cloud solutions - what do we mean by solution in the cloud era?
DESCRIPTION
The term solution in the context of Information Technology is frequently used ambiguously especially by vendors who apparently use the term to mean simply “what we sell” – sometimes referring to hardware, software or services. Business users on the other hand are, of course, clear on what they mean: it’s a readily useable application (or likely these days to be an app) that support business use case and achieves a desired business outcome. The fact that business users are seldom able to articulate precisely what these use cases or outcomes are may be beside the point. They are the customers after all and "the customer is always right". Vendors sometimes do a good job of understanding, interpreting or even shaping customers’ requirements (think of Steve Jobs who said “A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them”). In other situations, either out of incompetence, lack of imagination or expediency, some vendors sell the customers the promise of achieving their business outcomes without being able to deliver them. If we give these vendors the benefit of the doubt and assume that they are really trying hard, we can only assume that there is a semantic gap between what the customers want and what the vendors are supplying.TRANSCRIPT
Cloud Solu(ons
What do we mean by solu(on in the Cloud Era?
Jan 2014 Cloud Solu(ons 1
Ahmed Fattah Client Technical Adviser
Financial Services and Public Sectors IBM Australia
ahmedfattah.org
The purpose of this presenta(on is to discuss the seman(c mismatch between customers’ and vendors’ perspec(ves of the term Solu(on, how Cloud Compu(ng has influenced this and how we can align these two perspec(ves.
Contents:
– Seman(c mismatch
– Customer’s perspec(ve
– Vendor’s perspec(ve
– Aligned perspec(ve
– Conclusions
Jan 2014 Cloud Solu(ons 2
Purpose and contents
Frequently, there is a seman(c mismatch between what customers and vendors mean by the term ‘Solu&on’. This mismatch brings usually very costly consequences to both.
Jan 2014 Cloud Solu(ons 3
Customer
Vendor
Solution: Readily usable app* to achieve my business outcome
Solution: Some hardware, software, IP and resources that could be used to implement the desired app.
In some cases this situation can be even worse when multiple vendors are involved: each with their own meaning of Solution.
Solu(on
* Note that the term ‘app’ is used here to highlight the end user’s perspective. It is not restricted to smart phones it can refer to any end use application on any device.
The Solu(on from the customer’s perspec(ve can be understood in the context of Business Impera(ves, capabili(es, use cases and a desired mode of consump(on.
Jan 2014 Cloud Solu(ons 4
Business Imperatives
Business Capabilities (Objectives, opportunities, Problems)
Business Use Cases
Mode of consumption
Solu(on
CEO, CFO, CMO,
Line of Business
Owner
Business users
Procurement
The vendor’s perspec(ve of a Solu(on can be understood in the context of the components (hardware, soQware, assets), IP, skilled resources and effort that are required to construct the Solu(on.
Jan 2014 Cloud Solu(ons 5
Software Package
Framework
Infrastructure (IaaS)
Platform (PaaS)
Software/ Application (SaaS)
Solu(on
Consulting, Implementation
& integration Services
In the past, custom development and SI projects used to bridge the gap between Platform (middleware) and the Solution.
Note that there may be still a gap between the Solution and SaaS. For example if the software is not multi-tenant or if it requires extensive customisation and configuration for each customer.
The two perspec(ves must be aligned and reconciled. With the rise of Cloud, the vendor’s perspec(ve must be subservient to the customer’s. ‘Below-‐the-‐line’ details should only be exposed ‘above the line’ if they are of interest to the customer.
Jan 2014 Cloud Solu(ons 6
Customer
Vendor
Solu(on
Customer’s perspective (Above the line)
(Below the line) Vendor’s and integrator’s perspective
We need also to understand how the customer wish to consume the solution (purchase use case)
The business stakeholders and buyers are interested in the ‘above-‐the-‐line’ aspects of the solu(on. Technical staff may be interested in ‘below-‐the-‐line’ aspects and could be buyers of individual component of the ‘Solu(on’.
Jan 2014 Cloud Solu(ons 7
In-h
ouse
tech
nolo
gy a
nd
solu
tion
capa
bilit
ies
Infra
stru
ctur
e
Pla
tform
Fram
ewor
k
Pac
kage
Above the line
Below the line
Industry SME & Analyst
Solution Architect
Vendor’s positing of the
business solution
Vendor’s positing of the technical solution
CEO, CFO, CMO,
Line of Business
Owner
Business users
With the rise of Cloud Compu(ng, customers are increasingly want to consume IT capabili(es as end-‐user apps. Vendors should evolve their business model to adjust to this reality.
• Cloud Compu(ng (and other enabling technologies such as mobile) has made it possible for consumers to use finely designed apps for almost every need and wish they have.
• Enterprise use can see the benefits of this model and are already consuming some func(ons as SaaS. Some of these benefits are:
– Conversion of CapEx to Opex
– No need for (large) IT staff
– ShiQing the risk to vendors
• Many vendors are already supplying enterprise SaaS for many enterprise func(ons.
• Other vendors have to evolve their business model to accommodate this reality.
Jan 2014 Cloud Solu(ons 8
Conclusion