'Complexity kills': Can Microsoft, and all of IT, simplify?'

Enterprise IT projects are complex squared and many times management makes it more complex.
Ray Ozzie, Microsoft’s former chief architect, has penned another visionary memo about the post-PC world where he talks about the post-PC world, complexity and how the software giant can adapt to it.
By Larry Dignan | October 25, 2010 zdnet.com
Ozzie arrived at Microsoft with big ideas that were largely implemented—Azure, Office 365, SharePoint etc.—but he couldn’t communicate them well generally speaking. His exit blog post talks about how Microsoft has to prepare for a post-PC world.
Last week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer played down Ozzie’s departure somewhat. He said Ozzie’s big thinking is now Microsoft’s strategy. Microsoft is all in on the cloud and the services that go with it. Later, however, Ballmer noted that Windows 8 could be the company’s riskiest product. Sounds like a bit of a post-PC world worry to me.
More: Microsoft’s outgoing Chief Software Architect on the ‘post-PC world’

• Ballmer: Riskiest product bet by Microsoft is the ‘next release of Windows’
• Did Ballmer leave the door ajar for Windows Phone 7 tablet?

Here’s the pertinent part of Ozzie’s post:

But as the PC client and PC-based server have grown from their simple roots over the past 25 years, the PC-centric / server-centric model has accreted simply immense complexity.  This is a direct by-product of the PC’s success: how broad and diverse the PC’s ecosystem has become; how complex it’s become to manage the acquisition & lifecycle of our hardware, software, and data artifacts.  It’s undeniable that some form of this complexity is readily apparent to most all our customers:  your neighbors; any small business owner; the ‘tech’ head of household; enterprise IT.
Success begets product requirements.  And even when superhuman engineering and design talent is applied, there are limits to how much you can apply beautiful veneers before inherent complexity is destined to bleed through.
Complexity kills. Complexity sucks the life out of users, developers and IT.  Complexity makes products difficult to plan, build, test and use.  Complexity introduces security challenges.  Complexity causes administrator frustration.
And as time goes on and as software products mature – even with the best of intent – complexity is inescapable.

That passage was notable because it’s not just a tech issue. It’s a management issue. Can Microsoft really become less complex? Can it develop less complex products? And what does that mean for longevity—Ozzie also noted that Microsoft has benefited from complexity. One thing is certain: Complexity is everywhere in tech. Enterprise IT projects are complex squared and many times management makes it more complex.

MAYOR BLOOMBERG- New PARTNERSHIP WITH MICROSOFT

MAYOR BLOOMBERG DISCUSSES THE CITY’S GROUNDBREAKING PARTNERSHIP WITH MICROSOFT FOR A MORE EFFICIENT CITY GOVERNMENT IN WEEKLY RADIO ADDRESS 
(My Comment integrated with Oracle Portal and SUN Servers!?)
The following is the text of Mayor Bloomberg's weekly radio address as prepared for delivery on 1010 WINS News Radio for Sunday, October 24, 2010
"Good Morning.  This is Mayor Mike Bloomberg.
"Mayor Ed Koch once said that New York City is the place 'where the future comes to audition.'  And that's something our Administration takes very seriously.  In fact, we're bringing the spirit of innovation to every corner of the city.  And by thinking creatively - by flipping the conventional wisdom on its head - by having the courage to try new things - we're gaining new ground on some of our most complex, longstanding challenges - like fixing our schools and protecting our environment.
"We're also using innovation to change the way government itself does business - making us more efficient and more effective than ever before.  A great example of this came to fruition last week when we unveiled a groundbreaking partnership with Microsoft.  The technology giant has a long history of working with our schools and our government, but our latest partnership - the first of its kind - elevates our commitment to innovation to a whole new level.
"Central to this agreement is a new licensing contract that significantly lowers our technology costs.  In the past, the City's numerous agencies would each negotiate their own licenses and purchase their own software individually.  But by leveraging City government's tremendous buying power, we've now been able to consolidate these dozens of agreements into one single license covering more than 100,000 City employees.
"And instead of us purchasing a bundle of products for every employee, Microsoft has also agreed to charge us based on which applications our City workers actually need and use.  Together, these improvements will produce an incredible $50 million in savings for the City over the next five years.
"This new agreement also gives us access to Microsoft's latest tools and products - like 'cloud computing,' which is becoming an increasingly popular way for people to collaborate and access information.  By storing some of our information on Microsoft's data servers, our employees are going to be able to work together online - regardless of where they are in the world.  This will also take some pressure off the City's own computer servers, which means we won't need as much hardware or use as much energy - which will save us even more money.
"And that really goes to the heart of what innovation can do for City government.  By harnessing the power of data and technology, we're not just making government leaner, faster, and more responsive. We're also making government more cost effective - and that's something that all New Yorkers can appreciate.
"This is Mayor Mike Bloomberg.  Thanks for listening."

McAfee announces new antivirus developments/ Israel Export Institute Reports

Israeli Exporters Catalog Business Matching Economic & Trade Representatives Israel Trading Companies Geographic Specialization Fields of Specialization List Of Israeli Trading Companies

Aerospace & Homeland Security > News McAfee announces new antivirus developments 19/09/10 Information security giant McAfee's research labs have developed a new antivirus technology, the company has announced. McAfee's new antivirus technology is part of the company's Global Threat Intelligence battle and allows two key solutions to work together to fight extended malware attacks. First, McAfee's researchers can actively search for new online threats by using the millions of computers worldwide that run McAfee software. Secondly, researchers can produce more advanced defenses than the traditional malware "fingerprint." McAfee's labs have seen malware levels hit new records every year – in the first half of 2010, over 55,000 examples of malware were received by the lab every day.

HP`s Deep Trouble: 10 Reasons Why HP is Struggling - Hewlett Packard news from Channel Insider

from http://www.channelinsider.com

HP finds itself in a somewhat unlikely position right now. With no CEO at the helm, its former leader at a top competitor, and little vision for what the future will look like, the wheels are coming off. And the chances of the company reversing its fortune anytime soon seem slim. Realizing that, it’s probably time to call some of HP’s decisions into question. Getting rid of Mark Hurd without a fully effective non-compete agreement in place was a mistake. And allowing the company to look bad in the process has proven to be even worse. Simply put, HP is in deep trouble right now. And here’s why:

HP`s Deep Trouble: 10 Reasons Why HP is Struggling - Hewlett Packard news from Channel Insider

Oracle Mergers & Acquisitions: Who’s Next?

Sam: This is a shortened Summary of this interesting Article.
I wiil comment later.

"by Stephen Jannise, ERP Software Advice

 

" "ERP Software Advice" would link to: http://www.softwareadvice.com/

 

By: Stephen Jannise Stephen Jannise

ERP Market Analyst at Software Advice
(512) 364-0130
stephen@softwareadvice.com

Stephen writes about various topics related to ERP software, with particular interests toward manufacturing, distribution, and supply chain management. He came to Software Advice after graduating from The University of Texas at Austin with a master's degree in communications, and he blogs about films at AustinCinephile.com. ERP Market Analyst, Software Advice
on 8/3/2010

A few weeks ago, we started a poll asking which company Oracle will acquire next. Thanks to all the bloggers in the community who got the word out, we received a staggering 1,250 responses before closing the poll. This is what you had to say.

The favorites were two of our “fairly straightforward ideas,” Informatica and Teradata, each with 14% of the votes. This suggests that 28% of our voters believe Oracle will play it safe the next time around and strengthen their already formidable data warehousing and business intelligence offerings.
However, more than a few of you were a little bolder with your predictions, arguing that Oracle is going to make one or two “pricey buys in hot markets.” With VMWare getting 143 votes and Salesforce.com getting 115, 20% of our readers feel that the Sun deal is merely the first in a series of game-changing buys for Oracle.


Read more: http://www.softwareadvice.com/articles/enterprise/oracle-mergers-acquisitions-whos-next-1080310/#ixzz0zQzobcZe

Why Ubuntu Linux Is a Good Business Choice

By Ken Hess, PC World

Chances are good that if someone walked into your office right now and peeked over your shoulder, they would see a Windows operating system on your computer. But, did you know that you have a choice of something other than Windows for that computer on your desk, and that you have the same choice for the servers in your data center?

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One of those choices is Ubuntu Linux, a greatly enhanced Debian-based Linux distribution that installs easily, has the familiar Windows look and feel, and operates well on older hardware (expensive upgrade not required). Linux fans tout the positive attributes, often at high decibel levels, of Ubuntu Linux, which is perhaps the world's most popular Linux distribution. But, is it business worthy?
Let's first consider Ubuntu as a replacement for your Windows desktop or laptop operating system. Computer owners generally use an Internet browser, a word processing program, the occasional spreadsheet, an email application and almost nothing else. These computer owners may not realize that they're paying $150 to $300 for the OS and another $300 or more for the office suite--most of which they'll never use. Why add hundreds of dollars to a computer system that has a life expectancy of three to four years? Software costs often exceed hardware costs by two or three times. Small businesses resort to piracy or doing without needed software to compensate for those costs. Neither is a good choice.
The alternative puts you at odds with the accepted philosophy that Windows is your only choice for desktop computers and servers. The Linux concept requires that you step outside the standard box that Microsoft has placed you in, and realize that you have a choice that makes sense for you, your bank account, and your business.
Your Windows computers need an anti-virus program that hinders performance, anti-spyware software that you have to run manually to scan for all the nasties that invade your computing habitat, and a personal firewall to ward off those over-the-network attackers.
Alternatively, Ubuntu is free. You can download any version of it and use it for any purpose. Upgrades are also free. There's no need for any anti-virus software or anti-spyware applications on Linux, which comes with a personal firewall, if you want to use it.
Linux also comes to you with a free office suite, OpenOffice.org that includes Microsoft-compatible applications. They look and behave so much like Microsoft's office suite that you may never realize any difference between the two.
The rest of the article at PC World.

 

US Army Plans Private Cloud

Army Plans Private Cloud

APC2, the Army Private Cloud, will be a cornerstone of a broader data center consolidation initiative that aims to reduce the number of Army data centers from 200 to less than 20.

By J. Nicholas Hoover
InformationWeek
July 30, 2010 08:00 AM

The Army is pushing forward with plans to deploy a private cloud computing environment. Last week, it issued a request for proposals for the project, which will be one of the cornerstones of a broader data center consolidation initiative that aims to reduce the number of Army data centers from 200 to less than 20. The Army Private Cloud, also known as APC2, will be contracted out in two separate pieces, and could cost as much as $249 million over the five-year lifespan of those contracts, according to the RFP and associated documents.

Adding Zemanta to Tools of our IT Blog

Adding Zemanta to Tools of our IT Blog

Lenovo rolls out IdeaCentre A700 and B305 all-in-one desktop PCs | ZDNet

Lenovo rolls out IdeaCentre A700 and B305 all-in-one desktop PCs | ZDNet

Lenovo has rolled out a ton of new computers today, so let’s kick things off with the debut of the IdeaCentre A700 and B305 all-in-one desktop computers.

Targeted towards individuals and families rather than businesses, Lenovo has put a good deal of emphasis on design when it comes to its new A700 and B305 desktops.

Packaged in a curvy, aluminum casing, the A700 keeps things focused on home entertainment with JBL speakers with Dolby technology, DirectX 11 graphics and HDMI in/out support to connect and stream from various HD devices.

Lenovo has designed the B305 to target the gaming community as well, with the options of an AMD Athlon II X4 Quad-Core processor and optional DirectX 11 graphics.

There’s also a lot of room for customizing on each new Lenovo PC, with choices in memory, hard drive space and processor speeds. Here’s some of what you can get on both IdeaCentre computers.

10 More Smartphones That Will Fade Away Before 2011 - Mobile and Wireless from eWeek

10 More Smartphones That Will Fade Away Before 2011 - Mobile and Wireless from eWeek
Microsoft announced earlier this week that it has discontinued its Kin smartphones after just six weeks of availability. The devices, which focused heavily on social-networking activities, failed to live up to the hype Microsoft built for the Kin One and Kin Two. But the Kin smartphones aren't the only devices that will fail in 2010. Read on to see 10 other smartphones that, like Microsoft's Kin, will fail in 2010.