Colt's Blog

Has the phrase “in the cloud” become such a catch-all that any attempt to define cloud computing is doomed to failure?  Is the industry cloud weary and now turning back to the business challenge of how to harness IT to get to market faster or do business differently?

With the recent publication of the Gartner hype cycle and subsequent articles that “cloud is now meaningless” I was tempted to write about why “the cloud” terminology was always doomed to failure and then realised that there is nothing new under the sun because we talked about this a while ago.

Back in November 2009, we pointed to the US NIST definition of Cloud computing“an IT operating model; a means of deploying applications that abstracts compute, storage, network, and application network resources in order to provide uniform, on-demand scalability and reliability of application delivery”.

And concluded:

“In the Cloud" has, unfortunately, devolved into little more than a trendy reference for any consumer-facing application delivered over the Internet.  "The Cloud" has become a consumer concept. It represents a way of describing commercial Internet applications to create, update, and delete personal and/or professional information.

NIST is revisiting this definition at the moment but it’s still useful.  What has happened since then is a proliferation of cloud related terms and an increasing number of service providers big and small climbing on the band wagon to avoid being left out of the cloud conversation.  CFOs and other business leaders should be forgiven for becoming cloud weary.  They are now giving up the wait for the nirvana of op-ex only costs that can be turned on or off at the drop of a hat, and turning back to the question of how technology can help business become faster, more agile and more successful.

It is clearly useful to differentiate between  private, public and hybrid models when talking about cloud.  Discussions about regulatory requirements driven by individual European country laws or industry regulatory bodies will fuel yet more questions about which model is best but what really matters is what businesses are trying to achieve and how the new technology model that is cloud can be used.  Cloud is not a product that you buy.  It’s a new way of using technology that will radically change IT forever.

So, is Colt “in the cloud”? No.

Are we a provider of enterprise cloud services that help our customers change the way they do business?  Yes.

I joined a number of my colleagues at the September 2011 CIO Europe Summit last week and am proud to report that Colt was voted ‘Thought Leader of the Year’ by the CIOs attending the event.

For those not familiar with the Summit, it provides a great opportunity for senior level executives from across Europe to come together and examine the challenges facing today’s European CIO.  The event is in its third year and consists of formal workshops, presentations and pre-arranged 1-2-1s as well as the more informal networking opportunities that these types of closed gatherings encourage.

The Summit last week attracted CIOs from over 50 different organisations.  Those taking part were asked to vote for just three awards designed to recognise individuals and organisations deemed the most influential during the course of the event.
 
Colt was voted Thought Leader of the Year; Nikk Gilbert CIO of the US Navy was awarded Achievement of the Year and Afzal Ballim, CIO for International Committee of the Red Cross, was named CIO of the Year. Awards were then presented at the closing ceremony.

Colt received the Thought Leader award following the opening keynote presentation given by Simon Walsh, executive vice president of Colt Enterprise Services.  The presentation explored some of the key challenges of making cloud computing work across Europe including:
 

• Ownership, responsibility and location of data
• Fragmented compliance and regulation across Europe due to varying laws in each country
• Changes to software license management caused by virtualisation and cloud services

Delegates voting for Colt in the Thought Leader category clearly highlighted how they thought that we are heading in the right direction.

Afzal Ballim, CIO at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and winner of the CIO of the Year award CIO Summit Europe,  commented "An insightful and thought-provoking presentation from Colt, that cut through some of the myth and mystique of cloud computing to discuss the practical considerations necessary for us as leaders to approach this exciting alternative to classical ways of supporting our organisations.”
 
Emmanuel Gaudin, CIO of Lagardere Services, commented, “Great to see an honest account and yet chilling reality of the underlying issues within data protection and risk.”

Whilst our own research shows that Cloud computing is expected to be a dominant operating model by 2014, we know that it won’t be the solution for all technologies in all businesses.  Tim Grieveson, CIO and senior IT director at Constellium summed this up  “[Colt’s] solution considers not only the economics of delivery but also allows the end customer to be flexible, identify the risks and when best to use and more fundamentally when not to use cloud as a sustainable method for delivering services to your business.”
 
Feedback from customers, partners or the market is important to us when it comes to setting direction.  The event provided a great opportunity to spend time with the organisations that will be adopting cloud computing during the next few years .  It was very satisfying to get such a ringing endorsement for our approach.
 

In the past few months on this blog I’ve been talking a lot about the opportunity for SME growth and the technology services that they can employ to manage that growth correctly and protect the business they have. It’s encouraging to see many SMEs follow this advice and oversee their business expansion diligently, however it’s also clear that there are still common IT problems that companies run in to, which can negatively affect growth.

The good news is that most of these problems are preventable. By applying a mixture of forward-thinking and common sense, these IT traps can be avoided and your business can continue to flourish. Here are my top ten potential pitfalls to look out for:

1. Not refreshing your technology: It may feel that you’re bombarded with advertising telling you that you need to upgrade technology, but the simple fact is that most new technology will be more energy efficient, cost less for repairs and be cheaper to operate. Investing for the future counts.

2. Having poor internal support: Don’t leave your technology issues to the person in the office who ‘knows a bit about computers’, invest in properly trained IT personnel to save on costly external solutions.

3. Security policies aren’t up to scratch: How well is your network protected? Does your security go beyond just having a password for your email? The dangers of network infiltration, malware and data theft are well documented for large companies, but can affect SMEs too. Make sure your security is up to date!

4. Archiving irregularly: Backing-up is a crucial part of any company’s IT infrastructure and cannot be overlooked or performed in a haphazard way. Make sure your data is safe and recoverable with regular back-up.

5. Having the right software licences: SMEs often overlook the fact that software licences need updating. Without up-to-date licences you can miss out on important updates and technical support!

6. Protection from viruses and spam: Viruses continue to proliferate online and while spam levels may have dropped in the past few years, both still represent a danger to any business. Make sure your business’s tools are up-to-date and ready.

7. Internal use policy: Very often, employees can treat an office computer like their own personal device. This can lead to all kinds of software being installed outside of work parameters that can negatively affect performance. Make sure your internal policies closely manage work technology use.

8. Checking your wireless security: The potential problems caused by unauthorised access to a wireless network is large, from data vulnerability to hijacking of your net connection. Make sure your wireless is properly secure.

9. Not having the right training: Many SMEs could feel real benefits from having their staff properly trained in using software products instead of assuming they know how to operate programs or having staff waste time self-learning.

10. Protection out of the office:  Given the increase of working from home and out of the office, many companies find themselves owning technology that is often on the road. Make sure your equipment is correctly protected, with adequate working cover.

Don’t hesitate to ask about the right solutions for you: talk to our local ICT partners, or to your existing network/IT integrator.

There can be no denying that broadcasters face a complex challenge in terms of identifying and deploying futureproof infrastructures that offer consumers choice, mobility and participation in their media experiences. Consumer demand for interactive, HD and 3D TV has intensified this process. In a world of fragmented audiences, customer control of media and changing distribution models, broadcasters are increasingly relying on technology to play a transforming role in service delivery and operations. This means that broadcasters need a thorough understanding of the benefits of technology partnerships and the associated business implications to successfully deliver their content to multiple destinations.

To do that there are three key challenges that need to be overcome:

• Transmitting high quality data faster
• Higher bandwidth availability (to distribute resource heavy content)
• Storage/archiving

Transmitting high quality data faster

Firstly there is the question of transmitting the data from the broadcast venue without transmission delays or degradation due to adverse weather conditions. Historically choosing permanent video links over satellite would have a considerable budget implication. However, the advent of fibre and IP-based file delivery has had a significant impact on the cost of permanent video links. When laying fibre optic cables, the majority of the cost is in digging up the ground so once that is done it makes sense to install large amounts of fibre making plenty available for future use. This means that it can usually be provided at a cost that is competitive with other technologies such as satellite whilst offering higher bandwidth availability and a better quality experience for the viewer.

Higher bandwidth availability

Then there is the issue of bandwidth availability, or lack of it. If broadcasters are going to meet growing customer demand for HD, then around 1.5Gbps of bandwidth is essential. Historically, contribution circuits using satellite have tended to be sub-100Mbps, in part due to the availability of suitable transponders but also because of cost constraints. The advent of fibre networks has enabled higher bandwidth to be provided more easily, and at little or no premium over lower capacity satellite circuits. This in turn has allowed the use of compression solutions which not only provide images that are much closer to the uncompressed source but also have a very low coding delay. This means that broadcasters are able to support video transmission without interruption.

Storage and archiving

Finally comes the archiving and storage debate. There has been a great deal of discussion surrounding the need to digitise video archives. However, the sheer amount of material held by the leading content owners means it is a process that will take many years to complete. The BBC alone has almost 100km of video tape. The good news is that digital storage systems are now able to provide enhanced functionality over their video counterparts, providing a stronger argument to make that move. For example, it is possible to preview content at lower resolution over an Internet connection before requesting the delivery of a larger, broadcast quality file. Previously this would have required the master video tape to be retrieved from the archive to create a viewing copy, and then retrieved again if a broadcast quality file was actually required.

It is worth noting that while storing video on servers for post-production and play-out has become increasingly commonplace, broadcasters can be mistrustful of digital data storage as a means of long-term archiving because of the high commercial value of such material. Whether the digital components used during the post-production process are retained at the point the programme is completed is largely a balance between the budget, and how likely it is that the elements will be needed again in the future. Online digital archiving can offer the most benefit to the television industry through the provision of access to historic news, sports footage and other clips from specialist libraries.

If broadcasters do address these issues, reducing latency and improving quality of content delivery, then they’ll pave the way for a bright future.

The future of satellite is under the microscope. With competition for share of audience increasing, the pressure is on to look at ways to increase the reliability and quality of delivering ever increasing volumes of data intensive content. The rise of HD and 3D content has heightened network congestion for broadcasters, particularly when they are looking to push the content out to multiple countries for major TV events, such as the London 2012 Olympics or Champions League. The industry has relied on satellite delivery for over two decades but fibre connection is emerging as a strong alternative to point-to-point satellite routes because of its ability to efficiently handle bandwidth hungry data. The question is: why now for a shift to fibre connectivity, and how significant is the shift?

The rise in the popularity of fibre has been driven by the industry’s continuous search for reliability, strong performance and lower costs. With satellite, the broadcast is subject to time delays and adverse weather conditions. In contrast, fibre provides higher bandwidth and combats viewing quality problems because fibre optic cable is not impacted by interferences over long distances. Fibre also delivers low latency, which ensures high quality content can move faster than ever before.

While performance is understandably a key priority for broadcasters, using satellite has always had the benefit of being quick and easy to install at the broadcast location. Fibre obviously has to be installed in advance and it has to be maintained to guarantee performance. However, when it comes to point to point connectivity options, fibre implementation is becoming ever more sophisticated which addresses maintenance concerns. For example, devices such as cushioned enclosures are used to protect connectors during the fibre installation process.

Finally the advent of fibre delivery has had a significant impact on the cost of permanent video links. When laying fibre optic cables the majority of the cost is incurred by digging up the ground. By installing large amounts of fibre at the start, service providers allow broadcasters to benefit from availability without having to worry about planning months in advance. Importantly it can also be provided at a cost that is competitive with satellite while offering higher bandwidth availability. While satellite won’t be going away any time soon, fibre is certainly on the way up.