Simplifying the Way to Multi-Platform Mobile Apps
In the past we have seen an elevated need to define a mobile strategy for every organization. With myriad device types and operating systems, organizations face a much bigger challenge. It’s no longer enough to just have, say an iPhone app; you need to be able to support iPad, Android phones, the Amazon Kindle, larger Android tablets, Windows Phone, and BlackBerry as well. Developing an app that supports all of these platforms is a challenge, especially for a business with limited resources. Fortunately, we have cross-platform mobile frameworks like Appcelerator Titanium, Rhodes, and PhoneGap for help. Using these cross-platform tools, developers do not have to write the specific code or sequence for each platform, instead they can write the code once and then reuse them in subsequent projects on other platforms. Since most of these frameworks also support HTML5 and CSS3 alongside the calls to more native functions, they are easy for web developers to learn and use. Of course, a cross-platform framework development strategy isn’t always the ideal solution. Most cross platform frameworks expect developers to use their own custom development tools and suites. So developers do not have the freedom to choose their own IDE. Also most of these frameworks use their own subsets of JavaScript, which means that if you want to switch to another platform, that code you wrote before is likely not going to be reusable without a lot of work. In using any framework, one major factor that cross-platform developers must bear in mind is app design. A good cross-platform application looks at home on whatever platform it is used on. A bad cross-platform tries to look identical everywhere. For instance, if your Android app has navigation controls at the bottom of the screen, iPhone style, you’re doing it wrong. To summarize, cross platform tools do solve a lot of business problems, but also suffer from a few short comings. Architects and business owners need to evaluate their requirements and vision of the app closely before making a well informed decision.
The Need for Online Game Platforms
We’ve had the honor of helping a large video game company develop and enhance its online game platform. Across game titles and devices, it gives the company’s customers a unified experience for login, entitlements, personas, billing history, and much more. And it offers the potential to add even more information to this unified view in the future. While doing this work, I just assumed that all large game companies have similar systems in place because of the numerous benefits… Recently, though, I’ve had the opportunity to meet other game companies and have been surprised that they haven’t yet centralized such systems or done so to the same degree across their game portfolios. Some have done this with a few of their titles. Some have common multiplayer technology behind-the-scenes for matchmaking, leaderboards, and sharing game state, but they do not share the data across titles to let players share their overall achievements with their friends and fans. Or they don’t share billing and other account related data. They have indeed innovated in other dimensions (such as amazing player performance stats for a battle game), but they haven’t focused as much on connecting a single customer’s gaming world together. Yes, we have platforms like Sony PlayStation Network, Microsoft Xbox LIVE, and Apple Game Center that provide a uniform experience to players, but those are focused on games that run on those devices, yet many players play games on multiple devices from consoles to mobile to the web. Thus it seems important for big game publishers to do the same from their point of view. It’s clear that there are many challenges to offering such a centralized platform, but there are many benefits to both players and the game companies. I’ve already touched on the benefits to players. The benefits to companies include having a powerful unified view of each player that permits the company to cross-sell better or offer more targeted ads. Shared platforms lead to a large reduction in development cost since the common backend components can be built just once. Though not initially obvious, a centralized model also leads to more robust solutions for each title because the hard lessons learned in one place can be shared by all. Finally, given the litigious world we live in, a centralized model reduces legal risk because a seasoned central team can implement regulations more thoroughly. (Some might argue that recent data breaches make common platforms more risky, but I still feel that those security problems can be solved better with a shared team and system.) The first and biggest challenge seems to be one of organizational structure. Most large game companies have many studios that operate independently largely due to the fact that they were acquired at various points in time, and in various geographical locations. That independence arguably allows for faster game design innovation in each group, but it makes sharing technology challenging. Who should own and operate a common backend platform? How should that team, if formed, be funded? How should work for different teams be prioritized by the central team? How can the central team support each studio’s aggressive plans rather than hindering them? In the future postings, we’ll discuss how game companies are working through some of these challenges as well as the technical ones. We’ll also delve into other topics related to the game industry.
TFS Automation Solution – How fast and How far…
Traditional focus of Test Automation in many organizations has so far been based on the readily available, cost-effective tools rather than the ones that are best suited to meet the business requirements, have a shorter time-to-market and are compatible with the technology stack of the applications under test. The market is shifting as the organization seeks greater business value and agility in any solution they plan to invest on. Therefore, it is imperative for every organization to have a well-defined set of practices, processes and parameters to gauge the compatibility of the varied automated tools with the application under test. On that note, we recently conducted a comparative analysis of Coded UI with the currently prevalent Open Source and Commercial Testing Tools. Coded UI is an automation framework which enables a user to record a set of action, generates the code for the same and allows the user to playback the recorded actions. It also gives the flexibility to write the custom code using a hybrid automation approach (keyword and data-driven). Advantages of Coded UI: Excellent support for applications running on Microsoft Technologies (Silver Light, WPF). Record actions and generate code using Test Builder. Well integrated with TFS/Test manager Competitive cost advantage over QTP Disadvantages: No support for Java/Flash applications. Record and playback is supported for IE only. (Firefox supports only playback). No in-built object spy– user needs to record the actions. Complex Object repository mapping. Require good knowledge in C# for custom coding. The comparative evaluation was done by Tavant’s Automation CoE team. Some of the key comparison parameters that were taken into consideration are: Learning curve involved, Script Development Time, Ease of Use, Maintenance and Re-usability. Stay tuned to see a detailed evaluation report on how Coded UI fared against QTP and Selenium. However, I must add that the “fitment” or suitability of a specific tool or set of tools needs to be assessed based on the Enterprise-wide business priority as well as the overall objective that is intended for implementing test automation.
Personalizing News to Enhance Consumer Loyalty
There is an exponentially growing pool of news resources available on the Web. Additionally, with the rise of the blogosphere and personal publishing, it seems that there is an ever-increasing amount of content out there. Hence, people no longer go to a couple of sources for news of their interest. Rather, they now invariably end up going to a number of sources depending on the category of news they want to learn about. Moreover, the channel of consumption (pc, smart phone, tablet computer, etc.) of newsmight also influence their choice of sites. Given the plethora of news sites and blogs, consumers are finding it very cumbersome to effectively track news. Therefore, there is a growing need to automate the collection, organization, and syndication of news. This is where news aggregators come in. Aggregators are sites specifically designed to bring multiple news sources together and repackage them in a more convenient format for the readers.. Traditional news media was all about distributing a one-size-fits-all message to a wide audience; new media is more about personalization and customization. The most important aspect of news aggregation is personalization, which is no easy job. Here are four important steps to make personalization “work” for your website: 1. Know the reader: You need to first understand the likes and interests of each and every reader visiting your site. Allow readers to log in using their Facebook profile and you have a readymade list of their interests. Integration with their Twitter feed can help you understand the topics / people they follow. Some other ways of getting information about the readers include, checking the profile information, examining click stream to identify the topics of their interest, etc. 2. Aggregate and Personalize: Next, you must have an easy-to-use filtering / sorting mechanism that remembers users’ preferences, identifies information of interest, and displays them in an orderly manner. News aggregators like Trove used by The Washington Post, scour multiple sources of content and list stories of interest based on user profiles and behavior. Trove also leverages Facebook Connect to identify and accordingly personalize news stories based on preferences as outlined by users’ Facebook profile. Also, personalization would be incomplete without providing for sharing. Give users an option to easily share, post, retweet news of interest among friends through social media. 3. Adapt and Continue to Learn: It is important to progressively learn more about your readers over time. Consider using a mobile app that not only provides users access to the latest news but also allows them to keep track of their favorite news topics. Information on content accessed by users on-the-go can help you refine their profiles and accordingly alter, for example, the information you display, how you display it, and in what order you place the stories. 4. Allow Discovery to Retain Freshness: Personalization must not lead to extreme predictability and, therefore, boredom. Even as you personalize content, you must retain a sense of discovery. Give your readers a chance to “discover” topics that is outside of their usual realms of interest. For example, it is always a good option to retain the “Top Stories” section even on a customized home page. Irrespective of their preferences, users demand that they stay informed of all that is happening around them. Displaying stories that are “liked” by readers’ friends on Facebook is another means of allowing discovery. Readers might like to read a story that, although not of immediate interest to them, is liked and recommended by their friends. Personalization is a tough job and we are just scratching the surface here. But it is time to make a start quickly or be left behind in the race for winning customer loyalty. Tavant has been working with several leading media companies to make this beginning in a strong way. Want to know how we are making personalization work for our customers? Click here and read on.
Online Commerce Concerns for Game Studios
As the Gaming industry has evolved in recent years, video games have become one of the most sought after forms of entertainment, surpassing even traditional entertainment forms such as music and movies in terms of revenues. And rightly so, since game studios have left no stone unturned in enriching game content, enhancing user experience, and improving online commerce to surpass game sales year after year. For studios to develop and enhance the online gaming experience, numerous factors need to be addressed, such as user login, game entitlements, managing avatars, online friends, etc. As the business approach and technology vary from one company to another, so do the complexities and nuances of their gaming systems. Our previous post covered the benefits of online commerce for both players and companies. In this post, let’s discuss some typical concerns that an enterprise needs to address while building a centralized gaming model. Supported Business Models: A studio can support multiple business models like direct purchase from sales portals, subscription services and virtual currencies like rewards points. The decision to adopt a business model depends on its business feasibility and market penetration potential. Implementation Approach: The implementation approach depends on the preferred business model, and it plays a key role in building the e-commerce infrastructure. The selection of appropriate technologies and a very meticulous system design are key for a successful centralized gaming system. Online entitlement of a game, in general, requires multiple levels of validations on the data entered by the user. This will internally require various supporting systems such as: Identity and Profile Management System: New age games have greater access to consumer information and hence, managing user data becomes a critical aspect of online game account management. Some studios prefer in-house solutions to meet their needs, as they believe a customized solution supports more rapid innovation and is better adaptable to emerging industry requirements. Billing System: The growing popularity of digital distribution has impelled gaming studios to look for stable and highly secure billing systems. To enhance the user experience, billing systems with virtually zero transaction time are being built. Also, to counter the growing risk of online data theft, a mere “https” is no longer good enough, calling for more robust and highly secure systems. With smartphones taking over the market, game companies have a pressing need to support mobile billing too. Furthermore, a billing system is dynamic in nature as it depends on the marketing and sales strategy of the company. Therefore, it should support free demo games, limited-time discounted games, deactivating/activating subscriptions, gifting, and bundling, while supporting the regular priced games too. A billing system is also expected to provide a vast range of features including but not limited to: – Storage and processing of account information from credit cards and debit cards – Support for prepaid electronic cards like Wallie and Paysafe – Support for payment systems such as PayPal, Giropay and Sofort – Redemption of reward points, etc. In-game Persona Management: Given rapid technological advances, posting personal content in games and interacting with other players in MMOs is now common, as well as allowing users to maintain multiple personas or avatars across multiple games. A persona management system here acts as a backbone, supporting the game content, and gives users the flexibility to traverse across games and levels from the same central account, thereby enhancing their multiplayer experience. Game Activation and Key Management System: For digital goods, the game activation process can be broadly classified into digital download entitlement and online game entitlement. The former allows a user to download a digital product, while the latter gives him access to go online. With rapid innovation in gaming content and competitive market conditions, game activation and key management system have become the most dynamic aspect of the e-commerce ecosystem. Growing piracy in the gaming domain has given companies a run for their money. I have often noticed users trying out various combinations of serial numbers, trying their luck to get game content for free. Then, there are others who use online tools to try breaking into a game. With a highly secure and fraud-proof game activation and key management system, such attempts can be foiled. It is even possible to track such users and take preventive actions against any piracy attempts. Legacy Architecture: This is one of the biggest bottlenecks in the upgrade path for IT infrastructure. The issue usually comes in when a system is in production and supports the titles already on sale, but is hard to enhance or scale. Organizations feel concerned about the ROI of such systems and avoid new investments. The decision to retire such obsolete systems is never easy, but with a phased implementation of SOA, teams can get a new system in place without causing much inconvenience to their customers. Others: Apart from the aforementioned issues, there are other non-technical requirements for legal, tax, audit, and partnerships, which may vary across organizations and geographies.
Usability: A Business Case
What is Usability? Usability has quite a simple definition — it means people’s ability to use a product easily and efficiently to accomplish their tasks. Usability or user engineering is a significant advancement in the process of developing products, such that they satisfy and delight users as well as stakeholders who invest in bringing them to the market. A usable product must be: • Easy to learn • Efficient to use • Easy to remember • Enjoyable to use • Visually pleasing Additionally, it should provide quick recovery from errors. Value Proposition Usability requires an innate understanding of value propositions — values sought by users, how a product will provide those values, and values sought by the business delivering the product. The goal is to achieve a balanced design that provides value for the business, stakeholders and users alike. Benefits of Usability Usability engineering offers significant benefits in terms of cost, product quality and customer satisfaction: • It improves development productivity through more efficient design and fewer code revisions. • It helps eliminate over-design by emphasizing the functionality required to meet the needs of real users. • It helps in early detection of design problems in the development process, saving both time and money. • It results in greater cost savings through reduced support costs, lesser training requirements and higher user productivity. • It enhances satisfaction of customers and improves reputation of the product as well as the organization that developed it. Preferred Design Approach Many top engineers and designers recognize that usability engineering is the preferred approach to designing products. This is for the following reasons: • Since technological products are designed for use by humans, it makes sense to clearly define their needs before building products for them. • It has become clear through research and observation that product designers and developers cannot effectively speak for users. Designers have different backgrounds, levels of experience, goals and motivations from those of users. Therefore, designers should not guess or make assumptions about users’ needs and wants. • It has often been seen that preference does not match performance. In other words, what users say they need and want is often substantially disconnected from what they actually need and want, when faced with using a product to perform a task. Therefore, the only effective way to determine what is best for users is to observe them performing tasks with the product of interest. Cost Justifying Usability Enhancing the usability of software-based products (and services) is smart business. Usability improves productivity, enhances customer satisfaction, builds customer loyalty, and inevitably results in tangible cost savings and profitability. Since user-interface (UI) development is an important part of product development, and the cost for UI development is included in product development costs, it pays to do it right at the very first attempt. Some important statistics for cost justifying usability: • It is about 400 times more expensive to fix problems in the maintenance phase of a project than in the design phase. E.g., if it cost $10 to make a program change during development, it would probably cost $400 to do it after the system is in field. • Around 63% software projects exceed their cost estimates. The top four reasons for this being: o Frequent change requests from users o Overlooked tasks o Users’ lack of understanding of their own requirements o Insufficient communication between users and analysts, leading to lack of understanding • Only 33% of the maintenance effort is spent for debugging and therefore, 67% effort is needed for changing the system. To learn about more such statistics, please click here. Return on Investment Most software and website development managers treat the money and effort spent on usability as unnecessary. In the first 10 per cent of the design process, key system design decisions are made, which can determine the rest 90 per cent of a product’s cost and performance. Therefore, usability techniques come in handy to keep a product aligned with company goals [1]. Contrary to popular belief, usability offers significant returns on investment (ROI) to products developed for either internal use or sale [2]. The ROI can be internal as well as external. Internal ROI: • Improved user productivity • Reduced user errors • Shrunk training costs • Savings from making changes earlier in the design lifecycle • Lesser user support External ROI: • Higher sales • Reduced customer support costs • Savings gained from making changes earlier in the design lifecycle • Slashed costs of training (in case training is offered by an external vendor) For more statistics, please read the white paper titled ‘Return on Investment for Usable User-Interface Design: Examples and Statistics,’ written by Aaron Marcus here. How to Convince Clients to Pay for Usability Do your clients assert that there is no reason to test an application’s design, since you were hired because of your proficiency in creating good web applications and the design was expected to be flawless? It is widely believed that asking a design to go through user test might challenge the design firm’s skills and expertise. It might make people question, “are designers so uncertain and unsure about their own work that they need to test it?” In reality, using sound methodology is the cornerstone of professionalism, as is knowing how to manage a project by planning for the necessary steps. Consider this: If developers were hired to code a piece of custom software and they claimed that there was no need to debug the code, they will be considered as crazy. In software development, we know from experience that all code has some or the other bugs. It’s impossible to write perfect software right at the very first attempt; the only way to deliver high-quality programs is to use a sound development process with explicit steps for several types of testing. Modern user interfaces are just as complex as software in terms of the number of different variables considered. Moreover, many years of usability engineering experience has proved that
Outsourced Software Testing – A Paradigm Shift
In their quest to develop intuitive and easy to use software with near-zero defects, many software companies are looking at outsourcing software testing. With this trend catching up in the industry, the focus of offshore service providers has also moved from software development to software testing. Ubiquity of offsite software testing companies has only encouraged this already growing trend. Over the last decade, the way organizations buy and use technology has changed radically. As of 2008, the annual spend on IT services globally was reported to be more than $500 billion, with Forrester Research citing continued growth in infrastructure and applications outsourcing as well as offshore and project consulting[1]. This growth has been driven by the realization that in a globalized economy, outsourcing can offer significant gains in efficiency, productivity, quality and revenues. However, despite the potential benefits of outsourcing, very few organizations outsource testing of existing or new software applications. According to a survey of IT leaders conducted by Forrester in 2008[2], only 16% of organizations outsourced software testing. This despite the fact that the outsourced testing market is actually poised for rapid growth; the growth rate for outsourced testing services is 50 per cent annually, or even higher in some cases. Today’s businesses rely on cutting-edge tools and technologies that can be rolled out quickly and can perform consistently time after time for end-users. There is a growing realization that quality software testing is a specialized and professional skill, and not merely an afterthought activity slotted in at the end of the development lifecycle. A single application failure at a crucial point in a process or transaction can be both expensive and complex to repair; therefore, it’s vital that upfront testing and identification of defects is as good as it can possibly be. But how can one decide when to outsource testing? Well, ask yourself the following questions and if your answer to these is “Yes,” then you certainly need to look at outsourcing the testing function: 1. Do I have frequent releases / minor releases, which need to be tested for both the release scope as well as for regression? 2. Do I wish there was scope to reduce the development and test cycle time? 3. Do I wish there were fewer showstopper defects in production? 4. Is the time to market a crucial factor for my organization’s success? 5. Is the application required to conform to performance or security guidelines? 6. Do I need to have my software tested on multiple platforms, versions of OS, usability? 7. Can I enhance my ROI using Automated Testing? 8. Am I building domain competence in testing? However, it should not be assumed that outsourcing the testing function for different projects will deliver same benefits. But to ensure the best possible results from outsourcing of software testing, a few elements are crucial, such as: • Staffing and specializations of the test function • A business-driven, process-oriented, structured testing methodology • Use of appropriate tools and techniques • Engagement model • Quantitative performance measures • Domain expertise – both business and technical • Independence of testing team from development team • Continuous implementation of best practices With these elements in place, one can be assured that testing truly delivers business value. Some of the key value adds and benefits of outsourced testing are: • Lower costs • Higher profitability • Enhanced efficiency in testing • Reduced time-to-market • Focus on core business • Exhaustive coverage and predictable quality of deliverables • Skill generation and training • Scalability, flexibility and specialization for staffing • Technological advancement At Tavant, we realize that inadequate software testing can prove to be damaging for the quality of your software as well as the costs associated with it. More so, because quality of software is the key to enhance business value and deliver customer delight. We can help you realize 35% or more savings in your testing costs through: • Enterprise-focused Center of Excellence (CoE) for testing (ZeroD) • Flexible Engagement Model • Expertise in Distributed Agile QA • Use of specialist independent testing services • Business-driven, structured testing methodology • Reusable automation test framework • Predictable and repeatable test process When successfully executed, outsourcing of software testing can reduce the cost of the testing function by 30-35% or more as well as lessen the time-to-market, while improving the overall software quality. It gains even more importance because most businesses heavily rely on software applications for their day-to-day operations. Given this situation, it can be said that impeccable software plays a pivotal role in the success of most businesses, irrespective of their areas of operation. References: [1] The State Of Enterprise IT Services: 2008, Forrester Research, September 2008. [2] Capture Value From The Growing Diversity In Outsourced Applications Testing Services, Forrester Research, October 2008.
Is ‘Complete Mobile Freedom’ a Fable?
We are in the middle of a ‘mobile’ revolution. OK may be not bang in the middle – but the revolution is still pretty ferocious. Mobile handsets are becoming increasingly more powerful for the same price. There exists a generation of ‘on-the-go’ businessmen and executives who want to be as productive on the move as they would be at their desks. They need to be able to work with their handsets as easily as they do with their conventional computers on their desks. But why does the idea of ‘Complete Mobile Freedom’ still seem far-fetched? Is running native apps the only way to get you mobile? Why does one still fear the loss of a Xtop machine? [Xtop = Laptop or Desktop] Today’s devices and their browsers are very reliable. They can do a fantastic job of not just rendering images and text, but also implementing SSL security for remote connections. In a nutshell – today’s mobile browser has become powerful and sophisticated. With this premise, think of applications that use real-time data and events – like media applications and trading applications that use streaming real-time data to keep the user in touch with second-by-second updates. Such applications are already there on most mobile phones! What is so interesting about that fact is that such applications are a perfect match for people ‘on-the-go’. So, how easy is it to make such applications work in the mobile environment, and what are the key challenges? We at Tavant have been part of this revolution, and our experiences show that there are two aspects to this environment that can be quite challenging. The first is the fact that cell phone hardware and software are far from standardized, with each OEM having their own specifications and features. This means that native applications developed for one manufacturer would not work for another. Sometimes, the same app may not even work across different models of the same manufacturer. The second challenge is with the intermittent nature of the communication. Mobile networks are expected to be weak or unavailable in certain areas and especially inside buildings and elevators. Thus the virtually unbroken network connectivity of a wired connection cannot be replicated here. Applications developed for the mobile have to keep this important aspect in mind. How can we design mobile apps in view of the challenges mentioned above? One of the ways to work around the portability problem is to prefer web applications for mobile browsers, and use native apps only when specific features of the native system are critical to the application – a good example would be touch and sound features for a mobile game app. Since the browser behavior is more standard across manufacturers and models, web applications are more easy to port (though adjustments are still needed for screen form factor) than native applications. Also, the web applications should be designed so that the rendering of the pages is separate from the data being displayed. This way, stylesheets can be used to mould the view to each model and screen-size, increasing portability. The problem of intermittent connectivity would most adversely affect the applications that deal with real-time data. The best way to work around this is to design the applications to use asynchronous communications and incremental updates for any data fed back to the mobile. Though loss of connectivity would still prevent immediate responses, at least transactions in-flight would not be affected, and the screens would update themselves faster as soon as connectivity is re-established. For streaming data, it is advisable to use the “Long Poll” method instead of the “Persistent Connection” method since the latter is a major drain on battery life. These are just some of the many considerations and decisions that are needed to be able to design productive and intuitive mobile apps. The mobile app universe is seeing rapid growth, and the learning and resultant standardization will definitely go a long way in conquering many of the challenges in this area.
A Coward Approach to Project Management – A New Paradigm
Cowards die many times before their death. They have played out all possible scenarios that could lead to a catastrophe. Today’s managers need to think like cowards for their projects. They need to look at all possible scenarios that could lead the project to failure. Project management is not a war but it is surviving your project and making it see the light of the day, with available resources and minimum damage. Risk is best defined as the potential to suffer a loss. Risk management is described as a collection of methods and techniques which are designed to ensure that a project, company, or an organization is guarded against these risks to the maximum. While it is impossible to be prepared for every single problem that may come, there is a group of key risks that most organizations should protect themselves against. At Tavant, risk management is one of the most crucial aspects of project management. Projects are vulnerable to many threats – both external and internal. The objective of risk management is to identify these threats and work out a strategy to eliminate, minimize, avoid, or transfer. A well laid out risk management plan not only helps deliver project on time, but also impacts the budget and quality in a positive way, and not to forget the team is happier and motivated as they don’t have to get into fire-fighting mode. Risk assessment entails mathematics, philosophy, individual personality, and perception. When you begin dealing with risk assessment, we consider three things: (a) impossible, (b) possible, and (c) real. The issue of risk assessment involves things which are very possible. The possible can be thought of as a thing which can occur but has not yet occurred, and what is the probability of it occurring. This assessment is qualitative risk assessment. The quantitative risk analysis is designed to get numerical data which is related to the probability that a particular risk and its consequences will occur. Risk realized is called an issue; and what better way to handle an issue, if your risk planning already has a strategy to handle the potential risk (which now has become an issue). You can never be too careful. However, projects, companies, and organizations need to define the threshold of their risk appetite. There is nothing wrong in being pessimistic and paranoid about things going wrong in a project, but just being pessimistic is not sufficient. It is imperative that you layout a plan and strategy to counter them all and run the project optimistically. The reality is what you will see on daily basis.
Cloud in the Mind!
Long distance relationships are hard – or are they just mind over matter? Today’s economy wants to tighten its belt, and within this philosophy lies a fertile ground for cloud computing. Let’s not argue – the cloud has arrived and is here to stay. However, the economies of scale that a cloud provides are both a friend and a foe for the enterprise. As much economic benefit cloud provides, it also extends a proportional sense of ‘loss of control’. If not in reality – this is more of a psychological problem. Ask a CIO who’s yet to get on a cloud – long distance relationships with data are intimidating. But here’s the cool part – the distance from data is dependent on how quickly you can access it and how secure you can make it. If neither of the 2 parameters change, you would never know if the data was moved from your premise to mine. So – why is cloud a big deal? Straight up – cost savings and economies of scale. IT plays a huge role in an enterprise. And IT management is proportionately budgeted for. With cloud, IT services can be offered at a fraction of the cost relieving massive challenges on resources and infrastructure. With unified access, data can be made more reliable, available, and secure. Which is eventually the whole point of IT and its management anyways isn’t it? And that’s what gives the cloud its silver lining. For the ones who still don’t buy it and want numbers, check this out – Gartner predicts that by end of 2013, cloud services market will be worth over $150 billion annually. But I’m sure you’re still wondering – what if… and why not…? Well you can argue all you like and try to convince yourself that the cloud will go away. But with the kind of benefits that the cloud provides today, it’s impossible for the enterprise to ignore its financial implications. In fact a study on cloud risks carried out by European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) recently, names compliance and malicious intent as two of the highest risks through cloud. These risks are anyways high up on a CIO’s risk list, even with an on-premise infrastructure. But the study has also raised high concerns on legal risks for data. The need for standardized jurisdiction coupled with an obsession on information management quality is a must. Sure over time the cloud will mature and service providers will take on more aggressive positions within your IT environment. A lot of bumps will smoothen out and early adopters would explicitly benefit on their balance sheets. It would be like the ERP story all over again. However, the question that you need to answer is – do you really want to manage IT? Do you really need to manage IT? Do you want to commit yourselves to the periodicity of systems, software, and resources? The cloud is here to stay – move in early. There’s no phrase called ‘second mover advantage’ and there’s a good reason for it. Don’t say I didn’t tell you …