In our online, data driven society, a vast amount of opinion transfer goes on every day through blogs, forums, and general social media. This ‘grassroots’ dialogue provides a real insight into what is driving people, and what they really think - blogs provide an ideal location for people to talk about their real life experiences, and air grievances in a much more open way. And enterprises would be wise not to ignore these views from the Joe Bloggers of this world. Witness the recent ‘about turn’ by Facebook regarding its terms of service around retention of content submitted by users. Of course, this is an extreme example, and the threat of legal action probably did as much to force the u-turn as the groundswell of user opinion. It does, however, illustrate the power of public opinion. In the case of Facebook, however, the underlying sentiment showed itself quickly and far too clearly to miss. For many companies, however, gauging sentiment is not such an easy task.
A recent briefing with IBM was all the more interesting because of this. The focus of the briefing was a brand management tool that sits within its portfolio called COBRA (which stands for Corporate Brand and Reputation Analysis), which allows identification of relevant marketplace sentiment as expressed on blogs, social networks and news sources. The tool allows companies to spot trends, relationships and opinions that are being expressed on defined areas.
The possibilities of this really aren’t difficult to imagine. In government, for example, it is important to understand how people feel about issues that will sway political sentiment. Green is one such area, the government's handling of the current economic crisis another. To be able to know what people on the street think and are saying is a valuable tool when preparing to reach out to those same people. Similarly, an enterprise, in the retail space, for example, cannot fail to benefit from advance intelligence that presents itself in social media on a competitor's campaign strategy. Competitors’ campaigns can be seriously undermined if a company has advance warning and is able to quickly respond with a counter campaign. And this is where COBRA comes in. It scours literally thousands of dispersed items very quickly and bring the number down to a few hundred relevant ones on which mere mortals can carry out detailed analysis, COBRA having eliminated areas that aren't worth looking at. It will also identify the strength of ‘signals’ – for example a weak signal could be an early indicator of an emerging trend. IBM claims that COBRA is able to identify strong and weak signals from thousands of documents daily with high accuracy.
Of course, COBRA isn’t the only such tool in the marketplace that can perform sentiment analysis, but it is one of a number that are starting now to gain traction - David Tebbutt has blogged on sentiment analysis on several occasions, most notably about Corpora (part of Infonic). Nor are such tools the answer to everything – no amount of clever software will completely remove the need for the human element. But in our world of information overload, tools such as COBRA really do seem to make an impossible task possible, and are surely real gems.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
VDI's Biggest Challenge
Over the course of the last few months there has been a surge of activity, at least amongst many vendors, in the area of ‘Virtual Desktop’ solutions. In fact it would also be fair to say that there has also been a gentle bubbling of interest in this developing area amongst end user organisations as well. Following numerous conversations with different suppliers of virtual desktop solutions as well as taking note of much research in the area it is clear that the widespread adoption of these systems faces numerous challenges.
And many issues need to be considered by an organisation contemplating adopting a Virtual Desktop approach. Among these the first, and usually considered to be of paramount importance, is the non-trivial question of which of the many approaches to virtualising the desktop will be suitable to the needs of the organisation. Vendors today offer a wide range of solutions which utilise a number of techniques to provide service to the end user. It is clear however that there is not a high level of understanding of the solutions available, and in particular which approach fits which goals. Of even more importance, there is research evidence which suggests that IT departments have significant difficulty identifying suitable business cases to justify their adoption.
Pressing as these obstacles are, it is my opinion that many other challenges surpass these in terms of inhibiting the adoption of virtual desktop systems in numerous enterprises. The most challenging of these to address is the small matter of changing the culture and perception that users have created around ‘their PCs’.
In particular it is clear that very many individuals regard the laptop that they use for business as ‘their PC’ even when it patently belongs to the business. As such they feel free to customise the machine in any way they wish irrespective of any impact this may have on the machine's ability to operate effectively as a tool of the business. The only time when this possessive behaviour abates, albeit for a limited time, is when a problem arises. Then the machine instantly devolves back to being a standard piece of equipment for which IT naturally carries responsibility and the concomitant burden of repair.
Until now, many attempts to proactively manage PCs have met with considerable user resistance as such moves have been perceived to be steps towards removing the users’ ability to ‘customise’ their machines. For VDI initiatives (with the term VDI now becoming something of a shorthand for ‘Virtual Desktop’ initiatives or infrastructure) to succeed it will be essential to ensure that users do not consider such projects to be methods to rein in their ‘freedom’, as has frequently been the case in many previous PC management initiatives. Thus it is essential that user conversations focus on areas that they may see as having benefits for them beyond simply raising the quality of service and availability experienced by PC users. In fact it is recommended that steps be taken, if at all possible, to find ways to get prospective users to actually desire new VDI driven systems.
If this can be achieved, I see strong potential for many virtual desktop solutions to be deployed in anger over the course of the next few years, in organisations of all sizes. The secret will be to ensure that communications with potential users not only point out the strong business cases that may exist for their introduction but also take the time to find some ‘personal’ benefits that may be attractive to users. Getting the users on board early will smooth the path and reduce resistance, possibly by significant orders of magnitude.
It will also be interesting to see if the current harsh economic climate coupled with the rapid development of solution offerings in the virtual desktop space will see an acceleration of interest in the coming months, perhaps initiated by the potential future consideration of Windows 7 as an enterprise platform. Watch out for fireworks.
And many issues need to be considered by an organisation contemplating adopting a Virtual Desktop approach. Among these the first, and usually considered to be of paramount importance, is the non-trivial question of which of the many approaches to virtualising the desktop will be suitable to the needs of the organisation. Vendors today offer a wide range of solutions which utilise a number of techniques to provide service to the end user. It is clear however that there is not a high level of understanding of the solutions available, and in particular which approach fits which goals. Of even more importance, there is research evidence which suggests that IT departments have significant difficulty identifying suitable business cases to justify their adoption.
Pressing as these obstacles are, it is my opinion that many other challenges surpass these in terms of inhibiting the adoption of virtual desktop systems in numerous enterprises. The most challenging of these to address is the small matter of changing the culture and perception that users have created around ‘their PCs’.
In particular it is clear that very many individuals regard the laptop that they use for business as ‘their PC’ even when it patently belongs to the business. As such they feel free to customise the machine in any way they wish irrespective of any impact this may have on the machine's ability to operate effectively as a tool of the business. The only time when this possessive behaviour abates, albeit for a limited time, is when a problem arises. Then the machine instantly devolves back to being a standard piece of equipment for which IT naturally carries responsibility and the concomitant burden of repair.
Until now, many attempts to proactively manage PCs have met with considerable user resistance as such moves have been perceived to be steps towards removing the users’ ability to ‘customise’ their machines. For VDI initiatives (with the term VDI now becoming something of a shorthand for ‘Virtual Desktop’ initiatives or infrastructure) to succeed it will be essential to ensure that users do not consider such projects to be methods to rein in their ‘freedom’, as has frequently been the case in many previous PC management initiatives. Thus it is essential that user conversations focus on areas that they may see as having benefits for them beyond simply raising the quality of service and availability experienced by PC users. In fact it is recommended that steps be taken, if at all possible, to find ways to get prospective users to actually desire new VDI driven systems.
If this can be achieved, I see strong potential for many virtual desktop solutions to be deployed in anger over the course of the next few years, in organisations of all sizes. The secret will be to ensure that communications with potential users not only point out the strong business cases that may exist for their introduction but also take the time to find some ‘personal’ benefits that may be attractive to users. Getting the users on board early will smooth the path and reduce resistance, possibly by significant orders of magnitude.
It will also be interesting to see if the current harsh economic climate coupled with the rapid development of solution offerings in the virtual desktop space will see an acceleration of interest in the coming months, perhaps initiated by the potential future consideration of Windows 7 as an enterprise platform. Watch out for fireworks.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Thoughts from IBM Pulse : 1
Weirdly enough, I feel sorry for Vegas right now. The very ideas that could save it were right under its nose.
I had the opportunity to catch up with IBM's service management bods last week in an uncharacteristically wet, cold and windy Las Vegas. The weather fitted the prevailing mood rather well, with taxi drivers and hoteliers alike in agreement that things are a bit on the quiet side and conferences are pretty much keeping things going right now. Apparently the average price of a hotel room on the strip is a low $90 or so. No doubt IBM drove a hard bargain on the conference facilities.
Vegas is not to everybody's taste, but I doubt even the least enthusiastic would prefer it to not exist, given the chance to make it disappear. A lot of people depend on it for a living, for a start. I'd like to see those people given a better chance at long-term survival. I'm not sure sustainability is high on the agenda at the board meetings of whoever runs Las Vegas, at least from what I see. Which is a shame, because if there was one show which rolls into town and has something to teach Las Vegas, its Pulse.
McCarran Airport, long the poster child of IBM's asset and IT service management convergence story already knows this, and as the gateway to Las Vegas, sets the standard by which Vegas could but fails to live up to. Sure, it all works swimmingly well in the main, (occasionally it fails with comedic brilliance - I once had to call an engineer to close the curtains in my suite) but at what cost? A high one it seems. Most hotels are close to bankruptcy - I cannot prove this but lets just say it came from someone in the know - which to cut a long story short, means they are too inefficient and waste too much 'stuff'.
So why do I feel sorry for Vegas? Well aside from all the half built skyscrapers making the place look untidy, the city, like the happy go lucky cricket, has been singing all summer and not taken the time to curtail its pursuit of pleasure to put something aside for the winter. Is the city to blame for that, or us, for expecting to drop the worries of the daily grind and be royally entertained for a few days no matter what the cost? (Not those on conferences, obviously). I feel sorry for it because of the all or nothing principals it seems to be built on. Going forwards, unless it can temper this mindset, and provide service with restraint, it's a goner.
Service management, at its core, is about creating the optimum balance between 'stuff' and 'experience'. Something Vegas needs to learn, and quickly. I suspect IBM with the undoubted bargain it drove with the MGM to host this years shindig, could afford to chuck the burghers of Las Vegas a couple of freebie passes so they could learn a thing or two next year. If 12 months doesn't see the entire place shut down.
In my next post, I'll talk about what we learned of IBM's latest vision – the Smarter Planet -delivered with no irony at all given the location - which takes its service management convergence theme to the horizon, allowing lots of room for other fancy ideas - like cloud - to slide on in and get settled.
I had the opportunity to catch up with IBM's service management bods last week in an uncharacteristically wet, cold and windy Las Vegas. The weather fitted the prevailing mood rather well, with taxi drivers and hoteliers alike in agreement that things are a bit on the quiet side and conferences are pretty much keeping things going right now. Apparently the average price of a hotel room on the strip is a low $90 or so. No doubt IBM drove a hard bargain on the conference facilities.
Vegas is not to everybody's taste, but I doubt even the least enthusiastic would prefer it to not exist, given the chance to make it disappear. A lot of people depend on it for a living, for a start. I'd like to see those people given a better chance at long-term survival. I'm not sure sustainability is high on the agenda at the board meetings of whoever runs Las Vegas, at least from what I see. Which is a shame, because if there was one show which rolls into town and has something to teach Las Vegas, its Pulse.
McCarran Airport, long the poster child of IBM's asset and IT service management convergence story already knows this, and as the gateway to Las Vegas, sets the standard by which Vegas could but fails to live up to. Sure, it all works swimmingly well in the main, (occasionally it fails with comedic brilliance - I once had to call an engineer to close the curtains in my suite) but at what cost? A high one it seems. Most hotels are close to bankruptcy - I cannot prove this but lets just say it came from someone in the know - which to cut a long story short, means they are too inefficient and waste too much 'stuff'.
So why do I feel sorry for Vegas? Well aside from all the half built skyscrapers making the place look untidy, the city, like the happy go lucky cricket, has been singing all summer and not taken the time to curtail its pursuit of pleasure to put something aside for the winter. Is the city to blame for that, or us, for expecting to drop the worries of the daily grind and be royally entertained for a few days no matter what the cost? (Not those on conferences, obviously). I feel sorry for it because of the all or nothing principals it seems to be built on. Going forwards, unless it can temper this mindset, and provide service with restraint, it's a goner.
Service management, at its core, is about creating the optimum balance between 'stuff' and 'experience'. Something Vegas needs to learn, and quickly. I suspect IBM with the undoubted bargain it drove with the MGM to host this years shindig, could afford to chuck the burghers of Las Vegas a couple of freebie passes so they could learn a thing or two next year. If 12 months doesn't see the entire place shut down.
In my next post, I'll talk about what we learned of IBM's latest vision – the Smarter Planet -delivered with no irony at all given the location - which takes its service management convergence theme to the horizon, allowing lots of room for other fancy ideas - like cloud - to slide on in and get settled.
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