this cloud… it is materially present if hidden from view.

If you are more interested in this physicality of the cloud read Andrew Blum’s excellent introduction “Tubes” – http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tubes-Behind-Scenes-at-Internet/dp/0670918989

Advanced Outsourcing Practice : Palgrave Macmillan

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I’ve just received my authors’ copy of the  book…  Advanced Outsourcing Practice : Palgrave Macmillan.

Mary and Leslie have done a great job describing the key challenges of contemporary outsourcing – including our chapter on  “Shifting to Cloud Services: Current Challenges and Future Opportunities”.